Dolphin Encounter - Cozumel

[txmommy2]

We will be traveling with another family in November and have booked the Dolphin Encounter. Is it worth the price - $448 for 2 adults and 2 kids? We have been looking foward to this excursion and would like to hear from others who have experienced this excursion in Cozumel. Thanks

[kiwichloeroxy]

We did a dolphin swim in Cozumel in March of 2005. We didn't book through the cruise line but I believe they all use Dolphin Discovery for the dolphin swims. We booked directly through Dolphin Discovery. I had used them previously in Puerta Adventura and it was a great experience because it was small and there were no crowds and I expected the same experience in Cozumel - I was wrong. In Cozumel it was still a neat experience but there were so many groups and people that they were moving in and out that it made me feel like we were all cattle. However, it was a wonderful experience to touch the dolphins and let them pull you through the water and get to pet them. It is unique experience of a lifetime and for some it is very powerful to be near the dolphins.

 

Enjoy your trip!

[pjcoach]

My family and I did the dolphin swim this past February in the Riveria Maya at Dolphin Discoverey. It is definitely worth the price. The kids had a ball. If you have a choice of encounters, I would suggest doing the encounter in which the dolphins lift you out of the water by your feet. It is worth the extra money.

[pjcoach]

My family and I did the dolphin swim this past February in the Riveria Maya at Dolphin Discoverey. It is definitely worth the price. The kids had a ball. If you have a choice of encounters, I would suggest doing the encounter in which the dolphins lift you out of the water by your feet. It is worth the extra money.

[spikewpg]

Do the encounter, but DON"T book through the cruiseline. Book online directly at Dolphin Discovery.com. The markup the cruiseline puts on this excursion is high. booked directly its about 320 versus the 448. I did the Royal Swim which is amazing and is 139 if booked directly and so worth it. The dolphins pull and push you in the water. Awesome. The encounter is just basically getting close to them in the water, but still worth it - if you book directly at the lower price.

[txmommy2]

If you book directly with Dolphin Discovery and the ship misses the port, will they refund your money? The last time we were in Cozumel we were unable to tender due to rough waters and had to sail away without ever leaving the ship! Thanks

[momofmn00]

You may want to check with that company directly, but most will tell you that if you ship is unable to tender (although I have heard that Carnival mostly docks now at Cozumel, but anyhow) or does not arrive at the port for any reason they will not charge for the excursion. But, this should be verified with the company before booking with them!:)

[SheriNtexas]

My 18yo son and I just got off our cruise last week, and we did the dolphin swim at Chaukanaub park. It was SO fun!! I always book through the ship just in case!! When my daughter and I did a dolphin encounter in Jamaica in July, we basically stood in a line with our hands out and touched it as it swam by. But in Cozumel, on top of getting to touch it, we got to kiss it and be "kissed" by it while having pics taken. Then we went out about 10 feet and the dolphin came and "layed" more over than ON our hands, like we were holding it. Then we swim out and it comes from behind and pulls us back to the line!! It was great!! They give you snorkel equipment too and we just kind of looked under water as it was swimming around us. They have lockers there to put all your stuff in, they are free, but they said don't lose the key or they charge a lot to replace it. We were in the water probably 30-45 minutes, then we were marched to a VERY cold room (our towels are in our lockers:( ) where we watched the video of the stuff we had just done! They had VERY nice bathrooms, showers to rinse off after getting out of the water, and plenty of room to change clothes. They have a large giftshop and a place to order some food. They took several pictures during the excursion, which I liked, instead of 1 picture that you hoped turned out good! There was no pressure to buy all the pics, we just bought 2. This honestly was one of the coolest things I have ever done and it definitely was worth the money, IMO!! They had taxi's available at 2 different times to take us back to the ship. We left the park at 12:30.

[lhaddon]

We try to fly to Cozumel for a week every year. On one of our trips we did the dolphin encounter at Chaukanaub park. My kids were 3 and 6 at the time. We had to pay $75 per person even for the kids. The kids were all ready and excited to do it until we got out to the pier. It's a place corded off in the ocen where the dolphis are swimming around. You climb down this ladder thing into the ocean. My son REFUSED to do it once we got down there. My daughter LOVED it. So we ended up wasting the $75 for my son but I thought it was well worth the price. Beside swimming with the sing rays in Grand Cayman it's my favorite thing I've ever done.

 

 

Lora

[bunny1954]

DH and I did the dolphin encounter in Cozumel back in Feb. AWESOME. Highly recommended for everyone. Well worth the money. Beautiful park.

[jennglux]

I have done the Royal Swim 2 or 3 times in Cozumel - always have booked directly with the park - it is the most incredible experience - something that I plan on doing every time we go to Cozumel.

 

In my opinion, I would only book directly through the park as 1) it is much less expensive and 2) the royal swim is not available through the cruise lines (at least the last times I tried it was not available) - I have only seen the dolphin encounter program available through the ships. this might have changed, as it has been a few years since we have been to cozumel.

[Grits53]

My friend and I did the dolphin swim last March, and I booked it directly through Dolphin Discovery. We absolutely LOVED it! It was definitely the highlight of our cruise. However, I think they give preferential treatment to those who book through the cruise lines. This was the next day after those two naked people fell off the Princess ship, which caused not only that ship, but ours, as well, to be late getting to port (Our ship turned around to help look for them.). To accomodate the cruise line's guests who were late, our time was bumped down an hour. To this, we had to add on another hour, because we did not realize that our appointed time was on Cozumel time, not Carnival time. So we had to sit on the dock and wait for 2 hours. It was worth the wait, BUT we didn't have time to snorkel after that, which we really regretted. I feel that if we had booked through Carnival, we would not have been bumped down that hour. Also, by the time we paid for a taxi from the ship to the park, then park to town to shop, then back to the ship, we didn't save any money by booking directly through them. Next time, I will book through Carnival. But there WILL be a next time, because I loved the experience with the dolphin! :)