Question about the Dolphin Discovery excursion in Cozumel

[slo]

This is my first post on the cruise board


My family and I are sailing The Magic on October 20th this year. When we are in Cozumel my DH will be going scuba diving, and I will be alone with my girls (4 & 9) I'm thinking about taking them on the Dolphin Discovery excursion, and I was wondering how many of you have done this. I'm wondering if it's worth the money, and if I will be okay going to this alone with my girls? Also, after it's over, do I return back to the ship, or are there other things for us to do?

Thanks for your help!!!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I'm not doing on my cruise until March of next year, but we are considering the dolphin encounter as well.

Here is the website for the park. As far as I know you can stay after your encounter and enjoy the park. From what I can tell there is a play area and other animals to view.

http://www.cozumelparks.org.mx/eng/parks-chankanaab.asp

If you decide to do this, please let us know on the board what it was like. Thanks!

 

[skibum]

We did a dolphin encounter type thing in Hawaii when the girls were 7 and 12, and they really enjoyed it.
This past March, we did the Dolphin Discovery Royal Swim at Chankanaab with the girls now 10 and 15, and yes, it was worth it both times. We booked it on our own, and just took a taxi over to the park (about $10 USD each way). There is a swimming pool to cool off in while you are waiting, and afterwards there is a nice sand beach with some good snorkeling. We hung out for about half-an-hour, but the kids were getting restless. At this point we headed back to town and went shopping.
We felt it was a good value (especially compared to Hawaii), and a worthwhile experience. Make sure to save some money for pictures and'or video (we did not buy pictures, but bought the video for $50).
Do it - you will not be sorry.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We did a dolphin encounter type thing in Hawaii when the girls were 7 and 12, and they really enjoyed it.
This past March, we did the Dolphin Discovery Royal Swim at Chankanaab with the girls now 10 and 15, and yes, it was worth it both times. We booked it on our own, and just took a taxi over to the park (about $10 USD each way). There is a swimming pool to cool off in while you are waiting, and afterwards there is a nice sand beach with some good snorkeling. We hung out for about half-an-hour, but the kids were getting restless. At this point we headed back to town and went shopping.
We felt it was a good value (especially compared to Hawaii), and a worthwhile experience. Make sure to save some money for pictures and'or video (we did not buy pictures, but bought the video for $50).
Do it - you will not be sorry.

Do you happen to remember if they take major credit cards for the pictures and video?

 

[Timon]

I haven't been to Chankanaab yet, I will be going this time though, same day as you! We will getting there early and maybe do some swimming and exploring before our swim time.

You should hop on over to the 10/20/07 cruise meet thread. There's a lot of us going on that cruise and there's so many great DISers on there! We are a little chatty so just drop in when you can and introduce yourselves!

Just skip the first 1108 pages

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1047343

 

[oo138oo]

I took DS twice (once when she was 3, and again at 5), DD once to Dolphin excursion at Cozumel. DS remembers every since detail of both times. DD talks about it often and makes me promise to do it again next cruise which is in December. I think it's completely worth it and I'd do it again. Our next cruise is Eastern so the dolphin excursion will cost much more than Cozumel. The trainer was extremely friendly. He held every small child and make sure they get their share of time with the dolphin. The photo came out much better than the pictures we took with our cameras. The water looks oh so blue . Yes they do take major credit cards for picture and video purchase. I'm glad we got the photos from them. As far as video, you can easily have a family member sit on the side and film it. You can also bring water proof camera in the water with you. Hope this helps.

 

[sejejoemmiev]

We did the Dolphin Swim and Encounter with our kids on our Feb. 2007 cruise. We booked it on our own and saved alot of money that way. It was very easy to do on our own and gave us alot of freedom. We had so much fun and the kids loved it!!! It was the highlight of our trip!! Please read my Trip report for all the details. We even included pictures of our day with the dolphins. http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1384014
See page 3 for our day in Cozumel with the Dolphins!!!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Sorry, another question. Do they let you wear water shoes for standing on the platform when you're in with the dolphins?

 

[oo138oo]

Yes you can wear water shoes. I personal prefers it. The platform you stand on gets a bit uncomfortable after awhile, it bothered me but doesn't seem to bother anyone else though. It's metal with holes.

Only downside I see with going on your own is the excursion time. They tend to save all the morning / noon timeslots for cruise excursions. Only time available seems to be at 2PM. Yes you do save chunk of money if you're okay with the time. Think the website is dolphindiscovery.com if I'm allowed to post this. Taxi ride to the park if I remember correctly is $10-15.

 

[skibum]

When we went in March, they had everybody remove their footwear.
Maybe because we were doing the Royal Swim with the footpush?

 

[mattmommy]

I would go through DCL since you're travelling with 2 kids on your own. You don't have to worry about cabs (although they are right there), they remind you to take a towel (we forgot them when doing it on our own), Chankanaab is paid for (a mandatory fee to go to DD) and transportation home.

 

[skibum]

The fee you pay to Dolphin Discovery now includes your admission to Chankanaab (it is $16 for other visitors).

 

[ibouncetoo]

SLO, I did the Royal Swim last November and some folks from our cruise did the Encounter (which is what you'd be doing with the little girls). It was wonderful. The facility is basically all brand new since they had to re-build after the hurricane. The food we had at their snack counter was tasty too! Also....and I wish I'd known this when I went...you can NEGOTIATE the price of your pictures/video.

We booked ours directly with Discovery, and they do refund your money if your ship does not make port that day.

Here's a photo that will give you an idea of what the building looks like. This was taken with a disposable underwater camera during our swim.

 

[Laurabearz]

Do you negotiate the price before or after..

and here is a link to some wonderful pictures of the Park...

MAP OF CHANK PARK http://www.cozumelparks.com/images/Chankanaab-Park-Map.jpg

PICTURES OF Chankanaab Park
http://www.sjdistributors.com/chankanaab_park_pictures.htm

 

[slo]

Thanks for all your help everyone!!!


Just to let everyone know, I am doing this through the cruise (I didn't know you could go on your own). When I said going alone with the girls, I meant w/o my DH. I want to make sure there's not to much going on during this excursion that I couldn't keep an eye on both of them 100%.

 

[skibum]

We attempted to negotiate on our DVD purchase, but had no success. We had read about it here before, but the girl just shrugged her shoulders.
It was still worth it to us to purchase at their price.

 

[Laurabearz]

Thanks for all your help everyone!!!


Just to let everyone know, I am doing this through the cruise (I didn't know you could go on your own). When I said going alone with the girls, I meant w/o my DH. I want to make sure there's not to much going on during this excursion that I couldn't keep an eye on both of them 100%.

I totally think you can do it with your girls...

 

[brendalee59]

We attempted to negotiate on our DVD purchase, but had no success. We had read about it here before, but the girl just shrugged her shoulders.
It was still worth it to us to purchase at their price.

We got the DVD and all the pictured of our Royal Swim for 50.00. The park is beautiful, and easy to find your way around. We also booked direct with Dolphin Discovery.Much cheaper, and while we didn't have much time to shop, we did get back to the ship in plenty of time for our 5:00 departure. Our swim time was 1:30. We thought it was money well spent.

 

[MinnMick01]

Sorry, another question. Do they let you wear water shoes for standing on the platform when you're in with the dolphins?

DH here,
Normally my DW is the one posting on the DIS thread. We are sailing on the Oct. 20th . Just thought if there is cruising info you need or just some fun reading, then jump over to the October 20th 2007 Western Magic thread.

 

[SpfAkf]

My wife, daughter who is 5 and I took a taxi to Chankanaab that cost about $25 round trip and sometime can be bargin for less. Once there it cost us $16 for adults and $8 for children to get in. It included use of a nice in ground swiming pool for small children and adults, a small lagoon that is good for children, nature trails, and the beach. The water is very clear, however it is rocky from beach to ocean. Smaller children will need life jacket if they can not swim. They have a restaurant, shops, rent snorkel and do braids.
Back to your question on Dolphin Discovery. My wife and daughter did the encounter in July 2007 that cost around $150 for both and $5 for anyone who wanted to watch on the side of the pier, but could not take any photos. However, those in the water could have the water proof cameras. We got to the park around 9:20am not knowing the times they had and was able to sign up for the 10am encounter. They were the only two and that was cool, because they had more time with the dolphins and were the only two in the video that cost $30. It was well worth it and well put together nicely. Photos are offer for $13 and $15 that were odd sizes to fit their frames.
Based on what I saw is that the dolphin swim fills up quick from the cruises and not the encounter. There were 3 large ships there and docked for the day. There are about 12 max or less in each group. Keep in mind, this was in the summer where everyone is on vacation. I never crused in October and could be wrong too. Another thought is your in Cozumel and they will do whatever it takes to get a dollar and will work you in. If they turn you away, they loose big money. I don't know if you would save money or not, but is was nice to know they were the only two. My daughter loved it and enjoys the video.
Good luck!!!