Here at Harborside

[Negma]

It is Easter vacation and we are traveling with my two (of Four kids) daughters 16 and 18 oye!

We started at the Sheraton 2 days ago, nice property, upgraded the overall appearance and we would go again. We asked for two rooms using points and two days before leaving they send an e-mail to upgrade to ocean view for $40 per room per night. We said no and had it for us at check in in anyway. It is funny that our girls liked the room but like our timeshares much better (spoiled).

We had our taxi stop at the grocery store before we went to Harborside. At check in 2:45 rooms were not ready. We went to the Point to eat and they have expanded the menu. Cheeseburger $12.

At check in they had us on the 1st floor and i politely said NO, Within seconds we were on the 3rd floor bldg. 5. Rooms are phase two, could not get wireless, but we are hard wired for $10 day. A bit of a strange smell in the room, but nothing too bad (must have been some strange cooking). Bags to the room were also much quicker.

We have also decided never to believe google weather, they called for rain today and it has been beautiful, no one at the Harborside pool until 9. Tonight dinner at the Bahamian Club, tomorrow, swim with dolphins and the new water rides.

So far so good.

 

[GrayFal]

Strange room odors seem to be the theme this week.....we just came back from the Marriott Aruba Surf Club and everytime we enter, there was a 'smell' we couldn't quite place....LOL

I am going to start traveling with a small pump bottle of fabreze.
Glad u r having fun - enjoy!

 

[Transit]

Negma,Was that the Cable beach Sheraton you stayed at? Is there an option to pay for use of the pools and slides at Atlantis while your staying at the Sheraton?

 

[GrayFal]

Negma,Was that the Cable beach Sheraton you stayed at? Is there an option to pay for use of the pools and slides at Atlantis while your staying at the Sheraton?

Can't answer about the Sheraton but you can stay at the Comfort Inn(Suites?) next door to the Atlantis and have full access to all Harborside facilities. I know this because I am a frequent Disney Cruiser and the topic comes up frequently in relationship to the Wonders 2 X week stop in Nassau

 

[Westin5Star]

Is HRA / Atlantis crowded? What is the occupancy? We are currently at SVR (first visit) and it is very crowded. We went to the Magic Kingdom yesterday and it was almost too crowded to walk.

We will be at Harborside next week. When we were there in September, we were regularly told that the occupancy was about 20% at Atlantis; although Harborside was at 90+%. It seemed true at Atlantis as we always got pool / beach side chairs, no reservations needed for dinner, no lines at lunch, etc. I am afraid that we were spoiled last trip and that the Spring Break crowds will make us only want to return in September.

 

[Negma]

We were at the front desk last night and someone was trying to get a room, there was no availability. We were at Disney last year over Easter and we will not do that again (we were there in February this year). I will let you know how Atlantis is, looked crowded yesterday at night, we will be over there today. I told my wife my bet is it gets less crowded as this week goes on, but it is high travel time.

There was nothing about Atlantis at Cable Beach Sheraton (yes that is where we were).

 

[mariawolf]

Hi Negma!
Also interested in how crowded it is==we usually go in January and although I always think about going at this time due to school breaks, am concerned about the breaks and also how hard it is to get that time--did you just call 12 months out??
Glad to hear the weather is good also as I have a friend staying at Comfort Suites with her daughter as a 16th birthday get away!

 

[tomandrobin]

Tonight dinner at the Bahamian Club, tomorrow, swim with dolphins and the new water rides.

I like to know how dinner was last night. We are looking to try the Bahamian Club in June, when we go.

Also, is the swim with the dolphins worth the price of admission?

For a quick lunch, there is the Quizno's right across from the Marina. For kids loved and so did my wallet!

 

[mariawolf]

The Bahamian Club is one of my favorites!! We go every year==since 2001==without the kids! One of our favorites is the mixed grill==it is awesome and they cook it table side.
We usually have left overs for breakfast the next morning--it comes with a filet,lamb chop, pork, and we always have brought back the sausage/bacon that comes with it--also comes with veggies==asparagus, tomato, potatoes, mushrooms cooked at the table also==all for around $110 for two. A bargain compared with some of the other places and service is very attentive with a senior and junior waiter!!!!!!!!!

 

[tomandrobin]

The Bahamian Club is one of my favorites!! We go every year==since 2001==without the kids! One of our favorites is the mixed grill==it is awesome and they cook it table side.
We usually have left overs for breakfast the next morning--it comes with a filet,lamb chop, pork, and we always have brought back the sausage/bacon that comes with it--also comes with veggies==asparagus, tomato, potatoes, mushrooms cooked at the table also==all for around $110 for two. A bargain compared with some of the other places and service is very attentive with a senior and junior waiter!!!!!!!!!

Your post a couple months back is the reason were planning on trying the Bahamian Club. We are going with two other families and thought it would make for a very nice "adult" dining experience. We figured the kids can go eat at the pizzeria that night, that would be thier preference anyway.

 

[arlene22]

Hey, Negma Have a great week!

That mixed grill for two at the Bahamian Club is our favorite, also. I second the recommendation!

We did the dolphin thing in February. I was not too pleased to learn that I had to squeeze my body into a wetsuit! LOL. It was nice, but expensive. My only consolation was that the money goes towards conservation efforts. They take a lot of pictures, then try to sell them to you. We bought the CD (comes with free 5x7 and Atlantis frame), but didn't do it until the last day, so we were able to pose for lots of pictures with the resort photographers and have them add those to the CD. So, while it's expensive (I think it was $145) at least we got some extra value out of it. BTW, you can only combine photos like that at the Dolphin Cay shop, and one of the folks there said that sometimes it doesn't work, but it did for us.

Have a great week!

 

[Negma]

So, a few notes while we wait for the rain to end:

Yes we called at 12 months out (I always do and my family makes fun of me but so what). I have been told that if you bring chocolates or money for the front desk folks they can help with room selection, not run quite like the other check-in resorts. We also got our GM welcome gift/note of water and a nice rum cake

The Dolphin encounter was a lot of fun, the push you on a boogey board, they give a hand held water propeller to swim with the dolphin, very cool, you get to keep the snorkel and mask, you then get to kiss and hug the dolphins. Thi faciities are first class and it is well done. All yours for $200. Then buy pictures. We loved it once, I would probably not do it again..

The dinner at the Bahamian Club was great as always, we have eaten there everytime we come out here. Service is very nice.

Tip of the day- Cruise ships are here Monday, Tuesday and Friday with day passes that end at 3pm. We walked through Atlantis and it was packed. Monday is the busiest with up to 500 cruisers . Their passes include a meal so stay away from the Shark Bites and other similar places. We came back to Harborside (lots of chairs) and we will go over early tomorrow to get a good spot and Aquadventure time

We will also go to Cafe Matinque for dinner tomorrow. Last time it was the best service, best atmosphere, and best food we had while we were here.

 

[mariawolf]

Interesting that they have those cruise passes at such a busy time. Trip Advisor says that they only do those when Atlantis capacity is low which you wouldn't think would be the case Easter week!
Good to know that you can call for such a busy week 12 months out--and you are in California==do you get up at 5am???
Enjoy the rest of your stay.

 

[Westin5Star]

Dolphins

We did the dolphin thing when we were there in September. My wife and two small kids did the "dolphin pet" and it was ok. I think that it was WELL worth the extra money to do the "dolphin swim". There is much more interaction and time with the dolphins in the SWIM.

 

[Negma]

Quick update:
Yes we do get up early to call, but now the new convient hours allow us to call at 6am

We went to Atlantis pools today and got there 7:30am. The beach was empty, but chairs by the pool were already 3 deep near the big pool. There were some good areas still open but come 8:30 ouch...Later in the day we talked to a cruising family. They got to the resort at 12 and are there until 5. It took them an hour to find seating and cost them $125/pp. Double ouch.

The new aquaventure is so much fun!!!The water in the river was warm and we stayed in for over an hour. Great stuff. They also have temporary tents set up selling burgers and drinks.

 

[tomandrobin]

We loved, loved, loved the Aquadventure on our trip last year!

Glad to hear you are having a good time!!

 

[mariawolf]

Just spoke to my friend who was down and said it was crowded as they were bringing in busloads of people from the cruise ships==so I guess whether the resort is crowded or not the cruise ships still get to sell those passes!

 

[JeffW]

I'm not sure how the details would work, but I wonder if there isn't some arrangement between Atlantis and the cruise ship companies that there will always be a decent amount on one-day passes available. If you think about worst case - Atlantis not selling any passes - I could perhaps see a cruise line deciding not to stop at Nassau. Atlantis access is probably a big selling point for a particular cruise line, enough that if they can't get it, they might go somewhere else.

Jeff

 

[mariawolf]

According to a Trip Advisor expert on their site the ones from the cruise ships are always available--but they cost even more than a regular day pass when available to the general public.
I am guessing they were real obvious this last week or so as since it is spring break a lot of those cruises would have kids on them. My guess is that it would be the same thing for the summer. I am so used to going in Jan/Feb I am not sure I could stand the crowds!