Discover Atlantis tour. What is included and what isn't?

[mevelandry]

Hi!

On a future cruise we have a stop in Nassau (in the past, I stayed on the ship, I went shopping, I went to Blue Lagoon...) and since we have never seen Atlantis but don't want to swim, I thought the Discover Atlantis excursion would be perfect.

However, I don't find a lot of information regarding the tour, especially what is going on after the 45 minutes tour is over.

If we are free to stay on site, which areas are permitted?

Is it possible to have a meal there? (and if the answer is yes: where?)

How is the casino? Do you have to pay a certain amount to be admitted and play slots?

I know we won't have access to beaches or pools... But do you have a little access to the grounds (it looks amazing)?

The Marina Village is free I believe. Can you shop there without being annoyed by vendors?

When you come back to the port, where do they drop you off?

Thanks in advance!

P.s.: Feel free to post pictures!

 

[dcassetta]

Hi!

On a future cruise we have a stop in Nassau (in the past, I stayed on the ship, I went shopping, I went to Blue Lagoon...) and since we have never seen Atlantis but don't want to swim, I thought the Discover Atlantis excursion would be perfect.

However, I don't find a lot of information regarding the tour, especially what is going on after the 45 minutes tour is over.

If we are free to stay on site, which areas are permitted?

Is it possible to have a meal there? (and if the answer is yes: where?)

How is the casino? Do you have to pay a certain amount to be admitted and play slots?

I know we won't have access to beaches or pools... But do you have a little access to the grounds (it looks amazing)?

The Marina Village is free I believe. Can you shop there without being annoyed by vendors?

When you come back to the port, where do they drop you off?

Thanks in advance!

They will issue you a wristband which allows access to some, but not all, of the grounds.

You will have access to the circled area outside and the Aquarium, Shopping, Dining, and Casino in the Royals tower. There are outdoor restaurants in the circled area.

Yes, you can eat at several of the restaurants, but we did not eat there so I cannot give any advice.

No special requirements for the casino.

We did not visit the Marina Village

You will be dropped off in front of the gated vendor area at the cruise port.

 

[mevelandry]

They will issue you a wristband which allows access to some, but not all, of the grounds.

You will have access to the circled area outside and the Aquarium, Shopping, Dining, and Casino in the Royals tower. There are outdoor restaurants in the circled area.

Yes, you can eat at several of the restaurants, but we did not eat there so I cannot give any advice.

No special requirements for the casino.

We did not visit the Marina Village

You will be dropped off in front of the gated vendor area at the cruise port.

View attachment 303972

Thank you very much for your anwers and the map!

 

[mevelandry]

Bumping this, just in case.

 

[dmunsil]

You can also go over to the the predator lagoons, which are near the main lagoon and Coral Towers. You may also have access to the Lagoon Bar & Grill, and you might be able to walk around outside the Beach Towers.

With no wristband at all, you can visit:

Coral Towers interior
Beach Towers interior (including, I believe, Cave Grill)
Casino
Marina Village

Here's a PDF guide to Atlantis, which sadly doesn't list what's accessible to day guests, but does have a more detailed map: https://www.atlantisbahamas.com/pdf/AllThingsAtlantis_Guide_012517.pdf

 

[DCSWO]

If you get the wristbands at the beginning, you can just skip the tour and go have fun.

 

[mevelandry]

You can also go over to the the predator lagoons, which are near the main lagoon and Coral Towers. You may also have access to the Lagoon Bar & Grill, and you might be able to walk around outside the Beach Towers.

With no wristband at all, you can visit:

Coral Towers interior
Beach Towers interior (including, I believe, Cave Grill)
Casino
Marina Village

Here's a PDF guide to Atlantis, which sadly doesn't list what's accessible to day guests, but does have a more detailed map: https://www.atlantisbahamas.com/pdf/AllThingsAtlantis_Guide_012517.pdf

Thank you very much!

 

[MimiDee905]

We did the Discover Atlantis tour on our July 2017 cruise, so fairly recently! We had a designated time to meet in the D-Lounge for our tour group to leave. There were a lot of tours heading to Atlantis, so they separate each tour by stickers. When we arrived at D-Lounge, they gave us Jasmine stickers to wear. So when our group was called, all of the Jasmine stickers were together. They took us through the bag check and they walked us down the port to an area with several buses. We had a 20 minute bus ride to Atlantis during which our bus driver told us about several of the historic places we were passing. When we arrived at Atlantis, we were divided into smaller groups (about ten people per tour guide) and our tour guide took us through the aquariums (called the dig I believe) and several areas outside. We stopped at many places to take pictures or to use the restroom. It seemed a lot longer than what I expected. Our tour guide was excellent and super energetic and funny. When the tour was over, he told us about a few activities that would be coming up that we were more than welcome to go to. My husband and I were able to do two of these activities for free since we had the wristband! We fed sea turtles at their sea turtle lagoon on property AND my husband fed the stingrays! When we were finished, we headed back to the main entrance and buses left every 30 minutes back to DCL. It was an enjoyable afternoon!

A few things...
It was so hot walking around outside. We did bring water bottles with us from the ship and that helped a lot!
Lots of walking! Wear comfy shoes!
Our tour left at 11:00am, and was going to be going right through lunch time. We had a late breakfast that morning and then packed snacks to eat while on the tour so that we didn't feel hungry. The tour does not stop for lunch until it is over, and lunch is on your own. Our snacks held us over and we made it back to the ship for a late lunch.

Hope this helps!

 

[dcassetta]

We did the Discover Atlantis tour on our July 2017 cruise, so fairly recently! We had a designated time to meet in the D-Lounge for our tour group to leave. There were a lot of tours heading to Atlantis, so they separate each tour by stickers. When we arrived at D-Lounge, they gave us Jasmine stickers to wear. So when our group was called, all of the Jasmine stickers were together. They took us through the bag check and they walked us down the port to an area with several buses. We had a 20 minute bus ride to Atlantis during which our bus driver told us about several of the historic places we were passing. When we arrived at Atlantis, we were divided into smaller groups (about ten people per tour guide) and our tour guide took us through the aquariums (called the dig I believe) and several areas outside. We stopped at many places to take pictures or to use the restroom. It seemed a lot longer than what I expected. Our tour guide was excellent and super energetic and funny. When the tour was over, he told us about a few activities that would be coming up that we were more than welcome to go to. My husband and I were able to do two of these activities for free since we had the wristband! We fed sea turtles at their sea turtle lagoon on property AND my husband fed the stingrays! When we were finished, we headed back to the main entrance and buses left every 30 minutes back to DCL. It was an enjoyable afternoon!

A few things...
It was so hot walking around outside. We did bring water bottles with us from the ship and that helped a lot!
Lots of walking! Wear comfy shoes!
Our tour left at 11:00am, and was going to be going right through lunch time. We had a late breakfast that morning and then packed snacks to eat while on the tour so that we didn't feel hungry. The tour does not stop for lunch until it is over, and lunch is on your own. Our snacks held us over and we made it back to the ship for a late lunch.

Hope this helps!

It's nice to hear that they added activities. if we had the option to feed sea turtles and stingrays, our guide did not mention it. But, she was not energetic, funny or excellent.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

It's nice to hear that they added activities. if we had the option to feed sea turtles and stingrays, our guide did not mention it. But, she was not energetic, funny or excellent.

This was probably the guide, not that they added activities. I've been going to Atlantis for 15+ years, and they've always been doing the feedings - they let guests help with the feedings for the interactive ones. Here's the usual schedule (listed as Seakeepers):

 

[Oregongram]

Great information. Thank you.

 

[mevelandry]

If you get the wristbands at the beginning, you can just skip the tour and go have fun.

The tour... Is it really really interesting in your opinion?

 

[mevelandry]

We did the Discover Atlantis tour on our July 2017 cruise, so fairly recently! We had a designated time to meet in the D-Lounge for our tour group to leave. There were a lot of tours heading to Atlantis, so they separate each tour by stickers. When we arrived at D-Lounge, they gave us Jasmine stickers to wear. So when our group was called, all of the Jasmine stickers were together. They took us through the bag check and they walked us down the port to an area with several buses. We had a 20 minute bus ride to Atlantis during which our bus driver told us about several of the historic places we were passing. When we arrived at Atlantis, we were divided into smaller groups (about ten people per tour guide) and our tour guide took us through the aquariums (called the dig I believe) and several areas outside. We stopped at many places to take pictures or to use the restroom. It seemed a lot longer than what I expected. Our tour guide was excellent and super energetic and funny. When the tour was over, he told us about a few activities that would be coming up that we were more than welcome to go to. My husband and I were able to do two of these activities for free since we had the wristband! We fed sea turtles at their sea turtle lagoon on property AND my husband fed the stingrays! When we were finished, we headed back to the main entrance and buses left every 30 minutes back to DCL. It was an enjoyable afternoon!

A few things...
It was so hot walking around outside. We did bring water bottles with us from the ship and that helped a lot!
Lots of walking! Wear comfy shoes!
Our tour left at 11:00am, and was going to be going right through lunch time. We had a late breakfast that morning and then packed snacks to eat while on the tour so that we didn't feel hungry. The tour does not stop for lunch until it is over, and lunch is on your own. Our snacks held us over and we made it back to the ship for a late lunch.

Hope this helps!

I'm expecting the weather to be hot, I can imagine there are lots of shade available since most of the tour seems to be happening outside?

 

[mevelandry]

Do they give you a map during the tour? Or are there maps available?

Thanks in advance!

 

[dcassetta]

The tour... Is it really really interesting in your opinion?

It all depends on the guide. Mimi's guide seems to have been much better than ours.

I'm expecting the weather to be hot, I can imagine there are lots of shade available since most of the tour seems to be happening outside?

We walked some outside, but that was to get to the grotto which was covered.

Do they give you a map during the tour? Or are there maps available?

Thanks in advance!

Signs with maps were around, but we did not get a paper map, so I am not sure if they are available.

 

[mevelandry]

It all depends on the guide. Mimi's guide seems to have been much better than ours.



We walked some outside, but that was to get to the grotto which was covered.



Signs with maps were around, but we did not get a paper map, so I am not sure if they are available.

Thank you!

 

[Lollipop's Mom]

Go to resort for a day and buy the pass there - its about $80 less and includes everything! Just grab a cab - its super cheap.

 

[mevelandry]

Go to resort for a day and buy the pass there - its about $80 less and includes everything! Just grab a cab - its super cheap.

I believe you... but we just want to visit.

 

[MimiDee905]

I'm expecting the weather to be hot, I can imagine there are lots of shade available since most of the tour seems to be happening outside?

It was very hot (this was July) and honestly no, I don’t recall much shade. I recall the inside of any building feeling absolutely freezing because of the drastic temperature difference between outside and the air conditioning.
We did not get a map, but like another poster said, we used the directory maps on boards around the property to find our way around.
Overall, I’m glad we did it! We had been to Nassau twice prior to this trip and had never been to Atlantis, so this was an easy way to see the property and the major touristy points. We definitely would not do it again. It’s kind of a one and done sort of thing.

 

[mevelandry]

It was very hot (this was July) and honestly no, I don’t recall much shade. I recall the inside of any building feeling absolutely freezing because of the drastic temperature difference between outside and the air conditioning.
We did not get a map, but like another poster said, we used the directory maps on boards around the property to find our way around.
Overall, I’m glad we did it! We had been to Nassau twice prior to this trip and had never been to Atlantis, so this was an easy way to see the property and the major touristy points. We definitely would not do it again. It’s kind of a one and done sort of thing.

Thank you.