Welcome back, Sheila!
Anyone visiting the Atlantis Resort must have a package ticket, if they are not guests of the resort, in order to enter the resort grounds. The easiest way to do this is to book the
Discover Atlantis Port Adventure or the
Atlantis Beach Day and Discover Atlantis through Disney Cruise Line. My husband and I took the Atlantis Beach Day Discover Atlantis adventure a few months ago and had a great time! We met with a guide from Atlantis on the Dream, checked in, and then the whole group left the ship together to board the buses to take us to beautiful Paradise Island, where the Atlantis Resort resides. Once there, a guide walked us to a starting point and discussed a few different locations, then we had the whole day on our own to do a self-guided tour of The Dig, the replica of the ancient city that houses the amazing aquarium, as well as the rest of the grounds of the resort. What we loved most about this was that the day was ours to spend as we'd like, without being shuttled around with other guests. We spent as long as we'd like at each exhibit and had a lovely day exploring. There are multiple return buses heading back to the ship every half hour in the afternoon, so we were able to hop aboard one as soon as we were ready. In fact, a huge rain storm came through as we were finishing up, so we made a run for it and were so happy to see a bus waiting to take us back to the Disney Dream! It was the easiest way to see Atlantis!
When your online check-in begins at 75 days prior to sailing if you're a first time Disney cruise guest, you can begin booking these fun extras like Port Adventures.
Have fun planning, Sheila!
Marcy