excursion or ship?

[sydneymouse]

We are going on a cruise in late May with our 4 and 6 year old. We are trying to decide which excursion to do in Nassau. Are the kids too young to enjoy Atlantis? Should we just stay on the ship? Any suggestions are appreciated.

[bxrluv]

I'm sure there will be differing opinions but we did it just because it was our first time. We wouldn't do it again. Our kids were older, 16 and 11. It was also slightly chilly that day but not terribly so. Plus, I got a little overwhelmed and ended up on a water taxi instead of a regular one so we had to wait till the boat filled and then by the time we check in to Comfort Inn and figured out how to get into Atlantis and across to the water park, it just seemed like a whole lot of time and hassle. I think others have gotten there easier and smarter though. My kids just weren't too terribly impressed like I'd hoped they would be. I'd much rather do a double dip cruise if the opportunity was there imho. Enjoy yourselves either way!

[retiredfigment]

Just got back from a cruise and stopped at Nassau. Instead of booking an excursion, we just took a taxi to Atlantis. The taxis are at end of walkway. The driver, James, gave us a tour of the Island, took us to Atlantis so we could look around for a couple of hours and to a really nice shopping area. He was super! All for $25 a person paid at the end of tour. (The van fit 10) The tour lasted 4 hours and it could have been longer if we chose. Much cheaper than booking through cruise line and much more fun.

[DisneyFr33k]

We went in October and got off the ship, walked around and within 30 minutes, got back on the ship. There were more fun things to do on the boat. And, when we returned home, we learned of the segway tourists that were robbed on a later cruise there. We just didn't feel safe there. As a previous poster put it - Nassau is a city built for tourism in the middle of a 3rd wold country. Be careful!

[crazypoohbear]

We went to Atlantis in 05 with 3 kids, 2 and1/2, 11 and 16. Plus many adults. we had booked a room at atlantis to give us the chance to use the pools, slides and aquarium. We had a fabulous time and would do it again in a heartbeat.
However, our ship was in port until midnight that day so we really got our moneys' worth. Keep in mind that the pools and slides and such close at dusk (about 5ish)
Downtown Nassau is not that great and with the economy what it is, it is not really safe there.
I have a friend from the bahamas and his family still lives there and he tells me terrible stories about how bad it really is. People are getting robbed just so they can get food for their families.
Don't take the water taxi to the resort if you chose to go, it takes forever and you will lose valuable time.
I also didn't find the water taxi to be very safe or friendly. They had just whitewashed the bleachers on the boat, and my hubby and son's shorts were ruined.
There were a couple of locals on the boat giving out local historical facts (some were wrong!) then they walked around with a hat collecting tips.!
Be careful in Nassau but atlantis is great and safe.