thoughts on Nassau

[muteki]

I guess I must have been at Atlantis on a good day or you were there on a bad day because when I was there twice before on the Aquaventure excursions I found the cleanliness level better than what I've experienced in Disney (deluxe) resorts public areas in the last probably several stays we had on-property. Theming? It felt beachy and Atlantis-y with lots of references to a tropical paradise with bits of ancient ruins, lost city, and Atlantis-y theming all over. Like in the casino the hull of a ship incorporated into the ceiling design. Not that I'm a casino person. That was just passing thru. I found the theming and decor to be every bit as well executed for what it was representing as WDW's resorts minus a particular cast of characters. The quality of surroundings, call it "luxurious factor" was definitely on-par or slightly ahead of WDW's deluxe resorts to me. Definitely waaaaay better shopping selection right there within the hotel. I was only in the main tower building, tho. I didn't go into the other tower buildings. Landscape & pools were as well done as the best of resort pools at WDW. In fact, I'd say the Atlantis Aquaventure makes the Yacht & Beach Club's Stormalong Bay look pretty dinky. That's just me from what I saw, tho. As for the food, I've eaten 1 meal at Atlantis comparable to what a counter service meal might be at WDW. I'd say the food was a little more expensive at Atlantis (if paying out of pocket which we weren't) and quality of what we had was the same if not a little better than what we've had at comparable meals at WDW. Personally, if I didn't have such a long list of places to go I'd definitely consider a dedicated vacation at Atlantis. Atlantis is a destination unto itself for a different type of vacation. It's hard to really compare it to a WDW stay at the deluxe resorts because they're designed for different types of vacations. At WDW you're leaving the resorts to go do other things regularly (like the parks, DtD). At Atlantis, for the most part, you're not going to run off to do other stuff away from the resort as often because it's such a destination unto itself (w/water park, beaches, animal interaction programs, shopping, dining, aquariums, watersports, etc). It's really 2 different types of vacations hence 2 different types of resorts.

Its really great in the main building, casino, lobby, that area I agree. The glass sculptures were amazing, as were the aquariums. When we were there - I forget the specific tour we did, it was basically Atlantis + pools + beach (no waterpark so I can't speak to that) - they were doing some upkeep on this bar/restaurant structure in the middle of the grounds and there was paint, equipment, tools, etc. everywhere. They made little attempt to conceal it. The next building over looked to have been there for 50 years and painted pink to match Atlantis' main building, though I suppose you don't have to walk over there if you don't want to. The food options we had for the day were basically quick service credits at a couple places by the pool - which really I thought were equivalent to the simplest, most generic WDW quick service out there.

I think it is a neat place to walk around in (just the main building), but I wouldn't pay more than a cab fare to do so. I get the sense that the resort is past it's prime, that those commercials you see all use footage from 10~15 years ago. I hear really good things about the waterpark though. But I wouldn't recommend spending time just at the pool or beach there...Castaway Cay just is 1000x better in every respect, and doesn't cost extra (to swim, or eat at least).

Do the shuttle/bus run often between the ship and Atlantis? Or are there just there until the end of the day

They cycled buses every 30 minutes or so when I was there.

 

[ChuckElias]

I am open to anything the Cruise Chicks suggest

If I said that, I'm pretty sure I'd get in trouble with someone I live with and to whom I'm related by marriage!

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

If I said that, I'm pretty sure I'd get in trouble with someone I live with and to whom I'm related by marriage!

LOLOLOL!!!!!!

 

[janoimagine]

My vote is stay on the boat then watch the debauchery as all the drunks try to get back on to the Carnival ships ... now thats entertainment.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

My vote is stay on the boat then watch the debauchery as all the drunks try to get back on to the Carnival ships ... now thats entertainment.

Lol