Atlantis Water Park Question

[Ty and Addy's Mom]

Hi all!

Getting ready to book our activities and wanted to find out if anyone had an opinion on the water park at the Atlantis. I saw a few posts from 2012 that said it was way overcrowded but wanted to see if anyone had gone more recently. Is it worth the money? We will be sailing over Thanksgiving week on the Wonder. Thanks!!

 

[klug_bug2010]

DH and I took a trip to the Bahamas a few years ago, and left the kiddos behind. We loved it so much, that our first cruise will be there, just so we can take our girls to Atlantis. We loved it, and know our girls will too. Is it crowded? Yes, but not overwhelmingly. Is it worth the money? I have a hard time putting value to a fun, family vacation that our kids will remember for years to come. There IS a ton of things to do while there, which to me, is of great value. You will find MANY varying views on Atlantis. We loved it, and won't hesitate to sail there in December so that our girls can partake. Others will feel the opposite.

 

[Drusilla99]

We went spring break 2015 and it was at capacity with three ships in port, so super crowded. My hubby never did get a raft so he missed out on the lazy river ride & I only found one once. Our girls got to do it twice, but didn't want to stand in the other slide lines. We ended up going back to the ship early because we just weren't into it because of the crowds. The plus side was we had a cabana so there was no standing in line for food & drinks or searching for chairs & shade. The beach wasn't too crowded so we spent some time there. We are glad we went, now we don't have to go back. Looking at how many ships will be in port will help you guesstimate possible crowds.

 

[Luvzmy3boys]

We were there august 23. Booked via DCL so we definitely did not save any money. There was a carnival ship in port but while the water park did get more crowded as the day went on, we had no trouble finding floats for rapid river which we rode 3-4 times each (it is pretty long and very fun). Most of the people there were staying at the resort hotels. Thanksgiving might be a popular time at the resort so that might affect crowd levels. We had a wonderful time with our kids. Comparable to theme park admission but for us more fun because way less waiting and something for everyone. There was a recent thread on how to do Atlantis on your own and save money.

 

[Juddster]

We went spring break 2015 and it was at capacity with three ships in port, so super crowded. My hubby never did get a raft so he missed out on the lazy river ride & I only found one once. Our girls got to do it twice, but didn't want to stand in the other slide lines. We ended up going back to the ship early because we just weren't into it because of the crowds. The plus side was we had a cabana so there was no standing in line for food & drinks or searching for chairs & shade. The beach wasn't too crowded so we spent some time there. We are glad we went, now we don't have to go back. Looking at how many ships will be in port will help you guesstimate possible crowds.

This may be a silly question, but how do you find out how many ships will be in port while you are there before you book the experience?

 

[Ty and Addy's Mom]

This may be a silly question, but how do you find out how many ships will be in port while you are there before you book the experience?

This is where I found the information: http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Bahamas/455-Nassau. It looks like you can filter it by different locations

 

[Juddster]

This is where I found the information: http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Bahamas/455-Nassau. It looks like you can filter it by different locations

Thanks so much

 

[cmph]

I read some older threads earlier this year. Before that, it was absolutely an assumption that we would go. I know our kids would be thrilled. Then I saw that port link and found out there are 6 ships in port our day in Nassau. And it's New Year's week. I have to assume now that it will be just insanely crowded. I'm bummed, but I also suspect it'll be a colossal disaster with huge lines and no rafts in that situation. Does anyone who has been think otherwise?

 

[Dug720]

I read some older threads earlier this year. Before that, it was absolutely an assumption that we would go. I know our kids would be thrilled. Then I saw that port link and found out there are 6 ships in port our day in Nassau. And it's New Year's week. I have to assume now that it will be just insanely crowded. I'm bummed, but I also suspect it'll be a colossal disaster with huge lines and no rafts in that situation. Does anyone who has been think otherwise?

Combining cruise ship people with the actual guests at Atlantis I'm guessing it will be at capacity.

 

[Madmacdad]

We were on the Dream for Spring Break 2015 and had the Atlantis Aquaventure port adventure. As another posted, there were 4 other ships in port. Took over an hour and a half from meeting on the ship to getting to Atlantis. It was SUPER crowded - hour to get a lock, no chairs/chaise lounges. 20 minutes to get 3 tubes for the lazy river. Very rude people in the river - at one point where everyone gets jammed up before a conveyor belt, some lady yelled at my 10 year old daughter and scared the heck out of her. We finished that and decided to get lunch - waited an hour for burgers. Bagged the whole thing and went back to the ship at 1PM. Had a much better time riding the Aquaduck and spending some pool time. I was really looking forward to the water slides but didn't even try due to the lines. When I signed up for this PA, I didn't even think of Spring Break crowds. Oh well, live and learn.

 

[Ty and Addy's Mom]

I read some older threads earlier this year. Before that, it was absolutely an assumption that we would go. I know our kids would be thrilled. Then I saw that port link and found out there are 6 ships in port our day in Nassau. And it's New Year's week. I have to assume now that it will be just insanely crowded. I'm bummed, but I also suspect it'll be a colossal disaster with huge lines and no rafts in that situation. Does anyone who has been think otherwise?

After reading all of the information, I think we are going to end up skipping it.

 

[cmph]

After reading all of the information, I think we are going to end up skipping it.

Yeah, I think I've convinced myself of the same. I keep waiting for someone on this (or an older) thread to say something to indicate that we'll love it even on a super-crowded day... but $600 is a lot to risk. This was my last-ditch attempt to see if ANYone thought it would be a good idea still. I think I just need to give up and plan a different thing! I have a short list of other things to choose between already, should probably just stick with that. A bummer that so many ships are there our day, for sure.

 

[DisMommyTX]

We visited Atlantis mid-July this summer and the crowds weren't a problem for us. We could not have found 4 chairs together, but had no problem finding one to leave our stuff on. They started a new policy where everyone gets out of the river and leaves their tubes behind, so we never waited for a tube at all. They were available at the entrance to the river and slides too. The slides and rivers were nice, but very spread out and lots of walking on scalding hot concrete. Of course you wouldn't be there mid-summer, but we actually find the Bahamas a bit too cool for water sports Nov-Feb.

We were on an RCCL cruise, but got the water park passes through Comfort Suites Paradise Island. For the cost of one room night, we received 4 wristbands to the waterpark. A taxi from the ship to the hotel took about 15 minutes. Checked in and out at the same time, and they gave us directions to walk over to Atlantis. It was a long 15 minute walk (about a mile) to the Atlantis Royal tower to get the wristbands, so I would probably get a taxi if we did it again. For about half the cost, the extra hassle was certainly worth it for us. That being said, I don't think we will go to Atlantis again. We have pretty high standards for waterparks (we have season passes to multiple local water parks including Schlitterbahn), so the waterpark itself was just okay. The views and atmosphere were great, but for that I'd rather be snorkeling or at least hanging out at the beach.

 

[cmph]

We have pretty high standards for waterparks (we have season passes to multiple local water parks including Schlitterbahn), so the waterpark itself was just okay.

Thanks for adding that info. I had offhandedly wondered how "worth it" the water park would be in terms of attractions; I assumed it was so beyond awesome that it would beat any other water park.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Thanks for adding that info. I had offhandedly wondered how "worth it" the water park would be in terms of attractions; I assumed it was so beyond awesome that it would beat any other water park.

Sounds like you've made your decision, but I'll comment anyway.

Atlantis’ water park rides are a lot like Disney rides in that they are not record breaking from a height, speed, or inversions stand point, but are very unique when all the elements are included. Atlantis isn’t a water park in the middle of an amusement park parking lot, but is on a world-class beautiful beach next to crystal clear blue ocean waters. You’re view ascending the conveyor belt into the power tower is awesome (little cloudy the day I took this picture, so the colors don’t pop like a sunny day).


One element of Aquaventure that is fairly rare (though not unique) is its river system. It has two main parts, a wavy section with 3-5 foot waves that propel you along, plus a rapids part, that has four individual sections. You don’t have to get out of your tube to get to the top of the rapids section, as there’s a conveyor belt that carries you up:

So it’s all the parts (theming, location, and the actual slides) put together that make Aquaventure awesome, not any individual element.

 

[cmph]

Sounds like you've made your decision, but I'll comment anyway.

Atlantis’ water park rides are a lot like Disney rides in that they are not record breaking from a height, speed, or inversions stand point, but are very unique when all the elements are included. Atlantis isn’t a water park in the middle of an amusement park parking lot, but is on a world-class beautiful beach next to crystal clear blue ocean waters. You’re view ascending the conveyor belt into the power tower is awesome (little cloudy the day I took this picture, so the colors don’t pop like a sunny day).
View attachment 192824

One element of Aquaventure that is fairly rare (though not unique) is its river system. It has two main parts, a wavy section with 3-5 foot waves that propel you along, plus a rapids part, that has four individual sections. You don’t have to get out of your tube to get to the top of the rapids section, as there’s a conveyor belt that carries you up:

So it’s all the parts (theming, location, and the actual slides) put together that make Aquaventure awesome, not any individual element.

It does look nice! If it weren't for the fact it'll be super-crowded that day, we'd give it a try. But I just don't think it'll be worth it with the crowds. We live in Phoenix so water slides / water parks aren't as special as they were when I was a kid in the midwest. That plus the crowds means it would need to be incredible to pay the money to go.

 

[mevelandry]

We were on the Dream for Spring Break 2015 and had the Atlantis Aquaventure port adventure. As another posted, there were 4 other ships in port. Took over an hour and a half from meeting on the ship to getting to Atlantis. It was SUPER crowded - hour to get a lock, no chairs/chaise lounges. 20 minutes to get 3 tubes for the lazy river. Very rude people in the river - at one point where everyone gets jammed up before a conveyor belt, some lady yelled at my 10 year old daughter and scared the heck out of her. We finished that and decided to get lunch - waited an hour for burgers. Bagged the whole thing and went back to the ship at 1PM. Had a much better time riding the Aquaduck and spending some pool time. I was really looking forward to the water slides but didn't even try due to the lines. When I signed up for this PA, I didn't even think of Spring Break crowds. Oh well, live and learn.

Thanks for your review. We were supposed to go with the family next spring and you just made me realize that with 5 ships in port, Atlantis will be overcrowded and the chances of really enjoying the excursion are slim to none.

We won't waste our money.