Dolphin Encounters Review (kind of)

[sarahvch]

I wanted to post an excerpt from my Sky review about Dolphin Encounters.

After reading this board and on the advice of ScubaGirl we decided on Dolphin Encounters instead of Atlantis to swim with the dolphins.

If you are considering both, without a doubt book Dolphin Encounters. Read below to see how they went out of their way to make us happy. They truly do everything they can to keep their customers and their dolphins happy.

 

First I want to say that we had a great time. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I was determined to do so. We booked this cruise so DD could do the dolphin swim at Blue Lagoon. We are doing another cruise in November that visits Nassau however we wanted to spend the entire day at Atlantis. The price was right so we booked it just to visit Blue Lagoon. When I attempted to book that excursion through NCL online there was a problem with their website. I was very busy with work before leaving so I did not call. I figured I would book it when I got on the ship. The very first place we went after boarding was the shore excursion desk. We checked the times and went to Kids Crew to register and came back to wait for it to open. When the lady arrived she seemed to be in a VERY BAD mood. She told me that DD was too little to do the swim because the water was too deep. I informed her that NCL's website said 10 and up. She said "well we are no longer booking the swim at all". I went to the internet cafe checked the description then called NCL. They told me that they were still booking the excursion and that DD was old enough and to ask for a supervisor. The said they could not book it for me now since we were on the ship. I went back and spoke with another gentleman who was even worse than the first lady I spoke with. He cut me off every time I tried to speak and was not interested in listening to anything I had to say. I was shocked and DD was in tears by the time we left. He told me that they were booking it but they had there own rules and sometimes the websites had typos. I then proceeded to our cabin turned on my cell phone and called Dolphin Encounters direct. They told me that they only had one slot open (under 13 requires a guardian to be in the water with them), so we passed. The next day I called again to see if anyone had canceled. They said no but put a supervisor on the phone to talk to me when I told them about NCL first telling me they were not booking because of the deep water. The supervisor told me to book the encounter since their was only one spot in the swim and at check in see if they had any no shows. They did not but everyone from Dolphin Encounters knew who we were and worked to get us a spot in the swim. We went to the island planning to make the best of our encounter. When we arrived the staff was waiting with a sign that said my name and singing We are looking for Sarah. They told me that found enough people willing to upgrade to add a swim so DD could live out her dream. That entire day at Dolphin Encounters was one of the best days of our lives. Everything from the staff to the dolphins and trainers to pictures was perfect. They went above and beyond to make both myself and my little girl happy. We have already changed our plans and will be visiting again with two friends on our cruise in November.

Dolphin Encounters saved this cruise for us and NCl should be very happy that their partners are doing everything they can to keep their customers happy unlike their own employees!

 

Just another note. Several times during our swim one of the dolphins Jake decided he did not want to do the tricks. The trainers let him take as many breaks as he wanted and even brought in another dolphin to finish the swim since Jake was not really into playing with us that day.

[CivilTwilight]

Thank you for sharing your story. We did the dolphin encounter at Blue Lagoon 2 years ago and loved it.

 

I would send a letter to NCL about your experience with the employees you encountered. As a matter of fact, just copy and paste what you wrote in your post on this board. That behavior is unacceptable for customer service!

[brnsofia]

I would also do the same. we let royal carribean know what we thought of the illness policy and how they could better prevent the stomach bug and we got discounted 150 each towards next cruise with them

[HEYJUDE1]

Please tell me how deep the water is.

 

Thank you

Judy

[palmtre2]

Our Dawn trip was nearly ruined by the excursion desk - I had never seen such rude, condesending and ill informed people working on a cruise ship until then. Luckily, the ships hotel managers knew what they were doing. I'm so glad your little girl had her day with the dolphins.

[sarahvch]

Thanks guys, I sent in a letter today. I will let you know if I hear anything from NCL.

 

 

The water is about 20 feet deep, maybe less. You can not reach but you wear a life vest and if you can swim you will be fine. I felt 100% safe and comfortable. It took a few mins to get comfortable staying in one place but after that everything was smooth sailing.