Atlantis: A few questions?

[hubofhockey]

This is no longer true, Although Atlantis front desk has a limited # of passes, other passes are sold thru cruise ships, comfort suites and other vendors including majestic tours. Busloads of outsiders arrive all day long.

 

When cruise ships are in.. the place is packed like sardines with long lines during the day til about 3pm when most of the cruisers leave.

 

Thanks. I'll probably cancel. The best thing was the lack of lines. We'll stay on the shop or do blue lagoon.

[GrandmaHofmann]

Atlantis has been recently sold, I believe. Perhaps things will improve.

[scubagirrl]

Atlantis has been recently sold, I believe. Perhaps things will improve.

 

Atlantis was taken over by the bank (investors).. Brookfield (canada) is not in the hotelier business, and has already let go most of it's maintenance staff.

 

Unless there is another change.. you won't see improvements anytime soon.

 

Brookfield wants their $$$ back

[CruisinCrow]

Gambee, thanks for posting the pictures. They made me really sad. We haven't been to Atlantis is a couple of years but the water wasn't like that then. Poor marine animals. :(

[gambee]

Gambee, thanks for posting the pictures. They made me really sad. We haven't been to Atlantis is a couple of years but the water wasn't like that then. Poor marine animals. :(

 

 

its my pleasure. Its horrible, I just dont understand how this is not a bigger issue.

[scubagirrl]

its my pleasure. Its horrible, I just dont understand how this is not a bigger issue.

 

Atlantis mgmt defaulted on their loans and were taken over by their investors who are not hoteliers. kerzners no longer owns Atlantis, Brookfield does.

We've been told that the maintainance crews have been let go. Who knows what's next.

[gambee]

Atlantis mgmt defaulted on their loans and were taken over by their investors who are not hoteliers. kerzners no longer owns Atlantis, Brookfield does.

We've been told that the maintainance crews have been let go. Who knows what's next.

 

oh, very interesting, thank you for the input. Its hard to imagine how someone can default on that. There must of been some serious mismanagement in that hotel.

 

In any case, it supports even more my case, avoid this excursion at all cost.

 

Try taking a sailboat to the real reef and snorkel there :-)

[aurelius180]

Atlantis mgmt defaulted on their loans and were taken over by their investors who are not hoteliers. kerzners no longer owns Atlantis, Brookfield does.

We've been told that the maintainance crews have been let go. Who knows what's next.

 

 

That explains a lot. One thing we noticed was the amount of trash in the shrubs around the pools and the River Rapids.

[govgurl]

Atlantis mgmt defaulted on their loans and were taken over by their investors who are not hoteliers. kerzners no longer owns Atlantis, Brookfield does.

We've been told that the maintainance crews have been let go. Who knows what's next.

 

It seems too bad to expose animals to that kind of untreated water and grime. Fish need clean, oxygenated water to thrive, and it doesn't look like they're getting it in that "aquarium".

 

I'm looking forward to going to Junkanoo Beach in Nassau, hitting the Fish Fry, doing the walking tour and who knows, if we get a little crazy, maybe visiting Cabbage Beach (we have a long port time, though I think we'll be tired after just part of that itinerary). We can't afford Atlantis, but after looking at some of these pictures, maybe that's for the best.

[govgurl]

Lol, well we're all at least that tall. Really though? I thought it would be like the Mack Daddy of water parks, which is why I wanted to take her. The big "Mayan" slides looked cool, but mainly the one that goes through the shark tank. I wish we could just pay to do that alone.

 

So, you've been to the Bahamas a lot? What do you recommend that is off the beaten path? I like to see at least a little culture, nature, history. We have pretty much no interest in shopping and doing things we can do at home. Eating only if it's really an experience - either amazing food or at least genuinely local food.

 

I believe Scubagirl lives in the Bahamas. Maybe your 9 year old would like the Ardastra zoo? They have a flamingo parade and I understand it's nice, though of course not as big a major zoo in the US. I know there's also a pirate museum, which sounds like it would be good for kids. If you google "Nassau Walking Tour" or search for it on this board, you'll find a number of good walking tours of downtown Nassau that go to historical sites like the Queen's Staircase (carved out of solid rock by slaves and later named for Queen Victoria who helped abolish slavery in the islands) and Fort Fincastle, which I could see being fun historical things to do. And since it's self guided it's at your own pace. Also, if you search for info on the "Fish Fry" area, that might be a good place to go for local flavor for lunch. It's a collection of places, not a single restaurant.

 

I'm not a local, I haven't even been to the Bahamas yet (three more months!), but I'm a regular Bahamas board reader and I've seen these positively reviewed and suggested many times.

[KATHY@HOME]

Hi, just did Atlantis ? August 20? Booked pre cruise with Carnival to get our group of 6 together. I would try for the first or second time offered, not later in the day. We had a 9:40 am. Get off ship EARLY so you can get to Atlantis. Long line to get your wrist band, and fill up the bus. The water park was not open early but we got some nice photos, took a little tour.

 

Dolphin area has small waiting area that overlooks all the groups interacting with dolphin's. They called our group, got lockers, the snorkel & mask are yours to take home or donate to a school program in the area. They have plenty of towels, don't bother with the ships towels. Wetsuits in every size! Safety was stressed and included info about the dolphins eyes and the problems if you touched its eye. All of our photos turned out nice but this can suck up lots of time so try to get everyone organized and paying attention. We had "shorty" the shortest trainer guy there. You spend time on a area that is not deep. If you don't feel comfortable in deep water take the other plan. We swam out and had our little motorized things that are easy to run. Mine was a little funky, had to shake underwater back and forth to get it running. Dolphin swam around us in the open water. They take individual and group photos with you and the dolphin, the part where the dolphin pushes your foot is fun, but can't really see the dolphin in that photo.

 

The refreshment is water with orange in the container. You can hang out there and watch others do their dolphin stuff. There were lines at all photo areas so we had one person hike back to lockers and were able to meet them in the water park. They offer one small photo package at $70- no disk! The next package is $149.00 you get a disk of 100 photos, then some different sizes printed and this is what we got, plenty of photos, you really could get the other people in your group to give you $70, give them all the printed photos and keep the disk with all the great photos:D They put on a few photos that were professional ones of the property that area a bonus for you.

 

Lazy river is only that we're you get in and out, it has some rapids, drops, etc. we did the big slides first with out our float/tube. If you can't find a tube, ask workers were to go. Some areas had lots, others everyone was using them.

 

We made the last shuttle 4:00 back to the ship. Others that missed it had to do the taxi back. We had a nice day, atlantis credit card holder worked great. Kids not 48 inches tall were measured, and watched some crying kids and parents turned away when they got to the front of the line. Water shoes worked great, had to hold flip flops on some rides, watches off and had to hold on rides. Think if you had the strap on sunglasses you could keep them on, not for sure on that. Construction like others said so one area closed. Lots of lifeguards. No floating on river without float. We had a nice day and loved our time and photos with the dolphin. We had a girl dolphin that was in her 20's, she is a mommy and has one of her kids there:).

[gambee]

I really would avoid Atlantis for the time being, I was looking at some old pictures of Atlantis and it was a paradise. It bugles me how they could let it get to that point. :confused: it is really not a cheap shore excursion, if I am paying premium I expect the best. You wont get that here.....:mad:

[SoCalKJ]

I was really excited about going to Atlantis...willing to pay for even the most expensive package through Carnival (not cuz we're rich either)...then started to compare rates between the Comfort Inn and Majestic Tours...and now seeing pictures, reviews and news of corporate issues resulting in a continued downward spiral of the property, I'm just bummed. :(

 

We don't go until November...checking the port schedule for 11-12-12, we're the second of 3 ships in Nassau that day, arriving at 8am (Disney gets there after us...I really hope those people are SHORT!)...Allure gets there one hour before us (and I REALLY REALLY hope they're short too....referring to the ride height requirements :D).

 

I wonder what kind of salvation can occur in the next 9 weeks? I'm paying for my excursions this cruise with my accumulated Visa points, so I won't consider it a DIRECT waste of money. However, I'm torn: don't go and miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the forest, despite some of it's trees....or go, be either pleasantly surprised and have the time of my life - or, find that it was "just okay."

 

For Scubagirrl, I believe our cruise is considered off-season (11/10/12-11/15/12)...are the rates still $120/$135 (with transportation)? Is the weather still on the warmer side? Would 3 cruise ships in port + local guests/Atlantis hotel guests that time of year constitute an uncomfortably large crowd/long lines?

 

My gut is saying "do it anyway."

[scubagirrl]

I was really excited about going to Atlantis...willing to pay for even the most expensive package through Carnival (not cuz we're rich either)...then started to compare rates between the Comfort Inn and Majestic Tours...and now seeing pictures, reviews and news of corporate issues resulting in a continued downward spiral of the property, I'm just bummed. :(

 

We don't go until November...checking the port schedule for 11-12-12, we're the second of 3 ships in Nassau that day, arriving at 8am (Disney gets there after us...I really hope those people are SHORT!)...Allure gets there one hour before us (and I REALLY REALLY hope they're short too....referring to the ride height requirements :D).

 

I wonder what kind of salvation can occur in the next 9 weeks? I'm paying for my excursions this cruise with my accumulated Visa points, so I won't consider it a DIRECT waste of money. However, I'm torn: don't go and miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the forest, despite some of it's trees....or go, be either pleasantly surprised and have the time of my life - or, find that it was "just okay."

 

For Scubagirrl, I believe our cruise is considered off-season (11/10/12-11/15/12)...are the rates still $120/$135 (with transportation)? Is the weather still on the warmer side? Would 3 cruise ships in port + local guests/Atlantis hotel guests that time of year constitute an uncomfortably large crowd/long lines?

 

My gut is saying "do it anyway."

 

Yes, it's off season, high season starts a week later for the holiday.

The rate SHOULD be $120 without transportation. You can grab a cab for $4pp ea. way

 

I don't see that it would be extremely crowded, but it would depend on the number of cruisers being brought in thru day passes. But Atlantis is rarely not crowded.

[twinbee]

Yikes, well this thread is depressing. A group of us are cruising on the Breeze in November 2013, and the one excursion everyone has agreed upon is Atlantis. Now, I am having second thoughts. I do have a question. I had heard that next year Comfort Suites will not have a relationship with Atlantis. Has anyone else heard this?? We were planning on going the Comfort Suites route.

[CruisinCrow]

I wonder what kind of salvation can occur in the next 9 weeks? I'm paying for my excursions this cruise with my accumulated Visa points, so I won't consider it a DIRECT waste of money. However, I'm torn: don't go and miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the forest, despite some of it's trees....or go, be either pleasantly surprised and have the time of my life - or, find that it was "just okay."

 

We've been to Atlantis several times over the years - Dig's pass, Beach Day pass, casino - and enjoyed it. It's a neat place to see. But really, Atlantis is a hotel with a water park. There are hotels and water parks everywhere. It's not like you'll be missing the opportunity of a lifetime if you don't go.

 

If there's not something in Nassau you'd rather do more, then go for it. I think you'll probably have a great time if you keep your expectations realistic.

 

What worries me more about this thread are the pictures of all the algae in the aquariums. This is terrible for the animals!

[gambee]

What worries me more about this thread are the pictures of all the algae in the aquariums. This is terrible for the animals!

 

I wish I would of taken more picture of the state of disgrace that this resort is currently at. Unfortunately I was on vacation and I did not take that many ugly pictures I tried to embrace the good side of the resort.

 

It was only until later that night discussing with mom about how bad this hotel was and that we decided I should try my best at warning others about the condition of the resort and what a waste of money this shore excursion is.

 

Also one more thing to note is that if they are cutting corners in maintance and if the aquriums are in such bad continion. Just imagine how dirty the water in the waterpark is? The fish die is this water, but humans are only there for a few hours. A little scrub at night and it will look clean, but I bet the water in pools if problably just as bad and full of ............. (just use you imagination)

 

Here are a few more pictures I found.

 

 

 

 

[kba1988]

WOW!!! Just......eeewwww....! :eek:

 

We'll be simply staying on board for Nassau day. Thanks for the honesty in this thread. :cool:

[gambee]

You don't have to stay on board Nassau has the most amazing water i've ever seen. Grab your money and take catamaran to a few snorkeling sites, people claim amazing sea life in those trips. I regret not doing that.

[msperkey]

I wonder if things will improve by the first part of january.. we set sail on Jan 13 on the Magic.

How do you find out how many ships will be at that particular port with your ship ?

[gambee]

I wonder if things will improve by the first part of january.. we set sail on Jan 13 on the Magic.

How do you find out how many ships will be at that particular port with your ship ?

 

I am not sure what day you're going to be there but in any case just go to this page and look for your day Cruise Time Tables

 

 

I don't know, I think it will take them a little to realize that they are going down hill. Maybe if all the marine life starts dying they will improve, overall a very sad scenario.

[CELTICGIRLCRUISER]

I first visited the Bahamas on a weeks vacation from UK via a week in Florida in 1987 and I vaguely recall the Atlantis being built whilst we were there, we stayed on Paradise Island.

 

It took me until last year to revisit the Bahamas again, even though we have been in Florida since 2003, so 24 years gap. We go again in just over three weeks time on DCL, but Atlantis is just not on my schedule. I see it as a ridiculous way to make money and more than it costs to cruise for one day in some cases. I have the money but they are not parting me from it!

 

I much prefer the "real" culture when I visit somewhere and a luxury resort with digs and slides doesn't cut it for me.

 

The pictures of the aquarium/pools do not please me at all. That is disgraceful and maybe if the tourist dollar stopped they would buck up their act and clean it up a bit.

Edited September 4, 2012 by CELTICGIRLCRUISER

[CruisinCrow]

You don't have to stay on board Nassau has the most amazing water i've ever seen. Grab your money and take catamaran to a few snorkeling sites, people claim amazing sea life in those trips. I regret not doing that.

 

Agreed. Atlantis is not the only thing to see in Nassau.

[r6girl]

That's really a shame about how Atlantis Bahamas has gone downhill. I have visited the Atlantis in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and it is breathtaking. The marine animals and their sanctuaries are lovingly cared for, and the hotel and its grounds are stunningly opulent. I thought it would be neat to go to the Atlantis in the Bahamas on my upcoming cruise... (how cool would it be to visit BOTH of the Atlantis hotels on opposite sides of the world!) :cool: But, I'm going to stick with the Blue Lagoon instead. Knowing how nicely maintained the Dubai Atlantis is, I would probably feel disappointed and ripped off if I went to the Bahamas Atlantis. Especially, knowing that umbrella rental is synonymous with highway robbery! :eek:

[qtchic921]

WOW that is horrible. I went to Atlantis in 2008 and it was not like this. Everything was really clean, including the beach. I can't believe it. Sorry you had a bad experience.