WAS JUST AT ATLANTIS, MAYBE I CAN HELP

We were booked this past week for the RCI exursion to get you to the beach, have lunch and visit the dig, shops, casino etc... Well, there was some reason we arrived late, so they notified us that our excursion was cancelled.

SO, we opted to take a cab over instead. The fare is $4.00 per person and $1.00 (total) for toll over bridge to Paradise Island.

We were picked up at port and dropped off at the front door of Atlantis. Sheer beauty and massiveness!!! We walked into the lobby and that was awesome in itself as well. Just downstairs in the lobby area is a restauraunt and part of the aquarium surronds it. So we went down and looked at this area. And then back up to the shops and casino we went. And here again, was just a treat in itself. We stayed at Atlantis in '97, and it's TOTALLY changed. Nothing was reconizeable.

We made our wins and losses in the casino. And my our DH's sat at the bar in the casino, that also has a restauraunt. We gambled and again site saw the casino and more shops (shops like Versace and Gucci are in there). And then headed back to the ship.

We actually were thankful our excursion was cancelled. As we realized we didn't care much about lying out on the beach at that particular time. Instead we went back to the comfort of the ship and lied out by the pool.

And FYI...the DIG has gone up to $29.00 per person.

All in all we felt like we saw as much as we wanted of the aquarium and enjoyed the Resort on it's interior enough to say..."whew! We saved a 130.00 per couple."

And one of the casino guys said that Atlantis no longer allows Comfort Suites guests to use full ground usage. This is what he said, I cannot totally vaerify this, so those w/CS rooms booked, you might want to call.

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

Kim

Dawn Princess

Regal Princess

Grand Princess

Mercury - Celebrity

Windward - NCL

Monarch of the Seas

Voyager of the Seas

Sovereign of the Seas

A few questions...what do you have access too exactly when you just take take a taxi over to Atlantis? Are you allowed to go on the beach there? If not, is there an accesible beach nearby? Access to the dig...is that strictly and aquatics exhibit or is are there also underground bars and eateries along the dig? I had heard that there were some spectacular aquarium bars at Atlantis...just trying to figure out where they are.

Thanks in advance!

I just got an email back from seombody at Comfort Suites Paradise Island asking about day rates for upcoming December trip and in my email I mentioned I had planned on using the Atlantis facilities. His reply did not indicate Comfort Suites guests cannot use all facitilies - but, it didn't indicate they could. So I've emailed him back asking that question specifically - I'll post again when I get a reply.

Also, he did state there were no day rates - only the nightly rate.

beng...I did not do the dig, but have not heard from anyone that there were bars in there. So I cannot fully answer that question.

The beach is for the guests with bands, and like I said in above, we weren't really wanting to use the beach anyhow, so we did not venture out there. We were mainly interested in the resort inside area (shops, etc...), casino, and place to have lunch and cocktails. And we did all those things with no troubles.

Kim

Dawn Princess

Regal Princess

Grand Princess

Mercury - Celebrity

Windward - NCL

Monarch of the Seas

Voyager of the Seas

Sovereign of the Seas

We did the Comfort Suites/Atlantis deal last Oct. We rented a room at Comfort Suites, checked in and out at the same time, got our arm bands, never went to room and spent entire day at Atlantis doing what ever we wanted, got towels too. It was beautiful and I think worth the $150.00 we paid.

stac

Just to confirm ... and dispel any new rumours.

We have a family from our Head Office staying at Comfort Suites as I write ... been there for a week and will be there one more.

They have full access to ALL Atlantis facilities and full charge priveleges at any of their venues.

Colyn R., Nassau Native

Thanks nyloc. We leave in 9 days.

Until we cruise again. . . . . .

Premier Oceanic-Bahamas, 2/89

Rhapsody-East. Carib. 12/97

Grand Princess-East. Car. 5/00

Radiance-Hawaii,10/2001

Adventure-South. Car. 7/2002

Brilliance-Panama Canal 12/2003 "Happy New Year!"

Mariner-East. Carib. 6/2004

We are debating doing the ComfortSuites deal for the day. Actually, the reservationist at Atlantis suggested it. We have little kids, 5 & 6, is it worth doing the check-in thing with little ones? Is there much for them to do? It looked like the slides, etc. were for bigger kids & adults.

Yes it is worth it. My kids were 8 and 5 on our last visit to alantis. The 8 year old did every slide, the 5 year olde was able to do many of them. They also participated in the onsite childrens camp programs, even though we were there for just the day.

We just got back, rented a room at Atlantis for 211.00 total (taxes & everything else). We had 8 of us, kids were 4, 8, 9, & 12. There were many slides that the smaller children can go on. There is also plenty of time to do and see everything, and we headed back at 1:00. The digs were really neat. If you are going to the digs for $29.00pp, you may just as well pay another 24.00pp and have complete access to the pools and slides. We had a great time and enjoyed seeing everything. Comfort Inn allows you to check in & check out at the same time.

Email me with any questions.

Tracey

You rented an Atlantis room for $211? Did you book it in advance or go in and book it that day? Same with the hotel across the street, do people book in advance or just walk in the day they are there and rent the room to get the wristbands. I have read so much about this place and figured we would steer clear of it because once my kids see the slides and all they would be bummed if they can't go on them. But if you could pay $200 or so for the day that would be about the same as some of the excursions the ship offers. Hope someone can shed some light on this!!!:confused: Also, you say there were 8 of you, when I look at the website for Atlantis you can't book a room for more than 4, did you get one room and still get enough wristbands for everyone????:( :confused:

Me again!! Also, if you book a room at Comfort Suites it says check in is 3 p.m., our ship arrives in Nassau at 7 a.m. Would they let you check in early or do you have to wait until 3?????? Help!!!!!!

I'm also very curious about this, as we'll most likely be getting a room at Atlantis even at the ridiculous price of $285 for two people for just a few hours, because my fiance has wanted to try it out for so long. If we could find a cheaper way to do it, that would be wonderful.

I had heard that if you don't reserve in advance and just show up, they will sometimes let you have a room for a cheaper day rate.

Booked a room on Expedia last week for $201.69 including taxes. Will there be hidden service charges when I arrive? Look for "Beach Tower" and just choose the equivalent to "run of house room" (We didn't care about exact location or view.)

Also, since we have 4 kids (and only 2 are officially registered at the hotel), I'd still like to hear a repsonse regarding access to the pools (do you use your room key or arm-bands?)

Finally, since our short cruise does an overnight in Nassau, I'm hoping to use the Atlantis facilities on both day. Is that how it works?

Many thanks.

I have a similar question to tk. There are 5 of us in our party (2 adults & 3 children). I don't want to have to book 2 rooms for one extra person, nor do I want 1 person left out! So, how do you get access for the "extra" people?

Tracey, where did you book your room, on your own or through a website? I am looking to book for our port day in November, but I don't want to pay much more than $200 for the 4 of us. I am assuming you book for the day you arrive, with early check-in and check-out at the same time. I had been planning on CS, but if the actual Atlantis has a similar price, I might as well book there. Thanks for your help!

I booked thru comfort suites directly, but you can go online thru http://www.resortvacationstogo.com Our price quoted was 178.00 but it was 211.00 after taxes, etc. We took a cab there (about 9am), checked in & out, then headed over. The digs were 29.00pp for those without being a hotel guest. We just had to show our pass that the front desk gave us, and we were allowed inside. After the digs, you proceed to the pool area, get your towels and wristbands. There are 2-3 pools (I saw 2 for sure), a beach type area, and slides for all ages. It didn't get crowded until about 11:30, and our ship left at 2, so we left Atlantis about 1:00. The kids went down the major slides about 3-4 times each. It was well worth the 50.00 each that we paid and had plenty of time the 4 hours we were there.

Please email me if you have any other questions. The cab ride back was alittle longer than the ride over due to traffic. Although we were back by 1:15, I still was alittle nervous.

Tracey

mt10@mchsi.com

Since there were 8 of us, we booked two rooms. I believe you can have 5, just may have to pay alittle more.

I booked in advance, not the same day. Many times I heard that the hotel was sold out. I would assume if you are overnight you would have facilities for both days, but would probably have to ask.

Comfort inn is definately cheaper than booking Atlantis for the day. You have all the same facilities that the Atlantis guests have with a very short walk.

No, you do not have to wait until 3 to check in. They know that you are from the ship and won't even use the room. We checked in at 9am without problems.

It is cheaper than a ship excursion and really nice to see. The slides and dig are fun for the kids. Please email me with other questions, as I don't get email notification since they switched the board (even though I have it set to get the notifications.)

Tracey

mt10@mchsi.com

I just read the post from awhile back. We didn't rent a room at Atlantis, but at the comfort Inn. Sorry for the confusion.

Thank you Thank you for coming back to answer our questions!!!!:) :) :) :) I made a reservation right on the comfort inn site, it was easy and they had discounts for AAA, and even internet users and the rate was 175 plus taxes and stuff, so for us this should be great. Plus, if we decide we don't want to do it we can cancel up to 2 days before and it won't be charged. They guarantee they have the best rates on their own site. Can't wait to see this place!!! Really, Tra4, thank you for the information. Also, right on the comfort inn site if you view hotel details for the one at paradise island it says you get full use of atlantis.:p

What all is included in this day use pass? What are all the facilities? Any meals/drinks? Would my 5yrold and 3 yrold be too young to enjoy? We were thinking of doing Atlantis next sept 05 as part of a Disney Cruise, but their price is 69pp adult and 38ppchild, and that does include beach/meal, but doesn't include use of slides/pools. I'm trying to figure out what is the better deal and what we should do. Thanks.:)

I know it sounds a little crazy to book at hotel room while you're on a cruise and never go into the room but for a little less than $200 it was well worth it. I booked my room on a discount web site, maybe "placestostay.com", something like that. Checked site and prices a couple of times and waited till price was $150. We figured we had did better than booking the ship tour at 30+ dollars each with no pool use. We got towels, and free roam of all pools, water slides, beach, etc. It's a beautiful place and well worth the visit. We will be back this year but intend to walk in town and have a nice lunch, any ideas?

;) The info on the water taxi to Atlantis was great! Sounds like you saved a bundle! That is what we plan to do. This is my first trip to the Bahamas. Anything specific I should check out?? Also, my first time on Soverign of the Seas. A four night cruise. Please tell me about the ship. I will say my first cruise (and only other one) was on Explorer of the SEas for 7 nights!:D

I just hope I am not going to be disappointed this time:eek:

I know it is going to be different, but I am still planning for the best.

Please share your likes and dislikes about the ship and anything inparticular I should do or "look out for".

Nita,

When are you going on the Sovereign? I just got off this past Monday. I had a great time. The food was good (better than on the Explorer IMO). I will warn you that this is the oldest in RCI fleet, and the ship is going into needed drydock for a month come November 15. You will not have all the amenities that you had on Explorer, however, you will not have any days at sea either. Since there were 5 of us, we didn't go to Atlantis. Neither Comfort Suites or Atlantis would allow us armbands for 5 people in just one room. They insisted that we had to get 2 rooms. There was NO WAY we were going to pay that price. We ended up going to the Wyndam Crystal Palace. We took the #10 bus near the pirate museum for $1 per person. The beach was nice as was the pool. Both were free as long as you bought something there. It is an alternative if you decide against Atlantis. The final reason we didn't book at the Atlantis is that we weren't sure of the weather. During this part of the year, rain storms are quite common. I'm glad we didn't book since it was cloudy all day.

o.k. I'm a newbie cruiser (in December) and was wondering what is the DIG in Atlantis?