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Disney Cruise Atlantis Excursion Review

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Are you trying to decide what  Disney Cruise  excursion to take in Nassau, Bahamas? You’re in the right place! Find out my review of the Atlantis Aquventure excursion from my recent cruise on the Disney Wish.

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My family of five recently went on a Back-to-Back cruise on the Disney Wish, where one of our ports of call was Nassau, Bahamas.

After looking through the list of excursions available during our day in Nassau, we decided to choose one of the Atlantis excursions called, “Atlantis Aquaventure (N25)”, because it was a perfect match for our boys ages 16, 13, and 9. Below, you can take a closer look at what is included and our experience.

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Atlantis Aquaventure Excursion Description

So what exactly is the Atlantis Aquventure port excursion? Here is the description directly from  Disney Cruise  Line:

Wet and Wild Fun

Visit the underground aquarium of The Dig, head to the water park thrills of Aquaventure or just enjoy Atlantis’ beach. 

On this adventure you will… 

▪️Drive approximately 25 minutes through Nassau on your way to the world-renowned Atlantis Paradise Island resort.  ▪️Enter the magic of Atlantis’ 141-acre treasure: the Aquaventure waterpark. Featuring state-of-the-art water slides, river rapids, waterfalls, water holes and amazing special effects, Aquaventure is far from your usual water park.  ▪️Kids can join the fun at Poseidon’s Playzone, a new 9,000 square-foot water play fort with 40 new water play elements and an oversized 300-gallon water bucket that overflows from Poseidon’s trident onto the tower below every 5 minutes! ▪️Continue on to one of the resort’s many sublime sunbathing spots-on a white-sand beach, in the lagoon and around the pool areas.  ▪️Atlantis is home to the world’s largest open-air marine habitat, with more than 50,000 sea creatures representing 250 species. You can embark on a self-guided tour of the ruins of ancient Atlantis in The Dig, an elaborate replica of an actual archeological site. Explore a labyrinth of underground passageways brimming with large viewing windows filled with exotic marine life.  ▪️During your free time you can visit the casino, shop in the Marina Village or simply wander through the impressive lobby of the Royal Towers.  ▪️Finally, embark on a short 10-minute walk back to the bus pick-up location before beginning the 15-minute drive back to the pier. Please note that return transport is set for 3:00pm and 4:00pm. Your guides will confirm those times again upon arriving at Atlantis. ▪️Please note, tour durations and return times are subject to change due to ship schedules and itineraries.

What Disney Cruise Line Wants You to Know Before You Go

View important additional information to help you prepare for this exciting adventure. 

▪️This excursion includes a 15-minute walk to and from the pick-up location, as well as a minimum of 0.5 miles of walking at Atlantis. Because of this walk, Guests are encouraged to wear comfortable walking shoes.  ▪️Wheelchairs need to be collapsible and are permitted in the pool and beach area but not in the waterslide area. No electric wheelchairs will be permitted. Guests must be able to board and disembark the bus or minivan on their own. ▪️All times and distances are approximate, subject to traffic and overcrowding.  ▪️Guests must be at least 48 inches tall to ride all water slides. Children less than 48 inches tall may participate at Poseidon’s Playzone water playground for children, and on the Aquaventure river systems. Children must be accompanied by an adult on a double tube, wear a life vest (provided free of charge) and be large enough to support themselves in the inner tube opening.  ▪️Waterslides are not suitable for persons physically limited or with a history of heart, neck, back or joint problems. Guests with injuries (casts, bandages, etc.) are not permitted to ride the slides.  ▪️Guests are encouraged to bring currency and credit cards to purchase extras such as souvenirs or snacks. Please note, however, that many outlets at Atlantis do not accept cash.  ▪️Lockers are available at an additional cost. Please note, however, that only credit cards, and not cash, are accepted for locker rentals.  ▪️You should never feel that gratuities are expected, but it is customary to leave a tip in recognition of exceptional service in restaurants and taxis and for excursion guides and drivers. It is always up to you to determine the amount.

How Much Does Atlantis Aquaventure Cost?

The price for the Atlantis Aquaventure excursion through  Disney Cruise  Line is:

• $239 for adults (ages 10+)
• $124 for kids (ages 3-9)
• Free for kids (ages 0-2)

Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas

The Atlantis Resort is located on Paradise Island about 2.5 miles from the cruise port. We happened to choose to do this excursion on the first part of our back to back cruise and lucked out as the Disney Wish was the only cruise ship in port that day.

For our second stop in Nassau, nine cruise ships were scheduled to be in port, which would have greatly impacted our experience at Atlantis. I recommend checking to see the number of cruise ships that will be there on the date of your visit.

How to Get to Atlantis from a Disney Cruise

The  Disney Cruise  Line Navigator app will tell you when and where your meeting point will be on the day of your excursion. The app will also tell you what you will need to bring with you, like your Key to the World Card, photo ID, etc.

We met at Worlds of Marvel restaurant and checked in with Port Adventure cast members. We waited for about 10 minutes, then were led as a group off the ship and through a small outdoor market. We then boarded a for a 10 minute ride you to the resort. 

Arriving at the Resort

When you arrive at Atlantis, a staff member will be there to help you fill out and sign a waiver on their website. You can have them fill it out for you on their tablet, or use their complimentary wi-fi to do it yourself on your phone.

After signing the waiver, you will go to the ticket booth and they will find your name on their list from Disney Cruise Line. You will be given a wrist band, then are able to enter Atlantis. You will then make your way through the shopping area and casino before arriving at the water park.

Aquaventure Water Park

The first thing we did was find a few chairs to drop off our stuff and come back to sit on during breaks from the slides. The  Disney Wish  was the only ship in port that day, so fortunately for us, there was no problem getting a nice spot in the shade next to the pool.

Water Slides

We enjoyed all of the water slides and the river multiple times. The boys favorite slide was called the Leap of Faith. This is a drop slide that starts on top of the Mayan Temple and ends by sliding through a shark tank!  We also liked the Abyss (an all dark water slide),  the Serpent Slide (a water coaster in the Power Tower), and the Challenger Slides (head-first mat slides). 

Poseidon’s Play Zone

This area is designated for little ones. It has small slides, a splash pad, and lazy river. There are also lounge chairs right next to it so parents can sit while their kids play.

Aquaventure River Rides

There are also some really cool water coasters and lazy rivers. My favorite was the lazy river. But don’t be deceived, this river is only lazy some of the time! There are sections where you go into rapids and get splashed with water. 

Food Options at Atlantis

There are a few options for food at Atlantis. You can purchase food inside the water park, but can be expensive. We brought our own lunch from the ship (Uncrustables from room service) and got a Frappuccino from Starbucks inside the water park! We paid with a credit card so I’m not sure if cash is accepted or not.

Things to Keep in Mind at Atlantis

• It’s important to know that if you have young children, there may be some height restrictions on certain slides and rides.
• Some water slides may not be suitable for individuals with physical limitations or injuries.
• Bringing cash and credit cards is recommended as many outlets at Atlantis do not accept cash. 
• Lockers are available for an additional cost, but only credit cards are accepted for locker rentals.
• It’s also important to check the number of cruise ships scheduled to be in port on the day of your visit, as it may affect your experience at Atlantis.

Atlantis Shore Excursion Return Time

Our tour operator let us know what time be back at the bus for our short ride back to the Nassau cruise port at the end of the excursion, which was 3:30 pm. I felt that we had plenty of time on our excursion.

My Review of Our Disney Cruise Atlantis Aquaventure Experience

Overall, we had so much fun at our first time at Atlantis Aquaventure and would definitely recommend it to others. The water slides were fun and thrilling, the lazy river was relaxing, and the food options were convenient. Also, knowing how many cruise ships will be in port on the day of your visit and planning accordingly can greatly enhance the experience.

I felt that the price for Atlantis Aquaveture was high, but I’m glad we did. Having the Disney Wish as the only ship in port had a lot to do with this because there were minimal waits for slides and plenty of lounge and beach chairs available. However, if we had gone to Atlantis on a day with multiple ships in port, I may feel differently.

Make sure to take a look at the marine life on your way back into Atlantis. We saw sting rays and a Sawfish shark!

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, it is worth it for the fun and unique water slides, lazy river, and food options. However, the price may be a bit steep for some.

No, you don’t have to book a Disney excursion to visit Atlantis. However, booking through Disney may offer added convenience and assistance, such as transportation from the cruise port and securing a spot in the water park. You can purchase a day pass directly from the Atlantis website and take a taxi to and from the port as well. I have also heard of people that book a room at the Comfort Suites Paradise Island right next door to Atlantis which includes 4 Atlantis Day passes, then check out of the hotel right after receiving their passes to save money. I have not personally tried this, so you might want to do more research on this before trying it.

Atlantis has designated areas for younger children and offers life jackets for all ages. However, it’s important to be aware of the height restrictions for certain slides and rides. It’s also recommended to keep a close eye on children at all times. 

There are height restrictions for certain slides and rides. It’s best to check with your tour operator or on their website before booking.

No, it is not the biggest waterpark in the world, but it does have some record-breaking slides and attractions.

Yes, appropriate swimwear must be worn at all times while enjoying the waterpark. Clothing with metal or sharp objects are not allowed on the slides. 

The length of time it takes to do Atlantis Aquaventure can vary depending on how busy the waterpark is and your personal pace. On average, it can take anywhere from 2-4 hours to fully experience all the rides and attractions. However, you are free to spend as much time as you want at the waterpark until closing time.

How to Book a Disney Cruise

When booking a Disney Cruise , I always recommend using a travel agent. I use my travel partner Get Away Today , because of their high level of customer service and attention to detail. They do an amazing job ensuring my family has a great time on our cruise.

You can check their website www.GetAwayToday.com for current deals or give them a call at 855-GET-AWAY to talk to someone in person (which I highly recommend). If you do, let them know that Mommy Mouse Clubhouse sent you to get the best deals!

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Atlantis Aquaventure Shore Excursion in Nassau Cruise Port Review (2023)

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Everything you must know about shore excursions (Shorex) to Atlantis on a cruise to Nassau port: overview, good to know, highlights, cruise line price comparison, how-to book and get to Atlantis on your own, and map.

By: Editor-in-Chief Updated: May 26, 2023

The Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island is a world in itself with such an array of attractions - beaches, shops, water park, golf course and casino - that all cruise lines offer at least one tour to fully enjoy this iconic site of The Bahamas.

Aquaventure Water Park Day Pass

Until a few years ago, all cruise lines used to offer a basic shore excursion to the resort entitled Discover Atlantis Tour. This tour doesn't exist anymore. Instead, most cruise lines now offer the 'Atlantis Aquaventure Day Pass'. This consists of a 5-hour pass which includes access to Aquaventure Water Park, the beautiful beaches and pool of Atlantis, lunch, and transportation to and from the resort.

The Aquaventure Water Park is Atlantis resort massive 141-acre waterscape with pools, water coasters, body slides, rivers and more than 50,000 sea creatures where you will have a one-of-a-kind exciting day. For more information check the Atlantis Official Website .

The Aquaventure Tour is also offered in combination with two one-of-a-kind dolphin experiences - the shallow water interaction and the swimming with dolphins in a deep cay. You can choose to just enjoy any of the Dolphin Interactions or have this combined with the rest of the day at the beach. Celebrity, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean also offer a Sea Lion Interaction.

Shorex Combos

Disney Cruises is the only cruise line that offers the Aquaventure shore excursion combined with other experiences such as kayaking, snorkeling, or paddleboarding with Dolphins. Disney Cruises also offers a 6.5 to 7 Hour experience at the Ocean Club Golf Course for $599.00 including Green fees, clubs, golf cart and shoe rentals but not including beverages and meals.

Other excursions to Atlantis resort

Disney is the only cruise line that keeps the Discover Atlantis Tour and Beach Day cruise excursion - a 6-hour tour priced at $98.00 (ages 10, and up), and $83.00 (ages 4 to 9). The Shore Excursions Group offers a smiliar but shorter tour entitled Discover Nassau Town and Atlantis. This tour by Shore Excursions Group is just 2 Hours and 30 Minutes long, costing $57.00.

Good To Know

Cruise line price comparison.

Considering that shore excursion prices may vary by sailing, it is advisable to check updates and specific cruises. The following prices are indicative.

Click on the following cruise lines links to check for updated prices:

• Royal Caribbean

Shorex, online or on your own

As most cruise passengers that have booked shore excursions onboard will tell you, the great advantage of doing so is the peace of mind guaranteed by the cruise line. You will not have to look for transportation to Atlantis, negotiate prices with taxi drivers, and when you will be taken back to the ship on time. But you may want to look into other ways of exploring Atlantis.

Online Services

There is the possibility to book online with the many services that offer shore excursions to Atlantis. Prices vary and it is advisable to check what is offered on each tour.

The following online services are well-established companies that guarantee the returning of cruise passengers in good time prior to the departure of the ship. IQCruising does not endorse or get paid to mention any of these services. IQCruising is just providing the information and you should be aware that you are solely responsible for booking excursions online with these third-party services.

• Shore Trips
• Shore Excursions Group
• Venture Ashore
• Shore Excursioneer
• Tours By Locals

Direct Booking

Before deciding which is the best excursion for you and your cruising companions, whether it is better to book onboard or with an online service, you may also want to check directly with Atlantis.

Cruise travelers that wish to book a day tour directly with Atlantis will find that the resort will request proof that your sailing on a specific cruise line. Prices may, in some cases, be slightly lower but do not include transportation to Atlantis, located in Paradise Island. Therefore, the savings (if any) may be minimal. But you will be in charge of your own time. Atlantis Day Booking Web Page

How to get to Atlantis

Paradise Island (where Atlantis is located) is connected to Nassau by two bridges but is a bit too far to walk from the cruise terminal. There are two ways of getting to Atlantis on your own. Either by taxi - sharing a large van will cost around $10,00 per person (each way) - or with a ferry boat.

Next to the cruise terminal, on the right side, on Woodes Roger Walk, you will find a Ferry Boat (costs around $8.00 USD return). The ferry will take you on a short cruise through the harbor ending at a dock under the main bridge on Paradise Island. From here you are within walking distance to Atlantis.

Atlantis - Map

What's nearby

If you decide to explore Atlantis on your own, and in particular if you go on the Ferry Boat you may like to walk around and check a few other places on Paradise Island.

The Bahamcraft Center is great for local gifts and souvenirs. A couple of popular restaurants - the Green Parrot Bar and the super famous Margaritaville Bahamas - are ideal for a quick bite or lunch before returning to the cruise ship.

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I am a mom who loves all things Disney, but especially Disney Cruises! I enjoy sharing everything I have learned and hope that it will help others plan their own vacations.

Excursion Review: Atlantis Aquaventure and Private Cabana at Atlantis Through Disney Cruise Line

April 29, 2018 by Disney Cruise Mom Leave a Comment

This excursion review was written by Gunes, who sailed the Disney Dream December 26, 2016, through December 30, 2016. You can see photos and videos from her cruise and other adventures by visiting her travel blog ( fotogenictravel.com ) or by following @ fotogenictravel  on Instagram or Facebook. Gunes provides concierge-style planning services as an independent travel advisor affiliated with My Path Unwinding Travel and can be followed on both Instagram and Facebook (@vacayconciergegunes).

One of the most popular cruise destinations in the world is Nassau, Bahamas. I visited this cheery and sunny port for the first time in the summer of 1995 (during my college years!) with my parents, sister, and group of family and friends on a four-night Carnival cruise that originated out of Port Canaveral. We went on a ship-sponsored excursion to the Blue Lagoon Island (similar to Disney Cruise Line’s Blue Lagoon Island Beach Day (Port Adventure: N44 ). I really enjoyed the excursion to this idyllic island.

Fast forward 20+ years: I was back in Nassau for the second time but with very different travel companions – my husband and five-year old son. We were on the Disney Dream for a post-Christmas four-night Bahamas cruise, which was our first cruise on Disney Cruise Line.

Although the Blue Lagoon Island’s siren song was hard to resist, I was not too keen on my young son having to ride on a boat almost 45 minutes each way to get back and forth to the island. So, I decided that we would fork out the big bucks for Disney Cruise Line’s  Atlantis Aquaventure (N25) and the Private Cabana at Atlantis (N65) . Amazingly, back in 1995, the world famous Atlantis resort on Paradise Island did not even exist!

For the Atlantis Aquaventure port adventure, we selected a 9:30am departure time. We wore special wristbands, given to us the previous evening by our concierge team for purposes of gaining admission to both Aquaventure and our cabana. Note that in order to book a cabana at Atlantis, you have to also book some type of Aquaventure port adventure. They will not allow you into the cabana area without your Aquaventure admission pass.

After meeting our port adventure group at the District Lounge on the Dream, we headed off the ship together. We were led to the end of the pier, where we then boarded an air-conditioned minibus, which drove us approximately fifteen minutes to the Atlantis resort. The resort is located on Paradise Island, which is connected to the island of New Providence, where Nassau is located, via two very large bridges. The massive resort itself, which is as now quite recognizable as a world landmark, can be seen from the ship.

Upon arriving at the resort around 10:00 am, we saw that there was a private yacht entrance!

Of course, we had a more plebian arrival, through the standard lobby…

We were led through the lobby by a “guide” who showed us various parts of the sprawling 141-acre resort grounds. Be prepared to walk! We probably walked at least half a mile to the Aquaventure entrance, and I don’t even think we covered a tenth of the resort.

Those of us who had cabana wristbands were taken to the cabana check-in area. Our cabana was located right near the entrance of The Current, which is a souped-up lazy river (with four-foot waves and high-speed rapids!). It included the following amenities: personalized service from a “host”, lunch for each of us, personal safe, fan, refrigerator, electrical plug-in ports, and a private changing area. Each cabana can accommodate up to six guests.

We really are glad that we booked the cabana, as it truly was a tranquil oasis in the madness that soon enveloped the resort. Hordes of people would transcend upon Aquaventure, and it was the only way to stay sane.

Here is what our cabana looked like:

As you can see, we were surrounded by lush, tropical vegetation, as well as a “wall” in front of us. That wall was actually the side of The Current, and we could see across the way to another set of cabanas that had their own “beach”:

Aquaventure is literally the only water park you ever will need to visit in your entire lifetime. It is one of the largest in the Eastern hemisphere. Atlantis’ website even states that it is meant to be enjoyed through a multi-day experience. So, with that in mind, consider how you need to divide and conquer if you’re only visiting for six hours.

Our strategy was to do whatever our five-year-old son was able or even allowed to do. Note that there are height restrictions to some of the water slides. Four feet is the minimum. For children under four feet tall, there is a water playground called “Splashers” and the Aquaventure river systems (i.e., The Current and the Lazy River Ride ). To float on any of the “rivers,” children must be accompanied by an adult on a double tube, wear a life vest (provided free of charge), and be large enough to support themselves in the inner tube opening.

The Current is absolutely nuts (in a good but somewhat scary way). I’d heard about it to through other family members who had visited Atlantis previously. In fact, my mother-in-law nearly drowned when one of the four-foot waves flipped over her float (she probably wasn’t paying attention). So, use caution, and try to hold on to your companion’s float so that you stay together. Note that there are lifeguards all over the place, but you need to be vigilant if your children are with you.

We had an absolute blast on The Current! (And, better yet, we didn’t drown!) We rode it first thing when we arrived (there was no line). The “river” of The Current river is a full mile long! There are some spots where you can get out in case you do not want to do the full mile, but then you’ll have to walk back, and you may not even know where you are in the Aquaventure park, since it is so massive.

Here are a few photos of The Current:

We noticed a lot of folks on The Current had clear, waterproof mobile phone pouches that they were wearing around their necks. It might be something worth investing in if you’re interested in having some fun photos while hanging on for your life in the water. There was one official Atlantis photographer in the water at some point, and he gave us cards for us to go “redeem” (and then buy) the photos he took of us. We never went to the photo kiosk booth to check out the photos or see the prices.

After our first round on The Current, it was time for lunch. We each had been provided with a lunch voucher, which either could be redeemed at a food kiosk or through our cabana host. The kiosks had huge lines, so we were thankful that our cabana host was able to pick up our mediocre pizza, burger, and wrap for us (so not worth waiting in line for). It was grub, and we were starving and did not care about the quality of the food. Plus, we brought some snacks with us from the ship, so we did fine. The best part about lunch was enjoying it in the privacy of our own cabana (in the shade) without having to fight the crowds (people really started piling into Aquaventure after 11:00am).

Bellies filled, we decided to check out some other parts of the resort, so we left our cabana and walked over to the exclusive “Cove” area. We went to the Cove beach, one of four beaches at Atlantis. I was not overly impressed by it, as I’ve seen much nicer (i.e., cleaner) beaches, but, hey, we’re in the Bahamas at the beach!

After checking out the beach, we decided to hit round two on The Current. This time there was a line. We waited about ten minutes. The second time on The Current was just as crazy (and fun) as the first time.

It was coming towards 2:30 pm, so we decided it was time to slowly gather our things in the cabana, change out of our wet clothes, and bid adieu. The cabana had curtains that could be drawn to create a private changing area. Our cabana also was close to a very clean and large restroom, which was air-conditioned. I decided to go there to change, just to ensure complete privacy.

Once we were changed and had everything gathered together, we made the long trek back to the lobby area, where we boarded a shuttle bus back to the ship. Note that on all the Aquaventure tours, return transport runs every half hour, so you can choose your own departure time.

Atlantis is such a huge resort, we felt like we just skimmed the surface. They have 18 water slides! I didn’t even realize until after I returned from our cruise that you could slide through a shark tank!!!

Photo courtesy of www.atlantisbahamas.com

Also, per their website, Atlantis is home to the world’s largest open-air marine habitat, with more than 50,000 sea creatures representing 250 species. There are even “ruins” of ancient Atlantis in The Dig, an elaborate replica of an actual archeological site, which includes a labyrinth of underground passageways with large viewing windows filled with marine life. And, if you have any money to spare, you can visit the casino or go shopping in the Marina Village.

Given the crowds, I don’t think Atlantis is a place I’d like to stay overnight. I couldn’t imagine staying at a hotel or resort where “day trippers” from cruise ships and even other hotels are constantly invading.  If I were to go back to Nassau, I’d still consider returning as one of those day trippers so long as I could book a cabana and enjoy my own private realm in the chaos.

Speaking of private realms, on our way out, I snapped this photo of the famed Atlantis Bridge Suite :

It only costs $25,000 night to stay here! (Per the Atlantis website, guests of the Bridge Suite still have to pay a $49.95 per day daily resort fee – um, what?) Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, and Celine Dion all have stayed in this suite. I’m sure they didn’t care for the crowds of Aquaventure either….

You can read about other options for port adventures in Nassau here .  You can find links to more excursion reviews here on  my excursion page .

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase through my links, the seller will pay me a small commission for it at no additional cost to you. I am grateful for your support of this site in this way, so thank you!

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Our Atlantis Shore Excursion

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The Atlantis Resort on Nassau

One of the few things not covered in the price of a Disney Cruise are the myriad port adventures you can choose. On our recent Bahamian cruise aboard the Disney Dream , my family and I decided to book one of these in advance. We would be spending a day at Nassau, so we checked out those options. After looking at our options, we chose the Atlantis Beach Day and Discover Atlantis Adventure.

This port adventure includes beach access at the Atlantis Resort, plus self guided tours through the resort’s two massive aquariums. It also included a counter service lunch at selected spots throughout the resort. We found the price of $75 per person ten and up to be quite reasonable.

After we docked at Nassau, we headed to D-Lounge at 10:00 a.m. to check in for our excursion. The friendly and enthusiastic cast members gave everyone on this excursion a matching orange Donald sticker and meal vouchers. Water bottles were for sale here as well.

After being briefed on the procedures for leaving the ship and getting back on again, which included some silly singing to the opening strains of The Circle of Life, we headed down to depart the ship at 1015 a.m. We needed to bring our Key to the World Cards and each adult also needed a photo ID. Our cast members showed us where to wait for our Atlantis guide to arrive.

Do you know that feeling when a Disney vacation is over, and the well organized flow of things suddenly stops and you feel disoriented? Yep, that’s what this felt like. We waited for quite a while, not really knowing what to do except hang out with other people with matching stickers.

Eventually, the cheerful guide from Atlantis came and walked us towards our shuttle. The shuttle driver was friendly and although this wasn’t a guided tour, he was always happy to answer guests’ questions about his home.

To reach the Atlantis Resort, we crossed the Sidney Poitier Bridge. (Did you know that Poitier was the first Bahamian to win an Academy Award for Best Actor? Me, neither!)

Atlantis is absolutely massive. The hotel’s water park alone is 141 acres, and that’s just a tiny bit of this immense property. It took us quite a long time to walk through the hotel’s grounds to get to the beach. We were shown where we could get towels, and then the guide reminded us that buses would return us to the ship every half hour, so we could return whenever we wanted to, with the last bus leaving in plenty of time to get us on board for the all aboard time.

At this time, my California acclimated family and I were so hot and humid that we didn’t want to hit the beach. Lead us to the air conditioning! On our way to The Dig, the hotel’s huge aquarium, we stopped at one of the counter service restaurants to use our meal vouchers. We were limited to a choice of burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, or garden salads, with fries and a soft drink. The food was adequate but the portions were large.

As huge as this place is, they need to invest in better signage. The Dig is a highlight of this resort, yet it was nearly impossible to find. Eventually, we found an employee who was happy to show us to the entrance. There is no way we would have found this on our own.

The good part about getting lost – stumbling across cool sites like this

The Dig was so cool! It was designed to look like the ruins of Atlantis, with the fish and other sea life swimming in and around toppled temples, old arches and columns.

Some of the incredible marine life

We really took our time here, and sometimes just stopped to gaze at the sea creatures in awe. Every once in a while, another shore excursion group that included a guided tour would pass by, and we listened to the guides explaining the details of the architecture and the marine life. It felt like we were cheating a little bit!

One of the many tanks in The Dig

There is a gift shop in the center of The Dig, and we had fun browsing, but we didn’t purchase anything. There are also plastic sea life identification cards that you can borrow so you can tell what creatures you are looking at.

Afterwards, we decided to head towards the second, smaller aquarium, which was dedicated to predators. This place was much easier to find, being below an open air bar with a gigantic seashell as its roof.

Hey, did someone say bar? This weather was seriously sapping our energy, so we stopped to get some icy cold tropical drinks for the grown ups and a frosty cold apple juice for the little one.

The sea life themed ceiling at the bar

Although the predator exhibit was smaller, it was still a lot of fun. Sharks, sting rays, and other predators swam by and we got a great look at them through the tall, clean viewing windows.

We could have stayed longer, but there were things on the ship we wanted to explore, so we headed back to the shuttle stop. We were on a shuttle by 2:18 p.m. Once again, the bus driver was happy to answer questions about his home. A man asked him how he thought the Bahamian soccer team would do in the Olympics. The driver grinned and said, “I’m sure they’ll do their best.”

We arrived at the ship close to 2:30 p.m. and were greeted by cast members handing out very welcome ice cold wet washcloths. That really hit the spot! There were also containers of ice water with slices of citrus in them.

I loved this port adventure because we were able to come and go as we pleased. We could have stayed all day if the mood hit us, and we weren’t stuck there when we decided we were done. Even though we never hit the beach, the Dig itself was well worth the price we paid. This is a great shore excursion option for those stopping at Nassau.

Have you ever done a shore excursion at Atlantis? What were your thoughts? Share in the comments.

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What to Expect on a Disney Cruise to Nassau, Bahamas

By: Author Kristi

If you are taking one of the Disney Cruise to Nassau, you may be wondering what you will get to do. Disney Cruise has plenty of cruise excursions that you can book, but don’t feel like you have to spend a ton of money to enjoy your time in the Bahamas.

What is there to do on a Disney Cruise to Nassau?

While you can certainly book an excursion through the cruise line, there are also several things you can do on your own while in Nassau.

Here are a few things you should consider experiencing while in Nassau:

Atlantis Bahamas Resort

One of the most popular things to do in Nassau is going out to Atlantis Resort for the day.

You can get an Atlantis day pass to experience all that they park has to offer.

Guests can spend the day touring the world’s largest open-air marine habitat and enjoy the Aquaventure water park.

Atlantis Cruise Excursions

• Discover Atlantis: Take a 45-minute guided tour of the resort & visit the aquarium.
• Swim in Wonder: Swim with Bottlenose dolphins.
• Serenity Snorkel with Dolphins : Swim with Bottlenose dolphins and snorkel!
• Snorkel the Ruins at Atlantis: 30-minute snorkel tour of the Ruins Lagoon.
• Playtime with Sea Lions: Get some hands-on learning about sea lions.
• Stingray Experience : Spend some time up close with Cownose stingrays.

Nassau Beaches

If you just want to walk to the beach, then the closest beach is Junkanoo Beach .

This is a small beach but has plenty of food, drinks and public bathrooms.

Locals will offer to rent you beach chairs or you can just find an open spot on the beach to claim as your own.

If you want a larger beach, then you should grab a taxi driver and split the fare with others to Cabbage Beach .

This beach is larger than Junkanoo, and offers some food options and plenty of drinks.

If you are looking for a family-friendly beach in Nassau, than get a day pass to go to the private resort beaches at Cable Beach .

Most of the resorts have rates to use their beach and some even have a package deal that includes lunch.

Nassau Beaches that have day passes:

• Breezes Resort and Spa
• Warwick Paradise Island Bahamas

Snorkeling in Nassau

There are several great spots to snorkel in Nassau and your best bet would be to book an excursion that includes snorkeling.

We’ve taken a few trips that stop at Pearl Island after snorkeling in a nearby reef that we’ve enjoyed.

Nassau has some beautiful coral reefs where you can see colorful fish and even sea turtles.

Nassau Pirate Museum

You will notice that much of Nassau contains a pirate theme.

There is a reason for this, Nassau was taken over by English privateers in the 1700’s, and eventually, these privateers turned into lawless pirates.

You can learn all about Nassau’s pirate history in their Pirates of Nassau museum.

Tickets are available for discount online or onsite.

Shopping in Nassau

Nassau is known for its shopping. You will find cheap trinkets, handmade goods and high-end shopping all just blocks away from the cruise port in Nassau.

One of the more popular shops for those who are fans of Disney is Del Sol.

Del Sol sells items that change color (or add color) when out in the sun. They usually have quite a few Disney-themed items in the Nassau store.

If you like to barter, you will find that nearly all the t-shirt shops and stalls in the straw market will work with you.

Don’t take the first price they offer you and always ask for their best price. You will walk away saving if you do.

Disney Cruise Ships that Go to Nassau

There are a few different ships in the Disney fleet that go to the Bahamas.

Depending on how many nights you want to cruise (3, 4, 5, & 6 nights) and where you want to port out of will determine what ship you will be able to take to Nassau.

• Traveling out of Port Miami: Disney Magic , Disney Dream
• Traveling out of Port Canaveral : Disney Dream , Disney Fantasy , Disney Wish

Do you have any favorite things to do on a Disney Cruise to Nassau?

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Disney Cruise Line Port Excursions – Discounts & Tips

LAST UPDATE: 8/21/24

Disney Port Adventures are not cheap, and they can add a significant amount to the total cost of your Disney Cruise. This page covers discounts, deals, and advice about port excursions at ports of call visited by Disney Cruise Line. We have collected our best tips and advice to help you save time, save money and have more fun when you get off your cruise ship. After all, sightseeing in exotic destinations is one of the primary reasons to take a cruise!

Thanks to Marjorie Treger and to MouseSavers.com readers Jeff Evernham and Aileen B, who contributed some great tips.

General Tips

Port safety, disney shore excursions, self-booking excursions & exploring independently, booking excursions with viator, castaway cay, lookout cay at lighthouse point, nassau, bahamas.

Other useful Disney Cruise Line information pages:

• For discounts and tips on saving money on the cruise itself , visit our Disney Cruise Discount page.
• For tips and tricks that will help you plan your cruise , visit the Planning Tips & Tricks for Disney Cruises page.
• For advice that will help you save time and get the most out of your cruise once you are onboard , visit the DCL Onboard Advice page.

If you’re not an adventurous traveler, you may want to book a Disney port excursion the first time you visit a port just to get the lay of the land, so to speak. That said, it’s pretty easy to go it alone in most of these ports, either by booking your own port adventures or just wandering. Every day in each of these ports, 3,000-18,000 cruise passengers flood the streets, so the ports are pretty good at providing services and infrastructure to travelers. And because they don’t want to risk the lucrative flow of tourism dollars, most of these places will have plenty of security in the major tourist areas. If you stay in tourist-oriented areas with lots of foot traffic during daylight hours, you may encounter vendors who are pushier than you might be used to, but safety should not be a major problem. Do read the port safety section and keep your wits about you.

A limited number of strollers are available from Guest Services while in port. They are free with a deposit. Since they are limited, don’t wait until most people have left the ship to ask for one.

Port days are a great time to take advantage of the ship’s amenities — such as the pools, spa and the AquaDuck or AquaMouse — with minimal crowds. Most people leave the ship in the morning and return in the afternoon. If you want to enjoy the ship when it’s nearly empty, reverse your schedule so you’re on the ship in the morning and in port during the afternoon. Depending on the ship’s arrival and departure times, this is easier to do at some ports than others.

If you’re wondering how busy a port will be, a great resource is CruiseTimeTables.com . Select your ship and dates, and it will show you which ships will be in port on each day of your cruise. From that, you can click on each ship name to see the details of that ship and see how many passengers it carries. Add all the passenger counts for all the ships in a particular port, and that’s the “port load” for that day. On low-load days, it will be easier to get a taxi, the tourist spots will be less crowded, etc. On high-load days, expect crowds everywhere. It’s a good idea to look at the port load on other days that month to get an idea of what’s a “normal” load. If the port usually handles 15,000 people, then a 10,000 person day might be fairly light. But in another port, their normal day might be 6,000, making 10,000 a huge crowd.

And of course, any of these ports will be busier during peak vacation times, which for the Caribbean and Bahamas is spring break (generally late March through early April) and Christmas season (the two calendar weeks that contain Christmas and New Year’s Day). During those times, you can expect major tourist destinations, beaches, resorts, restaurants, etc. to be very busy and booked up well in advance. The resorts will be full of guests, and the cruise ships will be running as full as possible. Surprisingly, summer in the Caribbean is only moderately busy, as it’s very hot, and a lot of cruise ships are in Alaska and Europe then.

If you want to get away from the tourist gloss and go a little deeper, you might ask some of the crew on the ship where they like to go when they have free time in that port. You still won’t necessarily be seeing the “real” country, but it’s a good way to find something more like a local hangout and less like a chain restaurant. Keep in mind that crew care more about things like free Wi-Fi and cheap drinks, and less about fancy décor and beautiful views.

A warning: reading this section can make you feel like it’s a mistake to leave home, which is not our intent. We don’t want people to get the impression that they’re in grave danger when they leave the ship, but it’s important to be clear-headed and travel smart. Most travelers have no real trouble, especially on organized cruise excursions and shopping in busy tourist areas. However, crime rates are quite high in some of the countries Disney Cruise Line visits, and it’s worthwhile to take some basic precautions.

In almost all developing countries, including many ports in the Caribbean, you are highly likely to encounter vendors who will call to you, ask questions, shove items in front of you, touch you to get your attention, etc. This is not a safety problem per se, it’s just much more aggressive selling than most first-world residents are used to. The vendors know that cruise ship passengers have money, and they hope to get some of that money by selling crafts, t-shirts, hair-braiding, etc. If you’re not interested in what they are selling, you should say “no thanks,” shake your head, or something equivalent, and keep walking . If you ignore them, they don’t know if you have heard them or not, and they may just get louder and closer. If you stop, they’re going to assume you’re interested. Politely making it clear that you’re not interested usually works; you want to act like someone who’s got somewhere to be. If they persist after that, stop responding and move away from them. Do not answer questions from vendors if you aren’t interested in what they’re selling. Usually these vendors are concentrated right around the cruise terminal and a few other big tourist hot spots and if you get a block or two away it gets much better. If you know that dealing with aggressive vendors is going to make you uncomfortable, you’re best off sticking with organized excursions, either through Disney, Viator or large tour operators, or hiring your own guide or driver to take you around.

We strongly recommend against doing any kind of motorized watersports excursions, such as jet-ski rental or parasailing, on a walk-up basis on any beach in the Caribbean, Mexico or Bahamas. These vendors are typically effectively unregulated, and incidents of accidents due to under-maintained equipment and/or poor safety procedures are high enough to make us uncomfortable. Any such excursions should either be purchased through Disney, Viator or some other intermediary that you trust to do reasonable vetting of the final provider. Note that the jet-ski vendors working the beaches in front of major hotels are not typically affiliated with, or recommended by, the hotels. We also recommend doing thorough research on any boat tour, fishing tour, snorkeling or scuba tours booked independently. There are plenty of good independent companies in any of the ports, but there are also lots of tiny companies that may not carry adequate insurance, may not have proper equipment maintenance, may not have proper safety certifications, etc. You should look for how long they’ve been in business, how many reviews they have on major review sites like TripAdvisor, and whether their staff have certifications from recognized organizations like PADI.

We advise not straying far from the port or other tourist areas in Nassau, Bahamas, especially at night. Violent crime against tourists is rare, but it does happen, including bold armed robberies of tour groups. Don’t just take our word for it, read the US State Department’s advisory , under Safety & Security. The vendors are also extra-aggressive here, though it dies down considerably once you get a block or two away from the cruise terminal. If you just want to shop or walk around in Nassau, we advise staying within a few blocks of Bay Street, which is the main shopping street running along the shoreline, or take a cab over to Paradise Island, where the shopping area is much less chaotic and less sketchy.

Falmouth, Jamaica  has had ongoing problems with extremely aggressive vendors near the port. While Jamaica does have serious crime problems, most of it is found in poor areas of Kingston and Montego Bay. Falmouth itself is not an especially crime-prone area. Certainly the large gated shopping area of the cruise port is completely safe to explore, as only employees and cruise-ship passengers are allowed in, and while inside the gated area you will not be accosted by sellers. However, outside the port gates there are quite a few souvenir and craft vendors on the street who buttonhole cruise passengers as they go by. Firmly and politely saying “no thanks” is generally enough to get them to leave you alone. If you ever feel unsafe, during the day there are tourist police stationed at intersections near the port, who wear white helmets, white shirts and black pants.

Crime and violence have been on the increase in Mexico for the last few years. Relatively little of the violence has been directed against tourists, but it does happen occasionally: in February 2012, a busload of people on an official excursion from a Carnival ship were robbed of all their valuables , including passports, in Puerto Vallarta. (This was a giant mess for those who lost their passports, which is why we say do not take your passport off the ship! ) Disney adjusts its port calls in response to current events and will make every effort to visit the ports that are safest. We recommend staying with a group and/or taking an official excursion when visiting Baja ports, except for Cabo San Lucas, which has had few crime problems. For Western Caribbean cruises, Cozumel is a fairly safe port.

Barcelona  is an amazing city but has a big problem with pickpockets. According to a tour guide we spoke with there, under local laws most such thefts are a hand-slapping offense (basically if the pickpocket is caught, a ticket is issued and they don’t have to worry about going to jail). Personally, we saw a lot of tourists wandering around with expensive handbags hanging open over their arms. Don’t make yourself such an obvious target and you’re likely to be fine.

Some safety tips when getting off the ship in any port:

• Be aware of your surroundings. Look on a map before leaving the ship so you know the general layout of the port and have an idea of where the ship is docked. Don’t rely exclusively on a smartphone or other electronic device for directions, since those might be stolen. Take a paper map with you so you can find your way back to the ship.
• Don’t carry your whole wallet around. We recommend getting a travelers pouch (worn inside your shirt around your neck, or around your waist inside your pants), plus a cheap wallet. Preload the wallet with a little cash and maybe one credit card, and nothing else. In the travelers pouch put more cash, a different credit card, your ID, room key, and any phone numbers you might need (see below). Don’t put the ID in the wallet, since you’ll usually need the ID to get through customs and back on the ship. If you get mugged or pickpocketed, the thieves will get some cash, a credit card (which you’ll cancel as soon as you get back to the ship), and a wallet.
• DO NOT take your passport with you when you leave the ship, unless the country requires it, or you plan to rent a car (in which case you’ll need it). If it is stolen, you will have a real problem. Very few countries require you to carry your passport around. If not having your passport with you makes you nervous, make a color photocopy of the identity page of your passport before you leave on the cruise, and carry that with you when you get off the ship.
• DO put your passport (and any other necessary documents, credit cards, etc.) in your stateroom safe when you leave the ship. If for some reason you can’t make it back to the ship, Disney will send two security officers into your stateroom, open the safe, retrieve your passport and leave it with the port agent so you can arrange to rejoin the ship or head home.
• Don’t wear expensive-looking jewelry/watches/handbags, particularly when visiting places with a lot of poverty (e.g. Mexico and the Caribbean) or that are known for pickpockets (e.g. Barcelona and Naples). It just makes you a target for thieves. Very expensive/complicated SLR cameras can also make you a target. If you have a great camera, stay in the safest areas and don’t wander too far alone.
• Write down the name and phone number of the “ship’s agent” for the port (which will be available in the Navigator app), and carry it with you. Putting it in your cell phone or other electronic device is a good backup, but put it on a piece of paper, too, in case your phone is lost or stolen. You’ll need to contact the ship’s agent if something bad happens while you’re onshore (i.e., you get sick/robbed/miss the ship’s departure, etc.) If something happens and you lose the number for the ship’s agent, call the port – they will know the agents for the various cruise lines. It would be a good idea to also have the number of the nearest US embassy or consulate and a local cab company.
• Do not take unlicensed cabs, unless the car was arranged by yourself or a trusted intermediary such as your hotel concierge or bell captain. If a random driver offers to take you somewhere, don’t take them up on it. Your best bet is to only pick up cabs at managed cab stands at ports, airports, hotels or major tourist destinations. In cities with well-regulated cab systems with clear markings, hailing a cab on the street is fine.

Disney offers a wide variety of shore excursions (which they call “port adventures”) of varying quality. In almost all cases the excursions are offered by third parties contracted by Disney. If you’re wondering whether an excursion is worthwhile, we recommend buying a guidebook that reviews them, or searching the internet for reviews on cruise sites, since nearly all shore excursions are the same ones offered to all the cruise ships. Keep in mind that there are often many tour operators offering similarly-named excursions in each port, so just because you find a fantastic review of a city tour, for example, doesn’t mean it’s the same city tour offered by Disney.

Some excursions are very popular and fill up early, so book them as early as you can . If you’re not able to get an excursion you wanted before you embark, go to Guest Services or the Excursion Desk as soon as you get onboard and see if they can add you to a waiting list. Or you can check our tips below for booking the tour on your own. Sometimes the tour or experience itself still has space, but the bus that Disney chartered is full – if  you’re willing to take a cab direct to the facility you can still do the excursion.

Booking excursions directly, instead of via Disney, can save you money and give you extra flexibility. As we mentioned earlier, the shore excursions offered at each of Disney’s ports of call are provided by third-party tour companies, with the exception of most of the Castaway Cay excursions. They are (with a few exceptions) the exact same excursions offered by every other cruise line, and are often offered directly to the public via the tour operators’ own website, or via various aggregators like Viator . In some cases the tour is cheaper when you book directly (since they don’t have to split the profit with Disney), but even if it’s the same price, booking yourself allows you to choose excursions or optional add-ons Disney doesn’t offer, or alternative times that might fit your schedule better. And of course you can choose to do tours and activities that are not offered by Disney, or just get off the ship and explore the town.

Families with kids can often save significant money booking direct! Disney Cruise Line almost always uses a standard age range for pricing port excursions: anyone 10 or older pays the adult price, ages 3-9 pay a child price and ages 2 and under are usually free (or sometimes there’s an infant price). But if you book your port excursion directly with the tour operator, you often find that they offer child discounts up to age 12 and sometimes up to age 16 or 17. Some don’t charge for kids 3 or under, or even 4 or under. That can save you a lot of money, depending on the ages of your kids. You have to book directly (or through another vendor like Viator ) to get the more generous child discounts.

Some people worry that an independent tour company might not getting them back to the ship on time. In practice, it’s extremely  rare for a tour operator to get passengers back late enough to miss their ship. Any tour company that services cruise passengers risks the wrath of a busload of incredibly angry guests if they miss their ship. You can be sure they do not want that to happen, and they will go to great lengths to avoid it. If they have a bus breakdown, they will have a contingency plan to bring in another bus or provide alternative transportation. Some third-party tour companies provide a guarantee that they’ll get you back to your boat on time or they’ll pay to get you to the next port, which tells you that they’re confident they’ll be on time. They take cruise-ship passengers around every day of the year; they’re very aware of the need to stay on schedule.

On a Disney-booked tour, the tour operator will contact the Disney ship’s agent immediately if they get into trouble, so the ship staff know what’s going on. You should do the same: if you are exploring independently or on a self-booked tour and suffer an issue that might make you late, immediately call the ship’s agent and tell them what’s happening. The name and phone number of the ship’s agent for the port is in the Navigator app, or you can call the port and ask for the name and number of the Disney port agent. The ship may wait for you if they know where you are and when you’ll be arriving; they usually won’t wait very long if they have no idea when you’ll be there.

In the very unlikely event that a tour operator doesn’t get you back to the ship before it has to leave, third-party trip insurance may cover your cost to get to the next port, via the “trip interruption,” “missed connection” or “travel delay” coverage, if the tour operator or a cab, bus, or train is delayed as a result of one of the covered events. Covered events usually include a tour operator or carrier suffering a mechanical breakdown, traffic accident or weather-related delay. Check the description of coverage of your trip insurance, or call their customer service number to see if you’re covered. Be careful; some of them only cover trip interruption or missed connections if the carrier ceases service for more than a certain amount of time, sometimes as much as 24 hours.

Most people who miss their ship departure are not on an excursion at all. They just get sidetracked while shopping or sightseeing (or drinking),  often within walking distance of the ship. When you’re close to the ship you don’t have the stress of worrying about getting a cab or whether your tour is going to leave on time, and it’s easy to stop paying attention. Another reason people miss the ship is that they mis-remember the all-aboard time. Don’t let this be you! Write down the all-aboard time, and set an alarm on your phone or watch for when you should be heading back to the ship. Something to be aware of is that if your phone connects to the local cell towers or to local Wi-Fi, it may reset its clock to local time, which might not match ship time. Make sure you know whether your all-aboard is in local time or ship’s time, and also know what time zone your watch or phone is set to. Allow 30 minutes to get through port security, plus 30 minutes for each transportation leg you have to take, in addition to estimated travel time , just in case.

Another thing to keep in mind about self-booked tours: occasionally the ship has to miss a port or arrive late because of weather or some other issue. If you have an excursion in that port that you self-booked, that tour operator’s cancellation policy applies. In our experience many tour operators will refund your money if the ship doesn’t make port, and most will wait for you or put you on a later tour if the ship is late, if they can find a way to do it. It’s definitely worth checking the “missed port” policy before you book, though. Again, your trip insurance may cover missed port excursions under “trip interruption,” “travel delay” or “missed connection;” check with your insurance provider to be sure.

No matter how you book your tour it’s a good idea to have your own contingency plan just in case. You should always have the number of a local cab company in your phone (and written on a piece of paper in case you lose your phone). And you always want to give yourself some leeway. We strongly recommend against self-booking a tour or activity that ends less than 2 hours before the ship leaves . You could make exceptions if you know the activity happens completely within walking distance of the ship, such as the lumberjack show in Ketchikan, which is literally a block and a half from the dock. Be careful though – sometimes the location given by the tour operator is just the pick-up spot; they may transport you somewhere else for the actual activity. The bottom line is that you want to have enough time to find alternative transportation back to the ship if you have to, especially if you’re just exploring on your own. When in doubt, contact the tour operator directly if you can, and ask them how much time it takes to get to and from their pick-up/drop-off points.

Viator.com is an easy, reliable way to book cruise excursions, tours and activities. Like Disney, they work with third-party operators in the various port cities. They hand-pick tour operators that meet their standards for experience, financial soundness, and customer service. They have reviews on their excursions, written by actual customers. You need to take these reviews with the same skepticism that you would with any online reviews: some people are ultra-picky, and some people love everything. But it can give you useful details about the kinds of things you’ll get to do, the kinds of problems that can arise, whether you have to take a long ride from the port to get to the tour beginning, etc.

We have been recommending Viator.com for several years and have had good feedback from readers. They often have the best prices we’ve found on shore excursions, and offer many of the popular excursions in the major ports Disney visits. In some cases they offer the exact same excursion as Disney, provided by the exact same tour company, but with a wider range of available times or more options. We have on several occasions chosen one of their excursions as an alternative to Disney’s excursions, and we’ve always been happy with the tour operators and tours.

To give an example, on our trip to Alaska on the Disney Wonder, we booked a whale-watching excursion in Juneau with Viator because it left earlier, which left us more time for sightseeing and the Mendenhall Glacier. It turns out there are about 5 big whale-watching companies in Juneau, and they all share information about whale sightings, so everyone’s boats spend most of their time in a group traveling from sighting to sighting, then occasionally splitting up to look for more whales. The boat we were on was smaller and faster than the other boats, which allowed us to reach several whale pods first, but in the end everyone saw the same whales. The bottom line: we got a basically identical (maybe a little better) whale-watching trip for about 70% of the Disney excursion price.

Here are direct links to the tours and activities pages on Viator.com for the most popular Disney Cruise Line ports, including departure ports. Note that many excellent tours that work well for cruise passengers are not necessarily listed in the “shore excursions” category. You just have to look at the start and end times of any tour you’re considering and compare to the cruise schedule. We recommend avoiding picking start times less than 30 minutes after your scheduled arrival time in port (plus any travel time needed to get from the port to the tour’s start point). And we strongly advise not picking tours with ending times less than 2 hours before the cruise’s scheduled departure time (plus any travel time needed to get from the tour’s end point to the ship).

• Nassau tours and excursions

Western Caribbean :

• Miami tours and excursions
• Cozumel tours and excursions
• Grand Cayman tours and excursions  (Remember to allow time for tendering into port)
• Falmouth, Jamaica tours and excursions

Eastern Caribbean :

• Tortola shore excursions
• St. Maarten tours and excursions
• St. Thomas/St. John shore excursions
• Vancouver, Canada tours and excursions
• Juneau tours and excursions
• Skagway tours and excursions
• Ketchikan tours and excursions

Mediterranean :

• Barcelona, Spain tours and activities
• Venice, Italy tours and activities
• Villefranche (French Riviera) tours and excursions
• Pisa, Italy tours and excursions (Note that you need to allow travel time to/from La Spezia)
• Florence, Italy tours and excursions (Note that you need to allow travel time to/from La Spezia)
• La Spezia, Italy tours and excursions
• Rome, Italy tours and excursions  (Note that you need to allow travel time to/from Civitavecchia)
• Naples, Italy tours and excursions

For other locations, go the Viator.com home page  and search for the name of the port.

Many of Disney’s Bahamian and Caribbean cruises include a day at Disney’s original private island: Castaway Cay (pronounced like “key”), which is a tiny islet in the Bahamas. For many people Castaway Cay is the best part of a Disney Cruise, as you get the wonderful white sand beaches and clear water of the Caribbean without annoying distractions like roaming vendors and hair braiders. There are plenty of beach chairs for everyone (though you may need to hike to the far end of the beach if you take your time in the morning getting off the ship), and lots of things to do or not do as you prefer.

On your Castaway Cay day, we definitely recommend getting off the ship early . Use room service to have breakfast in your cabin or head to the buffet when it opens and then get off the ship as soon after 9:00 am as you can. You’ll have your pick of chairs, no lines for character greetings and photo opportunities, and the snorkeling will be undisturbed by others stirring up the bottom.

If you’re the adventurous type and don’t want to just lie around on the beach, take advantage of the package excursions at Castaway Cay that include snorkel equipment, float/raft rental, and a one-hour bike rental. The bundle deal is not available once you leave the ship (i.e., you have to pay the individual price for each activity, which will cost more). However, MouseSavers.com reader Kelly M has this to offer: “at Castaway Cay, there is so much to do that we couldn’t get to everything. We booked four passes for the snorkel, float and bicycle package. Next time we will only book two passes and share. We ran out of time and could have easily shared two sets. We didn’t even get to pick up the bikes since we ran out of time.”

Castaway Cay has its own post office, so your stop there is a great opportunity to send postcards to your friends. All of you scrapbookers out there will want to bring an extra postcard or two to mail to yourself; they’ll receive the Castaway Cay postmark! Definitely buy your Bahamian stamps on the boat at Guest Services before you arrive at Castaway Cay, or you can buy them in Nassau if you go there first. If you do buy stamps at Castaway Cay you will need CASH to pay for the postage — it can’t be charged to your room key, and you may find that the post office has very limited hours (as in it may not open at all). If you have stamped postcards, you can drop them in the slot any time. Note that it can take quite a long time (months) for the postcard to reach home, and we have multiple reports of postcards never arriving at all.

Every visit to Castaway Cay includes a running of the Castaway Cay 5K , which is a nice way to start your day if you like running. You’ll (usually) get a souvenir medal for completing the race (though sometimes they don’t give them out, seemingly at random), a feeling of accomplishment, and an excuse to have a second helping of cookies and ice cream at lunch. Look at the Navigator app for instructions on where to meet. Usually the race gets going pretty early in the morning to avoid the heat.

Take some time to explore the public parts of the island, including the old landing strip . Disney has placed a bunch of artfully arranged flotsam and jetsam all over, including a couple of DC-3’s with Disney nose art that make a great backdrop for a group photo. Taking a walk or bike ride to the observation tower makes a nice expedition. The walkway is paved and well-marked, and there are water dispensers at regular intervals. From the top of the tower you can see the ship in the distance, the native landscape of Castaway Cay (which is admittedly pretty sparse), and some fun surprises placed here and there by Disney imagineers.

Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point is Disney’s newest “private island” experience , created to take some pressure off Castaway Cay and add new private beach experiences to the Disney Cruise portfolio. It has all the same basic features as Castaway Cay: a nice private beach with plenty of lounge chairs and umbrellas, included buffet lunch, and exclusive shore activities and excursions.

Lookout Cay is not actually a separate island, but rather a private piece of land near the southern tip of Eleuthera , one of the larger Bahamian islands. However, from a practical point of view it works the same way as a true private island. It’s just easier for the locals to come to work, since they can just drive over instead of taking a boat.

Lookout Cay has something for everyone. You can snorkel, get a spa treatment, walk the nature trails, participate in Disney shore adventures, meet characters and learn about Bahamian arts and culture. As with Castaway Cay, there are a few extra-cost experiences, but most of it is FREE.

All of Disney Cruise Line’s popular 3- and 4-day cruises stop in Nassau, which is probably the single most visited cruise destination in the world. Every day, up to 18,000 cruise passengers arrive at the Nassau cruise terminal and head out to a variety of adventures, shopping, or just to the beach. The Bahamas is a former British colony with a rich history, and traces of its Georgian heyday are visible in the lovely old buildings, some dating back to just after the American Revolution.

There is plenty here for the cruise visitor, including the amazing Atlantis mega-resort, snorkeling, scuba-diving, or just lying on the beach. You can also just get off the ship and explore, though read the Port Safety notes; the tourist areas of Nassau are quite safe during normal business hours, but it’s not recommended to wander too far on your own beyond the downtown and resort areas, especially at night.

Getting Taxis in Nassau

• Atlantis & Aquaventure
• Aquaventure Tips

Nassau Beach Options

• Other Nassau recommendations

There is quite a bit to explore within walking distance from the cruise terminal, but if you want to get to the further beach and resort areas like Paradise Island or Cable Beach you’ll want to get transportation. We generally recommend taking taxi cabs. There is a water taxi to Paradise Island near the cruise terminal, but it doesn’t have a schedule; it waits until it is full, which can take a long time. And there are jitneys, which are local buses. The #10 jitney runs back and forth along Bay street from near the cruise terminal to the far end of Cable Beach, but the waits can be long, and they can be crowded and stop semi-randomly. Be sure to take the #10, which stays on Bay Street, and not the #10A, which goes through side streets and takes forever. The fare is $1.25 each way per person, cash only, no change given. Our feeling is that you have limited time in Nassau; make the most of it and take cabs. It’s a small town and very few places will cost more than $4/person to get to in a cab. Getting from the cruise terminal to the far end of Paradise Island or Cable Beach might go as high as $6/person.

You should know in advance that taxis in Nassau are not always in particularly great shape. The air conditioning may not work or the driver may not run it to save gas. The car or van itself may look well-used. The driver may stop to get gas on the way to your destination. It’s the Caribbean, and that’s pretty much the standard for cabs all over the region. Ultimately if you don’t like the look of a cab, wait for another one. If all of this sounds like it would make you uncomfortable, then don’t take cabs; book excursions with included transportation via Disney or Viator  or direct with a tour company. Disney and Viator work with large tour companies that generally use nice, clean air-conditioned vans and minibuses.

Licensed cabs say “Taxi” on the side in fancy lettering and have a taxi license plate and a meter. There are shuttles as well, mostly doing back and forth runs between the cruise terminal and Paradise Island, and they can be a perfectly reasonable option, if picked up inside the cruise terminal gates or called for you by the bell captain at a hotel. We would not recommend taking an unlicensed cab anywhere else, unless you arrange the booking yourself through a reliable transportation company. Often even if you take a licensed cab with a meter the driver will refuse to use the meter and will just quote a price, which you are free to negotiate. Just about anywhere within 15 minutes of the cruise terminal should be $4/person or less. If the driver tries to change the agreed price, just repeat the price you agreed, hand them the money and get out.

At the cruise terminal, the shuttles to Paradise Island are easy to get, but be aware that they are not organized into a well-behaved line. There is a large, chaotic area inside the cruise terminal gates with shuttle vans, van hawkers, drivers, etc. all trying to get the attention of cruise passengers. You can go to one of the counters offering shuttles, or just tell the first driver you see where you want to go. The drivers will usually want to wait until they’ve filled up their van, but that shouldn’t take long. If you want to get a personal taxi for just your party, you may want to walk outside the terminal and look for a licensed cab.

At a resort like Atlantis or the One & Only Ocean Club, just go to the bell stand out front and ask for a taxi. They’ll whistle one over, or call one if there isn’t one waiting.

If you’re somewhere else and need a ride back to the cruise terminal, if you’re near Bay Street you can just hail a taxi; there are plenty going up and down it all day. On Paradise Island, you can find taxis in any tourist spot or driving on Paradise Island Drive.

It’s normally about 15-20 minutes drive from Atlantis or other locations on Paradise Island to the cruise terminal. The far end of Cable beach is about the same driving distance from the cruise terminal in the other direction. But near the end of the day there can be significant traffic trying to get back to the terminal that can push the total travel time to 30 minutes or more, so don’t push your luck. Allow plenty of time, and remember you have to get through port security.

Atlantis & Aquaventure

Atlantis   is a truly massive resort and casino on Paradise Island, about a 15-minute drive from the cruise terminal . It’s one of the most popular destinations for cruise-ship passengers in Nassau, largely because of its massive water park, Aquaventure . It also has a very large and beautiful aquarium called The Dig, which is designed to look like you’re touring an ancient section of the mythical land of Atlantis that has been submerged and discovered centuries later by archaeologists. Atlantis is located right on Cabbage Beach, perhaps the most beautiful of all Bahamas beaches, and it has an enormous casino and lots of high-end restaurants and shopping. It’s all very impressive, but the prices are equally impressive.

Is Atlantis worth visiting while on a Bahamas cruise? It’s hard to say. Purely as a water park, we’d have to say no. If you book it through Disney, it’s about $250 for adults and $140 for kids. If you self-book and work every angle, you might be able to get access to Aquaventure for $120-$140 so per person in the peak season, or $95-$110 in the off season. Compare that to Blizzard Beach , Typhoon Lagoon or Aquatica in Orlando, all of which are $75-ish for a full-price adult ticket (even less if you use one of the many discounts available). Atlantis Aquaventure is huge and has some very neat water slides and a great rapids river called the Current, but it’s not so much better than the Orlando parks to merit the price difference. In fact, we’d say the Orlando parks are easier to navigate and better planned for practical touring. All that said, Atlantis as a whole is pretty spectacular and a unique destination. The Dig, the predator lagoons, the Aquaventure park and the art and the architecture are all unlike anything anywhere else (except maybe the other Atlantis resorts), so it’s very hard to say what it’s worth. If you have people in your party who love water parks, or love aquariums, it’s probably worth a visit. If you find the architecture intriguing, you’ll like it even better up close. But if you expect to get your money’s worth as a “theme park” experience, then it’s going to be a disappointment.

Most of Atlantis , including Aquaventure and the aquariums and other exhibits, is only open to their own hotel guests or cruise-ship guests with a day pass . Even the Royal Towers lobby is off-limits if you don’t have a wristband or the paperwork you need to get a wristband.

There are several options for visiting the paid sections of Atlantis, including several Disney-sponsored excursions. It is almost always cheaper and faster to get to Atlantis on your own. We recommend taking a cab right outside the cruise terminal, which allows you to leave immediately after docking and beat the other cruise passengers to the water slides.

You can get an Aquaventure pass on-site, when available, which includes beach and Dig access. However, when the resort is very full, such as during spring break, they may not offer walk-up Aquaventure passes, or they may sell out quickly. If you know you want to visit Aquaventure, it’s a good idea to book through Disney or book via Atlantis’s website. If you just want to view the Dig or the beach, there may be passes that don’t include Aquaventure available at a lower price – call first to check availability.

These prices were correct when gathered (early 2024), but are subject to change any time, and may vary based on season and demand:

• The Atlantis Aquaventure day pass includes access to pretty much everything at Atlantis except the Dolphin adventures and the grounds and pools of the ultra-pricey Cove and Reef areas. It includes access to Aquaventure, pools, the beach, the Dig, the predator lagoons and the Royal Towers lobby. Same-day passes cost $250-275 (depending on season and whether lunch is included) for adults (13+), and $140-$160 for children (4-12). Children 3 and under are FREE with a paying adult. Note that these may sell out, especially at peak times like spring break. 
• The Discover Atlantis pass includes the Dig, the predator lagoons, and access to the Royal Towers lobby. It includes a guided tour of the Dig (which you can take or not). Same-day passes cost $55 for all ages (4+). Children 3 and under are FREE with a paying adult. We have never heard of these being sold out.
• The Atlantis Beach Day pass includes use of beach chairs and umbrellas, plus access to the Dig, predator lagoons, and the Royal Towers Lobby. Same-day passes cost $95 for all ages (4+). Lunch is not included. Children 3 and under are FREE with a paying adult. We have heard of these selling out during spring break, and possibly other times, but perhaps not as often as the Aquaventure passes.

Some (but not all) of these day passes can be purchased in advance on Atlantis’s website .

To buy a day pass in person, go to the ticket booth at the Coral Towers entrance and show your Key to the World card to prove you’re on a cruise. (They don’t want guests of other unaffiliated Bahamas hotels to be able to get access to the Atlantis facilities, which is why they need to see proof that you’re a cruise passenger.)

If you don’t want to pay for a day pass, there are a few areas of Atlantis that are free to visit , most notably the casino, shops and restaurants in and around the Coral Towers. If you just want to soak up the atmosphere, gamble, or have some lunch, you’re welcome to do so by coming in the Coral Towers entrance. You should know, though, that pretty much all of the iconic Atlantis architecture and decor is in and around the Royal Towers, which are off-limits without a pass. You can also walk outside and visit the Marina Village shopping center and the Paradise Shopping Plaza across the street, which features a local handcrafts area that is like the Straw Market in downtown Nassau, but with slightly less aggressive vendors. If you want to eat, many of the signature restaurants in Atlantis are only open for dinner, but there are quite a few restaurants open for lunch in the Marina Village, or you can walk through the conference center to the Beach Tower and eat at the Cave Grill without needing a day pass.

When you’re ready to leave Atlantis, if you have any day pass and thus have a wristband, just walk out the front doors of the Atlantis Royal Towers and ask them to call you a taxi or cruise terminal shuttle. There will likely be several of them waiting, and there will be a posted flat rate to the cruise terminal. If you’re just visiting with no day pass or band, you will have to pick up a taxi at the Coral Towers, Beach Tower or the Marina Village.

Aquaventure Tips & Tricks:

• Whether you book the Disney Aquaventure tour or go on your own, our advice is to ignore the guided tour of the Dig and just head straight to Aquaventure as soon as you get your wristbands. The Dig is well worth visiting, but not during prime morning hours; it stays open much later than the pools, so save your visit for later in the day when you’re tired of slides, during a mid-day break or in the last 30 minutes before you need to return. Obviously if you get there so early that they won’t let you into the Aquaventure area, congratulate yourself on your efficiency and take a turn through the Dig, or take the opportunity to check out the predator lagoons over by the Coral Tower or the murals and decorative elements in the Royal Towers lobby.
• The slides and Current usually open at 10, and the pools and Dig open at 9 . It’s a good idea to get in as early as you can to get a locker and towels and stake out some lounge chairs. If you manage to get all settled before the slides open, you can walk around and check out the lay of the land and get yourself oriented.
• In the late summer and fall, it’s not uncommon for the pools and slides to close in the mid-afternoon because of thunderstorms, and they might not open again, so it’s important to get an early start.
• The best locker and towel area is the Hospitality Center. In defiance of logic, it is in the back of the park as far as possible from the lobby and entrances. From the desk where you get the wristbands, head up the stairs to the lobby level of the Royal Towers and follow the signs to Aquaventure, and then to the Hospitality Center, or ask any staff about the most direct route. There are lockers, fresh towels, and deck chairs there, and it’s right next to a good place to enter the Current. However, we’d suggest spending the morning riding water slides, and then check out the Current once you’re tired of slides or the lines are getting long.
• The Current is not a “lazy” river. It’s a rapid river, and there are sections of it that can hurt you if you’re not paying attention, including a speed run through concrete “rocks” you could hit your head on or get a bad scrape from. If you’re paying attention, you’ll have no trouble; it’s not crazy fast. But don’t make the mistake of thinking you can just relax and float. In some sections it can look that way, but then it can speed up and start knocking you around. Think carefully before sending small children on it, or walk around and take a look at the hairier sections. There is an actual lazy river way over by the Beach Towers (which is a hike), should you want a more sedate experience.
• The concrete walkways appear to be some kind of cool-deck material, but they still can get pretty hot. Flip-flops or water shoes are highly recommended. You can wear flip-flops or water shoes on the slides, as long as they don’t have metal on them that might scratch the slide surface.
• Towels are available early in the day from big carts near the Hospitality Center. Later in the day those carts disappear but they still have towels, so if you don’t see any, just ask at the Hospitality Center desk and they’ll hand you fresh towels.
• The food and merchandise locations in Aquaventure do not accept cash. They only accept Atlantis room keys or credit cards, so make sure you bring a working credit card with you if you want to be able to get food and rent a locker.
• There is no central float and tube distribution location. Tubes are included in the price of Aquaventure , and you just grab any empty one as it floats by, or from any stack you see. There’s no point in dragging them around the park; there will be more available just about anywhere you would need one. In a few cases you have to lug your own tube up the stairs to the top of a slide, and that will be obvious, as everyone will be carrying tubes up the stairs.
• Several of the fancier tube slides can be accessed from the Current ; you just float around until you see a fork in the river, with one side leading to the “Rapids” and one to the “Power Tower.” Take the Power Tower path to get to two elaborate slides called The Drop and The Falls via a conveyor belt that carries you to the top of the Power Tower without you even having to get out of your tube. To get to the other slides in the Power Tower you have to leave the Current and walk up some stairs.
• The food from the snack bars is pretty ordinary and similar to theme-park food. If you want more exciting food, there is a full-service restaurant in the water park area called Shark Bites that serves a few Bahamian specialties like conch salad, conch chowder, and johnnycake (in addition to the usual burgers, salads and chicken strips). You could also head over to the Beach Tower and try the Cave Grill, which has a nice view of Cabbage Beach, and you could check out the sharks in the predator lagoons while you’re over there. If you have a lunch voucher it may only be good at certain restaurants, so check on that before you hike all the way over to the Beach Tower.

Free Beaches :

There are several public beaches in Nassau which cost nothing to visit other than transportation costs , plus of course any snacks, drinks, souvenirs, hair braiding, etc. you might purchase while you’re there. Most of the public beaches will have vendors hawking drinks, chairs, pictures, souvenirs, etc. and some of them can be pushy. Generally just politely saying “no thanks” is enough to get them to move on.

It’s very important to note that public beaches in the Bahamas do not have the same level of amenities as most public beaches in the USA . If you are used to California or Florida public beaches with bathrooms, changing rooms, showers, maybe a boardwalk, you will need to reset your expectations. In the Bahamas, as in many developing countries, there is very little public money for beaches, and (with a few exceptions mentioned below) the only infrastructure is provided by private vendors, who will charge money for access. At the more popular beaches there may be vendors who will rent you a beach chair or umbrella for a fee, or people just walking around with cold drinks for sale, but don’t expect much more than that. Also, depending on the tides and weather some of these beaches can have heavy surf and riptides, and there are no lifeguards.

• Junkanoo Beach (also called West Esplanade Beach). This is the closest beach to the cruise terminal, and is an easy walk. Just come out of the cruise terminal, turn right and follow the road along the shore (which has a few twists and turns along the way) for a few blocks past the British Colonial hotel. As the nearest public beach to the main tourism area, it’s quite busy and full of tourists and vendors. We have seen frequent reports of litter and debris, but if you can find a section that has just been cleaned and raked, it can be quite nice, and some of the vendors who have permanent shacks on the beach are very good about keeping up the area near them. The water is much calmer here than on other beaches in the area, though the view is perhaps not as nice (mostly you can see the harbor and cruise ships). There are public facilities here of varying cleanliness, again depending on how recently they were serviced. 
• Saunders Beach . This beach is just a bit further east on Bay Street from the Fish Fry area but not all the way to Cable Beach. There are fewer (often no) vendors here, and on weekdays there may not be many people here, period. There are no bathrooms or other facilities, but there are shops and some fast-food restaurants across the street. The beach has nice sand, but once you get into the water it’s a bit rocky. The surf here is not typically very strong, but there are no lifeguards on duty, so you’ll want to keep an eye on children. You could conceivably walk here, but it would be a  long walk; we’d take a taxi. If you’re trying to get away from the touristy beaches, this is the place, or Goodman’s Bay, just a bit further along Bay Street.
• Cable Beach . This is about a 15-25 minute drive from the cruise terminal, depending on which end of it you visit. Cable Beach is a beautiful beach with soft sand, but it’s hard to access the best section of the beach without paying, because that portion, while technically public up to the high-water mark, is effectively controlled by the row of hotels in front of it. The easiest public access is via Goodman’s Bay park, which is essentially part of Cable Beach. The beach at Goodman’s Bay is a less crowded beach than Junkanoo, and in fact on weekdays there may be almost no one here. On weekends there will often be some locals out and about. There are no public facilities on the beach or in the park except for restrooms that are open erratically and a children’s playground. You can walk over to the section of beach in front of Breezes, but they will shoo you away if you venture too close to the resort. At the other end of Cable Beach, near the Melia, pretty much the whole beach is deliberately designed to be inaccessible except through one of the resorts, and if you can find your way through an alley to the beach, you’ll find that essentially anything you would want to do is reserved for hotel guests. Really, if you want to spend the day at Cable Beach, a day pass is your best option.
• Cabbage Beach . This is on the north side of Paradise Island, right next to Atlantis. Cabbage Beach is a beautiful beach with a great view of the ocean, but the surf is very strong, especially in the winter, and it’s often not safe to swim. The best public beach access is about a mile away from Atlantis, next to the Paradise Island Beach Club. There are no public facilities to speak of, but there will usually be lots of private vendors around renting chairs, selling drinks, etc. The nearest public restroom is at the Marina Village, about a 25-minute walk away. You can no longer get into the Atlantis Beach Tower from the beach without an Atlantis wristband. If you decide you want a day pass, both Riu and Atlantis offer them ( see below ), but you can’t buy them at their beach entrances; they will direct you to go all the way around to the front entrance of the Riu or the front entrance of the Atlantis Coral Towers to buy one, which is about a 25-30 minute walk. The bottom line is that while the beach is technically public, the resorts in front of the beach effectively control access to most facilities and for most travelers we would suggest buying a day pass to experience this beach.

Paid Beach Day Passes :

For a more relaxing beach experience, it may be worth your while to get a day pass for one of the hotels in the area , which will generally give you access to their private beach, or to a reserved area on a public beach with beach chairs and umbrellas, plus access to the rest of their hotel including pools, bathrooms, towels, recreation equipment, etc. Lunch is sometimes included with a day pass, but be sure to read the included amenities to be sure. Note that these hotel’s websites never seem to have any information about day passes. To find out more, you must generally call the hotel directly. The Bahamas uses the US/Canada phone prefix (1), so you can direct-dial Bahamas numbers easily. It is an international call from the US or Canada, so you might want to check what your phone company is going to charge before calling. Some of these hotels also have an email address, but our experience emailing foreign hotels is hit-or-miss. Some respond immediately and some never respond. All prices below were correct when we last checked them, but are subject to change without warning.

During peak times (spring break and Christmas, most notably), the resorts will be very full and the prices may be higher. The day passes tend to sell out, so it may be hard to get one as a walk-up guest. Pre-book if possible, or get to the resort as early as you can the morning you arrive. And of course even if you get a pass during peak season, it may be harder to find an empty beach chair or snag a kayak if you don’t arrive early.

• British Colonial, Nassau is a beautiful colonial-era hotel that was renovated extensively in 2023. Its best feature is its proximity to the cruise terminal – you can easily stroll there in 10 minutes. Just exit the cruise terminal, turn right and walk along the street for about 4 blocks. They have a private beach (with a view mostly of the port and cruise ships), and a nice restaurant. They offer a beach pass for $100 for adults, $55 for children. You can buy the pass in advance from ResortForADay . Direct phone: +1-242-605-9900
• Margaritaville Beach Resort is a new-ish resort right in downtown Nassau. It has multiple food outlets, a nice beach with a view of the cruise ships, and a small water park with a lazy river and a few water slides. It’s easy to get to – you just go out to the street, turn right, and walk along Bay Street for about 10-15 minutes. It’s just before Junkanoo Beach. A day pass is $110 for adults and $55 for children. This just includes access to the grounds, including the water park and beach area. No food or drink is included. You can buy the pass in advance from ResortForADay . Direct phone: +1-242-603-8400
• Breezes Bahamas is on Cable Beach, and only open to ages 14+, and at times (spring break) only 18+ . This is an all-inclusive resort, so day passes include all-you-can-eat food and drink including beer, wine, and cocktails for those over 18. Walk-up day passes are $110/person, or you can buy in advance from  ResortForADay . Direct phone: +1-242-327-5356
• Sandals Royal Bahamian is on the far end of Cable Beach, even further down than the Melia. It is an adults-only resort, so all guests must be 18+. They have by all accounts some of the nicest facilities in Nassau. This is an all-inclusive resort, so day passes include all-you-can-eat food and drink including beer, wine, and cocktails for those over 18. Walk-up day passes are at last report $115/person for 10 am – 6 pm. Direct phone: +1-242-327-6400
• Atlantis Paradise Island is on Cabbage Beach and last we checked, offers a beach day pass for $85 for all ages (4+), which includes lunch and access to the Dig aquarium (but not the pools or Aquaventure water park). Direct phone: +1-242-363-3000
• Riu Palace is also on Cabbage Beach, next to Atlantis.  It is an adults-only resort, so all guests must be 18+. This is an all-inclusive resort; day passes include all-you-can eat food and drink including beer, wine and cocktails. Day passes are available in person, or in advance for $160 through ResortForADay . Direct phone: +1-242-363-3500
• Blue Lagoon is best known for their popular Dolphin Encounter, but you can book a beach day on their private island for $94 for adults (13+), $70 for children (4-12), including lunch. Booking directly is a little cheaper than the Disney-arranged excursion, but you’ll have to take a cab to and from the Paradise Island Ferry Terminal to get to the embarkation point for the ferry to the island, whereas Disney includes all transportation and leaves from a dock near the cruise ship, so for most people booking this with Disney is the better option. More information: +1-866-918-9932
• Other day passes may be available from ResortForADay . The mix of resorts offering day passes changes from time to time, so it’s worth checking out what’s available on the date you’ll be in Nassau.

Other Nassau Recommendations

• The Fish Fry is a group of colorful restaurants and bars just a few blocks from downtown Nassau. It’s a good place to get authentic local food, including the local shellfish: conch (pronounced “KONK”). You can eat conch in many forms: fritters (which are generally heavy on the batter and light on the conch), “cracked conch” which is lightly battered and fried conch strips, tangy conch salad (kind of like ceviche), or spicy conch chowder (which has both cream and tomatoes, kind of like a cross between New England and Manhattan styles). You can also get fried or grilled grouper, snapper and other local fish. There are usually at least a few non-fish items on the menu for folks who aren’t fans of seafood. You can walk to it fairly easily in about 15-20 minutes, or take a very short cab ride. Just come out of the cruise terminal, turn right, and follow the road along the shore past the British Colonial Hilton, past Junkanoo Beach, and about two more blocks through Clifford Park until you see the row of fish joints. This is not fancy eating and may not be a good choice for picky eaters or young children (though most places have simple food like fries and chicken fingers available), but it is real Bahamian food and not expensive (at least not compared to other Nassau options), and during the day the walk is safe. You can Google “fish fry Nassau” for specific restaurant recommendations, but the competition here is fierce and tends to keep the quality up, so following your nose and checking out what other people seem to be enjoying is a good strategy.
• The Ardastra Gardens & Zoo is quite nice. It’s a small private zoo with some lovely grounds and a famous (and fairly amusing) “marching flamingos” show. Exactly how much the flamingos are “marching” versus “running away from the trainer” is debatable, but it’s all in fun and the narration doesn’t take the show too seriously. You can also feed apple chunks to Australian lorys (a kind of small parrot), who will land right on your hands and shoulders to take apple pieces. They have a wide variety of other interesting animals, including rare black swans. It’s good for a few hours, and our recommendation is not to bother with the Disney excursion that includes an overlong “island tour.” Just take a taxi there, and when you’re done, ask the Ardastra folks to call you a taxi back to the ship. You can also walk to/from Ardastra; it’s very near the Fish Fry. It’s about a 5-minute walk from the Fish Fry or a 20-25 minute walk from the cruise terminal, but definitely get a map at the cruise terminal; it’s tucked in among a bunch of houses and not in an obvious location. If possible, try to time your visit so you’ll be there for a lory feeding and flamingo show; the schedule is listed on the Ardastra Gardens & Zoo website .
• The Versailles Garden and Cloisters is a lovely terraced garden on Paradise Island that contains the ruins of a French monastery. The monastery was moved from France to the US by newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, and subsequently to the Bahamas by supermarket heir and developer Huntington Hartford , who thought it would look nice on the resort island he was developing. The gardens are now part of the The Four Seasons Ocean Club Resort , but a good portion is open to the public. The gardens are in a narrow strip of land that goes from the resort to the water, going down to sunken gardens and back up to the cloisters. You can easily enter the gardens from Paradise Island Drive, the main artery going east-west on the island. If you walk south from the road, you’ll pass through the cloister and eventually reach an overlook with a gazebo and beautiful view of the water. If you walk north from the road toward the resort, you’ll get to see a fair amount of the gardens, but will eventually encounter security who will turn you away if you’re not a guest of the resort. If you want to see the whole gardens including the portion near the resort, you can have lunch at the Dune restaurant (which is nice, but very pricey) at The Ocean Club, then walk out through the gardens. Keep your receipt from the restaurant just in case you walk out past a guard and then want to get back in. You can take a cab here from the cruise terminal, or walk to or from here from Atlantis or the Marina Village; it’s about a 10-15 minute walk from the Marina Village down Paradise Island Drive on a paved pedestrian walkway. There is also a free shuttle van between Atlantis and the Ocean Club. Ask about it at the Atlantis front desk.
• John Watling’s Rum Distillery  is built around a large and lovely renovated historic house. The highlight is a FREE self-guided walk through that tells you about the history of the location and how rum is made. The actual rum production facilities are a little underwhelming, and are basically a big warehouse full of barrels with some stainless steel tanks and equipment in the back. The rum itself is perfectly fine and makes a unique souvenir, as it isn’t easily available outside the Bahamas. There is a lounge at the end of the tour where you can buy small samples of the rum for a few dollars per pour, and a gift shop where you can buy t-shirts, mugs, glasses and, of course, rum. You can bring children on the tour (though obviously they can’t buy rum), but it’s not the most exciting thing for kids. Depending on how long you care to stay, you can spend as little as 15 minutes on the tour or perhaps as long as 45 if you love learning about rum. For us at least, the house itself and the history displays were the most interesting part.

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Atlantis Aquaventure (Low Season)

Atlantis Aquaventure Day Tour

Aquaventure, Atlantis Paradise Island's water park, is one-of-a-kind 141-acre waterscape. This water park is rated as one of the world's top ten. This non-stop aquatic thrill ride features over twenty million gallons of water, incredible Atlantean-themed towers, thrilling high-speed water slides, a mile-long river ride with rolling rapids and wave surges, 20 swimming areas, a spectacular kids water-play fort and 11 unique and refreshing swimming pools connected by a lush, tropical environment that is both immersive and interconnected. For vacationers young and older; the water park offers an extreme level of excitement and delivers an aqua adventure unlike any other.

Also included in your Aquaventure admission is access to the Atlantis Beach and over 50,000 marine life in the marine habitats including the Dig. The Dig is an elaborate replica of an actual archaeological site. Explore a labyrinth of underground passageways brimming with large viewing windows filled with exotic marine life. Due to extreme limited availability of this Nassau cruise excursion, guests are encouraged to book early. Ready for an experience like nowhere else? Book Aquaventure at Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas now.

HOURS OF OPERATION: The Aquaventure water park is open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, starting November to March. After March, the hours of operation will be from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM. It is recommended that you take a taxi from Atlantis to your ship at least 1 hour and 30 minutes prior to scheduled ship departure time.

Please Note: This activity is for cruise passengers only and guests who do not bring a photo ID, ship card and the excursion voucher will not be able to participate. Lockers and non-motorized watersport equipment are available for rent at an additional cost and are based on availability. Atlantis towels are provided to use for the day as well as complimentary lounge chairs. The majority of the park's restaurants do not accept cash, so it's recommended that you bring a credit card. Gift cards can be purchased with cash for use in "cashless" areas. This tour operates from Jan 5 - 16, Jan 21 - Feb 14, Feb 18 - 20, Feb 23 - Feb 29, April 13 - April 15, April 19 - May 20, May 26 - June 12, Aug 16 - Nov 5, Nov 8 - Nov 24, Dec 1 - Dec 22. If you would like to book this tour on dates other than those listed above, please CLICK HERE .

• Disney Cruise Line

1st Time Cruise- Disney Wonder Excursions to Atlantis ?

By beanie41 , January 21, 2009 in Disney Cruise Line

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Hi we are going on 4 day Disney Wonder Cruise in April and are planning our excursion days. We have two boys 11 and 8. Any recommendations for excursions on Nassau would be great. Not sure its worth spending a lot of money on the Atlantis Aquaadventure. Just would love some insight on how we should spend our day. Its all a bit overwhelming. Want to make the right choice!!! Thanks

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Hi we are going on 4 day Disney Wonder Cruise in April and are planning our excursion days. We have two boys 11 and 8. Any recommendations for excursions on Nassau would be great. Not sure its worth spending a lot of money on the Atlantis Aquaadventure. Just would love some insight on how we should spend our day. Its all a bit overwhelming. Want to make the right choice!!! Thanks beanie

Someone mentioned that if you pay for a room (although you are not going to spend overnignt), it will be cheaper than paying for excursions. They also suggested to check in and check out at the same time (make sure to get all the passes and wrist bands) so you do not have to go back later. I think it will be fun to do that but my son is only 3.5 years old so I will wait for the future. Hope this help a little bit.

We have gone to Atlantis 3 times getting a room. It is very easy to do. You book a room at Comfort Suites or Atlantis online or call. Compare prices. We have had two rooms at Comfort Suites. Once it was cheaper at Atlanits. You catch a taxi at the pier. They will be in our face to take you to Atlantis. It has been $4 per person. We have checked in and out. We have also came back and showered. It all depends when your ship leaves or port. There are plenty of taxis to take you back to your ship. Check out the Bahamas thread. More info there.

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Nassau excursions: Atlantis?

• Thread starter jbatdlrc
• Start date Jan 1, 2022

Earning My Ears

• Jan 1, 2022

Are the Atlantis excursions available on Nassau at the moment? Deciding on booking a 3-day or not. Thanks!  

The Mommy Fairy

yfamdiscruise

Mouseketeer.

Cheburashka

jbatdlrc said: Are the Atlantis excursions available on Nassau at the moment? Deciding on booking a 3-day or not. Thanks! Click to expand...

yorkieteacher

Dis veteran.

• Jan 2, 2022

This is showing for our February 28 Dream cruise- it is for the beach/pool areas only and doesn’t include any part of the hotel-  

Attachments

• Jan 4, 2022

Our February cruise now has an Atlantis lazy river/beach excursion available. No access to slides and exclusive access to the river and an area of the beach. About the same cost as past Atlantis ship excursions that included access to the entire Aquaventure water park. Currently Nassau does allow vaccinated to tour independently but if Disney has this weird excursion set up for your sailing you might be able to use the water slides/pools/casino but not the lazy river. So booking independently may get you a lot less than you planned. I would hold off on Aquaventure for a few months - they are just starting to open up to non-hotel guests.  

Timandalicia

• Jan 5, 2022

Colo17 said: Our February cruise now has an Atlantis lazy river/beach excursion available. No access to slides and exclusive access to the river and an area of the beach. About the same cost as past Atlantis ship excursions that included access to the entire Aquaventure water park. Currently Nassau does allow vaccinated to tour independently but if Disney has this weird excursion set up for your sailing you might be able to use the water slides/pools/casino but not the lazy river. So booking independently may get you a lot less than you planned. I would hold off on Aquaventure for a few months - they are just starting to open up to non-hotel guests. Click to expand...

• Jun 28, 2022

Colo17 said: I would hold off on Aquaventure for a few months - they are just starting to open up to non-hotel guests. Click to expand...

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Shore Excursion Details

Atlantis aquaventure, nassau, bahamas.

Added to Favourites!

• 6 1/2 hrs Estimate Duration

Aquaventure, Atlantis Paradise Island’s Water Park, is a one-of-a-kind 141 acre waterscape. Aquaventure features over twenty million gallons of water, thrilling high-speed water slides like the Mayan Temple and the 7-story Power Tower, a mile long river ride with rolling rapids, a spectacular kids water-play fort, 20 swimming areas, refreshing pools, and access to the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean! Plus access to view the renowned Atlantis marine habitat, home to more than 50,000 fish representing 250 species and the Caribbean’s largest casino and stroll through Marina Village, a charming and vibrant marketplace featuring 20 retail shops, restaurants, and local entertainment for a distinctly Bahamian vacation experience.

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Check out the, activity attributes, excursion type:.

Beach/Swimming

Activity level:.

• 3 Challenging