Atlantis Advice Please

[Cruiser_Kim87]

Hello. I'm torn between two excursions on my upcoming May 1st cruise on the Carnival Pride from Baltimore. I stop at Port Canaveral and was looking into choosing The Islands of Adventures for the day with my husband. We haven't been there since 1999 so we thought it be cool to go. We are also looking into Atlantis Hotel waterpark excursion at Nassau. We have never been there and thought it would be cool.

Both excursions are around the same price but I need to know which one is worth the money. The Islands of Adventures tour duration is longer than the the Atlantis hotel too. Would love to hear past cruisers opinions, especially those who have taken both excursions in the past.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

-Kimberly

[k2excursion]

Islands of Adventure is a long bus ride from the cruise port to Orlando. It's a 1-hour drive one-way, without traffic. 2 hours or more of the excursion is the driving. Atlantis, on the other hand, is much closer to the Nassau port. Islands of Adventure/Universal Studios is also a very busy place, almost every day of the year. I feel that the only way to visit the Orlando parks is to stay in Orlando for several days, so that you can spend multiple days at each park, and be there the whole day every day. Lines for some rides can be over an hour, especially at Harry Potter. We were there on a cold January weekday, and we got quite a bit done before it got real crowded. It paid off to be there right when it opened.

 

I have been to Nassau 3 times, but the timing of our stops have never really worked to be able to truly enjoy Atlantis, so I haven't gone. If your timing is better than what I've had, then I would recommend that one, then take a week long trip to Orlando in the future.

[Knighton]

The amount of time you end up getting at Islands of Adventure isn't enough to do alot of rides, especially if the lines are long. I agree with the above poster-take a vacation to orlando someday and do it then.

 

As for Atlantis, it's fun and there are tons of water slides and a neat (not so) lazy river, but what carnival charges for the few hours you get to enjoy them is outrageous. I don't totally blame carnival, I'm sure it's what Atlantis is charging them these days. You'd do better booking a room for the day at the comfort suites across the street. It's cheaper, and you get free access to Atlantis facilities. Since the ship is docked from 11am to 11pm (I think), that will get you more time at the water park than the excursion.

 

Hope this helps!

[cruiseondude]

The amount of time you end up getting at Islands of Adventure isn't enough to do alot of rides, especially if the lines are long. I agree with the above poster-take a vacation to orlando someday and do it then.

 

As for Atlantis, it's fun and there are tons of water slides and a neat (not so) lazy river, but what carnival charges for the few hours you get to enjoy them is outrageous. I don't totally blame carnival, I'm sure it's what Atlantis is charging them these days. You'd do better booking a room for the day at the comfort suites across the street. It's cheaper, and you get free access to Atlantis facilities. Since the ship is docked from 11am to 11pm (I think), that will get you more time at the water park than the excursion.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Great Advice --

[gtalum]

I would advise against doing any Orlando theme park excursion from Port Canaveral. It's a long bus ride and you'll get little time in the park. That leaves Atlantis in Nassau.

[Bridgot]

We enjoyed the Atlantis day pass excursion. We were cruising with 3 kids, 8, 13 and 18 and everyone enjoyed the day. It was a short bus ride and we felt like we had plenty of time to enjoy Atlantis.

[Cruiser_Kim87]

The amount of time you end up getting at Islands of Adventure isn't enough to do alot of rides, especially if the lines are long. I agree with the above poster-take a vacation to orlando someday and do it then.

 

As for Atlantis, it's fun and there are tons of water slides and a neat (not so) lazy river, but what carnival charges for the few hours you get to enjoy them is outrageous. I don't totally blame carnival, I'm sure it's what Atlantis is charging them these days. You'd do better booking a room for the day at the comfort suites across the street. It's cheaper, and you get free access to Atlantis facilities. Since the ship is docked from 11am to 11pm (I think), that will get you more time at the water park than the excursion.

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

Yes! I am going to be docked there from 11am-11pm so I am definitely going to take a look at the hotel for the day. Might get my money's worth! Thanks for your advice.

Think I will choose Atlantis for sure!

[Cruiser_Kim87]

I appreciate everyone who took their time to give feedback. I think I will choose the Atlantis excursion! Looking into booking a room for the day. Appreciate your help once again.

[kilmer17]

Check the times at Atlantis though. Unless things have changed, their slides etc will close at 5 oclock. And if there are a bunch of ships in port, it will be packed before you could get there.

Edited April 19, 2016 by kilmer17

[Cruiser_Kim87]

Check the times at Atlantis though. Unless things have changed, their slides etc will close at 5 oclock. And if there are a bunch of ships in port, it will be packed before you could get there.

 

 

Will do thanks!

[LMaxwell]

Neither. Not enough time considering the high costs

 

Sent from my B1-730HD using Tapatalk

[jamesr3939]

We did the all day Atlantis and loved it. In fact plan to do it again with the grand-daughters in October.

 

Unless you take a change of clothes and like to gamble or have an upscale dinner in one of the restaurants I am guessing you will be headed back to the boat by 7:00 PM at the latest.

 

We got there early, around 9:30, and were ready to head back by 3:00 PM. We did sail a little early than you, but still we were ready to head back.

 

Everything at the Atlantis is expensive so after you use your food voucher it's all on you. I will say the food at the pool snack bars was fairly good.

 

The water slide and lazy river are pretty cool. You could spend some time doing both of those.

[Cruiser_Kim87]

We did the all day Atlantis and loved it. In fact plan to do it again with the grand-daughters in October.

 

Unless you take a change of clothes and like to gamble or have an upscale dinner in one of the restaurants I am guessing you will be headed back to the boat by 7:00 PM at the latest.

 

We got there early, around 9:30, and were ready to head back by 3:00 PM. We did sail a little early than you, but still we were ready to head back.

 

Everything at the Atlantis is expensive so after you use your food voucher it's all on you. I will say the food at the pool snack bars was fairly good.

 

The water slide and lazy river are pretty cool. You could spend some time doing both of those.

 

Excited to go!

[Cruiser_Kim87]

Hello everybody! I appreciate your feedback! I purchased the daily passes on their site. Tickets were $120 per person. Doesn't include transportation or food voucher but we estimated it and my husband and I would still save money and stay longer.

 

If we had kids, we would've reserved a room instead. Definitely more affordable doing that for more than 3 ppl.

[teddybear231]

When we were on the Pride this past August we went to Magic Kingdom while in Port Canaveral, and we went to Atlantis while in Nassau. Every time I'm in Nassau I usually go to Atlantis, we vacation there sometimes as an extended weekend getaway. Yes it can be pricey, but definitely worth it. You never know who you'll run into!

[jamesr3939]

Tickets were $120 per person. Doesn't include transportation or food voucher but we estimated it and my husband and I would still save money and stay longer.

 

 

I wasn't aware you could purchase day passes. Did you get those from the hotel directly?

 

Transportation and food while expensive shouldn't be more that what you are saving. I might have to look at doing that. Except I have six people to get over there.

[jamesr3939]

Wow I just looked at their www site and that is a good deal.

 

Just have to arrange transport from port to hotel, which I recall I can do from the ship.

[Cruiser_Kim87]

Yes, I purchased them online. I found it to be good for just my husband and I. We would still be saving around 80 after budgeting in the transportation and food.

I do think if one is going with a family, it might be better to reserve the hotel across the street like they have advised me to.

 

Here's the link to the day passes :

http://www.atlantisbahamas.com/daybooking

[kat228]

As a suggestion for Port Canaveral, have you thought about Kennedy Space Center? If you're up for renting your own car (it's pretty easy to get around here) you can also check out the Brevard Zoo for the day, about a 30 minute drive from the Port. A quick hop away is Jetty Park if you just want to go to the Beach. Lots to do in Brevard County without heading all the way to Orlando!

 

I was looking for some Atlantis suggestions and thought I could offer some advice as a local to Port Canaveral :)