Atlantis Tips to Maximize a 1 day stay

[Keensurfer]

Good morning. Booked a room at the CS for the Atlantis access. I will be there with DW and 2 older teenage boys (16 & 19) this Saturday. I've read through a dozen or more threads and garnered a few good tips as to what's available.

We don't plan to pay for any additional activities such as Dolphin Encounters, but we're very interested in marine life, slides and fun.

Anyone who has been there that has any suggestions on how to best maximize the day would be greatly appreciated. Our ship is staying overnight but I'm thinking by dinner we'll head back.

Couple of questions:
Will the hotel hold our bags since it seems rooms aren't ready til 3?

Is it worth bringing our snorkel gear?

How do people secure what they bring to Atlantis (locker rentals, etc)?

Is there a best time to snorkel, water park, or see aquarium?

Please.........any tips or hints are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[scubagirrl]

Originally Posted by Keensurfer

Good morning. Booked a room at the CS for the Atlantis access. I will be there with DW and 2 older teenage boys (16 & 19) this Saturday. I've read through a dozen or more threads and garnered a few good tips as to what's available.

We don't plan to pay for any additional activities such as Dolphin Encounters, but we're very interested in marine life, slides and fun.

Anyone who has been there that has any suggestions on how to best maximize the day would be greatly appreciated. Our ship is staying overnight but I'm thinking by dinner we'll head back.

Couple of questions:
Will the hotel hold our bags since it seems rooms aren't ready til 3?

Is it worth bringing our snorkel gear?

How do people secure what they bring to Atlantis (locker rentals, etc)?

Is there a best time to snorkel, water park, or see aquarium?

Please.........any tips or hints are greatly appreciated.


Thanks in advance!

The hotels will hold your bags if you book a room there.
There are lockers available for a fee (cc only, no cash).

Keep in mind that during the winter the slides are only open from 10am - around 4:15/4:30.. The park, as well as the pools will close at dusk.. which is early in the winter months.. so do the things you MUST do first.

Snorkeling is OK.. and using you're own equipment is the only way to do it.
You would have to go to the cove beach or paradise beach areas to snorkel. This is not great snorkeling.. but it will suffice.

[Keensurfer]

Thanks Scubagirrl!

[jbanana1]

Lockers open at 9:30 am so if you get there before then you can see some of the aquarium then head to the locker area. You could also get your towels and pick out your lounge chairs before getting a locker. Do the slides you want to do first then enjoy the other stuff. Remember to bring a credit card to purchase food/drinks. Your boys will enjoy Atlantis. Give us a report when you get back.

[Keensurfer]

Thank you jbanana1! Great info to know.

[Keensurfer]

Just back today. Was in Atlantis with the Carnival Imagination on Saturday. DW, 2 teenagers 16 & 19, and I had a blast.

We booked a room at the CS, but never used it.

Few tips, I'd recommend to others:

Get there as early as you can and get some lounge chairs at the Aquaventure pool. They had a DJ there that played pop/party type music but not obnoxiously loud. Added to the festive atmosphere.

We used the lockers and changing rooms in the hospitality building near the Aquaventure pool.

Don't miss the lazy river. Takes 30 - 45 minutes to do a single lap but it's fun and not so lazy. There is one point in the lazy river where you have a choice to go to "the falls", "the rapids" or something I cant remember. The something I cant remember is a big drop which our boys loved but I'm not one for drops so DW and I went both the falls route, and on another lap we took the rapids route. Rapids is the most mellow. The Falls is actually pretty fun. It's a fast slide (you stay in the raft) that goes in the dark for about 45 seconds with a lot of fast turns. If that's not your thing, I suggest go the Rapids route. It's not intense. Just a bit faster and bumpier than the rest of the lazy river.

The serpent slide I went on with DW also. That was fun because it goes thru the shark tank. It's fairly fast though so if you don't like fast rides, you may want to pass.

Booking the room at the Comfort Suites was the way to go. Cost us about $350 total for 4 people. Saved us a couple of hundred dollars and works like a charm. There's lots posted about that on these boards and I thank fellow Cruise Critic members for recommending it!

You may also want to take a stroll about 100 yards along the beach and walk back along the lagoon. There's some beautiful falls, nature, rope bridges, hammerhead sharks and more to see.

Enjoy!

[quiltsnh]

We are 4 adults and 2 kids 13 and 8... how do we best book at the Comfort Suites so everyone can enjoy the facilities at Atlantis?

[jbanana1]

Thanks for the report. Glad your whole family had a great time - knew your boys would love it.

[Bflo Cruiser]

How do we book a "day" rate? Just book overnight beginning the day of arrival? If check-in isn't until 3 pm, will they still give us the passes to Atlantis in the morning? Comfort Suites website says the following: Energy surcharge: 12.95 per person per night. Housekeeping gratuities: 5.00 per person per night These are additional charges not included in nightly estimated total and must be paid directly at the hotel. Persons 16 and older are charged as adults. 3rd/4th person charged 40.00 per night + tax and service charges.

Do they actually charge all those fees even if we don't spend the night in the hotel?!

[scubagirrl]

Originally Posted by Bflo Cruiser

How do we book a "day" rate? Just book overnight beginning the day of arrival? If check-in isn't until 3 pm, will they still give us the passes to Atlantis in the morning? Comfort Suites website says the following: Energy surcharge: 12.95 per person per night. Housekeeping gratuities: 5.00 per person per night These are additional charges not included in nightly estimated total and must be paid directly at the hotel. Persons 16 and older are charged as adults. 3rd/4th person charged 40.00 per night + tax and service charges.

Do they actually charge all those fees even if we don't spend the night in the hotel?!

Yes, they are supposed to.. They are gov't and union fees and not subject the hotel disgression.
Some, I'm told, have had them included in the price of their rooms.

[margl]

Planning a RCA cruise and our port time is not that long we have to be back for 3 do you feel it is worth it to go to the water back that you went in Nashua? If you have any tips you would like to share I have two teenager sons and they would love to go to the park.

[quiltsnh]

Originally Posted by margl

Planning a RCA cruise and our port time is not that long we have to be back for 3 do you feel it is worth it to go to the water back that you went in Nashua? If you have any tips you would like to share I have two teenager sons and they would love to go to the park.

We go in November and have decided to just do the Dig.... no water park. It will be the 4th time we have been in Nassau and we haven't been.

[agc291]

Originally Posted by Keensurfer

Good morning. Booked a room at the CS for the Atlantis access. I will be there with DW and 2 older teenage boys (16 & 19) this Saturday. I've read through a dozen or more threads and garnered a few good tips as to what's available.

We don't plan to pay for any additional activities such as Dolphin Encounters, but we're very interested in marine life, slides and fun.

Anyone who has been there that has any suggestions on how to best maximize the day would be greatly appreciated. Our ship is staying overnight but I'm thinking by dinner we'll head back.

Couple of questions:
Will the hotel hold our bags since it seems rooms aren't ready til 3?

Is it worth bringing our snorkel gear?

How do people secure what they bring to Atlantis (locker rentals, etc)?

Is there a best time to snorkel, water park, or see aquarium?

Please.........any tips or hints are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

We were just there last week. We were supposed to have 35 hours in port but only had 7 due to Hurricane Sandy so we had to hurry to try to not miss a thing.

I am not sure how it will be for you but because we were there during the storm we didnt have to wait for any lines for the water park.

We booked a room direct through Atlantis, checked out the property on the way to the waterpark where we were stopped 2 separate times to see our proof we were guests.

The lockers were located at the waterpark for $7, $9, $12. We rented a small one for 4 people and it fits 4 beach towels and some clothes as well as 4 pairs of shoes but it was a snug fit.

The serpent slide which is an innertube ride that goes through the shark tank was a lot of fun, we didnt do any other slides.

We did the rapids lazy river type thing. It was fun but very long. There are multiple places to get off though.

After this we walked the beach just to see it, the storm made it unsafe to swim. Then we walked across the lagoon to the digs area. This was awesome. They had large manta rays which were really cool. One thing I wish we would have done was to walk outside along the top of the tanks if possible. I am sure it is cool to have another view.

There is the predator tank which looks cool but we didnt have time
Also, walking along the property we saw a turtle lagoon, sting ray lagoon, nurse shark lagoon and an area with what looked like baby black tip and hammerhead sharks.

[agc291]

Originally Posted by Keensurfer

Just back today. Was in Atlantis with the Carnival Imagination on Saturday. DW, 2 teenagers 16 & 19, and I had a blast.

We booked a room at the CS, but never used it.

Few tips, I'd recommend to others:

Get there as early as you can and get some lounge chairs at the Aquaventure pool. They had a DJ there that played pop/party type music but not obnoxiously loud. Added to the festive atmosphere.

We used the lockers and changing rooms in the hospitality building near the Aquaventure pool.

Don't miss the lazy river. Takes 30 - 45 minutes to do a single lap but it's fun and not so lazy. There is one point in the lazy river where you have a choice to go to "the falls", "the rapids" or something I cant remember. The something I cant remember is a big drop which our boys loved but I'm not one for drops so DW and I went both the falls route, and on another lap we took the rapids route. Rapids is the most mellow. The Falls is actually pretty fun. It's a fast slide (you stay in the raft) that goes in the dark for about 45 seconds with a lot of fast turns. If that's not your thing, I suggest go the Rapids route. It's not intense. Just a bit faster and bumpier than the rest of the lazy river.

The serpent slide I went on with DW also. That was fun because it goes thru the shark tank. It's fairly fast though so if you don't like fast rides, you may want to pass.

Booking the room at the Comfort Suites was the way to go. Cost us about $350 total for 4 people. Saved us a couple of hundred dollars and works like a charm. There's lots posted about that on these boards and I thank fellow Cruise Critic members for recommending it!

You may also want to take a stroll about 100 yards along the beach and walk back along the lagoon. There's some beautiful falls, nature, rope bridges, hammerhead sharks and more to see.

Enjoy!

I think this was the power tower, it was closed when we were there last week. However there was nothing saying it was closed so we all had to walk back through the shallow water to get back to the rapids.

This is the area I mentioned to see the rays, sharks, etc. Very pretty and serene.

[Kjudge]

Originally Posted by agc291

We were just there last week. We were supposed to have 35 hours in port but only had 7 due to Hurricane Sandy so we had to hurry to try to not miss a thing.

I am not sure how it will be for you but because we were there during the storm we didnt have to wait for any lines for the water park.

We booked a room direct through Atlantis, checked out the property on the way to the waterpark where we were stopped 2 separate times to see our proof we were guests.

The lockers were located at the waterpark for $7, $9, $12. We rented a small one for 4 people and it fits 4 beach towels and some clothes as well as 4 pairs of shoes but it was a snug fit.

The serpent slide which is an innertube ride that goes through the shark tank was a lot of fun, we didnt do any other slides.

We did the rapids lazy river type thing. It was fun but very long. There are multiple places to get off though.

After this we walked the beach just to see it, the storm made it unsafe to swim. Then we walked across the lagoon to the digs area. This was awesome. They had large manta rays which were really cool. One thing I wish we would have done was to walk outside along the top of the tanks if possible. I am sure it is cool to have another view.

There is the predator tank which looks cool but we didnt have time
Also, walking along the property we saw a turtle lagoon, sting ray lagoon, nurse shark lagoon and an area with what looked like baby black tip and hammerhead sharks.

Hi ...thanks for the tips. We booked a room in royal towers as we are in port 7am to 1am on the Sensation. We have been before and saw the digs but havent done the water park yet. do they let you wear water shoes (rubber shoes) on the rides. Someone had suggested that on another board.

[agc291]

Originally Posted by Kjudge

Hi ...thanks for the tips. We booked a room in royal towers as we are in port 7am to 1am on the Sensation. We have been before and saw the digs but havent done the water park yet. do they let you wear water shoes (rubber shoes) on the rides. Someone had suggested that on another board.

We personally didnt bring any but I dont see why they wouldnt. It is probably a good idea, they were doing a lot of construction around in the water park. We didnt step on anything but it never hurts to be extra careful.

[Kjudge]

Originally Posted by agc291

We personally didnt bring any but I dont see why they wouldnt. It is probably a good idea, they were doing a lot of construction around in the water park. We didnt step on anything but it never hurts to be extra careful.

thanks for sharing. I love going barefoot but was wondering if it is tough to walk around the park :-)

[KUF]

Hi. We will be in the Bahamas from noon - midnight on 12/8/12. We are interested in the Atlantis Aquaventure. For a family of three it seems it is less expensive to purchase through the excursions on the boat (versus getting a hotel room at Comfort Suites), but haven't come across any posts about that. Is is a good idea to purchase through the boat or should I go on my own and purchase through Atlantis directly? Any advise on how to make this as enjoyable as possible - one concern is trying to go with the group from the boat and it being crazy crowded and taking a long time.

[Kjudge]

Originally Posted by KUF

Hi. We will be in the Bahamas from noon - midnight on 12/8/12. We are interested in the Atlantis Aquaventure. For a family of three it seems it is less expensive to purchase through the excursions on the boat (versus getting a hotel room at Comfort Suites), but haven't come across any posts about that. Is is a good idea to purchase through the boat or should I go on my own and purchase through Atlantis directly? Any advise on how to make this as enjoyable as possible - one concern is trying to go with the group from the boat and it being crazy crowded and taking a long time.

From what I have seen is sounds like you need 4 people to make it worth it. Depends on your shp price I supposed. I thought I read somewhere that it was cheaper to buy at atlantis. they say it is always crowded when the ships are in as they sell a lot of day passes. I would check out atlantis website and google aquaventure coupon and see if you can pull one up. Best of luck!

[KirkNC]

Originally Posted by KUF

Hi. We will be in the Bahamas from noon - midnight on 12/8/12. We are interested in the Atlantis Aquaventure. For a family of three it seems it is less expensive to purchase through the excursions on the boat (versus getting a hotel room at Comfort Suites), but haven't come across any posts about that. Is is a good idea to purchase through the boat or should I go on my own and purchase through Atlantis directly? Any advise on how to make this as enjoyable as possible - one concern is trying to go with the group from the boat and it being crazy crowded and taking a long time.

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