"Swim with the Dolphins" -- Opinions

[amyo28]

Hello all. I am going on Western Caribbean 8/27 Mariner. At a few ports there is the option to "swim with the dolphins." I LOVE dolphins, and 2 of the people I am going with really want to do the dolphin swim. BUT, I have heard that the dolphins are captured out of the wild and forced to intereact with people 7 days a week, aren't cared for properly, etc. etc. How have people's experiences been and are any of the companies "better" than others in how they treat the dolphins? My eco-aware friends all tell me I should definitely not do it. Thoughts??

[JLSatUD]

I went to the one near Atlantis in the Bahamas a few years ago. I had heard similar things as your friends are saying but was really curious. The whole experience, I felt, was very eco friendly. They spent so much more time talking about how each dolphin came to be a part of their experience and ways to take care of dolphins than we did actually "doing tricks" with them. We did not do the "TV" version of dolphin swimming where you hold on to the dorsel fin because the trainers said that can hurt them. We splashed the dolphins, they splashed us, we did a couple hand movements and they spun around, they did some jumping over us, and for the big finale, we laid flat in the water and they zoomed up behind us and pushed us forward using their snout under the arches of our feet. The employees/trainers had shirts that said "Animal trainers" and explained that their jobs are to train humans as much as dolphins! The dolphins all had individual personalities which was really neat to see during the interactions. One wouldn't go near a woman because she was pregnant (not even showing yet, but the dolphin knew). The trainer explained that the dolphin can sense the two heartbeats but sees one person and gets freaked out. Another dolphin would play with the two husbands who were in our group, but wouldn't touch them. The trainers just moved some animals around til they were comfortable with their humans.

 

One other nice thing is that they were in a natural cove which had then been walled in using sea rocks, so it was nice to see them not just in a pool or something. The friend I went with is a big ego and animal lover and wasn't going to do it until she saw the conditions, and they pleased her enough to participate.

 

Do what your concious tells you, but at least at my location I felt comfortable with the experience. However, Dolphin Encounters was one of the first ones out there and was available when few others were. Now that it's popping up all over the place, I'm sure there are locations that are not as kind to their animals. It was definitely an experience of a life time!

[eswort]

my wife did a swim at the same location mentioned above and they seemed to treat the dolphins great, they also offer a scuba dive with the dolphins at this location....while we were on our way there (short boat ride) we saw another boat coming out into the deeper ocean and the crew of the boat we were on slowed down to show us the dolphins following this boat out, turns out that the boat was from the same company and they were going out to do the dolphin scuba dive....the dolphins were completely free to swim away if they wanted but the crew said they never would they have it too good, he said every once in a while one doesnt feel like going back in so they just let it stay out there until its ready to come back home....we were amazed, it definitely made be feel much better about the whole exeriance

[dolphincruiser404]

I did one at Dolphin Discovery in Cozumel a few years back. I don't know if they have re-opened since Wilma, but it was an amazing experience!!!! The dolphins seemed very well cared. It was really the experience of a lifetime!

[rsinj]

>

How have people's experiences been and are any of the companies "better" than others in how they treat the dolphins? My eco-aware friends all tell me I should definitely not do it. Thoughts??

>

 

All dolphins and whales are captured in the wild - are they not? You think things are significantly different for Shamu and his dolphin friends? They are animals being kept in confined space, not in the open where they were meant to live. That being the case, would you not patronize Sea World, aquariums, or any other venue that has dolphins or other sea mammals?

 

If so, you may want to cantact the folks at PETA - they are always looking for more folks to help their cause.

 

Aside from that, the dolphin swims and encounters are amazing excursions. They are very expensive, but they are opportunities to do something that you would very rarely have the chance to do otherwise. It is something you will remember for the rest of your life. Just my own personal opinion, but if you are thinking about it, then you and your family should do it. It will be a very memorable experience.

 

 

Howard

[sailor moon]

We have done it 3 times in Cozumel with our kids. Everyone has their own opinion about the concept of using dolphins in this manner but we loved the experience. Our DD has autism and the experience was worth it to see her interaction with the dolphins. We have this special memory on video and watch it together at least twice a year. It has been 2 years and she still talks about it as if it were yesterday. FYI, we did the Royal Swim which was booked directly with dolphin discovery as it is a group of 8 as opposed to a large group.

[amyo28]

>

 

All dolphins and whales are captured in the wild - are they not? You think things are significantly different for Shamu and his dolphin friends? They are animals being kept in confined space, not in the open where they were meant to live. That being the case, would you not patronize Sea World, aquariums, or any other venue that has dolphins or other sea mammals?

 

If so, you may want to cantact the folks at PETA - they are always looking for more folks to help their cause.

 

 

Howard --

 

SeaWorld has trained marine biologists who care for the dolphins and killer whales. I also believe they breed the animals in captivity, so not all of their animals are born in the wild. Zoos and acquariums provide an important function to educate people about animals and promote conservation -- would we even care about dolphins or pandas or elephants if we had never seen one in person?

 

The reason I am concerned about unregulated dolphin swim operations in the Caribbean and Mexico is that I have no assurance that people trained and educated in dolphin care are taking care of the dolphins, or that they care about conservation and education about dolphin's condition in the wild. If I had those assurances, I would happily patronize the dolphin swim. I was asking if anyone could provide me with more information about the companies Royal Caribbean uses in their excusions, or about any good companies people had had experience. Sorry if that was unclear.

[Lynnees]

We too went to the one near Atlantis in the Bahamas back in May. We were on a land vacation so we booked it ourselfs.

 

I enjoyed it so very much. I felt that the trainers/handlers were treating the dolphins with TLC. If the dolphin needed a break or swam away the trainer/handler just told us he would be back when he was ready and that we would wait for the dolphin. That was more than fine with me.

 

If I had thought or observed them mis-handling the dolphins in any way I would have seen that he was very unhappy as well. (meaning the trainer)

 

I do not believe in capturing these mammals and putting them is small tanks as some outfits do. However, if they have been born into captivity I don't think they can be put into the wild. I would however, like to see the pracitise of capturing whales, dolphins, elephants, tigers etc. be made illegal.

[Cruisin'40]

I did one at Dolphin Discovery in Cozumel a few years back. I don't know if they have re-opened since Wilma, but it was an amazing experience!!!! The dolphins seemed very well cared. It was really the experience of a lifetime!

 

Same experience here! I'm not a marine biologist but the stafff definately seemed to be bonded with the dolphins and they seemed happy and well cared for. This was an amazing experience, and while it was pricey it was worth every penny. They offer a video (probably a DVD now) and photos at the end. I think I spent an additional $100 for the three sets of pics and video (again well worth the money).

I would spend the extra money and chose the "swim" over the "encounter". This was our favorite excursion to date.

[crb04]

I researched this a bit before our first cruise last year, as DD and I are both fascinated with dolphins. I wanted to find someplace where we could interact "close up," but that also promoted wildlife awareness, education, humane conditions/treatment, etc. Came across this site:

http://www.ammpa.org/about.html

There are accredited dolphin encounters in Cozumel and Bahamas, among other places (including Sea World, etc).

[Rcl Obsesd]

its a great excursion

[amyo28]

crb04 -- thanks for the info! I will check it out