Atlantis (Bahamas)

Now that Kevin has healed from surgery and is feeling better, the doctors ok-ed travel again! (see previous post for details) This trip to Atlantis was Kevin’s annual customer conference. Previous trips for this conference were Orlando, Cabo San Lucas, and Dove Mountain. We enjoyed this getaway in the sun, but at the same time we are glad we were able to experience it without having to pay for the resort. Since the hotel and Kevin’s flight were totally covered for this conference, the only expenses we had were my flight (about $450 to Nassau) and lunches.

Kevin and I at the Junkaroo, a Bahamian tradition

The water slides and rapid river were a blast, but since it was the very beginning of Spring Break time, there were some lines/crowds. I can imagine that chairs would be scarce and lines would be pretty long (and annoying) during peak season when cruisers also take advantage of spending the day at Atlantis when they dock in Nassau. The rooms and resort were a little tired for the price-tag overall. The food was also pretty basic (chicken nuggets, fries, pizza, burgers, etc.). I’ll say this: Kevin and I would have been disappointed had we paid $400+ a night for the experience especially since flight prices to Nassau weren’t cheap. It would be very easy for a couple or family to spend THOUSANDS of dollars to vacation at this resort, and Kevin and I prefer to spend our travel dollars more frugally, so we can see more of the world! That being said, if Atlantis is on your list, there are several different hotel options at the resort. The highest-end hotel is called The Cove which can be up to $1100 a night in peak season. This option has 2 private beaches. We stayed at the second-highest hotel called The Royal which ran about $400 a night. The cheapest hotel at Atlantis is called The Beach and it is about $200 a night. If you are planning on going to Atlantis for the water slides and sitting pool-side, don’t spend money on the more expensive hotel rooms because they aren’t worth it! Everyone that stays at an Atlantis hotel gets access to all of the slides, so you aren’t necessarily getting “extra” staying at a more expensive option.

Unfortunately, we never got to go to the beach because it was closed when we were there. The surf was too high and dangerous, but walking to the beach from the resort is an option if the weather is agreeable!

A highlight of the trip was our opportunity to swim with a dolphin! We were given the choice between a deep-water experience and shallow-water experience. We chose shallow-water, and we were really glad we did. According to many of Kevin’s co-workers and their spouses who did the deep-water, they had less interaction with the dolphin than we did in the shallow-water. Our dolphin’s name was Palmer, and we were able to hug her and pet her as she swam around us!

All in all, this was a fun trip, but again, do your research before visiting. On to the next adventure!

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Cruise to the Bahamas

Ahoy! Since many of our vacations are not exactly RELAXING (we tend to do a lot of exploring, early mornings, etc., on our trips), Kevin and I decided to go on a cruise to the Bahamas. We didn’t plan any official excursions or anything because that really drives up the price – the plan was not to have a plan. For us, that’s a big deal. We got a great rate out of Ft. Lauderdale on Princess Cruises for a 4-day cruise to the Bahamas. When I say good rate, I mean a little under $1000 total for our cruise. This price did NOT include airfare. Our ship was the Emerald Princess. We have cruised Carnival Imagination before and wanted to see the difference between cruise lines. Carnival definitely had a bigger “party” vibe and attracted more families, but Princess was a little bit of an older crowd, which was just fine for us! It was quieter that way. Because the rate was so affordable, we booked a balcony room which was absolutely worth the extra money. We enjoyed many hours reading and relaxing out there!

Our first day was at sea, so we spent some time drinking fruity drinks while laying out at the pool. The first stop was Nassau. We were not huge fans of this city. Perhaps some of the resorts are nice, but to us it smelled like garbage and food and drinks are VERY pricey. The area near the cruise port had a lot of souvenir shops and bars. Before decided on a cruise we toyed around the idea of staying at a hotel in Nassau, and we are VERY glad that we didn’t. We even went back to the ship early to lay out at the pool!

We really enjoyed Princess Cay, Princess Cruise’s private island. We spent our entire day at the beach soaking up the sun! Since it was Princess’ island, they even had lunch available included in the cost of our trip. Drinks and beach furniture were available plus there was some live Bahamian music! A lot of people rented tubes and floats and things for the water, but Kev and I were content just to lay on the beach.

Arriving at Princess Cay!

Cruising is such an easy way to travel. You know exactly what you are going to be paying beforehand and the staff is always very energetic and helpful. There will always be food you’ll like (even if it’s 3000 calories), drinks are yummy, and there is a lot of free, fun entertainment on board! It was nice that we weren’t very interested in the ports because it put less pressure on our days, but it was also a bummer finally getting off the ship to ports that were kind of disappointing. It’s a double-edged sword. We probably won’t cruise again for a while – not to the Caribbean at least. We did achieve our goal of relaxing but as always, we wish we had one more day.