Nassau Bahamas with Kids, Atlantis or Melia Resort?

[JohnC71]

Hoping the cruise experts here can help us....

 

When we first booked our cruise, we were dead set on going to Atlantis, as we have never been.  In researching, resort day passes, seemed like a viable comparative option.  After reviewing a few resorts, I think the only one we would consider is Melia.  Seems like several were adult only or kids had to be a certain age.  

 

Things to know.

We are traveling with a infant (will be 10 months when we cruise) and a 4 year old.

We are traveling with several family members (aunts, uncles, older cousins (young adults).  All are good with helping my wife and I with the kids.  Especially keeping the 4 year old entertained, as he seems to go from one activity to the next very quickly...

We are mainly looking to get off the ship, enjoy pool/beach, drinks food etc.

 

Here are few questions/concerns

- Transportation?  My wife is concerned if we are taking cab type transportation that we wont have car seats.  Is either place walking distance?  Any other suggestions, regarding transportation to these places with infant?

- Time that both are open till? As current schedule has us arriving in Nassau at 12pm and departing at 10pm.  We do plan on being back on ship before nightfall for dinner on the ship.  But concerned as Melia says day pass is good till 5pm, that doesnt leave us much time once getting off the ship and to the resort.  Is that 5pm rule strictly enforced? Can you still hang out and enjoy the pool/beach and just not get food included at that point?  Not sure about time structure for Atlantis.

- Differences that may help our decision between Atlantis and Melia? Besides swimming with dolphins type activities.

- Is there any where else we havent thought to look into?

[JennyB]

I haven't been to either, as of yet, but I remember way more threads/posts here regarding Atlantis. 

Hopefully someone can comment who has been to one or both. 

I will say tho that for the most part, you don't really need to be overly concerned regarding car seats.  I say this just because we have traveled extensively to foreign countries when our kiddos were little and never needed a car seat for those short drives and never felt unsafe.

 

[Matt]

I was looking at Melia and it's super expensive (same for Atlantis). Melia starts at $139/pp.

For anyone complaining about Perfect Day water park costs, take a look at how much per person they want at these resorts in Nassau!

I would also advocate the British Colonial Hilton day pass. It includes a food and beverage stipend and is much more economical.

[JohnC71]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

I was looking at Melia and it's super expensive (same for Atlantis). Melia starts at $139/pp.

For anyone complaining about Perfect Day water park costs, take a look at how much per person they want at these resorts in Nassau!

I would also advocate the British Colonial Hilton day pass. It includes a food and beverage stipend and is much more economical.

Yea either one is not going to be cheap... However, we do have several young adults in our party and even a few older adults that are certainly good at getting their moneys worth when it comes to drinking in all-inclusives - Aboard the ship - we all (adults) have the deluxe beverage packages for this very reason.

 

So we thought the $139pp including food and drink in a nice/safe location was worth it for Melia - our question/concern was how much we would spend in Atlantis? - as everything is pay as you go - Money isnt necessarily the deciding factor, but something we would consider when comparing the two.  How much would lunch be?   Is the food of higher quality, to warrant it?  How much is each drink? All things we would consider.

 

Once again, open to other similiar ideas - will be looking into the British Colonial Hilton - as you recommended.

[AshleyDillo]

1 hour ago, JohnC71 said:

Once again, open to other similiar ideas - will be looking into the British Colonial Hilton - as you recommended.

Not sure what your other ports are but Nassau is not the best one for all inclusive resort for a day...the British Colonial Hilton is walkable from the port, so that's a plus in my opinion..even if it's not an all inclusive.  

[KristenM]

8 hours ago, Matt said:

I was looking at Melia and it's super expensive (same for Atlantis). Melia starts at $139/pp.

For anyone complaining about Perfect Day water park costs, take a look at how much per person they want at these resorts in Nassau!

I would also advocate the British Colonial Hilton day pass. It includes a food and beverage stipend and is much more economical.

Are you aware of any construction currently going on at BCH? I read on that other, extremely inferior site earlier, but I can’t seem to find any other info online! They specifically mentioned pool construction

PS.. I think the costs of Thrill Waterpark are extremely reasonable and much lower than I anticipated... but my opinion still stays the same haha 

[GregD]

We went to Atlantis last February and here are my observations.

To get there, a large group climbs into a mini bus type van that look like the image below, and may be smaller than the one pictured. There is no ability to fasten a car seat in these busses. They dont exactly drive fast so holding your infant on your lap shouldn't be too bad, and the drive from the pier isnt very long. 

Once they drop you off at Atlantis, the walk to the water park is long, so if your four year old is similar to mine, it will be like the Bataan death march. The neat thing, is you can explore the aquarium and pools on the way to the water park. My kids loved that!

The water park itself is fun. There is an area for smaller children to play etc. There are chairs etc surrounding that pool too. If you walk past the kiddie pool area and head to I believe the "river pool" this one is closest to the beach and there is a sandy area the kids can play in. There are also lockers in this area that you can rent to store your valuables in.  The river pool is also a zero entry pool so the kids will have shallow water to play in. It also connects to the aquaventure river so just watch for empty tubes to come floating by, also people will exit the river here as well. 

You can attempt to rent a cabanna when you get to the resort, but they will probably be sold out. Dont bother calling ahead, you can only pre-book one if you are staying in the hotel.

The slides are all very fun so you and your family can swap off with the kids and do the slides. The aquaventure river is fun, they do have two person tubes so you can take the 4 year old (I took my 4 year old). I wouldnt take the infant because some areas are rapids and  just not safe for an infant. 

The food around the park is decent, we never tried any of the restaurants within the resort buildings. The adult beverages are tasty as well, and for what I can remember not terribly over priced. There is a starbucks in the water park too for the afternoon cafeine pick me up.

Overall we really enjoy Atlantis and it is a good time. We will be there in September when we cruise on Navigator for their 4 day Bahamas Cruise

[Matt]

14 hours ago, KristenM said:

Are you aware of any construction currently going on at BCH? I read on that other, extremely inferior site earlier, but I can’t seem to find any other info online! They specifically mentioned pool construction

PS.. I think the costs of Thrill Waterpark are extremely reasonable and much lower than I anticipated... but my opinion still stays the same haha 

I did not! I know @mpoole3 is headed there this weekend

[JohnC71]

23 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Not sure what your other ports are but Nassau is not the best one for all inclusive resort for a day...the British Colonial Hilton is walkable from the port, so that's a plus in my opinion..even if it's not an all inclusive.  

LEAVING FROM NY ON ANTHEM OF THE SEAS IN NOVEMBER - PORTS ARE PORT CANAVERAL, COCOA CAY AND NASSAU.

 

WE FIGURED WE WOULD MOST LIKELY STAY ON THE SHIP AT PORT CANAVERAL.  COCOA CAY WE DEFINITELY PLAN ON ENJOYING.  JUST FELT THAT IN NASSAU WE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING BESIDES WALKING AROUND AT SHOPS ETC, AS ONCE AGAIN WE HAVE LITTLE ONES WITH US.

[JohnC71]

17 hours ago, emsff02 said:

We went to Atlantis last February and here are my observations.

To get there, a large group climbs into a mini bus type van that look like the image below, and may be smaller than the one pictured. There is no ability to fasten a car seat in these busses. They dont exactly drive fast so holding your infant on your lap shouldn't be too bad, and the drive from the pier isnt very long. 

Once they drop you off at Atlantis, the walk to the water park is long, so if your four year old is similar to mine, it will be like the Bataan death march. The neat thing, is you can explore the aquarium and pools on the way to the water park. My kids loved that!

The water park itself is fun. There is an area for smaller children to play etc. There are chairs etc surrounding that pool too. If you walk past the kiddie pool area and head to I believe the "river pool" this one is closest to the beach and there is a sandy area the kids can play in. There are also lockers in this area that you can rent to store your valuables in.  The river pool is also a zero entry pool so the kids will have shallow water to play in. It also connects to the aquaventure river so just watch for empty tubes to come floating by, also people will exit the river here as well. 

You can attempt to rent a cabanna when you get to the resort, but they will probably be sold out. Dont bother calling ahead, you can only pre-book one if you are staying in the hotel.

The slides are all very fun so you and your family can swap off with the kids and do the slides. The aquaventure river is fun, they do have two person tubes so you can take the 4 year old (I took my 4 year old). I wouldnt take the infant because some areas are rapids and  just not safe for an infant. 

The food around the park is decent, we never tried any of the restaurants within the resort buildings. The adult beverages are tasty as well, and for what I can remember not terribly over priced. There is a starbucks in the water park too for the afternoon cafeine pick me up.

Overall we really enjoy Atlantis and it is a good time. We will be there in September when we cruise on Navigator for their 4 day Bahamas Cruise

THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS - MUCH APPRECIATED!

[mpoole3]

Thanks for the heads up on the Nassau day pass British Colonial Hilton.  I made reservations via Resort for a day website to use the resort this weekend.  After contacting the hotel & website, they did confirm the pool is under construction and they are building a swim up bar.  They did offer us a full refund from our deposit ($20pp) if we decided not to go.   After thinking about it, we took the refund and have made other plans.   

Thanks for the heads up! @KristenM

[KristenM]

45 minutes ago, mpoole3 said:

Thanks for the heads up on the Nassau day pass British Colonial Hilton.  I made reservations via Resort for a day website to use the resort this weekend.  After contacting the hotel & website, they did confirm the pool is under construction and they are building a swim up bar.  They did offer us a full refund from our deposit ($20pp) if we decided not to go.   After thinking about it, we took the refund and have made other plans.   

Thanks for the heads up! @KristenM

You’re welcome! I never like the bearer or bad news, but I’m glad it at least saved you from disappointment! Did they happen to say how long the construction will last? I’ll be there mid-July. Was thinking about giving them a call today.

[mpoole3]

Just now, KristenM said:

You’re welcome! I never like the bearer or bad news, but I’m glad it at least saved you from disappointment! Did they happen to say how long the construction will last? I’ll be there mid-July. Was thinking about giving them a call today.

The hotel didn't really want to give me much information about the construction, I called them and they said, "yes, part of the pool is open"   I emailed Resort for a day, they responded in less than 5 mins both times.  Really impressed how easy Resort for a day was to deal with.  You could try to email them and ask if it will be done by July?   The good thing is I've never seen it "sold out" so you could hold for a few more weeks and check again before you book.  

[KristenM]

2 hours ago, mpoole3 said:

The hotel didn't really want to give me much information about the construction, I called them and they said, "yes, part of the pool is open"   I emailed Resort for a day, they responded in less than 5 mins both times.  Really impressed how easy Resort for a day was to deal with.  You could try to email them and ask if it will be done by July?   The good thing is I've never seen it "sold out" so you could hold for a few more weeks and check again before you book.  

Thanks @mpoole3 !!! I had a feeling the hotel itself wouldn’t love the idea of willingly giving out a ton of details. I’m going to reach out to Resort for a Day. Someone in our FB group for the sailing said it was sold out which I found odd, because it definitely is not! I’m glad I stumbled upon that post the other day, glad it helped you out! Have fun this weekend!! 

[Matt]

@KristenM This wont be a problem for you one way or another because you'll cancel this cruise too, right? Oh wait, I'm not on it, so you'll definitely go

[KristenM]

@Matt come on, even you wouldn’t pass up a free cruise!!! PS can you make the boards more Kristen-friendly? I have no idea what I posted above, or how to delete!

[tiny260]

3 hours ago, mpoole3 said:

I emailed Resort for a day, they responded in less than 5 mins both times.  Really impressed how easy Resort for a day was to deal with. 

I've done resort multiple times with Resort for a day, and I love their product and service level. 

I actually called them this morning to cancel an up coming resort stop from a cruise and they immediately answered the phone and processed the cancellation and refund, all within 2 minutes. 

[JohnC71]

Has anyone been to melia with a day pass?