October 14, 2013

Disney Cruise Recap: Atlantis Resort at Paradise Island, Bahamas


Our final cruise stop was the one we all looked forward to the most- Nassau Bahamas where we would be spending the day at Atlantis. There were tons of options in Nassau, but I just couldn't be right there by The Atlantis Resort and not spend the day there. Our whole excursion budget went to this day and it was tons of fun!


We got off the ship and immediately knew we were in the Caribbean. It was muggy, the buildings were colorful and the cruise ships were all lined up with happy passengers ready to disembark.


We took the 10 minute shuttle to Atlantis where a guide walked us through the hotel, casino, and mall to the water park area. The hotel was amazing- so much bigger in person than I had expected. The Miami Heat were all in house for training camp!

The area in the middle of these two hotels is called the Michael Jackson suite as he was the first to stay in the suite. It rents for $25,000 per night and there is a 4 night minimum. When it first opened, the suite was booked for 5 straight years. I'd love to know what is inside the hotel room!


We had a few hours in the waterpark and started at the kid's play area. It was cute and Abby loved it. Marcus wasn't allowed on the slides which made us sad....


until we found the adult slides! This one had a 40 foot drop and Marcus did it a couple of times. Abby and I sat at the bottom cheering him on! He didn't do the 100 foot drop. I can't even imagine!


We also found a few little baby slides! They had lots of pool all connected by little slides that we all did to get around inside the water.


Our friends Carrie and Brian loaned us their waterproof camera which made for fun pictures in and above the water! I think I need one for Christmas!


After a little swimming we were hungry and used our vouchers for lunch! We had sliders, fries and drinks at one of the hotel's outdoor venues. It was part of the package we bought and they were yummy!


At this point we decided to hit the lazy river that runs around the water park. It looked fun at the start, but there were signs about it being an intermediate ride which frightened us a little for Abby. I didn't want to scare her from all water for the day. I rode in a single tube and Marcus doubled up with Abby.


We were almost immediately separated and since I couldn't exit my tube and the waves kept pushing me, I couldn't see Marcus and Abby. We entered right at the point where the water pushes out and the biggest waves happen. It was fun, but the whole time I just knew Abby was terrified and Marcus was trying to calm her since an exit wasn't an option.


We finally made it to a calm area and I waited for them outside my tube. She loved it! Hooray for a brave little girl! We did it a couple more times and once, they went around solo with me on the bridge snapping photos!

After all that waterpark, it was time for us to do the Dolphin Interaction at Atlantis. Swimming with dolphins is a bucket list item. It is always something I've thought about and never thought I would get to do. I am so glad we did it!


We watched an informative presentation about dolphins, removed all jewelry and put on the most uncomfortable piece of clothing known to man.... the wetsuit. Ugh! Thank goodness I have a cute blond child covering up my wetsuit! :)


This wasn't a go in the ocean and "swim" holding a dolphin tale, but honestly it was perfect for us! We were in a group of 11 people and had Jonah the dolphin and his two trainers with us.


We all took turns kissing him, petting him, feeding him and smiling for the camera.


We even taught him to jump so that we could high five his fin.


In total we spent about an hour in the water with him. Cameras were not allowed, but they had a professional in the water with us snapping pictures the entire time.


I wish we could have taken our own- their pictures were not cheap. But, we just couldn't not buy a couple! So, I bought them and scanned them!


At the end of our day, we took the last shuttle back to the boat and talked about how much fun we had all night! If I had it to do all over again, I would have done just the dolphins and not the waterpark. We just didn't have enough time. There was so much of Atlantis we didn't see and while the water park was great, we have so many water parks in Texas that are bigger and have more rides. I would have loved to explore the Reef and sharks at Atlantis, seen some of the shops, and visited the property more. There just wasn't enough time!

That covers our Disney Cruise! We had the most fun! Please email me at annajenk@yahoo.com or leave a comment if you want to know more or read all about our trip here.

2 comments:

Randi ussery said...

I have enjoyed reading your posts about the cruise and life! Hope you all are doing well!!

Tuesday B. said...

Reading your blog has been very helpful. We are doing a cruise in October 2014 and I really want to do the dolphin meet and greet. I was unaware that you are not permitted to bring your own camera. If you don’t mind me asking how much did they charge for the pictures they took so I know how much I need to add to the budget? Thanks :)

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