Bahama Breeze: Part 2 – Exploring the Atlantis Resort in Nassau

I referenced the enormity of the Atlantis Bahamas complex in my earlier review. But wow, this place is gigantic!

Walking through it all would be a nigh impossible task. There’s a free shuttle bus to get around the various towers. Most places are a 5- to 30-minute walk, depending on which tower you stay, and how quickly you walk.

View from Dolphin Cay

The Atlantis is a city unto itself. It would take several weeks to experience the dozens of bars and restaurants, swim in all the pools, and walk around the beaches of Paradise Island. So go into it knowing you won’t see everything. But do sketch out a rough idea for what you’d like to see and do.

You won’t get to all 21 restaurants and each of the 19 bars and lounges – not to mention everything else!

I had a Casino Experience Pass included as part of my 4 free nights, and that set us on a course to exploring the Atlantis.

Bahama Breeze Index

Part 1 – Review of My Free Room at Atlantis Beach Tower, Nassau
Part 2 – Exploring the Atlantis Resort in Nassau
Part 3 – Wanderings in Nassau

Using the Casino Experience Pass

The Casino Experience Pass included:

My Casino Experience Pass

And the daily resort fee includes:

What the resort fee covers

I had to pick up the pass inside the casino. I was advised to keep track of it because it is NOT replaceable if you lose it – and you need to present it each time you redeem.

The system is quite low-tech: they simply check the box and cross off each item as it’s used.

When I checked in, the desk agent gave me enough vouchers for 2 free bottles of water each day of my stay. Do NOT drink the water in the room – they are $7 each. Instead, pick up water from around the resort and take it back to your room.

From the Casino Experience Pass, I did everything except the golf.

And from the resort fee, I didn’t go to the fitness center or movie theater. And I didn’t take casino lessons or use the shuttle. I did use the excellent wifi, got all my free water, and drank the coffee in the room.

Olives, Nobu, and Seafire restaurants

Nobu and Olives are near each other inside the casino.

My Sky Juice martini cocktail

We sat down at the bar in Olives, showed them our Casino Experience Pass and ordered 2 Sky Juice martinis. They were delicious and sweet and boozy!

Olives cocktail list

So right off the bat, we saved $30 with the pass.

Then we went directly after to Nobu and got our sushi and sake sampler.

We were pretty hungry by that point so I didn’t get pics. But wow. This might be some of the best sushi I’ve had anywhere. And the sake was wonderful, too.

In fact, it was so good we ordered a couple more rolls and just paid for it. I highly recommend the Bahamian roll!

And at Seafire, located in the marina, we just got a couple of glasses of wine.

I estimate between the 4 drinks, the sushi sampler, and the sake, we got around $75 in free food and drinks from the Casino Experience Pass.

Dolphin interaction

Note this only includes admission for one person. It’s an additional $150 to add another.

Yes, that’s a lot. So I gave it to Jay for his birthday and sat nearby to watch. They are very thorough – and part of the proceeds go toward preserving marine life in the Bahamas.

Jay in his wetsuit

There’s an orientation where they get you fitted in a wetsuit and explain what to expect and how to behave during the interaction. They they tell you a little about dolphins and how some of them ended up in the Bahamas – many were rescued from hurricanes or other natural disasters.

The fitting and orientation took about 30 minutes.

Jay with Electra the dolphin

Then, you get nearly a full hour of being with a dolphin.

You learn their name (our group got Electra), their personality, the tricks they like, and get to pet them quite a lot – and feed them!

They don’t rush you out at all – they were very patient about answering lots of questions. It was a good time, even as an observer. It may be worth paying for if you’re there for a special occasion.

They also limit the size of the groups to about 8 to 10. And you have to schedule your interaction in advance – you can’t just show up.

But the small group size means you get lots of time with your dolphin. They are gorgeous and intelligent animals. This was definitely a highlight for us.

And of course, you can buy a photo afterward for $25. We were chumps and took the bait. The photo (above) did turn out high-quality. And they’re available right after your interaction as you… exit through the gift shop. Ah, consumerism. It’s everywhere here.

The casino

This place is damn crazy. There are peeps coming off docked cruise ships, from the surrounding islands, and from within the Atlantis. It’s huuuuge and has everything you can possibly imagine, from slots to poker to blackjack to you name it.

Casino king

Card tables

Just incredible

If you’ve been to any Vegas casino, you’ll know what to expect: tons of carpet, free drinks everywhere, dim lighting, opulent decor, and tons of flashing lights and urgent music.

Multiply the typical Vegas experience by like, 20, and you can begin to approximate what Atlantis is like.

I’m not much of a gambler, but I stuck a $20 into the penny slot machines and played for a while. I lost it all, of course, but got a drink or two out of it so I figure it was worth it.