Dolphin Discovery and Children

Any experiences with Dolphin Discovery and children? A little nervous about our 8 yr old son. What interactions did your children enjoy? Any they were afraid to do? Did the trainers adjust the interaction to make it more suitable for a child showing some fear or hesitation? Thanks!

Doing Celebrity excursion "Dolphin Push, Pull, Swim and Manatee Interaction at Chankanaab". Water depth is 32 feet. We stand on a submerged platform (waist-deep) for interactions -- touch dolphin as it swims by, fin shake, dolphin kiss. Then the trainer leads you into deeper water off the platform for more interactions including gliding across the water holding the pectoral fins and also holding a boogie board while the dolphin pushes you on your foot to glide through the water. Also 10 minutes interaction with manatees.

FYI... I was surprised that this was less expensive ($105pp) than booking direct with Dolphin Discovery. It also includes transportation and admission to Chankanaab and the sea lion show. I think the sea lion show is free anyway for anyone in the Chankanaab park.

We did this excursion with our extended family of 9 last month. Grandma 69 - frail (bought a ticket thinking she'd just watch, but totally did everything and loved it), 4 active adults 37 -45, 4 kids 8 -13. All had a great time and agree that the excursion was well worth the price. The hardest part was the "push". Imagine lying a top a boogie board with your legs locked straight behind you shoulder width apart and feet flexed. The two dolphins then swim behind you and push their noses into the soles of your feet and then they push you about 50 ish feet. The " pull" had a dolphin swim belly up beneath you while you held on to the fins.

Liked that the groups were smaller than we expected. I had read groups of 10-15. We were just our family of 9 and other groups were 8-10 people.

None of us cared for the manatee encounter.

Appreciated the transport as there was no necessary tipping for the cab (prepaid by guide).

Photos were crazy expensive, but we paid $270 for all of our pics (for 9 of us) on a disc.

Have fun!

Thank you for the feedback! We have ages 8 (son), 47 (mom), 49 (me-Dad), and 66 (grand mom) all active and can swim. I'm sure our 8 yr old will be fine…. seems like the time on the platform helps to "warm up" to the dolphin interactions before the fin swim and push on the boogie board in the deeper water. 8 yr old is very comfortable in swimming pool deep water although adding it's in the Sea and there are dolphins adds to the thrill factor. He is happy to know it's only dolphins in that area and no sharks…..(his fear).

I heard about the insane picture prices… but from what I heard, $20 for the CD of pictures for 9 people is a "good" price. Other reviews have stated quoted prices of about $70-100 per person for that on average and a very limited success to negotiate price.

We are going to an early time… hoping for a smaller group, less rushed experience… and having more time after the dolphins, manatees, and sea lion show to do other things at Chankanaab -- maybe some snorkeling on our own, walk around, have a drink, a light lunch.

Now, I'm more worried about Grandpop who is 70 and wants to observe or skip it. He might just wander around Chankanaab until we are done. I explained the observation area is too far away to see anything. He cannot swim deep water and is scared. He has been on boats including kayaks in deep water with a life vest but can't talk him into this one….at least not yet….. I might pay the $105 to include him on this excursion so he can be with us and hope we can talk him into at least standing on the platform and doing that first part (touching the dolphins as they swim by, the fin shake and dolphin kiss) even if he skips the deep water part (swim holding the fin and foot push on boogie board). The $105 includes Chankanaab park admission ($21) and transportation.

We did this excursion with our extended family of 9 last month. Grandma 69 - frail (bought a ticket thinking she'd just watch, but totally did everything and loved it), 4 active adults 37 -45, 4 kids 8 -13. All had a great time and agree that the excursion was well worth the price. The hardest part was the "push". Imagine lying a top a boogie board with your legs locked straight behind you shoulder width apart and feet flexed. The two dolphins then swim behind you and push their noses into the soles of your feet and then they push you about 50 ish feet. The " pull" had a dolphin swim belly up beneath you while you held on to the fins.

 

Liked that the groups were smaller than we expected. I had read groups of 10-15. We were just our family of 9 and other groups were 8-10 people.

 

None of us cared for the manatee encounter.

 

Appreciated the transport as there was no necessary tipping for the cab (prepaid by guide).

 

Photos were crazy expensive, but we paid $270 for all of our pics (for 9 of us) on a disc.

 

Have fun!

Our family just did the Dolphin Discovery Royal Swim on December 24, and we enjoyed it.

I agree with the poster who said that the "foot push" is the toughest. It's fun once it gets going, but it can be hard to get in the right position. They seem to give you the wrong advice on how to position your body. When a fellow group member told me, "lie down as if you're snorkeling", it worked for me!

My wife was able to get it on the first try. My 3-year-old just watched from the platform (he did the "encounter" program while in the Royal Swim pool with us).

Our 10-year-old was the problem. He could not do the foot push, and got quite frustrated with every failed attempt. They were very patient with him, and finally he got it right. Another kid about his age did it without trouble. It depends how good your child is at listening to instruction regarding positioning their body, and doing it. Some kids are better at that than others.

One pleasant surprise was being allowed to do the belly ride, even though that was actually part of a different program (Dolphin Swim). We also got to go into the manatee tank, which was not a surprise, since I knew about that from reading this forum.

I would be surprised if your cruise ship is cheaper than Dolphin Discovery directly, especially with various discounts they offer. The cruise ship is probably just putting you in the inferior Dolphin Swim program.

Everyone wore a life vest and though my husband was going to help position grandma in the water, they had an extra wet suited "helper" jump in and help grandma thru all of her experiences before returning her to the platform.

Learning how to "float" while hanging onto the fence and staying on the platform was challenging for grandma even though she says can swim.

There are a few benches near the end of each enclosure, maybe he could sit and watch from there. That was grandma's plan and the she thought she could watch from the steps and then she ended up on the platform.... :)

This is my review for our excursion to Dolphin Discovery's Royal Swim, as well as Chankanaab Park in Cozumel.

We visited on December 24, 2013, in port with the Norwegian Jewel.

WHO I AM: We are an early-40s couple with two children, aged 10 and 3. I am a fairly tough customer, and am far from the type who automatically loves everything. At the same time, my expectations are realistic, and I can have fun without everything being perfect.

WHAT WE DID: We settled on the Dolphin Discovery Royal Swim (the most expensive program), and booked directly through Dolphin Discovery. Since Dolphin Discovery is located within Chankanaab Park, we spent time within the park for a few hours after that. I was hoping this day would go well, because it was my wife's 40th birthday.

WHAT WE PAID: Norwegian did NOT offer the Royal Swim, so there was no question that I wanted to book through Dolphin Discovery. Also, at some point they switched to a different Dolphin provider (Dolphinaris), though I wasn't particularly attached to one or the other. One advantage of Dolphin Discovery is that you're already in Chankanaab Park once you have done it, so you can take advantage of everything there for "free". Dolphin Discovery ran a special in November and December for families where the father pays full price, and everyone else in the family pays half. I used that to book Royal Swims for the entire family, though my 3-year-old was only allowed to do the "encounter" parts (that is, no riding on the dolphins). I paid $282 total for all four of us. Had I booked with NCL, I would have gotten an inferior program ("Dolphin Swim") and paid over $400, so this was a no-brainer. I did have to arrange my own transportation and buy my own food, but those costs were minimal.

GETTING THERE: Cozumel thankfully was NOT a tender port. We had a 12pm appointment for the Royal Swim, but were supposed to be there by 11:30. We got off the ship at about 10:45, and I was dismayed to find the way the whole thing was set up. You were FORCED to walk through some obnoxious, 2-story mall in order to get to the taxi area. On the way, you were hounded by vendors trying to sell you name-bracelets and other crap. It was very annoying, and frankly confusing to find our way. Finally, we got to the taxi area. It was a flat $12 to get to Chankanaab, according to the sign. The driver was very nice, and my wife had fun conversing with him in Spanish. We got out, I paid/tipped him, and we went into the park at about 11:20.

GETTING READY: Some people here complained that Dolphin Discovery had a confusing process to register and get ready. I didn't find that to really be the case. While it could have been a bit better organized, I didn't find it to be terrible. We signed the various waiver forms, got our wristbands, and were all ready to go to the lockers and get ourselves ready. Unfortunately, we were told the bad news that they were running behind, and we would have to wait until 12:15 just for orientation! Now we had almost an hour to kill -- not enough to retreat back into Chankanaab, but too much to want to sit around and do nothing. We brought our stuff to the lockers and decided to get ready ahead of time.

THE LOCKERS: The lockers were a chaotic scene. I had heard that they cost $3 if you aren't in a Dolphin program, but that's BS. The lockers are all free, and in fact there isn't a way to pay for them. You just take any available locker, lock it, and take the key. They were much smaller than I expected -- maybe 2 feet tall, 1 foot wide, and 10 inches deep (I'm just guessing here). We needed two of them. I put the key for the first one in the second one, and then took the second key and wore it around my neck. The lockers weren't nearly big enough to hold my bag of snorkel equipment (for Chankanaab), so I left the bag with the people at the front desk. There was no charge for that. Please note that the lockers are often all taken on crowded days, but the good news is that they empty fast, so just be patient and be ready to grab one. I didn't have much trouble getting both of mine.

THE FOOD: We didn't eat there. All of the food was priced in pesos, which surprised me. You could also pay in US $, but those prices were not posted. The food looked fast-foodish, and not at all like authentic Mexican food. There were things like hamburgers, burritos, whatever. I did buy two bottles of water, which were priced at "$25" each, but that actually meant 25 pesos, and they roughly converted it to $2 US each. I brought the $25 water to my wife and showed her how much money I was willing to spend to keep her happy. It didn't work, because it turned out she wasn't thirsty!

THE ORIENTATION: Orientation began late, probably around 12:20. It wasn't all that clear where to go, but we just hung around the front desk and eventually it just started. They did a dual orientation for the Dolphin Swim program (the cheaper one) and the Royal Swim (ours). The woman doing the orientation didn't speak loud enough, and was often drowned out by background noise. She needed a microphone or to have orientation in a quieter area. I finished the orientation with no clue about some of the things she talked about, but figured they would show me whatever I didn't know.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ROYAL SWIM PROGRAM: The Dolphin Discovery website describes the Royal Swim as having the following elements:

- Touch/kiss/shake hands with the dolphin

- Have a "dorsal pull", where you grab onto the dorsal fins of two dolphins, and they pull you across the pool

- Have a "foot push", where two dolphins get under your feet (one for each foot), push you across the pool, and you rise out of the water "like Superman"

- "Free time" afterwards with the dolphins

However, upon further research, I found out the following:

- Free time is BS. You don't have any free time with the dolphins. I don't know why they claim that.

- You get a "surprise" bonus of being taken into the manatee pools, touching them, and watching them be fed

- Pictures are SUPER EXPENSIVE, not-so-great quality, and you are not allowed to take your own camera in the water or anywhere near the dolphin pools

WHAT WE ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED: We were led to the dolphin pools. By "pools", I mean they were fenced-in areas of the ocean. Everyone stands on a platform in the water (about 3 feet deep), and you can hold on to a metal fence to keep yourself from being pushed off the platform and into the deep water. There are two dolphins that are in the pool with you. Our group consisted of about 12 people -- our family and about 8 others. Everyone basically stands on the platform and waits while each person does their activity individually. There are a few group activities, such as the dolphin swimming by and everyone reaching out to touch it, but for the most part, you are waiting your turn for the action. (I knew this going in, so I was not disappointed.)

There was no order to anything. Half the group started with the dorsal pull (including our family), and half started with the foot push. In between, each person got a chance to do the dolphin touch/kiss/handshake. The touch/kiss/handshake part was somewhat annoying, as the trainers were constantly telling you which way to look and turn your head -- basically mugging for pictures that I knew I didn't want to buy.

When it was time for my dorsal pull, they told me to swim out "4 posts" (referring to the posts on the dock) and wait for the dolphins to come. Apparently they felt I moved too much inward, so I had to adjust once I was out there, and it was hard to hear the trainers' instruction from that distance. Once I got to the right spot, the dolphins showed up, and I grabbed onto each dorsal fin. It was a fun ride, though over fairly quickly, as they swim very fast! I enjoyed it, though. It was a unique experience. My wife and 10-year-old both did this one with no problem.

Next it was time for the foot push. This is where I had a little trouble. The orientation (and the trainer) told me to stick my arms forward and my legs diagonally in the water. This was a lot easier said than done. I kept floating up out of position. The dolphins came, but I slipped off right away, and it was time to try again. The trainer kept yelling instructions to me, but it was too hard to hear him accurately. Also, it seemed that what I was doing wasn't satisfying him, and he kept trying to get me to change position. The "a-ha" moment came from not the trainer, but from another tourist in our group. A young guy in his early 20s (who already did it successfully) yelled, "Lie on the water flat like you're snorkeling!" Despite this seemingly contradicting the instructions given by the staff, I did just that, and the dolphins showed up, pushed me, I rose out of the water, and seemed to be headed for the wall at breakneck speed! However, they let me go in time (I was about to jump off anyway), and I didn't come close to hitting the wall. I did splash my 3-year-old, though! It was also very fun and unique, though I wish the trainer and the orientation woman gave me better instruction. My wife did it after me, and I told her the lessons I had learned, and she got it on the first try. Our 10-year-old struggled, though. After about 4 tries, he just couldn't do it, and was very frustrated. They gave up, but later in the program gave him one more shot (with a lifeguard assisting him), and he finally got it.

One pleasant surprise was an "extra" thrown in that wasn't supposed to be part of the Royal Swim. We got to do a "belly ride", where you lie on the dolphin's belly, and he swims backwards while you ride on him. This belly ride was supposed to only be part of the Dolphin Swim program -- the lesser one, where your main activities are this and a boogie board push. So not only did we get the two advertised Royal Swim activities, but we got one of the two Dolphin Swim activities thrown in for good measure. Cool, and I hadn't heard about that in previous reviews. We all did this easy belly ride with no problem (except our 3-year-old, who wasn't allowed), and it was enjoyable.

After this, we got out of the pool, and were led in to the manatee pools. This was a bit disorganized, and we were kind of just standing on the platform aimlessly wondering what to do, especially because an actual manatee program (that people paid for separately) was also going on. We did get to touch two manatees that swam by several times. My 3-year-old really enjoyed that. We also got to watch the manatee eat lettuce and carrots, though we did not get to feed them (this was an activity for the people who paid for the manatees). I can't complain, though, as this was just a throw-in, and not something promised as part of the Royal Swim.

We then got out of the water, and the program was over. We were probably in the water for about 45-60 minutes total.

THE PICTURES: You are not allowed to take your own pictures. You can't bring a camera in, even if it's waterproof. You can't have a friend stand on the side and do it, unless he's WAY off to the side and has a super zoom lens (and there are no obstructions). You can go into the "store" and view your pictures on a computer. If you attempt to take pictures of pictures with your phone, they quickly catch you and tell you to stop. The prices are beyond unreasonable. Printing pictures is something like $30 each, and even a digital CD will always be well over $100, and over $200 or $300 if your group is large. The quality isn't even particularly good. We decided beforehand that we would not succumb to the temptation and absolutely would buy no pictures, and we stuck to that. They seem to make good money at this place on the dolphin programs alone, so I have no idea why they have to gouge you so much on the pictures. Even the food is reasonably priced. It's like they chose the pictures to be the one totally crazy-priced item there. The one thing I will say for them is that there was no pressure. They didn't even bother to lead us to the picture purchase area when we were done, so at least there weren't any high-pressure salesmen attempting to goad you into buying something.

CHANKANAAB PARK: We left Dolphin Discovery and headed for Chankanaab Park. We only had limited time, as the "All Aboard" time was 4:30, and it would take a good 20 minutes to get back to the port (and another 10 to walk through it!) We went right for the beach. We were able to reserve some lounge chairs under an umbrella for free. We already had our own snorkel equipment. Some people here said, "There's no snorkeling beach at Chankanaab, only ladders you climb down into the water." That's not totally accurate. There is a beach, but it's just not a smooth transition into the water like at traditional beaches. To get into the water, you have to go down stairs (not ladders), and you are immediately in snorkeling reefs. Please note that these beaches are NOT good for casual swimming, but are great for easy snorkeling, as you don't have to take a boat anywhere, nor do you have to swim out any distance. The fish here are VERY aggressive, so don't even think of bringing bread or anything else to feed them. If you don't have any food on you, they won't bother you. The variety of fish started out decent, but nothing special. However, as I swam around, I found some big, beautiful fish, especially in one clump. It ended up being the best snorkeling I did on the entire cruise. However, when I took a 15 minute break and came back in the water, the really big fish were gone, so maybe I just got lucky that first time. The water was clear, but a little bit choppy and there was somewhat of a tide. I swam with fins, a mask/snorkel, and a very useful yellow snorkeling belt. The belt works in place of a life jacket, but it's much better. Google "yellow snorkel belt" and buy one if you snorkel. You'll thank me for this tip, even though it doesn't exactly look very fashionable! If you have young children, watch them closely while snorkeling at Chankanaab, because it can be dangerous without supervision.

We also got to see a giant crab on the rocks right by the snorkeling area, which was a neat sight for our boys.

When we were done, I looked for the showers. There were none to be found. What?! I walked around and still found nothing. I asked an employee, and he confirmed that there were no showers on that part of the beach, and the the closest showers were back at Dolphin Discovery. Wow! Very disappointing. We walked back to Dolphin Discovery (where we had to go anyway for the cab), but I still didn't see the showers he was talking about. Finally, I just used the "floor geyser fountain" as a makeshift shower, washing off myself and all of our equipment. Our boys did the same.

GETTING BACK: Getting a taxi back was easy. There was a big group of people sitting and waiting, but I assumed they were waiting for a bus or something, and walked right up to the front. Turned out I was right, and was immediately directed to a cab. We had a quieter (but also nice) driver going back. We again walked through the annoying port with the hawkers of crap, and made it back aboard at about 4:20.

OVERALL: I was skeptical about the whole dolphin thing. Eight years ago, I did a dolphin excursion entitled "Dolphin Swim" with Holland America in Jamaica. It was absolutely awful, and not at all as described in the ship's brochure. This led to a loud, ugly argument with that ship's activities director, who refused to give me any sort of refund until I really pressed the matter. With that nightmarish experience still in my head, I was a bit worried about this one, especially knowing that I booked independently and would have no one to complain to. Turned out my worries were all for nothing. The Royal Swim at Dolphin Discovery was fun and interesting, and they actually gave me more than I expected. The good snorkeling at Chankanaab was also fun, and this ended up being a very nice first-port-day excursion for us.

There were a few things I didn't enjoy. I hated the "mall" in port. I wish Chankanaab's beach had showers. It would have been nice if Dolphin Discovery kept on schedule (apparently this is a chronic problem with them, according to reviews), and the orientation process there was lousy and difficult to follow.

We were fortunate that the weather was excellent, as I heard that the dolphin pools can be very choppy if it's stormy. We did not have that problem. Beware that you cannot get a refund from Dolphin Discovery for bad weather, unless your ship fails to make port. However, I still recommend booking directly through Dolphin Discovery, and make sure to call them and find out their current best deal! Never pay full price, and definitely do not bother with the ship's dolphin excursions.

Note that Carnival cruisers are not "allowed" to book directly through Dolphin Discovery, but if you lie and say you're on a different line (look it up on CruiseTT), they will never know the difference.

Also, we heard ERRONEOUSLY (on here) that sunscreen is not allowed in the water with the dolphins. This is FALSE! Everyone was wearing sunscreen, and you will burn to a crisp without it. Fortunately we wore it anyway, despite what I had previously read on this board.

GREAT review! Thank you for taking the time to give us all the details. You are truly helping me with deciding what we should do on our next cruise. Looking forward to reading more.

Thank you so much for the detail on Dolphin Discovery. We booked the same package in March.

Couple of questions:

- water shoes with the dolphins or barefoot?

- jewelry must be removed? I read this somewhere, just want to check.

- should we put swim suits on before we leave the ship, or is there a place once we get to the dolphins? I'm really not looking forward to slogging around in wet swim suits afterwards.

Thanks again very much!

and seemed to be headed for the wall at breakneck speed! However, they let me go in time (I was about to jump off anyway), and I didn't come close to hitting the wall.

I noticed this watching the Dolphin encounters- it seems like they get REALLY close to those walls.

- should we put swim suits on before we leave the ship, or is there a place once we get to the dolphins? I'm really not looking forward to slogging around in wet swim suits afterwards.

 

There are nice changing areas. You can change there if you want.

I would be surprised if your cruise ship is cheaper than Dolphin Discovery directly, especially with various discounts they offer. The cruise ship is probably just putting you in the inferior Dolphin Swim program.

You are correct. Celebrity's push pull swim is Dolphin Discovery's dolphin swim adventure. Celebrity is $105pp or $420 total for 3 adults and 1 child. Booking direct with current 15% discount saves $40 total but does not include transportation so close in price.

I think we will book direct so we can get the Royal Swim. The difference, per DD, is the Royal Swim includes 2 dolphins doing the Superman type push whereas the other one has 1 dolphin pushing in 1 foot while you hold a boogie board. That is only a little more. $455 and we will pay for our own taxi.

You'll find more info in my review of Dolphin Discovery here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=41193788

Thank you so much for the detail on Dolphin Discovery. We booked the same package in March.

 

Couple of questions:

 

- water shoes with the dolphins or barefoot?

 

- jewelry must be removed? I read this somewhere, just want to check.

 

- should we put swim suits on before we leave the ship, or is there a place once we get to the dolphins? I'm really not looking forward to slogging around in wet swim suits afterwards.

 

Thanks again very much!

Barefoot. You will be standing on the dolphins.

I put my swimsuit on beforehand, but there is a place to change if you want, and as I said, there are lockers (though they can sometimes be hard to get).

Don't know about jewelry.

I have 2 reviews on Chankanaab (which is the Nation Park where Dolphin Discovery is located at) in my signature line. It will show you around the entire park and plenty of pictures.

There is also a review of our dolphin swim once with our then 3 year old. We did the dolphin encounter because of her age.

My oldest daughter did the royal dolphin swim and LOVED it. They pushed her way up in the air.

When we were done, I looked for the showers. There were none to be found. What?! I walked around and still found nothing. I asked an employee, and he confirmed that there were no showers on that part of the beach, and the the closest showers were back at Dolphin Discovery. Wow! Very disappointing. We walked back to Dolphin Discovery (where we had to go anyway for the cab), but I still didn't see the showers he was talking about. Finally, I just used the "floor geyser fountain" as a makeshift shower, washing off myself and all of our equipment. Our boys did the same.

 

 

.

Great review, by the way. About the showers. They are located in the same area as the lockers. They are all the way in the back of that area.

Just booked the Royal dolphin swim and the separate manatee swim. I really wanted to swim with the manatees only as we've done dolphins in Hawaii, but this is a special treat, so we got both. If they stay somewhat consistent, sounds like we'll have a good time!

Dolphin discovery was very easy to book with and they were true to their discounts -- I didn't have to ask for them, although I still have not received an email confirmation. He seemed knowledgable about the rest of the park, too, confirming that there is SNUBA (although for the life of me I cannot find a contact email/website/phone number to try and book a reservation or find out more... anyone?)

The sunscreen is supposed to be biodegradeable. We ordered some 30 SPF through Amazon.

Now, my other questions: is it easy to get a taxi to the place without a bunch of haggling? Was your $12 per cab or per person? Sounds like it was easy enough to get back.

thanks.

 

Now, my other questions: is it easy to get a taxi to the place without a bunch of haggling? Was your $12 per cab or per person? Sounds like it was easy enough to get back.

 

thanks.

It depends where you are docking at. We have always paid $16 each way. They charge a flat fee for up to 4 people and then the price goes up depending on how many are in your party.