Adventures on the Allure, Teen family! 2/8/15, Western Caribbean, LOTS of Pictures!

[NightOne]

Hi! Yes, these videos are definitely the place where we rafted! Very familiar! :D

 

Awesome!

 

You didn't mention it your review (or I missed it) but I thought I read that about 1/2 way down on this one there is a swimming hole with a jumping platform where people take a little break before continuing down the river with tubing. Was that the case for you?

[ShellDil]

Awesome!

 

You didn't mention it your review (or I missed it) but I thought I read that about 1/2 way down on this one there is a swimming hole with a jumping platform where people take a little break before continuing down the river with tubing. Was that the case for you?

 

We did pass by this area, but no one in our group wanted to stop. I think we had enough jumping and swimming at the Blue Hole! Also, it did appear that it was an area where there would have been people "running" the jumping area also looking for tips etc...which may have influenced some in the groups decision to stop or not. Me, I was just happy to keep on floating!

 

It wasn't really a swimming hole area, more of a rope swing if I remember, off to the side of the river. I think there were some picnic tables there as well. There was someone standing there calling out offering to take our pictures if we stopped.

[NightOne]

We did pass by this area, but no one in our group wanted to stop. I think we had enough jumping and swimming at the Blue Hole! Also, it did appear that it was an area where there would have been people "running" the jumping area also looking for tips etc...which may have influenced some in the groups decision to stop or not. Me, I was just happy to keep on floating!

 

It wasn't really a swimming hole area, more of a rope swing if I remember, off to the side of the river. I think there were some picnic tables there as well. There was someone standing there calling out offering to take our pictures if we stopped.

 

 

OK, thanks for the follow up!!!

 

Calypso Tubing it is. :)

 

Stopped in just to see your Blue Hole pictures (even though I have already been) but have been enjoying ALL of your review. :)

[ShellDil]

Again, apologizing for the break in the posts! I had a TON of pictures to upload for our Cozumel day, and it's been a super busy few weeks! April and May are crazy with activities for the kids, school winding down and work is keeping me from reliving my vacation memories! Anyway, thank you for your patience for those hanging in here!

 

Cozumel....I love this port, and I love Mexico in general. We were docked for a nice long day - 8 - 7, with an all aboard of 6:30, so plenty of options! Actually too many to choose from! On a past cruise we did The Amazing Race, which was so much fun! But today, what would we do? I went back and forth among so many options....Keith and I had done the dune buggy tour of the island many years ago and we really enjoyed that. I considered something along those lines. Jeep tour? Combo jeep/snorkeling? Head over to Passion Island? Initially I was thinking maybe Mr Sanchos, but after Labadee, I didn't know if we'd want another full beach day....so, what did we decide?

 

Chankanaab! Chankanaab and the Manatee encounter! Well, we also threw in the Sea Lion Encounter as well! How often can you interact with a manatee? We've done the dolphin experiences before, but never a manatee and that sort of just sealed the deal. We didn't do a tour, or a ship excursion. Having so long in port, we booked the encounters through Dolphin Discovery before we left so we would have a guaranteed time slot and then we took a taxi over to Chankanaab so we could arrive and depart when it was convenient for us.

 

 

 

The Cozumel port is very easy to navigate. You just follow the signs out to where the taxis are and everything is pre-priced for where you want to go. I believe it was $12 USD to go to Chankanaab. I didn't take a picture of the sign, but that is what is sticking out in my memory. It may have been $10 though....It's a short ride, maybe 10 minutes tops and we were there! We arrived, checked in and got our wristbands and waited for our encounters. We had it scheduled to do the manatees I believe around 10:00 and the sea lions at 11:30.

 

 

It was actually pretty chilly that morning! We were hoping it would warm up!

 

This is the area where they do the encounters

 

 

 

 

 

We were given keys to two lockers to put our belongings in and we went to wait. We did have a pretty long wait, and during that time the tours started to arrive. Tons and tons and tons of people started coming in. I would say mainly cruise ship passengers. There were some people from hotels as well. And the majority of them were for the dolphin encounters. Chankanaab seemed to be pretty organized as to getting them through the check in, life jackets and into the encounters, and there aren't a whole lot of people in each group it's limited.

 

Our group for the manatees only had the 4 of us and one other woman.

 

There is a photographer taking pictures, and no, they do not let you or anyone else take pictures at all. I do believe they say that people have dropped their cameras into the water, and I am sure that has happened, but also, they do want to sell you their photos as well.

 

 

During the interaction you have a "guide" and we were told ours was a marine biologist, and maybe she was - she did seem to know a lot about the manatees and she was really great with our group. It was not just about touching or seeing the manatee, but also about learning about them as well. But there was definitely a lot of making sure to get in position to take the proper pictures!

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

So, first we had a little introduction about manatees before we got into the water. And our guide asked if we had any questions

 

 

 

We all stood on the platform and got to pet the manatee as we learned more about their behaviors and things like skin, faces, mouth, eating etc...

 

 

 

He was the sweetest thing ever!

 

 

 

And just like when you do a dolphin encounter, there's the "kiss"

 

 

 

And then a kiss on the cheek too

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

 

 

 

 

More posing with him

 

 

 

 

 

Holding him like a baby

 

 

 

And then we all got to feed him some lettuce

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

 

 

 

And if all of that so far wasn't one of the coolest experiences, we got to get into the water with the manatees, and feed them, and swim around with them! We put on face masks, so we could look into the water and see them swimming down below us too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alex with three manatees all hanging out with him! He really could not have been happier!

 

 

 

 

 

All of us loved this experience....absolutely loved it!

 

[LuCruise]

Great to see you back. Totally know what you mean with life getting in the way...lol.

 

 

 

Wow...your experience with the manatees looked amazing...and such amazing pictures. Surely you won't forget this experience!

[ShellDil]

Great to see you back. Totally know what you mean with life getting in the way...lol.

 

 

 

Wow...your experience with the manatees looked amazing...and such amazing pictures. Surely you won't forget this experience!

 

I keep waiting until I'm "less" busy, and it never seems to happen! So, I just try to fit in a post here and there...

 

The manatees really were pretty unforgettable! Such gentle creatures! Very different from the dolphin encounter, which also id quite a unique experience as well!

 

And, we did end up purchasing the Chankanaab photo package. How could we not have photos of that experience! I'm a sucker for that though. I'll get to the pricing of how that all works later - but they really did a great job with the pictures, so in the end, I was so happy we purchased them!

[ShellDil]

We finished up our manatee encounter, and it's almost like part of the "experience" but they shuffle you right into the gift shop to show you the pictures they took and see if you want to purchase a package. Yup, right then and there! Somehow those pictures are already loaded and on this bank of computers!

 

So, backing up a bit, before we left, I had read about how the pictures were expensive to buy. Then when we arrived at Chankanaab, before we got our wristbands, we were shown to a desk where we were told where everything was. Where the snorkel rentals were, where the restaurants were etc...and they asked us then if we wanted to buy the picture package. The pricing was outrageous! It's priced based on the number of people in your group, and the activities. They were going to charge us over $200 for the manatee pricing, and then another $200 for the sea lion pictures. This is being said before we even did anything, before even walking into the park!

 

So....that being said, I had no intentions whatsoever in buying the photos! But they have you look at the pictures, and there are tons of people working there. I told them, sorry, not interested and they asked why? I said because they cost too much! And we're doing the sea lions next, and I'd want both sets of pictures. So - they said - pick the pictures from your encounter that you'd want, save them and come back and they'd "work with me on the price"....

 

We left the gift shop and found our group for the sea lions, and off we went! This is done right in the theater where they do the show. This encounter was very different from the manatees. I assume because the sea lions are trained for shows they have to be handled very specifically and very cautiously. Not that they are more delicate exactly, but that the trainers don't want the encounter to interfere with the trained behaviors that they have learned. Everything was very precise. From where we could stand, to how we held our hands, to where we could touch the sea lion.

 

There were 6 in our group, my family of 4 and another family of 2. We were split into two groups, with 3 of us in the water, and 3 on the stage.

 

The water group, ready!

 

 

So, first the sea lion would pass by them, and they could pet him as he went by. They had to keep their hands up and when he went by he would slow down and they could pet him gently.

 

 

 

 

 

Then the sea lion would swim up onto the stage and one of us would be in position for a kiss!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

Then back in the water for another pass by pet

 

 

And back on stage for some more kisses!

 

 

 

Ooh - right on the lips!

 

 

 

Then we had some careful instructions on how to stand, kneel and then pet the sea lion

 

 

 

 

 

Back in the water, and they did a "hold" the sea lion pose

 

 

[ShellDil]

 

And they even did some in black and white!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then we switched. This part was a bit challenging for Megan and me. Being short, we had a hard time standing because the water was just a bit too deep for us! We had to hold on to the edge of the pool so we didn't float away! Which made it hard to hold on and pet the sea lion!

 

 

 

And then Keith got his kisses too

 

 

 

Alex holding the little guy

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

and me

 

 

 

And Keith petting the sea lion!

 

 

 

 

Megan wanted no part in trying to hold the guy. She figured she'd float all over the pool and end up hurting the sea lion or herself! The last thing she wanted was to be yelled at by the trainer! :eek:

 

And that's sort of how it felt at that encounter.....while it was pretty cool, and a unique experience, it was nothing like the manatees. This was so precise. For example, when we knelt down to pet the sea lion when it was out of the water, you had to wait until it was already lying in front of you to go from standing to kneeling down. I didn't remember this, and I knelt down before he got in front of me. Which actually made me more comfortable - I have a bad leg/hip and if I'm going to go from standing to kneeling I'm usually pretty stable, but if I wobble, I'd rather not wobble ONTO a sea lion!! But since I did it in the wrong order, the trainer had to "reset" and have me stand up and have the routine start again, with the sea lion back in the water and me stand back up.

 

We all enjoyed it, but I was really glad we also did the manatees, and if I had to only choose one, the manatees would definitely be my first choice, just because it was much more interactive and we learned more about the animals. The sea lions, while very unique and something most people never will experience, was a bit too methodical to be as enjoyable as I would have liked it to be.

 

 

So, after we were done there, we did go back to the photo area and looked at all of the pictures. There are probably over 500 between the manatee and sea lions. One of the customer service people asked me if I was going to purchase the photos and I told him that someone earlier told me they would work with me on the price, and that I couldn't pay the full price for two encounters for 4 people. He said no problem - pick your pictures and let me know what you want to pay. Bottom line here - I can't remember what we paid, but it was less than $200 for two CDs of over 500 pictures total. The price they quote is very negotiable, so going in, if you want the pictures they take, make sure you ask what the actual price is, especially if you are doing more than one encounter. They turned out really well, and I would hate to have not asked and not have these memories.

 

And our day isn't even half over! We had lunch at the little restaurant by the lockers. I know there are are a few different areas there to eat, but this one was convenient to where our stuff was, and we could eat and then put stuff in the lockers and then go over to the beach and snorkel, or whatever!

 

For those interested, this is the pool here. It still was fairly chilly when this picture was taken. And from what I remember, I don't really recall seeing many people in the pool at any time that we went by it during the day.

 

 

 

[cymru cruiser]

fantastic photos. The look on Alex's face in the first photo of the sea lion kissing him is priceless.

[LuCruise]

Love, love, love your review. Amazing pictures (glad they brought the price down so it was reasonable). Interesting what you say with the sea lion "steps" being so precise. Hopefully it was still enjoyable. Looks fun...and love the kissing ones...lol.

[ShellDil]

Love, love, love your review. Amazing pictures (glad they brought the price down so it was reasonable). Interesting what you say with the sea lion "steps" being so precise. Hopefully it was still enjoyable. Looks fun...and love the kissing ones...lol.

 

Thank you so much! Yes, it still was a very enjoyable experience, just very different from the manatees, or what we've done before with the dolphins. It was very interesting to see just how precise the training was done with the sea lions!

[ShellDil]

Well I left you hanging again! So, we had just finished off with the Sea Lion Encounter....after our negotiations with the picture people and a bit to eat for lunch, we still had quite a lot of time before we had to head back to the ship! Whoo Hoo! So, we went to go explore the rest of the park, and mostly Alex and I wanted to snorkel.

 

We we had arrived and stopped at the desk, the woman had told us about the different huts along the beach that rent the snorkel equipment. We walked along until we got to I think the 4th hut. Along the way we passed the lagoon area, which isn't for swimming, but is really pretty!

 

you can see here where one of the zip lines goes by. There is a zip line course that has been recently added. It's an extra fee, and you can purchase it as a stand alone or part of various packages. We knew we didn't have time to zip line and snorkel, and this time we picked snorkeling!

 

 

There were some nice iguanas lying around the lagoon area getting their sun for the day!

 

 

And I thought the beach here was gorgeous!

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

So, Alex and I rented our snorkel equipment. I can't remember how much it was, but I'm thinking maybe $12 for mask and fins? And then there are other little huts where you get the life vests. You just have to leave an ID, like your driver's license. I believe they had signs up saying that the vests were mandatory. And the day we were there it was fairly choppy in the water. Both Alex and I are strong swimmers, but I felt safer with a vest on.

 

There are steps along the entry to the water. It's not a sandy walk entry. It's a drop off, so you would walk in using the steps.

 

 

 

Here you can see how the entry into the water looks, from our view - in the water. These steps were all along the beach so you could get in or out at several different spots

 

 

 

There was a decent amount of fish, and coral. Nothing spectacular, but it was nice to be out there.

 

 

 

 

We came across this big school of fish, which was pretty cool!

 

 

 

And not the best picture, but this looks like a cannon or something

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

Here's another one of the school of fish - I loved these guys!

 

 

 

So, while Alex and I were snorkeling, Megan and Keith were hanging out on the beach. Megan had my regular camera and she was busy taking her own pictures!

 

 

 

So this is the far end of the beach. The huts are where you can rent the snorkel gear. I think one may have had massages going on? I'm not sure if any had food...I never checked. And the chairs, they didn't look very comfortable at this part of the beach!

 

 

 

A nice view of the whole area. You can see the platform in the water. This was a nice resting area after being out snorkeling for awhile! Or a good place to go if you had to adjust your mask!

 

 

 

You can see how close Chankanaab is to the pier Carnival and the other ships dock!

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

After Alex and I snorkeled for quite some time, we went to see what else there was to explore. Do you get the feeling that he and I like to explore and Megan and Keith like to "chill"? Well, yup - that's the division in the family! It works out pretty well!

 

 

 

 

Anyway, we walked around and found the Botanical Gardens, and this is where they have all of these replicas of Mayan artifacts. Pretty cool!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

 

 

Yup, he's the explorer in the family!

 

 

There was also a replica Mayan house set up. This was pretty cool!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

And then there was an area with some information about the Mayan calendar, the Mayan counting system and it looks like maybe a ceremony area. I can't quite remember.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some information about the Mayan civilizations through time

 

 

 

Ahhhh....I knew I had a picture of a map of Chankanaab! Here it is! A little late in the day, but here you can see just how much there is at the park! Really, we only scratched the surface!

 

 

Next to the exit of the garden is the Tequila Tasting area. We never made it there!

 

[ShellDil]

After wandering through the gardens and seeing the Mayan replicas, Alex and I found the crocodiles!

 

 

 

 

 

They had two or three areas with several crocodiles lying around in some water. And the zip lines went above the crocs....

 

 

 

Then we finally made our way back to the beach, and Keith and Megan saw us coming and walked over to meet us. It was about time for our day to end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

We all loved it here at Chankanaab and all got to do things we enjoyed! The manatees, sea lions, snorkel, relax on the beach, explore! It was a pretty perfect day! Again!

 

And apparently there is even more here! Look a spa!

 

 

 

And just some more picture as we walked back to the lockers

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is actually the entrance, but I didn't take the pictures of the entrance until we left!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[10th Anniversary]

We all loved it here at Chankanaab and all got to do things we enjoyed! The manatees, sea lions, snorkel, relax on the beach, explore! It was a pretty perfect day! Again!

 

ShellDil... I've been following along and have really enjoyed your review. Love all the great pictures. We will be sailing back to back on Freedom in August and plan to visit Chankanaab Park for the first time. Your pictures are great and I thank you for sharing your trip with the rest of us. I think the park is the perfect place for my group of 5 who like to snorkel, explore, relax, read and swim. Looking at your Manatee pictures... has me considering having the family do this excursion too. My kids want to Zip Line too. Thanks again for sharing...