Dolphin Discovery Cozumel Booking question: Anyone been here lately?

[C&THollings]

When I went in 2008 to Dolphin Discovery we booked directly from their website. I called yesterday to get information on one of their packages. When I mentioned I was on a Carnival ship, the operator told me he could not longer help me. That I had to book directly with Carnival which is about $70 more a person for the same session. He refused to answer any questions at that point.

 

Has anyone booked directly with them lately that sailed on a Carnival ship? Did you have any problems if you did.

 

I can not bring myself to pay Carnival $70 more for the exact same thing. That is just robbery to me !!!

 

The website does not ask any ship information, I do not see why I can't book directly with them. How can Carnival stop me?

[GeorgiaMomof4]

I'm not really sure what's going on now, but I booked sometime in the fall with them for our Carnival Dream cruise starting 4/2/11. I didn't have any issues booking directly with them then. Maybe call back another day and see if someone else answers...maybe you'll get a different answer from a different person? Let us know!

 

 

 

 

When I went in 2008 to Dolphin Discovery we booked directly from their website. I called yesterday to get information on one of their packages. When I mentioned I was on a Carnival ship, the operator told me he could not longer help me. That I had to book directly with Carnival which is about $70 more a person for the same session. He refused to answer any questions at that point.

 

Has anyone booked directly with them lately that sailed on a Carnival ship? Did you have any problems if you did.

 

I can not bring myself to pay Carnival $70 more for the exact same thing. That is just robbery to me !!!

 

The website does not ask any ship information, I do not see why I can't book directly with them. How can Carnival stop me?

[C&THollings]

I'm not really sure what's going on now, but I booked sometime in the fall with them for our Carnival Dream cruise starting 4/2/11. I didn't have any issues booking directly with them then. Maybe call back another day and see if someone else answers...maybe you'll get a different answer from a different person? Let us know!

 

Did you book over the phone or the web site?

[TanIslandGirl]

Thats wierd, call back in a few days and see if maybe you get a different person on the phone who wont ask where you are staying.

[idreaminpink]

It wouldn't surprise me if it's a new policy, something similar happened in Jamaica with Dolphin Cove. You an no longer purchase through them directly but must go through the ship, where the prices are higher and the age rules are different. Dolphin Cove doesn't charge an entry fee for kids under 6 but the ship sure does, and doesn't even give a discount at that! Very frustrating.

[k2excursion]

It is a brand new policy of theirs. It's sad, but it's true. Anyone who booked directly before this new policy took effect (I think around Jan. 1st) will be able to keep the excursion. But anyone looking to book now will have to go through Carnival. It does feel like robbery, but they can get away with it. I don't know how Dolphin Discovery would know that someone is from a Carnival ship. They could be staying in a hotel. However, if you do try to be a little sneaky, you run the risk of losing all your money if your ship doesn't make it into port. If you decide to walk up and try to get in that way, you run the risk of all the programs being sold out. Plus, they'll be wondering if you came from Carnival, and probably wouldn't let you do any of the programs if they hear you're from a Carnival ship.

[Cuizer2]

They probably have an exclusive contract with Carnival, meaning that all Carnival guest must book through the ship. Simply put, you are going to have to either:

 

1) Lie about where you are coming from

2) Get lucky and nobody will ask

3) Pay the extra $70

 

No matter which you choose, you will not be doing anything illegal. However, it is up to you as far as how you dealing with lying, if you choose to do so.

[idreaminpink]

I don't know if the agreement will be similar to the Dolphin Cove thing I was talking about, but at least there they will only take cruise ship passengers while the cruise ship is docked from what I understand. So at least there you can't even lie :\

[Cuizer2]

I don't know if the agreement will be similar to the Dolphin Cove thing I was talking about, but at least there they will only take cruise ship passengers while the cruise ship is docked from what I understand. So at least there you can't even lie :\

 

There is something called the Royal Swim which is not even offered by the ship that was going on when I was there. So you may have to opt for a different program than the one offered by the ship.

 

As I said, I do know what sort of a deal they have with Carnival, so it may require some carefully worded questions - and answers.

[C&THollings]

I don't know what to do. The only thing I think you gain is passage both ways, that is not work $70.00 more.

[k2excursion]

I don't know what to do. The only thing I think you gain is passage both ways, that is not work $70.00 more.

 

It certainly is not worth $70, but that's where Carnival's profits are. I'm not picking on Carnival exclusively; all cruiselines do this. I just wish they didn't start working with Dolphin Discovery. I don't know how they operate the return transportation. I know that we got there at 9:30, walked up and got into the next Royal Dolphin Swim at 10:00, and it took about 2 1/2 hours to do everything, including watching the video and deciding what we wanted to buy (pics, dvd). After that, we had the rest of the day to enjoy Chankanaab Park on our own, and just return to the ship whenever by cab. We would've been very disappointed if it was a Carnival excursion and they made us leave right after the dolphin swim, without even getting to check out the rest of the park, which is amazing. If they do that, it's better to just give up the ride back, enjoy the park, and return via taxi.

 

One other poster mentioned the possibility that the dolphin programs may only be open to ship excursions on days there's a ship in port. I don't think they would do that for a couple reasons. One is that in Cozumel, there is at least one ship there nearly every single day. Another reason is that there are still cruiselines (Royal Caribbean, NCL, Celebrity to name a few) that do not have any deal with Dolphin Discovery. Passengers from those ships can still book with Dolphin Discovery on their own, through the website or by phone or by walking up. Hotel guests also are able to book on their own online. They ask for the hotel name, because I think they offer a free ride back to the hotel. But this free ride does not have to be accepted. ;)Hints!;) At cruisett.com, you can check to see what other ships are in port with you on that day. Check into cancellation penalties. Carnival will give full refunds if the ship doesn't make it into port.

 

There is something called the Royal Swim which is not even offered by the ship that was going on when I was there. So you may have to opt for a different program than the one offered by the ship.

 

As I said, I do know what sort of a deal they have with Carnival, so it may require some carefully worded questions - and answers.

 

The Royal Dolphin Swim is being offered through the ship now. A month ago, Carnival didn't have anything going on with Dolphin Discovery. Now, it looks like there are 3 Carnival excursions with them, different levels of the dolphin swims. When booking online, once you put in that you're on a Carnival ship, it will not let you book anything. It tells you that you have to go through the ship.

[k2excursion]

Royal Caribbean, NCL, Celebrity to name a few do not have any deal with Dolphin Discovery. Passengers from those ships can still book with Dolphin Discovery on their own, through the website or by phone or by walking up. At cruisett.com, you can check to see what other ships are in port with you on that day.

 

I just checked out that website, and if this is for the OPs Glory cruise, I'm seeing the Glory, the Carnival Triumph, and the Celebrity Eclipse for March 22nd. Potential 9979 cruise guests, which actually is not a high amount for Cozumel. It's possible that there could still be openings for walk-ups on that day. I'll bet some Celebrity Eclipse guests will be taking advantage of that, or booking it on their own online.

[idreaminpink]

I just checked out that website, and if this is for the OPs Glory cruise, I'm seeing the Glory, the Carnival Triumph, and the Celebrity Eclipse for March 22nd. Potential 9979 cruise guests, which actually is not a high amount for Cozumel. It's possible that there could still be openings for walk-ups on that day. I'll bet some Celebrity Eclipse guests will be taking advantage of that, or booking it on their own online.

 

I would call/write and ask this exact question... "Do you take walk-ups when ships are in port?" I have no idea if they do or not but it would be nice to find out before you get there. As I said the one in Jamaica won't allow walk-ups while ships are in port :(

[GinnyJ]

Just email them directly. Martha will get back with you and take care of everything.

[GeorgiaMomof4]

C&THollings - I booked over the phone - like to do that kind of stuff person to person instead of on the web site. Looks like I did it just in time - I can't believe you can't do it on your own any longer. Carnival just keeps sticking their nose into stuff that they don't really need to I think! Makes it impossible for some families to be able to do what they want when they have to pay so much more $$$ for excursions because they are through Carnival and not the independent person/company.

 

 

 

 

Did you book over the phone or the web site?

[idreaminpink]

If Dolphin Discover only has this deal with Carnival, maybe you could tell them you're with another cruise line?

[k2excursion]

If Dolphin Discover only has this deal with Carnival, maybe you could tell them you're with another cruise line?

;)

 

Celebrity Eclipse is in port with you. Celebrity has no deal with Dolphin Discovery. (Not that I would recommend lying!:rolleyes:) Dolphin Discovery has several openings on different time slots for your date, that you can check on their website. It does ask for your cruise ship or hotel name as your checking out. Also, when looking at times, remember that Cozumel will be 2 hours earlier than eastern time in late March. They wait until April to observe Daylight Savings Time, so the time difference between them & Miami (which will be what ship time is) is 2 hours. The earliest available time slot (11am) for them is 1pm eastern. That time slot would be your only real option, since you leave at 5pm ship time. They have a discount on there for the Royal Swim, coming to around $110pp. Word of warning: If Glory somehow doesn't make it into port but Celebrity does, you are unlikely to get any money back. Chances of that scenario may be slim, but I had to let you know.