Swimming with Dolphins with Back Pain - how STRENUOUS is it?

[JACKYJUSTKIDDING]

I have back pain and was looking to swim with the dolphins but almost all of them are listed as strenuous. How strenuous is it? I can stand in water. I just can't bend a bunch and do back flips or have someone throw me through a table or hike a mountain. I can stand in a pool for an hour or so though especially if theres something to lean on. Will I survive? 

 

Also looking at sting rays in Cayman - about to post in there. Wondering if I'll be able to do it. If you have any experience, let me know!

 

This is my first cruise and will be my first excursion and my first time swimming with dolphins/string rays. I'm excited and nervous and just want to know what to expect! I really appreciate the help!

[JohninDC]

Welcome to the boards! 😎

 

 

If you can stand you will be fine. You will wear a life vest and the most strenuous part is holding on while the dolphin pulls you. Some have the dolphins push under to elevate you out of the water, which might be an issue for you.

 

In Grand Cayman at stingray city you are standing in a sand bar. The most strenuous part is getting up and down the ladder.

Edited June 20, 2019 by JohninDC

[mort&fran]

JohninDC is pretty much on target. I did the dolphins in Grand Cayman. The “dolphins push under to elevate you out of the water” involves your lying on your stomach with your feet together, a dolphin pushes you forward(not under you) fast enough that you’re almost vertical in the water.

 

It was exciting. If your back can stand the pressure against your feet (which I do not believe is very great) I think you’ll have a great experience.

[mitsugirly]

For the dolphins (at least at Chankanaab), you are standing on a platform while the dolphins pass by you and you touch them and watch them do tricks, they kiss you and then you swim out to an area (you won't be able to stand in) and they will signal the dolphin to come up under you and push you up out of the water. That's about as strenuous that I've seen and I really wouldn't call it strenuous. They also have you hold on to their flippers and they pull you. You also walk down steps in the water to get to the platform. 

 

 

Here's a video 

 

 

 

 

The stingrays in Grand Cayman is located out in the middle of the ocean on a sandbar. You can stand up in it. No worries there. You pretty much just stand (on a sandy bottom) or float and watch the stingrays swimming by. They do catch them and have you hold one (with their help) for pictures. It's a great experience and not strenuous at all. I would say the most strenuous thing about it would just be climbing the ladder back up into the boat. 😉

 

 

This shows how shallow it can be

 

 

 

Have a wonderful cruise and time!!!

 

 

 

[ZoeyVictoria]

I went to Stingray City a few months go.  It was very windy and the water was rough.  I was knocked off my feet twice while in the shallow water with the stingrays.  We still enjoyed it, but if being knocked down would be a problem, you might prefer to stay on the boat if the water is rough.

[mort&fran]

My swim with dolphins, in Grand Cayman, occurred in a large pool, not open water.

[coevan]

they all do, never saw a wild dolphin encounter in open water

[LandlockedCruiser01]

It depends what you pick: there's dolphin encounter and dolphin swim.  The encounter is where you stand in stomach-deep water, and the dolphin swim up to you to give you an opportunity to pet them, hold on to their fins, etc.  They don't really push and pull you.  The swim is where you do more physical activities, like the dorsal fin tow, there you hold on to dolphin's dorsal (back) fin, and it pulls you, or the foot push, where the dolphins push you out of the water by your feet.  They scatter, so you can fall safely into the water.

 

If the physical activities in the dolphin swim would be an issue for you, then I recommend the dolphin encounter.

[Kate P.C]

We did the dolphin and manatees tour in Cozumel. We were in separated part of the ocean, wearing vests the whole time. There are some activities to do with the dolphin but you don't have to. You can just stand and watch the dolphin play, you can touch the dolphin, communicate with it...

 

Then we just walked into the pool where the manatees were, made a circle and fed them with lettuce. that was about it.

 

The rest of the time was free drinks and food.

 

We really loved the tour!

 

The photos are expensive though...

[smogfarmgirl]

On 6/24/2019 at 4:27 PM, mitsugirly said:

Here's a video 

 

 

Thanks! How did you get to take a video? I thought they didn’t allow cameras?

[mitsugirly]

2 hours ago, smogfarmgirl said:

Thanks! How did you get to take a video? I thought they didn’t allow cameras?

 

 

They use to allow you to take your camera's.

[smogfarmgirl]

1 hour ago, mitsugirly said:

 

 

They use to allow you to take your camera's.

Wow, wish they still did...at least for video!

[vacationlover_mn]

In my opinion- not strenuous at all 🙂

[LandlockedCruiser01]

1 hour ago, vacationlover_mn said:

In my opinion- not strenuous at all 🙂

 

You got a Schrodinger's Statement there: it's both correct and incorrect, until you find out what kind of dolphin swim it is. 

 

In some dolphin swims, you stand in waist-deep water, and a dolphin swims up to you to be petted.  Or it jumps out of the water over you, but you remain mostly stationary.  In others, there's a lot of movement required on your part.  You might tread water while a dolphin pushes you out of the water by your feet, letting you fall back in.  Or you might hold on to its dorsal fin, while it tows you through the water.  Or something else movement-heavy.  Either way, it's on you to control your own movements, as not to pull a muscle or something.  Now, those are the dolphin swims I'd suggest abstaining from if you have a weak back.

 

Some companies refer to the former as a "dolphin encounter" and the latter as a "dolphin swim".  Read the descriptions carefully, to know what you're getting into.

[vacationlover_mn]

I should note- I did the “full dolphin swim”, where it towed us around the water, etc... but we had life jackets on... so “treading water” was a moot point, and really, nothing about it felt strenuous...  we didn’t do a lot of twisting or anything?