Atlantis pass

[zxcvbbvcxz]

We are a family of 5 and going to be in Nassau on Thanksgiving day.

Kids really want to see Atlantis. I have been looking at doing the comfort Inn, but can only get 4 passes thru a room there. If I do one of us through NCL's shore excursion can I just get the pass on board and travel by cab with my family to the hotel... or would I have to take the bus and try to find them at the resort? I would just get a pass at Atlantis itself but worried on the holiday it will be sold out.

[SuiteTraveler]

Honestly, I'm surprised there are any day passes for Thanksgiving Day as the Atlantis hotels are usually at capacity that time of year. Definitely check with the Comfort Inn as to if any passes are available for that day, because they might not be and your only option may be to purchase through the ship for everyone.

 

If you get the pass through the ship, then you would have to meet your family at Atlantis as you would have to exit the ship with your cruise excursion, ride the bus over and enter the park with them. What I would suggest is that you set up a meeting point for your family. I would tell them to meet you at the entrance to "The Dig". The water park is not really all that big and "The Dig" is very easy to find (just follow the signs) and your kids will want to see "The Dig" anyway, however briefly. It is also on the way to where the water park rides are, so it's a good location to meet. There is also a huge sign that says "The Dig" so it is pretty hard to miss.

 

Just in case you are unaware, the food within the Atlantis park is incredibly expensive. $35 for a plain cheese pizza, $7 a slice, $9 for a small ice cream. If you pay by credit card, you must also show your ID for every purchase. Locker rentals are $10 to $20 per day - depending on size. The height restriction for most major rides is 48 inches.

 

Since this is a holiday, I would be more concerned about the lines for the water slides as Atlantis will be at capacity. The lines can be as long as 2+ hours. Also, when Atlantis is at capacity, then it is hard to get a tube for the river ride as well. It's kind of like Disneyworld - I wouldn't go there on a holiday either as I prefer to go on a day when the park is less crowded so I can get on as many rides as possible.

[mjkacmom]

Are you sure you can reserve just one night at CS? Usually they won't let you just reserve one night at such a peak time.

[zxcvbbvcxz]

I am not happy about going on such a busy day, but I'm hoping it gets me out of having to actually take the family to Atlantis for a real vacation..... There are so many places I would rather go for that kind of money

Comfort inn still had availability as did resort for a day(? Can't remember if that is the name) but I didn't get too far into it.....

[Amerz_5]

A tip: If you decide to meet your party outside The Dig, make sure you specify which doors. There is an entrance inside the lobby and what I assumed was an exit on the waterpark side. We made that mistake and lost an hour waiting to meet friends. We were inside. They were outside.

[SquishTheWhale]

Just so you're aware, I've read that Atlantis changed it's policies recentley so that they no longer offer day passes to 'anyone'- you have to either be a resident of Atlantis or the Comfort Inn, or book through the cruise line.

 

As a disclaimer, this isn't first hand knowledge from myself- however I've been researching an Atlantis trip and people on the Tripadvisor forums have been posting stories of dissapointed kids when they turn up at the gates to be told they can't purchase a day pass. (Not even that they're all sold out- they just don't do them anymore unless through the cruise line)

 

They also stopped the day passes for one of the other Paradise Island hotels- if I was you I wouldn't be 100% confident that they won't stop the Comfort Inn ones, so maybe make sure you get a rate that you can cancel the room if that happens.

[LrgPizza]

I absolutely, positively, wouldn't do it. If you want to go to a fancy resort, then go to a fancy resort instead of a cruise. That's just my take on the whole thing. It will be so super crowded. My family has stayed at Atlantis. The way to enjoy Atlantis is during time when cruise ships have sailed away. It is completely impossible to get your money's worth.

 

The kids want to see it, but it can be "seen" from the ship. :D

[SuiteTraveler]

Yes, you should plan to meet by the outdoor entrance to "The Dig". Not the one in the hotel.

[Boscodog]

We were on the Breakaway last year. A family we were dining with at Teppanyaki had done the CruiseShip excursion to Atlantis and spent around 300-400 for this excursion. They were complaining that when they got to Atlantis there were no chairs to be found. NCL excursion reps did nothing to help them and they had to pay Atlantis $20 per person to get chairs. They were so aggravated that it cost them a fortune and the place was very crowded.

[mjkacmom]

We were on the Breakaway last year. A family we were dining with at Teppanyaki had done the CruiseShip excursion to Atlantis and spent around 300-400 for this excursion. They were complaining that when they got to Atlantis there were no chairs to be found. NCL excursion reps did nothing to help them and they had to pay Atlantis $20 per person to get chairs. They were so aggravated that it cost them a fortune and the place was very crowded.

 

That's funny - showing up at a popular family resort on a major holiday and being upset that it's crowded!

[cincicruisers]

Years ago our ship stopped at Nassau. We wanted to try Atlantis for the day. Many comments from CC saying it was not worth the money for the amount of time we were in port. (7am-2pm).

 

We did the excursion anyway. No tubes were avaiable, slides didn't open until later (around 9am). The lines were crazy long. You have to take out a loan to pay for lunch and drinks. (Over $100)

 

It is an amazing place to visit, but we should have listened to posters here and waited for when I could go on land trip.

[DevCruise]

My wife and I went and had an 8am to 6pm port time. We ended up making a last minute decision on the excursion and didn't go over with the normal Aquaventure group, but with a later group, but that worked out because the water park doesn't open until 9 or 10am anyway. However, we also went in January, not over Thanksgiving day weekend. We did think it was well worth it though. :)

[zxcvbbvcxz]

Thanks everyone

Not sure what we will end up doing, it's hard to make everyone happy in the family

Have a feeling I am going to throw ALOTof money out the window and book us all through the ship and hope for the best

Maybe everyone will be inside stuffing themselves with turkey and watching football and we will be all ne on the lazy river...... Trying to be optimistic ( ok maybe delusional)😊

[DevCruise]

Maybe everyone will be inside stuffing themselves with turkey and watching football and we will be all ne on the lazy river...... Trying to be optimistic ( ok maybe delusional)😊

 

Just an FYI.....the lazy river isn't completely lazy. There's a couple spirited sections and even a section with rapids (there are signs and you can get out if you don't want to do that section).

[KarenR122]

Are you allowed to use the pools when you are there on the ship excursion or is it just the slides? DD prefers the small kiddie slides and would love the pools but if it is only for the "water park" slides then it would be useless to us.

 

Thanks!

[jkneern]

No you can use the pools, beach and slides. We went for a week last year, it was a little long but we did have a great time. For us we enjoyed the water park at our leisure but did notice most days when the ships were in it got VERY crowded and that was in October, in fact it was off season and one of the hotels on site was closed and we were upgraded to a better hotel. I would never spend the price of a day pass, you could stay a night for that price and if your a family of 5 that would be 5 nights or close to it. The food at the resort will cost close to a mortgage payment"..........

[ainecaine]

The lazy river is great! My four and five year old daughters loved it. They're really into water. If your kids are confident in water they will love it. They have the double tubes and the girls went in the front of each with my husband and me at the back. The excursion is v expensive through the ship but we had a brilliant day.

Edited August 8, 2015 by ainecaine

[LrgPizza]

No you can use the pools, beach and slides. We went for a week last year, it was a little long but we did have a great time. For us we enjoyed the water park at our leisure but did notice most days when the ships were in it got VERY crowded and that was in October, in fact it was off season and one of the hotels on site was closed and we were upgraded to a better hotel. I would never spend the price of a day pass, you could stay a night for that price and if your a family of 5 that would be 5 nights or close to it. The food at the resort will cost close to a mortgage payment"..........

 

 

Exactly this. If it's so important, save money by booking it as a vacation.

[Son of a son of a ...]

From last time we went to Atlantis on an excursion, I seem to recall that you could not use cash to buy food & drinks. Is that still accurate? My recollection may be off.

[SquishTheWhale]

Exactly this. If it's so important, save money by booking it as a vacation.

 

I was weighing up booking part 2 of our honeymoon as either a 4 days Bahamas cruise with an Atlantis excursion or 4 days at Atlantis. I think we're now decided to do the latter, as we won't get enough time if we do the excursion. My only reservation is how expensive it is to eat when you're there, so hope I've made the right choice!

[pe4all]

We have done the Atlantis all 3 ways - staying at Comfort In itself for land vacatio, getting a room at CI while on a cruise to get the passes , and thru ship excursion. Atlantis is always busy - no matter when you go! We were able to book 1 nite thru CI beforehand. We took a cab there from ship ($4 pp), checked in, got our wristbands, checked out, and headed over to Atlantis. They do not take cash at Atlantis for food - credit card or room key charge - that is it. When we went in summer we found it was cheaper taking the ship excursion than booking a room at CI. We had no problems finding lounges. We caught a shuttle back to ship (they run every 15 min. and are free as long as you keep the other ticket half they give you to show driver) after a few hours, as we had been to Atlantis a few times before, and just did the water slides/lazy river that we wanted to. For convenience, I would take the ship excursion.

[conandrob240]

Your options are limited because Comfort Inn won't do one night on Thanksgiving.

Edited August 9, 2015 by conandrob240

[jkneern]

I was weighing up booking part 2 of our honeymoon as either a 4 days Bahamas cruise with an Atlantis excursion or 4 days at Atlantis. I think we're now decided to do the latter, as we won't get enough time if we do the excursion. My only reservation is how expensive it is to eat when you're there, so hope I've made the right choice!

 

check into the meal plan they offer, it will save you a few $$. Drinks we quite pricey too, $9.00 for a beer and $13.00 for a frozen drink. We went across the street to the liquor store and brought it back to our room. Good choice and congrats

[SquishTheWhale]

check into the meal plan they offer, it will save you a few $$. Drinks we quite pricey too, $9.00 for a beer and $13.00 for a frozen drink. We went across the street to the liquor store and brought it back to our room. Good choice and congrats

 

I was looking at the meal plans, but people on TripAdvisor seem to advise against them! It's hard to make a proper judgement when Atlantis doesn't put prices on the menus available online. I'm sure they do it to avoid scaring people off with the high prices!! I heard that there's a couple of outside places you can eat at within walking distance though?