Coral World Sea Lions

[Newbcruiser1]

Has anyone done the Sea Lion swim at Coral World? If so, how was it?

 

My friend and I would like to do it in June, but I was just wondering how long it is? How long are you actually in the water with the Sea Lions for?

 

Also on a side note, how far is Coral World from Magen's Bay Beach? Is it feasible to do both in 1 day without feeling rushed?

[lilcruzr]

My DS-10, DH and I did this on 3-17-09. It was a blast. It was expensive, but very worth it. I called CW and booked this about a month prior. The trainers are wonderful and the sea lions themselves are riots!!. They take about 60 pics and you can buy the CD for about 30.00. We did a short presentation and then walked back to where the sea lions were. We were in the water for about 30 minutes with a brother and sister and 2 sea lions while they did tricks and interacted with us. We were "trained" to to do hand signals with the sea lions afterwards and we all posed with more pics with the sea lions. I would recommend this to anyone!!!

[Happy_Me]

My DS-10, DH and I did this on 3-17-09. It was a blast. It was expensive, but very worth it. I called CW and booked this about a month prior. The trainers are wonderful and the sea lions themselves are riots!!. They take about 60 pics and you can buy the CD for about 30.00. We did a short presentation and then walked back to where the sea lions were. We were in the water for about 30 minutes with a brother and sister and 2 sea lions while they did tricks and interacted with us. We were "trained" to to do hand signals with the sea lions afterwards and we all posed with more pics with the sea lions. I would recommend this to anyone!!!

 

Hi Lilcruzr! I want to live this experience! :D Is it possible that 3 from our group do it and the others just visit the aquarium?

 

You bought a CD with photos of all of you in it or do you have to buy one per person? :confused:

 

Thanks in advance! :)

[Happy_Me]

Has anyone done the Sea Lion swim at Coral World? If so, how was it?

 

My friend and I would like to do it in June, but I was just wondering how long it is? How long are you actually in the water with the Sea Lions for?

 

Also on a side note, how far is Coral World from Magen's Bay Beach? Is it feasible to do both in 1 day without feeling rushed?

 

Hi Newbcruiser1! I'm willing to do the Sea Lion swim on May. See related posts on http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=954066

[Happy_Me]

Hi Newbcruiser1! I'm willing to do the Sea Lion swim on May. See related posts on http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=954066

 

And more posts...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=931562&highlight=coral+world

[Newbcruiser1]

Thank you for the replies! I saw those other threads before but thanks for the links.

 

It sounds like a good length of time in the water with the sea lions! I think we'll probably do it.

 

Can anyone confirm how payment works... I read from someone's review that they take a credit card number upon booking, but don't charge it until the day of? But what if the ship doesn't make it to port for some reason, or it's necessary to cancel? Does anyone know what happens refund-wise?

[lmg1230]

My husband and 12 year old daughter swam with the sea lions at Coral World on our cruise last week. They loved it! The experience was about an hour long with about 30 minutes in the water. They purchased one CD with all the photos of them on it. We booked ahead of time by calling Coral World directly and they took a credit card number in order to confirm the reservation but we were not charged until we checked in. My husband pre-paid for the CD when paying for the experience and I think paid $25. I'm not sure what their cancellation policy is (we were concerned b/c we had already missed our Turks & Caicos stop due to high winds). They also did the turtle encounter which involved an information session with the trainers beforehand and then about 15/20 minutes in the water with two sea turtles. My younger daughter and I were able to watch them with the sea turtles but not with the sea lions.

[burnstracey]

Has anyone done the Sea Lion swim at Coral World? If so, how was it?

 

My friend and I would like to do it in June, but I was just wondering how long it is? How long are you actually in the water with the Sea Lions for?

 

Also on a side note, how far is Coral World from Magen's Bay Beach? Is it feasible to do both in 1 day without feeling rushed?

 

You may want to call them to see if the Sea Lions will be available in June. We wanted to do this tour for our excursion on May 11th and when I went to confirm my res., I was told the Sea Lion habitat is under construction for the entire month of May.

Good luck!

[lilcruzr]

I'm sure the other people in your group could spend time at the aquarium. I think the cost is about 20.00. They would just need to pay the admission fee and would not be ale to go back and watch. It worked just like the OP stated regarding payment. The pictures they take are wonderful. I'm not sure what they would do about cancellations since they only take a cc number. They also weighed my son to make sure he weighed at least 50 lbs. The sea lions weigh around 350 lbs. This was my favorite excursion out of 5 cruises. Have a great time!!!!!!

[DollyJ]

Yes, do call them! They are still closed as late as May 26. :(

[Happy_Me]

I called them this morning and they will be open in june! :D They ask you for a credit card but as some of you have expressed, they don't charge it at the moment. When you go to the aquarium you may choose to pay in cash or authorize to charge your credit card. You may cancel without fees up to 24 hrs prior to your appointment. If the cruise doesn't arrive in time they won't charge you, obviously upon verification.

 

They sell the photo CD for $19 for one person, $29 for two and $39 for three or more.

 

The splash is available for a max of 8 persons at a time and is offered 3 times daily. I'll be making my reservations this week :)

[Newbcruiser1]

Thank you so much for all of your information. We were originally considering the dolphin encounter in Bermuda, but decided against it based on some reviews we read about how they treat the animals, as well as the price. The Sealion Splash is sounding more and more appealing though! :)

 

I e-mailed coral world today to check whether the sealion splash is available the day we're in port, and I haven't heard back yet, but that's wonderful that you were told they're open in June! :) I guess I'll make my reservation soon as well! Woohoo!

 

So once again, does anyone know if it's feasible to do the sealions AND Magens Bay Beach in the same day without rushing? Or are we better staying at Coki Beach? We're not snorkelers - just wanted to hang out and have some nice water time, so I know Magens Bay is nicer for that, but I just don't want to be rushing around all day either. Advice, anyone? :)

[lmg1230]

Newbiecruiser,

If you want to do the sealion splash you may want to check what times are available before you make any other plans. We booked it about a month beforehand for my daughter and husband (we were there last week) and the only time that worked for us was 1:00 pm. We were docked 9:00 - 5:00 so it didn't leave us time to do anything but Coral World. We spent some time on Coki Beach as well and it was quite nice but small. We took an open-air taxi to Coral World and it was approximately 30 minutes each direction but make sure you allow your self more time than that. We waited quite a bit of time in the taxi for the trip back as our driver tried to round up more passengers. We also had a detour around town picking up passengers that he had arranged to meet before we finally made it back to the pier.

[Newbcruiser1]

So I just booked it, however the only time she had for that date was 2:30pm. Our ship is there from 8-6, so I guess we'll end up heading to Coki Beach in the morning for a bit, then going to Coral World in the afternoon (we have to check in by 2pm). They said the total time is 1 hour, and we will want to buy the CD (which she said was $29), but this should give us enough time to go back to the ship, right? I don't want to be rushing around and risk missing the ship.

[lmg1230]

That should be fine. My husband and daughter had a 1:00 time and met us at Coki Beach at 2:15 with their CD in hand. We played on the beach for another half an hour or so and even with waiting for the taxi and stopping to pick up other people and heavy traffic we were back on the ship by 4:00 for a 5:00pm departure.

[Happy_Me]

Our group of eight is booked! Now I'll just count the days... 60...59...58...:D

[Newbcruiser1]

Our group of eight is booked! Now I'll just count the days... 60...59...58...:D

 

Woohoo! You get back a couple days before I leave for my cruise, so you'll have to let me know how it goes! (As well as details like where to leave your stuff during the swim, etc). :) Have a great time!

[Happy_Me]

Woohoo! You get back a couple days before I leave for my cruise, so you'll have to let me know how it goes! (As well as details like where to leave your stuff during the swim, etc). :) Have a great time!

 

Thanks, I must certainly do! :D

[vacation fool]

For those of you that have already done this i have some ?'s.......Do you get a float vest to wear in the water with the sea lions? I am assuming the water is over your head. Any details are apprecitated. Would love to do this but am not a snorkeler or strong swimmer. Thanks :)

[Happy_Me]

For those of you that have already done this i have some ?'s.......Do you get a float vest to wear in the water with the sea lions? I am assuming the water is over your head. Any details are apprecitated. Would love to do this but am not a snorkeler or strong swimmer. Thanks :)

 

This will be my first time, but as seen on their website, the water is not deep and they do give you lifevest.

 

 

http://www.coralworldvi.com/activities/sea-lion-swim.html

[Happy_Me]

So I just booked it, however the only time she had for that date was 2:30pm. Our ship is there from 8-6, so I guess we'll end up heading to Coki Beach in the morning for a bit, then going to Coral World in the afternoon (we have to check in by 2pm). They said the total time is 1 hour, and we will want to buy the CD (which she said was $29), but this should give us enough time to go back to the ship, right? I don't want to be rushing around and risk missing the ship.

 

Mine was cancelled today due to maintenance :(

[arlsvera]

This was the best excursion! I highly recommend it. You do not need to be a strong swimmer. They do make you wear life vests - the water is deep. It is basically a round pool - deep in all areas. Most of the time you float there while the sea lion moves around you. You do get to ride the sea lion a bit - but mostly you stay still and he/she moves around you.

[cotomom]

Booked this for July. Did you all go to Coki beach too? I've read it's really trashy these days. Was hoping the Coral world bathrooms are located close enough so we can snorkel out at the beach, but use the facilities of Coral World?