RCI - St. Maarten to Anguilla Dolphin Encounter

Hi

Looking for anyone that has done this RCI excursion. We will be 2 parents and a 3 year old. Possibly may bring the 11 month old baby along but also he may stay on the ship with grandparents. Has anyone done this that can comment on the boat ride over to Anguilla? Is it a rocky or a relatively smooth ride? Also how was the Dolphin Encounter? I have been reading mixed reviews that are all over the place. Any help is appreciated!

I haven't done it..not a fan of forced encounters. I certainly would leave the baby on the ship....if you take him, one of you will have to miss what you're paying for to care for him.

Do you know the subcontractor? I usually book directly with the subcontractors, and besides saving money the other big advantage is that they can answer questions like this correctly, which none of the cruise line excursion office people ever seem to be able to do on any of the lines I've sailed.

You might want to post this in the destination forum, but in Jamaica there was a dolphin touch program that infants could participate in. You stood in very shallow water, and held small children. The dolphin came over and you could pet it. Your 11 month old would have been allowed to participate in this, although I don't know if they'd just be scared. My 2 year old liked meeting the dolphin a lot.

If it is a dolphin swim program, there will be age restrictions. Try to find out who the subcontractor is, since the actual dolphin place may have more options available than your cruise line shore excursion office (for example, in Jamaica Princess wouldn't let my 2 year old on the dolphin touch excursion, but when I booked directly through the subcontractor they allow children of all ages to participate assuming a parent will hold the child.)

Don’t go. Dolphin encounters are cruel and they aren’t safe. At least educate yourself before deciding to do this.

http://m.humanesociety.org/issues/captive_marine/facts/swim_dolphins.html

Do you know the subcontractor? I usually book directly with the subcontractors, and besides saving money the other big advantage is that they can answer questions like this correctly, which none of the cruise line excursion office people ever seem to be able to do on any of the lines I've sailed.

Seems like more and more often the subcontractors are having to sign "exclusive" arrangements with the cruise lines and won't accept customers who identify as being on a ship. You can get around it by claiming to be staying at a hotel, but then transportation is on your own to wherever they might be willing to pick you up.

But it's worth asking about in advance.

I believe that you must have passports to travel from St. Maarten to Anguilla.

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I believe that you must have passports to travel from St. Maarten to Anguilla.

This is true.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond. Based on further research and your feedback I don't think this will be the right choice for us at the current time.