Poker Poker Poker!: [vpFREE] Trip to Atlantis Bahamas Full Report (long)

Caesars recently sent out a promotion to many members for a trip to
Atlantis in the Bahamas with free rooms, and more, and depending on your Total
Reward level. This can be a great deal, so below is a report of my trip.

Note the Atlantis can be a very busy (and sometimes crowded) resort. Many
cruise ship passengers get day passes to their Aquaventure Water Park too.
However when we went May 6-10, the time was right, and no crowds, even
though we were there on a weekend. Peak summer months are more likely to be
the crowded. We saw tons of empty lounge chairs, no lines for rides, and
just one large line for a restaurant (at the Poseidon buffet for dinner).

THE DEAL - We are 7 stars so received 4 free room nights at choice of the
newer Cove or Reef hotels (we stayed at the plush and beautiful Cove), all
taxes and the $49.95 per day resort fee and room VAT free/included (which
got us good wi-fi in the room, access to fitness center for 2 persons, two
12 oz bottles of water a day, access to the movie theater where 3 or so
movies are shown a day, shuttle service, and in-room coffee and tea maker),
also a complimentary Experience Pass which gave us a shallow water Dolphin
interaction for one person, sake and small sushi roll platter at Nobu, 2
cocktails at Olives, and 2 cocktails at Seafire Steakhouse. Round of golf was
also included on some days, but we don't golf. We paid our airfare and
other expenses. (Used frequent flyer miles).

Also included $250 in free slot play and $100 a night Resort Credit for
food or whatever. And free admission to the huge Aquaventure water park that
runs throughout the property.

HOW DEAL WORKED - After first day we checked the bill (recommended to all)
and saw some of the Room VAT and resort fees were still on the bill. Nice
lady at check-in desk called Casino Services and wrong charges were
immediately removed. I had made Dinner Reservations in advance of trip for Nobu,
Olives, and Seafire so we could get the free cocktails (because I knew they
are expensive at the resort, running $10-16 generally for a
heavily-alcoholic cocktail at all the bars and restaurants), and we ate the very big
buffet breakfast at Mosaic in the Cove tower every day ($35 per person
including Vat and gratuity). We also booked the Dolphin experience, showing the
Casino Experience Pass (picked up at Casino Services in the casino) and the
$150 for the free Dolphin experience was immediately listed as $0, and we
bought a second one for $150 which was applied to the bill.

We checked the daily bill total on our room TV every day to make sure all
was in order. It was. But after the first day we noticed something odd.
For some charges, we seemed to be billed only the Vat and Service, with the
cost of the drinks not showing up. This was true even for some
restaurants. Drinking a can of soda from the minibar (cost $4 normally plus Vat),
showed up on the bill as just .30 cents. According to my rough estimate, by
day two we had used up the $400 in free Resort Credits, so it seemed like
maybe they were giving us free drinks. I had not requested anything, but
had played about 4-5 hours in the casino on day one. I asked at the
check-in/reception desk, and they called Casino Services, but didn't really answer
my question about free drinks, saying only that they could not pick up
additional food costs. Oddities on the bill continued to the end, with most
drinks seemingly "free" but a few of them showing up.

My rough final accounting was that by the end, they had given us almost
exactly $150 in additional comps besides the $100 a day resort credit ($400
total). Interestingly, $150 is exactly the cost of the second Dolphin
Experience, leading me to wonder if they thought that was the one free one. Or
maybe the casino did comp some of the drinks. I don't know. But I was
happy to have paid $150 less.

THE CASINO -- The Video Poker paytables were poor, probably a bit less than
at Caesars. However I played quarter 3/5/10 play Ultimate X which had 8/5
DDB, similar paytable to some Caesars properties. I also played a couple
hours on reels. My impression was that the machines overall are a lot
better than on NCL cruise ships. Reels gave a lot of play, though of course
eventually wore you down.

The deal from Caesars has no requirement to play to get the free rooms and
so on, despite some language in the hotel confirmation you receive that
says something about playing to your daily average. So if you don't play at
all, I don't think you need to worry. However the truth is that most
people getting these offers will play a little.

I had better than average luck on the .25 cent Ultimate X by the way! On
day one I won $2000 in about 2 hours of play on 10 play. On day two I lost
about $3000 on 10 play. On day three I hit a BIG jackpot of $20,050 by
getting dealt 4 to a royal on 3 lines, with a 10x multiplier on each line,
getting 2 royals ($10K each because of the multiplier) and one straight. I
also played a "penny" machine for 2-3 hours, losing $1000.

Drinks are free in the casino, but service is EXTREMELY slow. On day one
playing about 3 hours I was served one drink (and it was not the diet coke I
ordered, but instead some sort of weird sweet non-diet coke). There are
no W2Gs for hits over $1200 because you are in the Bahamas. When I hit for
the 20K it was a hand pay and again, extremely slow. It took over an hour
to get paid half in cash, and three hours total to get paid the rest in a
10K check.

Because we then reentered the U.S. with over $10,000 in cash between my
husband and myself, we had to fill out a special financial form at U.S.
Customs. U.S. customs is in the Bahamas airport, which is much better than
worrying about hitting customs when you hit the U.S. and have a plane change to
catch. There was absolutely no problem with customs. Anyone carrying
more than $10K back into the U.S. in cash or "negotiable" form (endorsed checks
for example) must declare this, but you can carry back large amounts.

Interestingly, when I hit, someone else playing a "penny" slot hit for
$32K. My overall impression is that the machines were much better than on a
cruise ship, with no gaffing (you might remember me complaining that I
thought some NCL VP machines were not honest). However, paytables are low.

I had arranged to have credit in advance. What they didn't tell me was
that you can only draw out $1000 at a time at the cage (no one comes around
to give you a marker), which I don't like, since I don't like to leave a
machine while in the middle of playing. This actually worked to my advantage
when I ran out of money - I knew 10 play quarter Ultimate X could easily get
you into a $2-3K hole before you hit anything, so with only $1000 in a
marker I played 3 play instead, and hit the big $20K jackpot as a result. It
was kind of ironical that the casino forced me to play at a lower level,
and because of that, I got a jackpot!

THE RESORT -- Is gorgeous, and quite large. Be prepared to use the
shuttle or walk long distances. I took my scooter and was very glad I did. I
brought it from home (you can fly with your own wheelchair/scooter). Rentals
are available in the Bahamas for something like $45 a day. Handicapped
people should plan to bring or rent scooters. The shuttle does not have a
wheelchair/handicapped access. Distances from the check-in desk to our room
were long, and from the room to the casino was probably half a mile. Good
walking shoes are recommended! The Cove is a beautiful hotel, but not
centrally located, so keep that in mind. More central is the Royal or the
Coral.

The resort is beautifully decorated with sculptures, fish ponds, plants,
palms, and more. A major attraction is the many fish ponds and fish tanks
around the property. There are so many you may miss some unless you tour
the entire property. The Dig and Ruins tanks can be viewed from inside the
Royal and then you need to walk through them to outside the hotel. There
are turtle and stingray and carp and other ponds with fish. The Beach hotel
is the oldest part of the complex, and has large tanks outside (these are
not as well kept up as many of the others). There is also a "Predator
Lagoon" which sharks, rays, sawfish and others and you walk through a 100-foot
clear underwater tunnel. People who slide down the Mayan Temple slides in
the Aquaventure area end up going through a fish tank, and you can view this
from outside where it looks like people are actually swimming with the
sharks.

While all these tanks are free to view, you can also pay to interact with
Dolphins or Sea Lions. But besides the expense of these, be prepared for
super-expensive photo packages afterwards (minimum package $80 for 4
photos!), so if you take your kids and want photos, be prepared for super expensive
photos. Also, guests doing these actions must put a wet suit on over
their swimwear, so arrive 15 minutes early. I am a large, overweight person,
but they did find a suit to fit me too.

The beach area is quite long, and you have access to all the beaches and
pools. There is snorkeling in the "lagoon" area, but apparently snorkeling
isn't very good. People who buy a dolphin interaction can also have access
to the Dolphin Cay beach and can watch the dolphins all day. There are
many, many pools around the property, including an "adults only" one at the
Cove. I only saw one hot tub, though there may be more.

The fitness center is large and people very helpful. They also will give
you extra bottled water. It is located between the Royal and Cove towers.

The Aquaventure area is Cashless, so charge your drinks or snacks to the
room. When you enter you get a wristband that identifies you for your whole
trip. You need to be at least 48" high to ride most slides, and life
jackets are available for kids. We rode the mile long "Current and Rapids"
lazy river three times. We saw a lot of people carrying babies and small
children and even some small children riding by themselves. I wouldn't
recommend this, but certainly if you have small kids, put on those life jackets.
There is one part of the ride that has a big wave, and not only did we see
a lot of people knocked off the inner tubes, I got knocked off once, and it
can be tough to get back on the tube. Fortunately the resort stations
many life guards along the route to help you (and they helped me back up
because I wouldn't have been able to do so by myself). There are all sorts of
water slides in the water park, some requiring tubes which you carry up,
some just slides. There is also a kid's area with nets and bridges. And also
many lovely pools with waterfalls and other features. Private cabanas can
also be arranged. A second actual "lazy" river ride is near the Beach
Tower.

There are many free activities for children and a Climber's Rush climbing
area for children and teens. A daily newsletter comes when you check which
shows some of these extra activities such as workouts, arts & crafts,
bingo, etc. There is also a library. Fee activites include golf, arcade, a
comedy show, spa, and a few others.

The Movie Theater is free and has 3 features a day, such as The Good
Dinosaur, Krampus, Point Break, Purple Rain.

FOOD -- Is on par with any resort, and while expensive, isn't super
expensive. Two of us ate tempura along with the free sushi & saki sampler, and
a couple of extra pieces of sushi in Nobu for about $120 total. Our most
expensive meal was the Steakhouse since I ordered Bahamian lobster tails (2)
for $60 plus Conch soup (wonderful), sides, while my husband ordered
Salmon, with the two free drinks, total $260 or so including vat at tip. We
saved a bit on food by eating a big buffet breakfast at Mosaic, which included
freshly made pancakes, omelette station (including shrimp), ham, many
pastries, fruits, eggs benedict, yogurts, various breads and muffins, lox,
bagels, two kinds of bacon (very good), sausages, and more. Then we skipped
lunch and had dinner on two days.

Food may seem more expensive because of the 7.5% VAT added on to meals plus
automatic 15% gratuity. Cocktails were pricey, but large and heavy on the
alcohol. My husband had a 4-type-of-rum Zombie for $16, a frozen drink
was $10, a can of diet soda $3.50-4.

Nobu was excellent though tables a bit crowded together. Todd English's
Olives was my least favorite restaurant, because it is in the casino and was
noisy (and an obnoxious little girl was jumping up and down on the seats
and not being disciplined by her parents while her baby sister cried
non-stop). Also the food seemed more like that you would expect in a steakhouse,
not Italian, with plenty of fish and pizza (and no soup). The Seafire
Steakhouse was excellent, but all the way across the resort from our hotel in
the Marina Village area (probably a mile walk, fortunately no problem for my
husband or my scooter).

Other restaurants include the buffets Mosaic and Poseidon (that was the one
with the lines), the Marina Pizza (popular for takeout pizza), a Deli in
the Marina, Cafe Martinque (with French creations from Jean-Georges
Vongerichten, it seemed to be closed during our visit), and Virgil's BBQ. The
Marina Village (near the Coral and Beach towers) had a number of restaurants
including a Quizno's and Johnny Rockets, as well as a Ben&Jerry's and
Starbucks. Outside in the Aquaventure area were many bars and grills for burgers
and pizza and drinks, as well as a Ben&Jerrys and a Starbucks.

There is also a Aura Nightclub, an Ultra-Lounge, Cain at the Cove (outdoor
gaming, beach club), and so on.

OUR ROOM -- Extremely comfortable king bed, step down to a living room area
with couch and second large screen TV, excellent ocean-view of the beach
and Cain area, balcony, large bathroom with shower (great water pressure)
and tub and separate toilet. Minibar (no regular fridge or room to put
anything in). Good maid service, nightly turn-down, switch by door for
do-not-disturb/make up room, safe in room, very large closet. Good TV with cable
and Miami channels, weather channel, CNN, etc.

OVERALL -- Extremely beautiful and luxurious resort. Wonderful water park
and pools and beach areas. Great buffet breakfast. Fun casino better
than a cruise. Great bed in lovely, quiet room. Wonderful aquarium like
tanks and pools. Great weather - low 80s in mid-may. Extremely friendly and
helpful staff members. Lots of staff everywhere, lots of lifeguards, lots
of cleaning people, everything really well kept up.

I liked it a lot better than being on an NCL cruise to the Caribbean.

STUFF I MISSED - Shuttle from airport not included. We took a taxi for
$40 plus tip to resort. Taxi rates are fixed, price normally is $32 to
Atlantis, but we were charged $40 because of scooter (it comes apart and fits in
trunk). There are cheaper buses or shuttles (look online). Taxis
instantly available at the resort.

Our taxi driver also does tours, sightseeing, etc. Call Tyrone @
242-454-2984, can also arrange airport pickup or dropoff. email
_tyronefrancissr@hotmail.com_ (mailto:tyronefrancissr@hotmail.com) .

If you go, especially in busier months, be sure to book your dinner
reservations in advance (check Atlantis website).

I posted a few photos (and the jackpot) on the harrahs yahoo group.

Lots of muzak around the resort as you walk around. Mostly pleasant and
not too loud (but some places did have loud music). Casino has a free slot
tournament during day. Announcer for that very loud and I couldn't
understand what he was saying anyway.

Scooters or wheelchairs for handicapped walkers extremely helpful so you
can go everywhere and see everything. Without the scooter it would have
been far less enjoyable for me to use the shuttle and my cane. You have to go
up and down some odd elevators at times, but you can go all around the
property on various paths in your wheelchair/scooter.

Take a coverup for your swim wear for going through the inside of the
resort hotels. Dress is casual, but for some of the better restaurants you'll
need slightly better attire (shirt, no shorts sort of thing - info on
website). Don't forget sunscreen (my husband became a red-head -- that is he
got sunburn on his bald head!).

Resort also has some expensive shops and prices in the sundry shops are
high (a simple coverup for $65 for example, swimming cap $10).

If you don't like the prices for food in the hotel, you can always take a
taxi (or maybe a bus) and go to other areas of the island and try one of the
many restaurants there. There are lots of things to do outside the
resort, like better snorkeling, and so on, but the resort had so much inside it
that we never left on this trip.

Plan 1/2 hour ride to airport. Get to airport 3 hrs ahead of departure
because of going through both Bahama and U.S. customs on leaving. Nassau
duty free shop had booze at higher prices than we pay in Vegas (except maybe
rum) - whatever happened to duty free bargains?

---------------------If you go,
enjoy............................misscraps--------------------------------------------------------

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