help,info swimming with the dolphins Cozumel or Cayman

[martalgc]

My son and i are sailing on the royal Carabbien to Costa Maya, Cozumel, Belieze and Grand Cayman, and his birthday present is to swim with the dolpins, i would like to know witch is best? the cayman or the Cozumel park? witch is the near from the Port? Well i would love any advice about swimming with the dolphins any info you may have....

 

 

thank you for the time..

 

and my son is 6 years old!

[tbrownharr]

My son and i are sailing on the royal Carabbien to Costa Maya, Cozumel, Belieze and Grand Cayman, and his birthday present is to swim with the dolpins, i would like to know witch is best? the cayman or the Cozumel park? witch is the near from the Port? Well i would love any advice about swimming with the dolphins any info you may have....

 

 

thank you for the time..

 

and my son is 6 years old!

I have been to neither - but in all my searches regarding this very subject - Cozumel is where I have booked. The main reason is Cayman you are tendered in and there is a chance that (due to high winds, rough seas) you may not get to go. That being said - my 4year old would be so upset and I prefer not to take that chance. Best regards:)

[Naomi John]

My son and i are sailing on the royal Carabbien to Costa Maya, Cozumel, Belieze and Grand Cayman, and his birthday present is to swim with the dolpins, i would like to know witch is best? the cayman or the Cozumel park? witch is the near from the Port? Well i would love any advice about swimming with the dolphins any info you may have....

 

 

thank you for the time..

 

and my son is 6 years old!

 

Done the Dolphim Encounter in Cozumel w/DD at age 6. We booked through the cruise line. She really enjoyed it and what was nice, if you pay a $25.00 observer pass, you can stand with your child if they get a little nervous.

 

You did not say which Cruise line, so I could not advise how close to port it would be. Dolphin Discovery you can book independently, the other one, you could only book via cruise ship, but that might of changed.

[onthelake]

When we did this for our son, we decided to go with SeaWorld. The safety factors in other countries are not the same. Unless you are participating with your child, it may be a little overwhelming. At SeaWorld, DS was with a group of kids about his age and they made sure that everyone got 'equal time.' Put into a group of adults, I am not sure things would have gone as well. Overall, a truly memorable experience. I think it makes a real difference in children's grasp of ecology.

[Shelleywood]

We did the dolphin encounter last year in Cozumel at Chankanaab park. My son was 7. I booked on line and just paid the 69.00 for me and he was free. So, it worked out well for us price wise. I loved the encounter itself also. We took a taxi from the Carnival pier to the park and it was about 10 mins. away.

 

The encounter was wonderful and very appropriate for children 8 and under. The dolphin, ours was Scarlett, was very gentle and we got to feed, hug, kiss and dance with her. They took some very good pictures also. After the encounter we took the kids swimming in the pool they had. It had a great big sprinkler in the middle of the pool and the boys had a ball. I have not heard any reviews for the dolphin swim in Grand Caymen but can highly recommend the one in Cozumel. Good luck!

[A&Jfamily]

I agree that Chankanaab park is the way to go - we have missed port in Grand Cayman, and there, you really should do a trip to see the sting rays.

 

You can book directly through Chankanaab - the cab ride is less than 15 minutes. It is a beautiful facility. While the other dolpin thing - Dolphin Discovery is closer to the pier an dyou could probably walk, it doesn't have the beach, pool, lagoon etc that Chankanaab has. Your dolphin enounter comes with unlimited time at the park, so it is the way to spend the day.

[Mama2Tay]

We just did the Royal Swim last week in Cozumel with Dolphin Discovery. Our kids are 11 yrs and 8 yrs. My 11 year old DD was a little scared, so she did not do all of the things, but my 8 year old loved it all.

 

The swim itself was great, and we would do it again. We did it a Chankanaab park which was a short (10 minute) cab ride from the pier. However, the park itself was not impressive. There was trash on the little beach, including small blocks of wood with nails sticking out of them. There is another larger beach, but the wind was so strong that there was no way we could swim due to the waves being so high. There were chairs to use, so I'm sure that part is nicer. We didn't walk the whole park either, so there may be an even nicer section farther away.

 

Also, be aware that the park opens at 8am Cozumel time, but the Dolphin people don't get there until 9am and you can't get into the park until the Dolphin people come to check you in. They don't tell you that when you make the reservation.

[Mack2]

I've taken my family to the Dolphin Discovery in Cozumel twice on different cruises. We've booked online, which is a good 20% cheaper than booking through the ship.

 

Additionally, when we had gone, the cruise line didn't offer the tour to children under the age of 8, and we had some toddlers with us.

 

Back then, under a certain age was free... but now it seems they have it as under a certain height is free.

 

Personally, I love Chakunaab... I got my SCUBA certification there a long time ago, and I've been glad to have my kids enjoy snorkeling there (even though the reef hasn't been the same since the hurricanes messed them up).

 

Cayman Islands is great for the Stingrays and/or the Turtle Farm (and butterfly farm, lizard farm, etc) if you're into the whole animal thing.... also, the Cayman dollar is stronger than the US dollar ($1.25 USD = $1.00 Cayman?)

So it may behoove you to take advantage of the Peso.

[RCLnewbie]

I've taken my family to the Dolphin Discovery in Cozumel twice on different cruises. We've booked online, which is a good 20% cheaper than booking through the ship.

 

Additionally, when we had gone, the cruise line didn't offer the tour to children under the age of 8, and we had some toddlers with us.

 

Back then, under a certain age was free... but now it seems they have it as under a certain height is free.

 

Personally, I love Chakunaab... I got my SCUBA certification there a long time ago, and I've been glad to have my kids enjoy snorkeling there (even though the reef hasn't been the same since the hurricanes messed them up).

 

Cayman Islands is great for the Stingrays and/or the Turtle Farm (and butterfly farm, lizard farm, etc) if you're into the whole animal thing.... also, the Cayman dollar is stronger than the US dollar ($1.25 USD = $1.00 Cayman?)

So it may behoove you to take advantage of the Peso.

 

Hey Mack2, I'm having this same problem. I have two kids ages 4 and almost 2 and have booked through Dolphin Discovery directly as the cruise line won't allow them on their excursion because of their age. The problem is that the only times the places offers the "encounters" is 2:00 and 4:00 eastern. We signed up for the 2:00 but the ship leaves at 4 so we're going to be cutting it close. Probably too close. I read somewhere where the workers allowed a group to go earlier than their scheduled time. Do you think this is possible? I'm just looking for someone with experience with this place. TYIA!

[Mack2]

Hey Mack2, I'm having this same problem. I have two kids ages 4 and almost 2 and have booked through Dolphin Discovery directly as the cruise line won't allow them on their excursion because of their age. The problem is that the only times the places offers the "encounters" is 2:00 and 4:00 eastern. We signed up for the 2:00 but the ship leaves at 4 so we're going to be cutting it close. Probably too close. I read somewhere where the workers allowed a group to go earlier than their scheduled time. Do you think this is possible? I'm just looking for someone with experience with this place. TYIA!

 

Last time we went to the Dolphin thing was in '08.

We left the ship early and arrived at the park early for a 1:00 booking...

 

We figured we would hang at the little beach thing there, snorkel a little, have lunch at the park (there's a really good Mexican restaurant there, really fresh ceviche)

 

When we got there, we decided to confirm the booking, and they told us they had room for us right then and there. It worked out for us. I'm not sure if they do that all the time.

We got to spend some time in San Miguel afterwards... which we didn't plan on, but it worked out.

 

These pics are from the park.

 

I never uploaded the dolphin pictures anywhere... I'm sorry I can't share them at this time.

 

edit:

and my younger son was around 5-6 at the time.

[RCLnewbie]

Last time we went to the Dolphin thing was in '08.

We left the ship early and arrived at the park early for a 1:00 booking...

 

We figured we would hang at the little beach thing there, snorkel a little, have lunch at the park (there's a really good Mexican restaurant there, really fresh ceviche)

 

When we got there, we decided to confirm the booking, and they told us they had room for us right then and there. It worked out for us. I'm not sure if they do that all the time.

We got to spend some time in San Miguel afterwards... which we didn't plan on, but it worked out.

 

These pics are from the park.

 

I never uploaded the dolphin pictures anywhere... I'm sorry I can't share them at this time.

 

edit:

and my younger son was around 5-6 at the time.

 

Thanks Mack2! That's what I was hoping for. Maybe if we look stressed enough they'll let us go early! :)