Atlantis/Comfort Suites Day Pass Questions

[vossjemi]

Our Disney Wonder Cruise isn't until 9/18/05, but I'm fairly certain we want to go to Atlantis. The DCL excursion doesn't include use of the pools/slides, and I've read some threads on the Dis Boards that people have booked either through Atlantis or Comfort Suites for the day to get use of everything. So, we'll probably do one or the other.

To get an idea of price, I ckd this year's cost 9/20/04, which was:

Comfort Suites $148.50 +taxes
Atlantis $215 + 7.25per adult + taxes

(not bad considering the Disney excursion would be $210 for our family of 4 w/out use of pools/slides)

If we decide to do a day pass at either Atlantis or Comfort Suites, I have some questions I hope someone can answer.

The main reason we'd pay extra and do a pass through Atlantis instead of Comfort Suites is the idea we'd have a room to use during the day. Our kids will be 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 at the time we go, and may get tired and need a nap. Voilah, room. Plus we'll be in port from 9:30am until 11pm, so we could literally stay ALL day and eat dinner there too. So, for my first question:

1)How early will Atlantis let you ck in? If we're there by 10:30 am, can we ck in and use their premesis right away? Will we get a room right away? How did you book...online or by telephone to ensure they knew you were a cruise ship passenger?

2)If we have weather problems and don't port at Nassau (since we're going during hurricane season), will either place still charge? I'm thinking both had 48 hour or so cancellation policies? And, what if the captain changed itinerary due to weather and we were able to make it last sea day, would they honor reservation for the actual day we ported regardless of reservation date?

3)Due to above risk, will either place let you just show up and get a room? Or, do you absolutely have to have a reservation? I mean even if they are out of rooms, and all we want is the capability to use the full amenities, do they even need to have an available room? Can't I just ck in and out immediately and get our wristbands?

4)Has anyone stayed and eaten dinner at the Atlantis? Any recommendations?

5)Will children 5 1/2 and 3 1/2 be able to use the waterslides? I read somewhere on Atlantis' website about a 48 inch height requirement. Is that even if riding down the slide with the parent?

6)What is the quickest/cheapest way to get to either Atlantis or Comfort Suites? Taxi/ferry? Cost? How long do each take? And, how often does the ferry go?

7)I also read something on Atlantis' website that the motorized water sports were independent contractors so Atlantis had no liability. We might like to take a waverunner for a spin. Are there vendors on the beach or on Atlantis property? Do you have to make a reservation for that or can you just show up? What is approximate cost?

Any suggestions/info would be greatly appreciated!:D

[marilynbn]

I can answer some of your questions by just telling you what I did this past Jan.

We booked a room at the Comfort Suites which is literally just steps away from the Atlantis and a lot cheaper. We got there by taxi from the pier which was a van that carried 8-10 people at $5 per person. I was told ahead of time that the ferry takes longer and they fill it to such capacity that it is a bit scary. We checked in at hotel easily put our change of clothes etc. in the room and walked across the street to the Atlantis. At one of the towel cabanas you show your hotel receipt and you get your wristband and towel. The pools were great as well as the beach. There is a great water tube slide where you ride through a glass enclosure and fish and shark swim around you, very cool. We didn't do the dig site as after water play and such we had to get back to the ship by 4 or 5 I think it was. It is definately worth the money to get use of all of the facilities. This is a big hotel/resort and I would love to stay there for several days sometime. After we played at Atlantis we went to Comfort suites, took showers, changed and went back to pier to do some shopping before getting back on the ship. I would definately do the Comfort Suites again since I think it is probably even more convenient since the Atlantis Hotel is so big and spread out that you might have to do some real walking to go from your room to pool area, even with elevator assistance. Have a great time! Marilyn

[vossjemi]

Thanks marilyn. I was wondering how close comfort suites was to know if it was possible to actually use the room there. did you book online or call? Did you book direct w/comfort suites or through a TA? I'm curious how you were able to ck in a room prior to their standard ck in time of 3 or so. I was thinking they'd ck you in and out w/no probs if you didn't actually want a room, just the wristband/amenities. But, if you do want a room, they don't make you wait? Just curious. Thanks.

[marilynbn]

Vossjemi, We had no problem checking in right away it was probably around 9 or 10am I think. I think you can use the room easily for a nap if you have until 11pm to get back to the ship. The Comfort Suites has a direct little path to the Atlantis, 5 min. or less to walk to. Just ask them to give you a room that is easily accessible to this path. People do this there all the time. I called the Comfort Suites directly. You ususally get a better deal than using an 800 number. No I did not use a TA because I am one ! :) Marilyn

[vossjemi]

Thanks again marilyn. So, if i'm understanding you right, you can get a better deal calling their long distance # than the 800 #? I'd never heard of that before. Thanks for the tip.

[Flintstone]

I must agree that CS is the way to go if you truly want to experience Atlantis!! We checked in like at 9:30 or so and it was no problem. My first booking was online with an "internet users" rate ($175). Then, some great advise from these boards told me to call for an "LGOLD" rate ($136). CS reps over the phone were happy to change me to the lower rate. Then a couple weeks before we left, I noticed on the internet that the price had dropped to $112. I called CS again and they honored my ressie with the $112. What an incredible bargain for a family of 4!! Altantis is INCREDIBLE! Spending all that $$ thru the ship for their tour just isn't enough!

We never did tell them that we were off a ship and just checked out when we were ready to head back.

For a little added savings...we brought sandwiches and snacks from the boat and kept them in the fridge in the room. Atlantis is EXPENSIVE...but worth it!!

[vossjemi]

Thanks Flintstone! What time of year did you go to get that rate? We will be there sept 05. Do you think CS charges cruiseship passengers a different price than someone who just books a room? do you think you got it any cheaper by not mentioning you were on a cruise ship? I guess I'd just be a little worried that they wouldn't let me ck in until 3 or 4 the standard ck in times if I didn't make sure they knew I wanted a day pass room for Atlantis?

[Flintstone]

I did a quick internet search for you for Sept 5, 2 adults, 2 children and the rate came back at $148.50 (before taxes). It was also the same rate for just 2 adults...but went up to $208 with 4 adults. Even for 2 adults, it is comparable to the ships prices...but thru them you don't get full use of Atlantis. We were there on Halloween last year and headed back to the ship around 3-4 so the kids could particiapte in the Halloween activities on board. What a mistake. They were definately enjoying themselves more at Atlantis and I think if we were to do it again, I wouldn't head back til about 9! Its just an incredible place. I guess if you just want to pay to tour the aquarium...it is pretty cool....but definately NOT worth the $$$ the ship charges. The highlight is the pool areas!

IMHO, $148 is a reasonable price...but if it drops before you leave...they will give you the lower rate with a simple phone call to Choice Hotels 800 #. They were great to deal with.

If anyone would like to check it out...go to www.choicehotels.com. When entering in your info...put "Paradise Island" for the city and "Bahamas" for the country.

I'm not sure if they give you a better rate if they DON'T know your with the ship. Only way to find out would be to call them and get a price informing them of the ship. Then if its higher...say "no thanks" and book via internet. I would be interested to know if there's a difference.

We had absolutley NO trouble getting a room when we got there, but if yours is not ready til later, they will give you your passes for Atlantis at check in. You could drop your stuff off with them and head over to explore or swim for a while and then come back and get your room.

As soon as you get off the ship, there are shuttle vans for $4-5 per person to take you over. Then when we checked out of CS, walked right out front to a waiting cab (about same price) to take us back.

Only problem we had was that no one seems to know where to exchange your CS paperwork to wristbands at Atlantis. DO NOT let them send you to the casino. Its done at a towl hut out by the pools. I swear we walked around for an hour trying to get these wristbands and was sent every which way. Security is at every walkway to the pools and they DO check for the wristbands.

Sorry this is soooo long...but can you tell I'm a CS/Atlantis cheerleader!!! It was the highlight of our trip!

[vossjemi]

Thanks so much for the info Flintstone!!! We'll have 2 adults/2 kids so the 148 amount would apply! That is a great deal in my book. Our ship will be in port until 11pm, so we thought we'd literally hang out at Atlantis all day. Our kids will be 3 and 5 when we go so might need a nap late afternoon. Then, we'd go back to room & while they napped, I'd shower/clean up. Then, perhaps after they woke up is when we'd really do the Atlantis exploring of the aquarium/dig, etc... and wait til 9 like you suggested before going back to ship. Do you know if the inside stuff (aquariums/dig, etc...) is open say after 5pm? I guess I'm trying to figure out how to maximize the day. Water fun during the day prior to nap, and once we're all cleaned up, do the inside DRY stuff.

Also, what was your cancellation policy? I guess I just worry with going in sept & all that if we miss the stop due to a hurricane, I'd have to pay CS anyway. Do you know?

[Flintstone]

Boy...I'd have to pull out the old papers...but I'm thinking the Digs closed like at 5 or 6...but again..I'm not sure (anyone?). Our game plan was to do the Aquarium (Digs) first as we were there 9:30 am or so and then we hit the pools. We took our 5 & 7 yo grandchildren with us. With your ages, they will not be able to use the big slides as they do have an "enforced" 48" height requirement. Don't know if they'll let you do it "with" an adult as we didn't try. There was another smaller slide that was down for maintenance so I don't know what the rules were there. The problem we had with our kids was that once they got into a pool...they couldn't believe we could find another, better one! There's just so much to choose from!! Since we left early...we honestly could not cover the entire place .... IT IS HUGE! Plan on a lot of walking and perhaps a stroller for the 3 yo. The only one who needed a nap was DH...and he accomplished that in a wonderful covered lounge chair while the kids and I took full advantage of the "lazy river"!!

I believe there was a 48 hr cancellation policy. We were still in hurricane season, too, and had planned to cancel if there was any major tropical storm brewing in the area. We were willing to take the chance! If was worth it!! $145 for a family of 4....How could you possibly beat it!!!

[vossjemi]

If the kiddos can't do the big slide, I'm sure DH & I will take turns doing it!:p TeeHee. Makes me feel like a kid again!:D I've heard there are enough pools, slides, lazy river type things to thrill them. They just love being in the water. Not to mention we could go to the beach as well. How long did the Aquarium/Dig take?

[Flintstone]

Our family sounds like yours!! It was ALL about the water. DH's only mission was to find a shady spot to lay...look out at the ocean....with a drink in his hand! The kids and I were ALL about the water! Digs is impressive...but we only spent about an hour and then hit the water. Can you believe we never made it to the major slide area. You could see it in the distance and appeared to be about a mile walk!! We were just sooo content in what I think they call they North Pool area (closest to CS and the casino) that we never left. So much to do in so little time!!
Oh well....no regrets...just will plan on DH and I returning to CS and spending a few days at Atlantis to cover it all!!
I hope you enjoy your adventure as much as we did!!!

[bbindenver]

Thank you so much. I am taking my mother on a cruise to celebrate her 60th bday and wanted to take her to Atlantis and thought I was thwarted, until I found this website and all of you with your ever so helpful information.

Our cruise isn't until December 9th, but I love to prepare and have always wanted to stay and play at Atlantis. Now, you've given me the information I need to do just that. YEAH! :)

[vossjemi]

Someone also told me about www.smarterliving.com (http://www.smarterliving.com/). Scroll to the bottom of the screen for discounts. Click on see all discounts. Click on hotel deals, click and then go into choice hotels link....when you book select the significant organization discount, and voilah, there is a 20% discount!:D

[parmus]

We stayed at Atlantis last November, and it was packed there. Definitely the Comfort Suites is the place to stay to access the facilities. We arrived at noon, and they wouldn't let us check in early. I don't think they had rooms available. There were a ton of people standing around. If Atlantis puts you in one of their hotels further out, you could literally be walking quite a distance to all the great pools, slides, etc.

The Dig is really cool. Since we were staying there, we would walk over at different times during the day just to get out of the heat. There are so many alcoves to view. For some reason, I thought it was open later than 5 or 6 cuz I thought we would go down after dinner sometimes. If I remember correctly, the pools close about 5 or 6. I think to get the adults to dinner and over to the casino to gamble. The grounds are great to walk at night. Also, there is a great area to walk under that is away from the dig with sharks all over the place. Make sure you take the kids to that. We really just stumbled on it cuz we were staying in the main hotel and it was away from that some.

[jnnifer01]

How many people will the Comfort Suites let you book per room? We have 3 adults and 2 children. Will we have to get 2 rooms just to use the pool?

[Flintstone]

CS is strict on 4 wristbands per room. Only way would be to get 2 rooms and that kind of defeats the cost savings. Unless one of the adults would be content to stay in the casino the whole time and not use the pools :rolleyes: Deb

[momofmeg]

We just booked it this weekend for Sept. 20. We did it online and it was $178 plus 12% tax for 3 people. Hubby called them direct as some suggested to see if we could get a better price and it was $220 for 3 people plus the tax so it is cheaper to book it online.

In our case it was 3 adults as our daughter is 20. The website said anyone 16 and over was at adult prices. Also anyone 12 and over was charged "half price" so only under 12 is free with 2 adults.

[cruislovin]

momofmeg,

Did you try smarterliving.com? They offer a 20% discount on Choice Hotels.

[momofmeg]

momofmeg,

Did you try smarterliving.com? They offer a 20% discount on Choice Hotels.

That is where we went. We had got the information from here where to go. Hubby checked it again but it is still the same price. I guess the price goes up and down by availability or something.

[momofmeg]

We just booked it this weekend for Sept. 20. We did it online and it was $178 plus 12% tax for 3 people. Hubby called them direct as some suggested to see if we could get a better price and it was $220 for 3 people plus the tax so it is cheaper to book it online.

In our case it was 3 adults as our daughter is 20. The website said anyone 16 and over was at adult prices. Also anyone 12 and over was charged "half price" so only under 12 is free with 2 adults.

Now I am hearing Jeanne will hit Nassau around Sept. 20. do you guys think I should cancel?

[vossjemi]

You've got what 48 hours to cancel? I'd probably wait til real close to that before deciding. I'd dbl ck w/disney to see if the port is going to be bypassed or substituted. If it is going to hit there, disney won't go there, so you might as well cancel. If its all still up in the air, i'd probably cancel anyway. Bottom line is if weather is ok and you end up at nassau, i saw other posters saying they either called from the ship to comfort suites or just showed up and got a room no problem. With all these hurricane warnings, i bet they are not fully booked and you could get a room on short notice if the weather turns out ok.

[sandy54321]

We are cruising on the Wonder 9/30/04. A month or so ago I got a letter from DCL telling us that our itinerary had changed in that we will have to be back on the ship at 7 pm on our Nassau day. Has anyone else gotten this notification? We had been thinking about taking a room so we could do all the water features but now it seems too short a day. Anyway, these storms make any itinerary seem tentative. I'll be happy just to get on the ship and go in circles. We live right near CC and were glad to see the Wonder back in port last Sunday.

[cruislovin]

Yes, we are sailing in November and we got the same letter. I think it is for sailings from September through February, or something like that. The ship gets in port early morning so there is still lots of time to go to Atlantis.

[momofmeg]

You've got what 48 hours to cancel? I'd probably wait til real close to that before deciding. I'd dbl ck w/disney to see if the port is going to be bypassed or substituted. If it is going to hit there, disney won't go there, so you might as well cancel. If its all still up in the air, i'd probably cancel anyway. Bottom line is if weather is ok and you end up at nassau, i saw other posters saying they either called from the ship to comfort suites or just showed up and got a room no problem. With all these hurricane warnings, i bet they are not fully booked and you could get a room on short notice if the weather turns out ok.

What we decided if it is still iffy tonight (Fri) we will go ahead and cancel and then if we stilll go there hubby will just pay the extra bucks for the internet on the ship and book again-that is better then losing $200. Also I am thinking possibly Monday may end up our "sea day" and we will hit Nassau on Wed. instead if the storm is not as bad-just makes sense they would not dock there while a storm is hitting. We leave tomorrow morning to drive down to Pt. Can.

We will call Disney tonight before we cancel and see what they say.

That water park does sound great and we really want to do it. What I am wondering is it as nice as White Water-for those of you that have been to the water park in Atlanta, GA-that is a super water park-I know we went to another water park in Orlando years ago as it was part of a pass for Universal Studios and Sea World and it was not even half as nice as White Water-even though it was "free" I would had preferred to do another day at Disney as we were used to a much nicer water park here at home in Atlanta.

Hubby is excited about the water park because of the one tube you can go through and see sharks. Is that really neat? I am thinking it may be similiar to that thing at Epcot Center that you walk through. I would just like to hear some of your experiences about that.

[cruislovin]

Does anyone know how much the Internet costs on DCL per minute?

[momofmeg]

Well we cancelled. All Disney could say was it was still up in the air but that they would not take us into the direct path of a storm. Another words I guess it was still too iffy to tell for sure.

On disboards.com my daughter read a post today where the Sept. 12 Wonder cruise went to Charleston, SC on Mon. Tues. was a sea day and Nassau on Wed. They said Nassau still looked pretty bad so they did not go to any beaches. They shopped a little and returned to the ship.

I did not want to throw away $200 and even though the internet will probally run about 75 cents to a $1.00 a minute I would rather spend $10 or $15 rebooking then to waste $200.

[vossjemi]

momofmeg,

I would have done the same. Pls post when you get back and let us know how it turned out. I may have the same worries next year on our disney cruise.

[momofmeg]

Well we were glad we cancelled. Especially after we called Disney and they told us we would be going to Nasau and Castaway Key. Thing was after we boarded we learned Monday would be our sea day instead of Wed. so we were in Nassau Tues. instead of Mon. We would have thrown away $200 if we had not cancelled.

We ended up not doing the comfort Suites thing. My daughter decided she did not want to go to Atlantis and hubby and I could not see the need to as we have a great water park right here in Atlanta-Whitewater-we have been to other water parks in FL when on vacation and none have measured up to whitewater.

What we did was the aquarain thing through the ship. Between that and the shopping I did I had a very full day-I can't see myself doing the waterpark too and enjoying it-as it was I was exhausted.

Plus the next day we were at Castaway Key and betwen the bananna boat, snorkling. paddle boat etc. we had plenty of beach time-after all that is all that day is about.

Internet was 75 cents a minute but if you went between 5 and 7 p.m. you got the first 5 minutes free so it would not be that expensive to go and book Comfort Inn from there. If it took you 15 minutes to book it then it would cost you $7.50. Ofcourse if you want to do more then it would get pricy.

Hubby ended up going to a cafe in Nassau called Tarkay that was 10 cents a minute. The purser's office can give you directions as the crew uses that cafe.

So neither of us really missed the waterpark I guess-I preferred shopping and hubby preferred playing "Fanasty football" so we were more then happy.

The aquarain had a tunnel to walk through where we could see the sharks and stingrays up close so we did not really miss that tunnel ride at the water park. (The only real reason I wanted to do it)

[vossjemi]

Thanks for the rpt momofmeg! Sounds like you made the right decision in cancelling. I'd still like to go to Atlantis, but since we are going next sept, it could very well be as unpredicatable as this year, so we may have to do a wait and see as well. Glad you had a fun cruise and got to do castaway cay. I hear this week's cruise is missing it due to Jeanne.:(

[momofmeg]

Yes when we left Wed. at 5 p.m. from castaway Key. Everything was great then but around midnight we started feeling the effects of Jeanne. We spent thurs. night in coca Beach-we watched both Fanasty and the Wonder leave. You would not believe the waves on that beach. Friday we left around 1 p.m. to head back home. We had went to the Kennedy space center Thurs. and Fri. morning. They were closing Kennedy early Fri-at 5 p.m. but we figured we better head home before people started evacuating. as it was there was plenty of traffic.

I hate folks will miss Castaway Key-it was really nice-much nicer then RCCL's Coco Cay-many more activities and also the Disney island must be like 3 times larger.

The people who worked on the island who were not Disney employees were from Abaco island which was 8 miles from Castaway. The weather channel said Abaco got hit this morning so I am sure Castaway Key did also. I really feel for those folks on Abaco-they said they were really hurting already from Frances so they sure did not need Jeanne.

I can't believe we got to do our cruise and both islands we were supposed to do. The week before us didn't and it looks like the week after us won't either.

We almost booked the Magic Sept. 18 cruise. Now with all this going on I am sure glad we did the Wonder instead. It looks as though Magic will geta day or two more and will debark in Ft. Lauderdale instead of Pt. Canaraval.

[itdjbw]

We are going to Nassau in April on the Glory so I just checked to see the day and it is the first day, sunday but we arrive at 8.30 and depart at 2pm which means probably not enough time to go to the waterpark, we have done the walk around Atlantis and the water ferry there which was fun.

Oh well we will just have to book another cruise that goes there, and the prices would probably be better not during spring break.

[momofmeg]

I see you are from Atlanta. Have you ever been to Whitewater? That is the nicest waterpark we have been to and we have been to several. I always end up disapointed when we do a waterpark on vacation because Whitewater is so great right here at home. I have never found another waterpark that measured up to Whitewater.

From what I understand Atlantis is pretty much the same as whitewater except they have one tube you go through where you see sharks swimming around you. That would have been great to see but Atlantis did have that tunnel you walked through which had a simliar affect. Actually for me that would be better. I am not sure I could deal with the "feel" a shark was swimming right beside me.

Hubby and I thought we might possibly just fly there sometime for a long weekend instead of doing a cruise and then we could experience everything. I guess we should bring some bucks with us though because I saw a sandwich lunchen platter was like $20 a person. Who knows what dinner would cost?

[cruislovin]

momofmeg,

Have you sailed both RCCL and DCL? Can you tell me some of the differences between the two cruise lines?

Also, what is the aquarian? I have the Comfort Inn booked for Nov but am seriously considering cancelling it. I am afraid we will get there and my daughter will want to stay for a couple hours and then leave. It's too much money to take that chance...

Hope you had a wonderful cruise. We are looking forward to Nov if anything is left of the Bahamas after all these hurricanes pass through!

[momofmeg]

cruiselovin I posted back to you on another tread here. the one called "Disney Wonder." I won't go into as much detail but I will say this-I have 3 particular cruises of my 9 that vie for favorite cruise-Disney Wonder, Carnival Miracle and the old Pacific Princess. I have not been on a voyager class ship yet so I may change my mind after I do that.

But if you compare Sovereign to Wonder(similiar ittenaries) Wonder wins hands down. Sovereign is the only RCCL ship I have been on.(I have been on her twice.) Sovereign is a decent ship-she was tons better then my HAL cruise and I prefered her to Fascination, Inspiration and ofcourse Tropicale.

Now Magic would compare more to Mariner. I can't help you there as my Marnier cruise is still a year away.

[dubmeister]

We live in Birmingham and have done Whitewater several times. In your opinion of what you saw of the pools and waterslides, lazy river, etc. at Atlantis, is it worth it to do it once? We go there in 2-weeks on a Carnival cruise. I didn't know if there was more hands-on stuff with sea-life as well. Any info. would be appreciated. You can email me at dub_mike@hotmail.com
:)

[momofmeg]

Actually we never even saw that part. since we ended up just booking Atlantis we saw the aquarium which was in the Atlantis resort. We saw the casino ofcouse as we walked through that to see the rest of the aquarium. There are a bunch of shops there also but very pricy definetly not "straw market" types. We saw one restuarant where a lunchen menu was posted. Hamburger and fries was like $20. The grounds outside were gorgeous and so was the beach we saw-there were quite a few people out in sail boats we saw too but we did not see the water park.

It was our daughter who wanted to do the water park which is why we booked that-after we cancelled which was good as we did not go to Nassau the scheduled day and hubby decided to go and reschedule at the internet cafe our daughter decided she did not feel well enough. (her monthly thing) Hubby and I decided we would just do the aquarium through the ship.

One thing I will say too. Although the aquarium was nice-the one in chattanooga TENN is much nicer. We did see a lot of sharks and stingrays but I have seen that at Sea World and at Disney Epcot. (both have those tunnels where you walk through and see the sharks swimming around you) If I had to do it again I would have either explored Atlantis on my own or else just did what other posts have done- gone to the Hilton hotel beach for the day as they let you use their beach for $10 a person.

I did ask here if anyone who had been to the waterpark at Atlantis and White water in Atlanta- how did the 2 compare. No one answered. We have been to whitewater many times-have had the summer passes several years. Hubby and I could just not see paying extra just to go to a water park for just the 2 of us. I do think though if you have a couple of young kids it would be worth it.

I think hubby would have preferred doing a scuba dive in hindsight. He skipped that to do the family thing with me and the daughter who do not dive. If I had realised what Atlantis was I would have told him to go on and dive and I would do my own thing.

[dubmeister]

Even with kids, I'm starting to think like you are and pass up Atlantis. I get the feeling after reading a lot of posts about it that some people have never been to a good acquarium or waterpark. I wondered if that's why they were overwhelmed, or if Atlantis was just that unique with its park and marine life access. Obviously, the kids would enjoy any waterpark. But, we actually get free passes every year to Whitewater. Plus, we have a smaller one here in Birmingham. As far as the beaches in Nassau, have you heard or seen any that would be great just for hanging out and possibly snorkeling. Did you see the Hilton's beach? Or have you heard about Sea Island Tours? Any info would be great. Thanks.:)

[momofmeg]

No I only know what I have read here. Hubby snorkles I don't. the first Nassau cruise we took we basially shopped as we also went to Coco Cay (on Sovereign) and Key West. The next time hubby and daughter did the dolphin encounter-I did the glass bottom boat. they loved the dolphin thing-the glass bottom boat was just okay.

This time our daughter wanted to do the comfort suites thing and hubby and I went along although he really wanted to go diving. When she changed her mind about going there, hubby did not go diving as those excursions were cancelled. Jeanne had affected that in Nassau her first first time around -this was before she circled back and did the real damage-waters were just choppy enough they deemed diving not safe. So we decided just to do the Atlantis thing. As I said we enjoyed it but still we are guys that do a lot of day trips etc. We have been to Chattanooga's place several time and that is just so much nicer except for the stingrays and sharks ofcourse. Still though if you have ever been to Sea world or Epcot you have enjoyed that too.

We figured the lazy river was similiar to what White Water has. I realy feel -but until someone posts who has done both water parks the only thing we missed was the tube you go through where you see the sharks swimming around you.

From what I understand you can tour part of the Atlantis aquarium free. I even read a post from one person that said there was a "free" beach which was just a little bit of a walk from there. The taxi fare was $5 a person each way. She said hubby gambled while she and the kids enjoyed the beach.

Just look at all the posts here ( there is one here about beaches in Nassau-it is a little old so you may have to scale down a couple of pages) Also check out disboards.com and also the port of call section here.

[cruislovin]

momofmeg,

is this the post you were referring to?

[momofmeg]

Yes. As you see I was not impressed with Atlantis. It was okay and the aquarium was nice but I have been to better aquariums. The point I was trying to make is we do day trips to water parks and aquariums so I really don't see a need to do that on vacation. Hubby loves to dive and if weather had permitted he may as well done that-as that is something he does not get to do often as we are not close to the beach.

Also I am not into casinos-to me they are just a place to spend a lot of money for nothing. As far as expensive shops goes- we have here in Atlanta Lenox and Galleria Malls-I have no need to go on vacation to do that.

If you do Atlantis through the cruiseship-realise it is not so simple to find where you catch the bus to come back to the ship. They just point and say "down that way" and it is more to it then that. When you come out of the main door of Atlantis hotel, You go down to the left about 1 or 2 blocks- you make a right at the corner and cross the street. In front of Comfort Inn is where you catch the bus.

It took us about 30 minutes to figure out where the bus stop was and we asked 3 people. It wasn't just me and hubby either-it was around 10 of us from the Wonder and a couple of people that were on Carnival Fanasty. The only way we figured it out was a couple came by that had done Atlantis on a previous cruise.

I read on disboards.com a post where they said they waited 2 hours for a bus and gave up and took a taxi back. Like us they were under the impression that you caught the bus at the corner a block or 2 from the Atlantis hotel. That had been what they had been told too-instead of you have to cross the street and go another 2 blocks to the right in front of Comfort Inn.

We also learned you can take the bus for $4 each way. You don't have to buy the thing through the cruiseship for that. Still though the taxi is only a $1 more and then you don't wait for the bus to fill-as far as I am concerned I would spend the extra $1 on the taxi.

[cruislovin]

I agree. IF we go to Altantis / Comfort Suites we will definitely take a cab. I know my daughter would love the water slides and lazy river. I am just not sure we need 2 "SUN" days back to back like that...

[tiggrbaby]

We will be on the 11/4 Wonder,and had originally booked CS for the Nassau day. Then I read that some parts were not open due to hurricane damage, and the new movie will probably be shown at midnight our first night out. We decided that we would rather go see the movie and sleep in the next day, then spend time enjoying the ship. We'll just go into town to get something at the shop that sells sunlight-activated shirts. I am hoping that the boys will enjoy the activities so much that they will not miss the fact that we are skipping Atlantis.

[cruislovin]

We will be on the 11/4 Wonder,and had originally booked CS for the Nassau day. Then I read that some parts were not open due to hurricane damage, and the new movie will probably be shown at midnight our first night out. We decided that we would rather go see the movie and sleep in the next day, then spend time enjoying the ship. We'll just go into town to get something at the shop that sells sunlight-activated shirts. I am hoping that the boys will enjoy the activities so much that they will not miss the fact that we are skipping Atlantis.
We will be on the 11/11 Wonder sailing. Where did you get this information? Do you know what movie it is? My daughter would probably enjoy staying up late to see the movie but then I would not want to do Atlantis the next day.

[cruislovin]

That is where we went. We had got the information from here where to go. Hubby checked it again but it is still the same price. I guess the price goes up and down by availability or something.
Does anyone know how to get to the Choice Hotels discount on smarterliving.com now that they have changed their home page dramatically? I hope they still have the discount, but I can't find it. I emailed them but have not heard back as of yet.

[Flintstone]

http://www.choicehotels.com/ires/en-US/html/HomePage?clientid=SKqvGxBjtuO5
Don't know if this will work...but luckily I had it saved to my favorites.

Deb

[cruislovin]

http://www.choicehotels.com/ires/en-US/html/HomePage?clientid=SKqvGxBjtuO5
Don't know if this will work...but luckily I had it saved to my favorites.

Deb
Thanks SO much - it works!

[tiggrbaby]

cruislovin:

I can't remember where I found the Atlantis info; I read so many different things! But I do remember that I found a listing of the movies on disboards. Someone said that they called DCL and got the listing for the movies on the ship. From what other posters have said, DCL makes a big deal of one of their new movies. I also got the tip to bring your own snacks. They suggested either pack from home, or get room service stuff, and go to deck 9 for soda.

[cruislovin]

cruislovin:

I can't remember where I found the Atlantis info; I read so many different things! But I do remember that I found a listing of the movies on disboards. Someone said that they called DCL and got the listing for the movies on the ship. From what other posters have said, DCL makes a big deal of one of their new movies. I also got the tip to bring your own snacks. They suggested either pack from home, or get room service stuff, and go to deck 9 for soda.
I called Atlantis and they told me everything is open. She said nothing was closed as a result of hurricane damage.

[Flintstone]

This is from www.disneypictures.com (http://www.disneypictures.com)

The Incredibles...Nov 5
National Treasure...Nov 19
Pooh's Huffalump....Feb (no date) 2005
Chichken Little...Summer 05 (no date)

We were on the Wonder last Halloween and happen to catch the premiere of Brother Bear. Disney does do it up for a movie premiere...the "red Carpet"..."Emmy-like" interviews by Ronna Bear..etc. The kids realy enjoyed it..even tho this Grandma kept dosing off during the movie! They play it at 12:01 am on the day it is to be released. So you truly are the first group to view the movie. Can't watch Brother Bear even a year later without thinking of our wonderful Disney Cruise.

[dkort]

we've cruised extensively to nassau and have stayed at atlantis many times. this is our firsthand experience, as recent as july of 2004. once you get off the ship, a quick taxi ride from nassau will take you over the bridge onto paradise island. on our first trip to atlantis, we said we'd go over to the comfort suites and check it out. i wouldn't stay there if you paid me. sorry, call me a hotel snob, but the place smelled of cleaning fluid and the rooms looked really nasty to us..... (this is our opinion and experience). it is a subpar comfort suites. i've stayed at many comfort suites for business. this is not your average u.s. comfort suites. plus, in the heat of the bahamian sunshine, it is a looooong walk across the street and through the atlantis to get where you're going. now, for the atlantis. it really is 3 hotels in one. and it's huge. actually massive. the hotel itself is a destination unto itself and really is something to see. there's the beach tower - decently priced, coral tower - more pricey and the royal tower - definitely pricey. breakfast buffets were 30 dollars plus per person. that's for breakfast. now as far as early check in? we've come in at all times of the day and haven't had a problem, but we've stayed there a lot. i'm not sure if they'd let you check in so early.... security is definitely everywhere. to use the pools, anything, you have to show your room key when you're going outside. and whatever you do, even if you have a room at the atlantis for the day - don't schlep your cruise line towel to the pool. you'll only be hassled even more if they can't see your wristband for any reason. you'll be issued a colored wrist band for the day and have as many towels to use as you need. i would suggest calling the hotel and verifying the early check in procedure - have them fax it to you in writing to present to the front desk upon check in. coral and beach towers have their own check in area, off the beaten path from the main entrance and at peak times the lines do get long. as far as motorized sports, the people who run them are very nice and helpful - we do know it's not run by the hotel. we've never rented anything like this, but didn't hear of any complaints on the numerous trips we've taken there. i can tell you that if you ever stayed anywhere else on the island, you would cry when you see what you'd be missing at the atlantis. it is worth every single solitary penny. expensive, but worth it. hope i've answered some of your questions.

[vossjemi]

Thanks dkort. Wow, had to re-read my post to see what all had transpired since I originally posted. Our plans have changed a little. Now, grandparents are going with us, so we'll have 6 people. I know we can't get wristbands for all 6 of us through Comfort Suites, but can we through booking a day room at Atlantis?

Also, do we have to wait till we arrive to get a day room at Atlantis? Or can that be pre-booked? If so, where is best place to book? Direct or somewhere else?

[dkort]

I'm not sure how many wristbands you can get per room. Here's the setup for which tower at atlantis. The largest water slides, the one where you go in the tunnel through the sharks and the one where you race someone else, are located at the royal tower. When you walk into the main entrance where the valet area is, you would head directly to your left to check in for the royal tower. The coral and beach tower check ins are to the right, through the casino and way down the hallway. The lazy river is located between the beach and coral tower. There's also a smaller water slide by the lazy river. Coral is the tower in the center. The cheapest rate will be at the beach tower. The height requirements are very, very enforced. like i said, we've been there many times. even with a parent in tow, kids are not allowed even on any of the smaller water slides, which also have height restrictions. one time our daughter missed it by less than an inch. i would definitely make sure i plan this accordingly. like i said earlier, the atlantis hotel is an enormous place. tons of walking. what i would do is see where you can get the best rate. if comfort offers it, then grab it. sometimes costco travel has great rates for atlantis and comfort suites. just don't plan on returning to the hotel during the day from the beach. also, there are absolutely no cabana rentals at the atlantis. the bahamian sun can be very unforgiving at times. without a shady area, your skin will fry real quick. now, if you're the type of person thinking, well, i'll get the room at the comfort, go out to the beach, go back to the room and relax for a bit, then go back out to the beach, forget it. between the walking, the elevators, and the heat, you'll give up. once again, when you get your wristband from atlantis, there are tons of towels at that area, unless it's after 4 ish when they start to run out. go there very lightly packed - water, sun tan stuff, backpack with credit cards and disposable cameras. wear your bathing suit with cover ups. that's all i'd take over there. just make sure you don't leave anything in your room because if you're running late or happen to fall asleep, which a lot of people do, you'll really be running back to the ship (and it's a really long run)!

[Carter29072]

I am having a problem that I am hoping someone here can help me with. We are trying to a book a room at the Comfort Suites in the Bahamas for one night in April. Basically, we will not even use the room, we just want to use the pools and the beach. There are 2 adults and 3 children. When I called to book, I was told that we will have to get 2 rooms because they only allow 4 wristbands per room. We have done this before and had no problem, just paid a little extra for the extra wristband. Apparantly, they are not budging. They want us to pay for 2 rooms. Anyone else have this situation lately and what have you done about it? Certainly I am not the only person with 3 kids. Any help would be appreciated!