Topic Wiki

Join the whatsapp Group for the latest Minyanim and Kosher food updates. Click here to join.


And for the Chabad Website click here.

List of TR's:

yitzy93

Kosher Food/ Restaurants:
Cinko Asian Latino Grill- Kosher Restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar. Only open for dinner. 6:00 PM - 10. Double check hours.
Knosh Food truck
Can get Pas yisrael bagels, some cold sandwiches from Cinko at Cafe Madeline Please note: As of April 2023 the bagels in Cafe Madeleine are no longer certified Kosher.- the Cafe itself is NOT kosher. (Only closed packaged items seem to be kosher with cinko certification.) Please note, they are open from 7 AM - 1PM. The website says 3 PM.


Synagogue:

Things to Do:
-Shark Slide
-Swin with Dolphins (NOT onsite)
-Marine Habitat (Aquarium & Scheduled Events like feeding sharks or petting stingrays etc.)
-Comedy Show (Jokers Wild)
-Movie Theatre
-Golf, Tennis
-Casino
-Boat Rental
-Water Sports
-Snorkel or Scuba
-Spa

Hotels:
Atlantis:
-Harbor Side Resort
-Beach Tower
-Coral Towers
-Royal Towers
-The Reef
-The Cove

Other:
-Grand Hyatt Baha Mar
-One & Only Ocean Club
-Sandals Royal Bahamian
-SLS Baha Mar (Opening Fall 2017)
-Rosewood Baha Mar (Opening Spring 2018)

Getting Around:

Notes:
Hyatt Baha Mar will store and heat kosher meals. Prices as follows (July 2019):
Breakfast: $15 per meal, plus tax and gratuity
Lunch: $25 per meal, plus tax and gratuity
Dinner: $25 per meal , plus tax and gratuity

Please Update the Wiki
« Last edited by yitzy93 on August 23, 2023, 09:26:18 PM »

Author Topic: Bahamas Master Thread  (Read 304577 times)

Offline CR

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #660 on: December 22, 2021, 10:03:39 PM »
Anyone know the official policy for bringing food ( frozen shabbos food, cheese etc)? Will be counting on it since Friday night for 3 adults + 2 children with Chabad at Baha Mar during yeshiva week is $475 ( VAT and Service fee added $100 bucks). So we will pass...

Offline mochjas

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #661 on: December 22, 2021, 11:28:56 PM »
Anyone know the official policy for bringing food ( frozen shabbos food, cheese etc)? Will be counting on it since Friday night for 3 adults + 2 children with Chabad at Baha Mar during yeshiva week is $475 ( VAT and Service fee added $100 bucks). So we will pass...
https://www.jewishbahamas.com/tourist

Offline Dan

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #662 on: December 22, 2021, 11:37:06 PM »
Anyone know the official policy for bringing food ( frozen shabbos food, cheese etc)? Will be counting on it since Friday night for 3 adults + 2 children with Chabad at Baha Mar during yeshiva week is $475 ( VAT and Service fee added $100 bucks). So we will pass...

https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/trip-notes/bahamas-trip-notes-atlantis-vs-grand-hyatt-baha-mar-american-baggage-fiascos/
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline CR

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Offline jomaster28

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #664 on: December 23, 2021, 11:07:41 AM »
https://www.atlantisbahamas.com/yeshiva-break-in-paradise

This is really good to know about the Kosher food at Atlantis too. If anyone has any info on how to make a reservation or look up food info that would be great.

Offline awardflyer

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #665 on: December 23, 2021, 12:18:41 PM »
AYLOR or contact Chabad there?
Chabad Bahamas confirmed can only carry inside buildings at Atlantis and Baha Mar and also confirmed Cinkos is inside Hyatt building.

Offline Samy1716

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #666 on: December 23, 2021, 01:18:01 PM »
Update: The Bahamas now requires testing to be taken within 3 days of travel. (it used to be 5 days with testing day as day 0)
They say that an RT-PCR test is needed and it can take up to 48 hours for results and then another 24-48 hours for approval of the travel visa once the results are uploaded... so that it makes traveling to the Bahamas a lot more complicated.....

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #667 on: December 23, 2021, 02:31:16 PM »
UPDATE on Atlantis Yeshiva Week: According to ORB there is NO kosher program for yeshiva week at Atlantis and they have removed the Atlantis Yeshiva website. Glad I called!
« Last Edit: December 23, 2021, 02:35:11 PM by awardflyer »

Offline Samy1716

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #668 on: December 23, 2021, 10:42:14 PM »
Please Note: Effective Dec. 27, 2021 any person presenting test results older than 72 hours will not be allowed entry into The Bahamas.

VACCINATED TRAVELLERS

Effective Dec. 27, 2021 fully vaccinated persons travelling to The Bahamas from other countries will be required to obtain a negative COVID-19 test (either a Rapid Antigen Test or PCR), taken no more than three days (72 hours) prior to the date of arrival to The Bahamas.

Effective January 7, 2022 fully vaccinated persons must present a negative COVID 19 RT-PCR (including PCR, NAA, NAAT, TMA or RNA)test.
Rapid Antigen Test will no longer be accepted. Travellers must obtain a RT-PCR test.


 Fully vaccinated persons travelling inter-island (domestic) within The Bahamas, are required to obtain a negative rapid antigen test, taken no more than three days 72 hours prior to the date of travel.
 
UNVACCINATED TRAVELLERS

Unvaccinated travellers, ages 12 and older, entering The Bahamas must obtain a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR (including PCR, NAA, NAAT, TMA or RNA) test taken no more than three days 72 hours prior to the date of arrival.

 Children between the ages of 2 and 11 are required to obtain a negative COVID-19 test (either a Rapid Antigen Test or PCR), taken no more than three days 72 hours prior to the date of arrival to The Bahamas.
As of January 7, 2022 using a Rapid Antigen test will no longer be acceptable and children ages 2 through 11 years old will be required to show proof of a RT-PCR test.
Children under the age of 2 are exempt from any testing requirements


 Non-vaccinated persons travelling inter-island within The Bahamas are required to obtain a negative COVID-19 PCR test, taken no more than 72 hours prior to the date of travel, and present to the operator of the airline or vessel on which they are travelling.

Offline Seahawks

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #669 on: December 24, 2021, 02:09:08 AM »
All, apologies to hijack the thread. We had a couple family members recently fall sick so we have 2 rooms available at Harborside Atlantis.

Dec 26th - Jan 2nd 1 bed/1 bath
Dec 30th - Jan 2nd 1 bed/1 bath

DM me for details. Hopefully a DD member can benefit.

Offline Samy1716

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #670 on: December 27, 2021, 02:59:33 PM »
Does anyone have a recommendation of whom to use for transportation from the airport (NAS) to Baha Mar Resort?
It's a short 10 min drive and I have heard that certain companies can really rip you off......

Offline lost_my_dolphin

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #671 on: December 28, 2021, 11:01:41 AM »
Bahamas trip report with a side of covid.

Whelp, So I tested positive while here in the Bahamas. I have no symptoms and was only tested so that I can return to the US. I am here with my wife and daughter who tested negative and are flying back today. Upon getting my positive results, I was sent to my room to wait for a PCR to confirm covid and I am currently awaiting the results. So it looks like I will be here a while, and since the usual excuse of not having enough time to write a trip report won't work, here goes my first DDF trip report.

After status matching from Wyndham to Ceasers and seeing the promo for 4 nights free at Atlantis Bahamas, I decided to go for it and book. I read some trip reports before booking and had seen mixed messages. Some people absolutely loved it while others, including Dan, were less than impressed. I was not expecting much in the way of service, but I read that the rooms had been recently renovated and figured that I would give it a shot. It took approximately 15 minutes to book via phone and I was informed that I would have to pay the resort fee of $60 per day and have 4 hours of casino play to book this rate.

For flights, we booked JetBlue at 21,500 points and $117.47 in fees per person at the end of November and rebooked at 15,200 points when prices dropped closer to the trip.

Before departing to the Bahamas, you are required to take a covid test and apply for a health visa. I got my PCR done at Ezra Medical Center and received the results in less than 2 hours. The health visa took a few hours to be approved, and lucky for me included a mandatory insurance policy that covers covid. The health visa costs $40 per person on our 4-night & 5-day stay, but I believe that the price goes up the longer that you stay. 

We were scheduled to depart on the 9 am flight out of EWR. While taxiing, the pilot got on the intercom and stated that there was a computer malfunction and that they would have to restart the engines. Unfortunately, that was unable to solve the issue and we were forced to go back to the gate to have the plane checked out by the mechanical team. After a bit over two hours from our original departure time, our pilot got on the intercom and said that although they could not fix that computer, it was redundant and we were cleared to depart. Due to the two-hour delay, we did not have a ground crew ready when we landed in the Bahamas and had to wait on board for an additional 30 minutes before taxiing to the gate. After clearing immigration, we got our luggage and took a cab to Atlantis. We made sure to confirm the price in advance and were told it was $51 plus a 2 dollar toll.

I was booked into the Royal and was upgraded to an ocean view upon request at check-in. While the room was a bit dated and nothing to write home about, the view was nice and it had a balcony with just enough room to walk out on but not sit. If you are a morning shower person, this place is not for you as the water is freezing first thing in the morning, but warms up as the day progresses. The grounds on the other hand are really nice and the Royal is in the center of everything. We spent the bulk of our time here on the beach, water slides, and just walking around and exploring all that there is to do at Atlantis. If you have read up on the Atlantis, you know that some of the pools are not heated and were a bit too chilly for my liking. All in all, we had a relaxing and enjoyable time during our stay at Atlantis.   

A day into our stay, we got an email from JetBlue apologizing for the delayed flight and informing us that they had issued a $125 travel credit for each passenger.

For food, we brought along meals from Moisha's Supermarket and, as usual, they were fantastic. As have done in the past when traveling, we reached out to the takeout manager a few days before our trip, and he vacuum-packed, and froze our food for us. Thankfully, we brought considerably more than what we actually needed for what we thought was to be a short stay. We packed them in our Polar Bear cooler and they arrived frozen solid despite the delay. We warmed them up using the Hotlogic Mini which as mentioned on the forums is great for travel and quite compact. Since the frozen meals take a bit over an hour to warm up, we brought along a timer and set it to turn on an hour before we anticipated returning to our room. The Hotlogic is insulated so had no issues keeping the food cold until it turned on.     

Now for the fun part. We were required to take a covid test prior to returning to the US, and since we were all feeling fine, we did not think that we would have any issues. As part of the stay, Atlantis gives 2 free rapid covid tests which have to be scheduled in advance. We tested yesterday morning and I received an email shortly after with my positive results and was told that I must immediately return to my room to quarantine for 10 days or until I get a negative Covid test. A few minutes after returning to the room, I got a call from the onsite medical clinic offering me a PCR for $450. I asked if I can take another rapid and they said that they could not permit me to take one as they were concerned about a false negative. Thankfully, it should be reimbursed by the trip insurance. About 3 hours after the call, they sent someone to my room to administer the PCR. He apologized for the delay and said that unfortunately, there were quite a few guests testing positive now and in quarantine in the resort. A bit later, I got a call from management checking up on me, and letting me know that they are charging me a reduced rate of $150 per night without a resort fee. Hopefully, I can get that reimbursed as well. I also got an email last night from the medical clinic stating that although the CDC changed its guidance to only quarantine for 5 days, the Bahamian government has not and that I can test once per day on day 5 and on but must quarantine for 10 days unless I test negative.

My wife and daughter are flying back now as scheduled, and I postponed my flight until Sunday and booked a refundable backup one for Friday. Thankfully, I should have enough food to last me for a bit, and am in good spirits. I still have no symptoms of covid. Hopefully, the PCR comes back negative, but as of now, it looks like I am stuck in an unwanted extended Bahamian vacation. 

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #672 on: December 28, 2021, 11:47:34 AM »
Oh wow! I'm scheduled to go next week! Bit nervous...
I will be staying at the Baha Mar and they have this offer, that if you test positive during your stay you can stay for free in an upgraded suite for the 14 days and you get a $150 in room dinning credit.
If you need to leave sooner then you can get a private flight back into the US (south Florida)
   

Offline Samy1716

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #673 on: December 28, 2021, 11:48:48 AM »
It's called " Travel with Confidence Program"

Offline Dan

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #674 on: December 28, 2021, 12:45:59 PM »
Bahamas trip report with a side of covid.
Oy, R"S.
Sounds like most of my complaints are still valid. Old rooms. Cold water. And now rip-off PCR tests.
It's a shame as the water park facilities are impressive.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #675 on: December 28, 2021, 12:46:52 PM »
It's called " Travel with Confidence Program"
https://bahamar.com/travel-with-confidence/

Pretty amazing. Any DDFers have to use it yet?
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline Samy1716

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #676 on: December 28, 2021, 01:49:28 PM »
The private jet back to the US is only to South Florida (which is only an hour flight)
I hope I don't need to use it :)

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #677 on: December 29, 2021, 05:17:00 PM »
Ezra Medical Center just called to cancel my scheduled PCR rapid test. Does anyone know of a different place in Brooklyn that has PCR rapid results???
My Trip is in Jeopardy  :'( 

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #678 on: January 05, 2022, 08:32:45 AM »
UPDATE: The Bahamas has suspended the mandatory PCR testing requirement for vaccinated travelers and children 2-11, which was expected to take effect on 7 January 2022. Rapid Antigen tests will continue to be accepted. https://www.bahamas.com/travelupdates

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Re: Bahamas Master Thread
« Reply #679 on: January 05, 2022, 08:35:18 AM »
UPDATE: The Bahamas has suspended the mandatory PCR testing requirement for vaccinated travelers and children 2-11, which was expected to take effect on 7 January 2022. Rapid Antigen tests will continue to be accepted. https://www.bahamas.com/travelupdates
Second Update: Please Note: Effective 4 January 2022, all travelers, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, who are staying in The Bahamas for longer than 48 hours will be required to take a COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test.