Just booked The Reef at Atlantis, looking for a little info

[diversmith]

Howdy all,

I just booked 10 nights at the Reef for us June 4-14. I know our boys (13 & 10 y/o) are going to love the water park and aquarium activities. This is a true family vacation, not a dive trip but I would like to get in a 2 tank excursion while there just to check it off the list and maybe see some sharks.

I'm looking for any personal experience for anyone that has stayed at the Atlantis complex. Any tips/tricks on saving money (it's frickin expensive to stay there and zero food & beverage is included!!). Are there better food options close by that are off property? We have a condo-style room so we have a full kitchen to use. I'm thinking we should probably just taxi to a real grocery store and stock up on breakfast and lunch fare and then just try to find the best value for eating dinners out.

As far as diving, it looks like Stuart Cove is about the only option. It looks like they will pick me up at the resort and they offer a 2 tank with a reef dive and then the shark feeding dive. Anyone have any personal experience with this? Any info on which days of the week are the "cruise ship" days that would be wise to avoid?

Our boys are avid snorkelers so any recommendations on a boat snorkel trip for all 4 of us? We will be taking all of our snorkel gear and are planning on snorkeling around the resort beach since the beach/water looks to be fairly nice at the resort area.

Feel free to chime in with any advice...all opinions are welcomed. Thanks in advance.

 

[Green Frog]

I’ve never stayed at the Reef (way above my pay grade) but I can say that the same buses from SC come to all of the hotels, and from the time you get on the bus at your door, through the dive(s) until you get back to the hotel, you have the same experience as us po’ folks!

As for the Shark Experience (afternoons only) I’ve done them about a half dozen times and found them to be very interesting. OTOH, when I was ther last June, out of eight dives (four 2 tank) I saw at least a few sharks on all dives but one…sometimes a LOT of sharks! They were not aggressive or threatening, more lnquisitive like dogs… GREAT BIG DOGS!

For eating away from your hotel, the group of restaurants called Fish Fry at Arawak Cay, just a short bus ride from downtown, MUST be experienced. It may even be a bit more economical than a meal at the hotel!

Enjoy your trip!
Froggie

 

[Wants2divemore]

Cruisemapper.com has a listing of the cruise ship schedules for various ports. Here's the page for Nassau June 2024. Looks like there are multiple ships in port your entire trip :-(

Nassau (Bahamas, New Providence Island) cruise port schedule | CruiseMapper

Nassau cruise port schedule 2024-2025-2026, map, address, ship terminals, hotels, tours, shore excursions.

www.cruisemapper.com

 

[NauticalNick]

Howdy all,

I just booked 10 nights at the Reef for us June 4-14. I know our boys (13 & 10 y/o) are going to love the water park and aquarium activities. This is a true family vacation, not a dive trip but I would like to get in a 2 tank excursion while there just to check it off the list and maybe see some sharks.

I'm looking for any personal experience for anyone that has stayed at the Atlantis complex. Any tips/tricks on saving money (it's frickin expensive to stay there and zero food & beverage is included!!). Are there better food options close by that are off property? We have a condo-style room so we have a full kitchen to use. I'm thinking we should probably just taxi to a real grocery store and stock up on breakfast and lunch fare and then just try to find the best value for eating dinners out.

As far as diving, it looks like Stuart Cove is about the only option. It looks like they will pick me up at the resort and they offer a 2 tank with a reef dive and then the shark feeding dive. Anyone have any personal experience with this? Any info on which days of the week are the "cruise ship" days that would be wise to avoid?

Our boys are avid snorkelers so any recommendations on a boat snorkel trip for all 4 of us? We will be taking all of our snorkel gear and are planning on snorkeling around the resort beach since the beach/water looks to be fairly nice at the resort area.

Feel free to chime in with any advice...all opinions are welcomed. Thanks in advance.

I was there a few years ago (The Cove) and you're correct, place is great but expensive as hell. Honestly we ended up just getting food from like starbucks a few times for breakfast and lunch which was pricey for Starbucks but significantly cheaper than any other options at the time. There is a town, city down the road (on the way to the airport if memory serves me right) where you can check out some local restaurants for more reasonable prices.

 

[diversmith]

Cruisemapper.com has a listing of the cruise ship schedules for various ports. Here's the page for Nassau June 2024. Looks like there are multiple ships in port your entire trip :-(

Nassau (Bahamas, New Providence Island) cruise port schedule | CruiseMapper

Nassau cruise port schedule 2024-2025-2026, map, address, ship terminals, hotels, tours, shore excursions.

www.cruisemapper.com

Thanks for that link. Looks like cruisers are in every damn day! I hate cruisers! They are like locusts....ruining so many nice spots. The only a-holes we ecountered in Grand Turk were cruisers.
Maybe we will just have to only go to Little Cayman or Brac from now on! lol

 

[BLee88]

Stayed there a few years ago and dove with Stuart Cove's over 5 days. The bus rides felt a bit long, but couldn't complain about a free ride.

It's a shame that Stuart Cove's is the only dive op in the area. I remember it as being a bit of a cattle boat operation, especially compared to some other ops I've used elsewhere lately. Seems like 2-tank prices have gone up too.

I tried snorkeling the reefs off Atlantis but didn't really see much. The cove off the Cove was also meh.

Most of the restaurants on the Atlantis complex are very expensive, especially the ones in the marina. There was a relatively afforable burger shop and a pizzeria but the rest were CRAZY expensive... and I'm used to ridiculous SF Bay Area prices. In fact, all restaurants on the Atlantis side of the bridge were crazy except one place called Anthony's.

Would strongly recommend getting out of the area to eat out.

Agree with a previous poster about Fish Fry. I don't remember which specific place, but hands down, it was the best fried fish and rice that I've had.

Wife and I are considering a trip in March. Hope you have fun and do share a trip report!