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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
XP from MM: Atlantis tips for Lapsfam
Some of this is redundant, because other folks gave you great tips in that other thread, but here are some things I enjoyed, learned, wished I'd known, etc. The Poop Deck is fantastic! Multiple people recommended it, and I can echo them now. Loved it. DH and I actually walked there from Atlantis and took a cab back. It wasn't far at all, and we enjoyed the exercise (not to mention the MM aspect), but everyone we told reacted as though we'd run a marathon. No matter how you get there, you'll enjoy the food and the prices. The mahi mahi was delicious. Oh, and the bread looks like a regular yeast roll, but it's much softer and actually worth eating. Again, as someone else said, the water taxi is a bargain compared to a regular one if you're heading downtown. I think it ran every half hour between 9am and 6pm for $8 round-trip. They did have one-way tickets, but I can't say for certain they are $4 each. A regular cab is about $11 on the way into town and $12 (including a dollar for the toll) on the way back to Atlantis. We arrived on a Thursday afternoon and left on a Monday afternoon, so we decided to spend one full day at the water park, another at the beach and on a snorkeling adventure, and the third shopping and wandering around downtown. Unfortunately, we never considered that Sunday might be a day of rest and chose it as our downtown day. The straw market was open, as were lots of stores with trinkets, but most of the shops we really wanted to visit were closed. Fortunately, we didn't care much and still had a good time exploring (check out the Hilton - gorgeous!), but if you're really interested in shopping, be sure and go another day. The Fish Fry is a strip of restaurants between the airport and Paradise Island (west of downtown Nassue, but not too far so) featuring local seafood. I'd definitely go again, because the food was good and the area was jovial, but I'd try a different spot. We went to Frankie Gone Bananas and had a good time, but they messed up my order (both salad and entree), and although one cab driver had recommended it, another told us (after we'd been there) it's pretty new and not the best. Twin Brothers also received a rec. I think the cab fare to that area from Atlantis was $15 before tip. The on-site dining options are ridiculously expensive, but you know that by now. 
We ended up skipping lunch every day, and it wasn't even for MM purposes; really, we were just full and busy. That helped, as did going off-site a bit. We did the Fish Fry one night, the Poop Deck another, and two breakfasts at Anthony's Grill, which is a hop, skip and a jump from the Coral Tower lobby at Atlantis. Seriously, it's maybe a four-minute walk. (Ask for Paula! She was great.) Near Anthony's, in the same little shopping plaza, there is a tiny market (like a convenience store, not a fruit stand), so we stopped in there to buy a couple yogurts and some fruit for snacks. The prices were high, compared to a grocery store here, but very affordable compared to anything on-site. When we did eat at Atlantis, it was at the Seagrapes buffet for breakfast (so yummy, and maybe this is shameful, but I probably did eat enough to make it worth the $57 (for two)) and the sports bar in the casino. I think that was called Atlas. I really enjoyed the salmon. We had one dinner snafu, but it was completely our fault, so I won't bore you with the story! Part of me wishes we'd gone ahead and booked a table at Mesa, just because it's famous and would have been an experience, but really, we're not foodies and were perfectly content. Before we went, I read that there is a 15% gratuity automatically added to restaurant tabs. It was pretty clear on every bill, but I think I may have accidentally tipped 20% on top of that if I hadn't known to expect it. I had done a dolphin experience in Jamaica years ago, and DH had no interest, so we skipped that. But I'd never been snorkeling, so I insisted on giving it a shot. We ended up going with Bahama Divers on a half-day "adventure" that left from the Rui (next door to the Atlantis Beach Tower) and were pleased. The boat was not fancy, but it was fine, and I think we enjoyed the ride almost as much as the snorkeling. It was pretty inexpensive (all things considered) at $50/person; however, the brochure said everyone would either get a DVD of the trip or an underwater camera, and we received neither. Ask for Roscoe! Cool guy. The library at Atlantis is over near the Beach Tower and villas. You can use a computer/get online there for 15 minutes a day for free. We made a point of doing so and never turned on our own laptop. That definitely saved us a nice chunk of change and helped us enjoy our vacation more. :)The ridge to Paradise Island from the airport is supposed to be $32. Our driver told us it was $35 or $37 (can't remember which) when we arrived at Atlantis, and then we tipped him on top of that. In hindsight, we decided he'd really taken advantage and likely added on the tip, assuming we wouldn't. Really, I have no idea. Just be aware. There are signs at the airport regarding the fares to various destinations. The ride is pretty long (30 minutes or so, maybe even 45), so plan accordingly when you leave. Someone told us we had to be at the airport three hours early, which turned out to be untrue. We went with a little over two hours, though, and didn't have a ton of time to spare. Oh, and when you arrive, the airport is pretty bad. When you leave, you see the newer part. It's super and comfy and has WiFi. There are lots of shops and restaurants when you get beyond customs. All in all, we calculated that we spend just over $700 for meals, snacks, tips, gifts, activities and local travel. (Again, we were there from Thursday afternoon until Monday afternoon.) Not too bad, considering it's alarmingly expensive there and we did plenty. It was definitely relaxing, but it wasn't a lazy vacation. We were on the move a ton! The fact that the water park is included in the room rate is huge. We didn't expect it to be so fun, and it ended up occupying us for pretty much all of one day and a couple hours the next. This is ridiculously long. My bad! Let me know if you have any specific questions. You'll have a blast!
We ended up skipping lunch every day, and it wasn't even for MM purposes; really, we were just full and busy. That helped, as did going off-site a bit. We did the Fish Fry one night, the Poop Deck another, and two breakfasts at Anthony's Grill, which is a hop, skip and a jump from the Coral Tower lobby at Atlantis. Seriously, it's maybe a four-minute walk. (Ask for Paula! She was great.) Near Anthony's, in the same little shopping plaza, there is a tiny market (like a convenience store, not a fruit stand), so we stopped in there to buy a couple yogurts and some fruit for snacks. The prices were high, compared to a grocery store here, but very affordable compared to anything on-site. When we did eat at Atlantis, it was at the Seagrapes buffet for breakfast (so yummy, and maybe this is shameful, but I probably did eat enough to make it worth the $57 (for two)) and the sports bar in the casino. I think that was called Atlas. I really enjoyed the salmon. We had one dinner snafu, but it was completely our fault, so I won't bore you with the story! Part of me wishes we'd gone ahead and booked a table at Mesa, just because it's famous and would have been an experience, but really, we're not foodies and were perfectly content. Before we went, I read that there is a 15% gratuity automatically added to restaurant tabs. It was pretty clear on every bill, but I think I may have accidentally tipped 20% on top of that if I hadn't known to expect it. I had done a dolphin experience in Jamaica years ago, and DH had no interest, so we skipped that. But I'd never been snorkeling, so I insisted on giving it a shot. We ended up going with Bahama Divers on a half-day "adventure" that left from the Rui (next door to the Atlantis Beach Tower) and were pleased. The boat was not fancy, but it was fine, and I think we enjoyed the ride almost as much as the snorkeling. It was pretty inexpensive (all things considered) at $50/person; however, the brochure said everyone would either get a DVD of the trip or an underwater camera, and we received neither. Ask for Roscoe! Cool guy. The library at Atlantis is over near the Beach Tower and villas. You can use a computer/get online there for 15 minutes a day for free. We made a point of doing so and never turned on our own laptop. That definitely saved us a nice chunk of change and helped us enjoy our vacation more. :)The ridge to Paradise Island from the airport is supposed to be $32. Our driver told us it was $35 or $37 (can't remember which) when we arrived at Atlantis, and then we tipped him on top of that. In hindsight, we decided he'd really taken advantage and likely added on the tip, assuming we wouldn't. Really, I have no idea. Just be aware. There are signs at the airport regarding the fares to various destinations. The ride is pretty long (30 minutes or so, maybe even 45), so plan accordingly when you leave. Someone told us we had to be at the airport three hours early, which turned out to be untrue. We went with a little over two hours, though, and didn't have a ton of time to spare. Oh, and when you arrive, the airport is pretty bad. When you leave, you see the newer part. It's super and comfy and has WiFi. There are lots of shops and restaurants when you get beyond customs. All in all, we calculated that we spend just over $700 for meals, snacks, tips, gifts, activities and local travel. (Again, we were there from Thursday afternoon until Monday afternoon.) Not too bad, considering it's alarmingly expensive there and we did plenty. It was definitely relaxing, but it wasn't a lazy vacation. We were on the move a ton! The fact that the water park is included in the room rate is huge. We didn't expect it to be so fun, and it ended up occupying us for pretty much all of one day and a couple hours the next. This is ridiculously long. My bad! Let me know if you have any specific questions. You'll have a blast!