Dolphin Encounter & "The Dig"

[michris17]

Hi--I have 2 daughter 8 & 5 yrs old. We are debating between doing the Dolphin Encounter or going to Atlantis and touring "The Dig". I've read somewhere that the tour for the Dolphin Encounter starts at 9:15a and lasts for 4 hrs. What I'm wondering is if anyone knows if we would have time to do both and still be back to ship by 7p? Oh and also I would need time to hit the Straw Market :) Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Hi, I have never done the dolphin encounter, but if it is 4 hours you would be back around 1:15, you could quickly get a bite to eat on the ship and then walk to the straw market, 5 minutes tops to get there and shop. Most stores close at 5 p.m. because most people are on the ships by then.

 

The Dig is an excellent aquarium and I think it took us a couple of hours to see it all. The tour does move quickly, but after wards you can go back through again on your own at a slower speed. Just keep on your wrist bracelet they give you to prove you paid for it. The windows are pretty much floor to ceiling for kids to see easily. Some is outside too.

 

With this tour if you go int he morning , you can easily have lunch on the ship or buy lunch at Atlantis after the tour (Atlantis is expensive) and have time for shopping afterwards.

If you have an afternoon tour, do your shopping first, then do the excursion.

Either way should work ok for you. All the shopping is really close to the ship.

 

mom x4,grandma x4

[jhannah]

You may take as long or short a time in The Dig as you want. I found it quite fascinating, but like any aquarium you can get through it quickly if you don't care to stop and watch.

[gus30]

Hi ,we did the atlantis tour and my kids loved it. Also after the tour, you have time to explore on your own. /The Hotel is beautiful, also by accident we ended up at the pool area and slides, ended up swimming and having a cocktail. We wern't suppose to be in that area but no one notice.

[LSKC]

we did the dolphin excursion a few yrs back on a non-cruise vacation. it was fascinating to say the least. we did the one where you swim with the dolphins. wow. it was worth every penny.

the dolphins give you a foot push thru the water as well as lots of other interactions.

i do remember that a few of the kids freaked out when they saw the dolphin that close... they have teeth :)

i highly recommend it if your kids are ok with being that close to a dolphin.

[thetwins]

I remember from our Atlantis vacation 1 1/2 yrs ago that lots of ppl toured the Dig, and had different colored wrist bands. They're pretty lax about the pools, but they definitely won't let you get on the waterslides. Depending on the cost of the excursion, you could also do the Comfort Suites rent-a-room thing that ppl. write about, and get full access to Atlantis. IIRC, the Dig actually isn't that big, compared to the rest of Atlantis. We used to walk through it as a fun route for the kids down to the beach, and it couldn't have taken more than 5 minutes.

[Tanyax4]

Yes, my family and I rented a room at Comfort Suites last year and stayed at Atlantis ALL DAY! My daughters love the water and did not want to leave the pools, by the time we made it back to the ship, all of the stores had closed. So we really only saw one part of Nassau!

[njdrumrun]

we were looking at the dolphin encounter when our DD was 5. there is a height restriction. she was just over it and a strong swimmer(Y pre-team program) for her age.

 

someone warned us that depending on the tide and the roughness/calmness of the water we might spend more time holding onto her and not getting the most out of the experience because of it.

 

we opted to save it for another trip. just a thought.

[chake]

i took a bunch of pics at the dig, check them out.