Safe to book dolphin excursion without DCL?

[CrzyCaliGirl]

We had wanted to book an excursion with dolphins while we are in Cozumel (western, 7day) but DCL only offers the "Dolphin Encounter" that only allows you to get about waist deep on a platform-

We were hoping to do the "Royal Swim" with dolphin discovery, which allows you to get completly in the water to do the 'foot-push', etc.

Is it ok (safe/secure) to book the Royal Swim excursion through the Dolphin Discovery website?

Also, we are leaving on December 31st, so am I correct to assume we will be in Cozumel on the 4th of January?


My sister, 12, has been counting down the days since we've booked! I really hope she'll be able to do this!

Can anyone help?
Thanks!!!

 

[DisneyElf]

Yes -- so far I've done a bunch of tours - outside of DCL.

The first one was - in Key West - where a group of 4 of us chartered a boat to see wild dophins (My sister got a great pic of one looking up at her from the bow of the boat), then went to 2 snorkel sites + an ecological tour. Then our second time Cozumel we went to a beach on our own too. No problems at all.

Then on our last cruise - we did River Rafting in Alcapulco -- boy did people get nervous when the form they gave us asked for the blood type Great time was had by all (approx 40 people).. and the funniest thing was when the bus pulled up filled with people who booked the same excursion from DCL. We paid a LOT less by booking on our own.

We also did cliff diving - with a PRIVATE viewing of the Fort Sandiego Multimedia show .... then when we got to Curcucao (sic) we did a private snorkeling trip - almost the same money but the trip went from 9:30 am to 4:00 PM - with lots more time in the water and a fantastic lunch.

I would check reviews on the cruise critic site -- and then make your choice.

 

[CrzyCaliGirl]

about the blood type!

and WOW, have you been busy with your excursions!

So from the sound of it sounds like it would be worth it to book outside DCL...

You mention the cruise critic site, where do I go for this? (Excuse my "newbie-ness"


Has anyone else out there done this? Or have also done it through Dolphin Discovery directly?

Thanks again!!!

 

[bettyann29]

We went on a cruise thru Carnival in March and went to Cozumel.. We booked our dolphin excursion directly with Dolphin Discovery and had no problems at all.. It was nice knowing we paid MUCH less.. and had a great time!! Definitely something the kids will remember forever..

 

[bettyann29]

about the blood type!

and WOW, have you been busy with your excursions!

So from the sound of it sounds like it would be worth it to book outside DCL...

You mention the cruise critic site, where do I go for this? (Excuse my "newbie-ness"


Has anyone else out there done this? Or have also done it through Dolphin Discovery directly?

Thanks again!!!

go to Boards at the top then under ports of call go to Cozumel.. There is alot of great info there!

By the way we have done excursions in other ports on our own too.. every now and then we stick with the cruiseline..

 

[CrzyCaliGirl]

We went on a cruise thru Carnival in March and went to Cozumel.. We booked our dolphin excursion directly with Dolphin Discovery and had no problems at all.. It was nice knowing we paid MUCH less.. and had a great time!! Definitely something the kids will remember forever..

Thanks bettyann!

Did you do the Royal Swim? And how did you get there? Taxi? Walked?

Thanks!

 

[bettyann29]

We took a taxi... We didnt do the Royal Swim although I wish we had, but we did the Dolphin Swim Adventure.... Basically once we got to the water we were introduced to our dolphin.. The trainer showed us some moves and we got to shake the dolphins fin, kiss the dolphin then we went out into the water and the trainer had showed us different moves to get the dolphin to come to us and one by one the dolphin met us out in the water and we rode him back on his fin to the stand and then we all went out and formed a circle and the dolphin swam in the middle and around us.. It was so cool and my kids still havent stopped talking about it yet.. We bought tons of pictures and the video.. Definitely worth this excursion!! Whenever we make it back to Cozumel I plan on doing the Royal Swim if possible..

 

[Rence]

As I understand it, you want to check the cancelation policies. It is possible that due to weather or mechancal problems, that you may arrive late or miss a port entirely. With excursions booked via DCL you will be protected and not charted if the ship doesn't make the port.

With some excursions you are obligated to pay even if the ship doesn't make port. The policy varies from company to company. But as far as I know, this is the downside to booking an excursion yourself

 

[CrzyCaliGirl]

I know you didn't do the Royal Swim, but i'm assuming the answer will be the same--

are members of the party who are not doing the swim allowed in that area? is there an extra charge?

also, you mention that you bought tons of pictures and videos-- are the people standing by allowed to take pictures themselves?

and how about how much did the pictures cost that you purchased?

sorry for all the questions!

 

[CrzyCaliGirl]

As I understand it, you want to check the cancelation policies. It is possible that due to weather or mechancal problems, that you may arrive late or miss a port entirely. With excursions booked via DCL you will be protected and not charted if the ship doesn't make the port.

With some excursions you are obligated to pay even if the ship doesn't make port. The policy varies from company to company. But as far as I know, this is the downside to booking an excursion yourself

Thanks Rence for that heads up!

I have looked briefly at the one for Dolphin Discovery, and I believe that you get a full refund if your ship doesn't make it to port...but I will have to look into if the ship arrives too late

Thanks!!!

 

[anty30]

I have booked the Royal Swim for my older child and the Dolphin Encounter for my younger child. I received confirmation emails guarenteeing full refund if we cannot dock or if we are late due to the DCL. Also, if Dolphin Discovery cancels your reservation, you receive a full refund. They are very reputable and cheaper to book directly.

 

[khoffman923]

I just booked my Royal Dolphin Swim last Friday for Cozumel through the Dolphin Discovery website for August, 2006. Did it right on line and I received a 10% discount. It was easy enough to do. No problems, and I've not read any from these boards, which is why I decided to go this way.

Karen

 

[Chessa]

My family of 4 booked outside of Disney, and had a great time. Taxi's are always waiting, just have 10.00 out and tell them where you want to go.
We all did the Royal swim in January, the water was warm.

 

[bettyann29]

I know you didn't do the Royal Swim, but i'm assuming the answer will be the same--

are members of the party who are not doing the swim allowed in that area? is there an extra charge?

also, you mention that you bought tons of pictures and videos-- are the people standing by allowed to take pictures themselves?

and how about how much did the pictures cost that you purchased?

sorry for all the questions!

Yes other people are allowed in that area... You kinda walk down a pier to get to the area where you get in the water.. If you are not doing the excursion they let you stay on the pier and they can take pictures and watch and video tape.. They dont mind at all.. Theres no additional charge to do that.. Now if I remember correctly there is a $12 charge per person to get into the park.. I think if you do the Royal swim that is included but if you do any other you pay the additional cost.. I believe everyone pays to get into the park whether you do the excursion or not but someone else might know for sure on that one.. Its been about 6 months so I dont remember the exact rules, although our entire party joined in..

The pictures they take are awesome.. I wish I remember exactly how much I spent but I think it was around $250 total.. We had 8 people and there were 3 poses each.. except on 2 of the people I think I only bought 2 of the poses because they didnt look that great.. They also have this big bird on the way to the pier and you can pose with it and I got 2 pictures of that.. The pictures were too irrisistable to pass up.. But they are great quality and since all of us participated the pictures we took on our own were limited, but we did take our water cameras with us in the water and got some neat pictures of our own too.. The video was $35 if I remember correctly, but again worth it to me.. They tape the whole thing and put it to music.. It really is cool.. Maybe I went a little overboard, but I had budgeted this ahead of time so it wasnt a big deal and I figured it was a once in a lifetime thing and of course I love pictures!!

If you have any more questions, please ask and I'll do my best to help..

 

[cujobugs]

We just did this last weekend. I booked online about 6 months in advance for the Royal Swim. It was awesome and well worth the money. It was raining on us, and lightning in the distance. They said if the lightning gets too close, they just push the excursion back to a different time. If we can't wait around, then they refund us.
We took a taxi which cost us $10 for a party of 5. Easy to get there. When we arrived it was very organized. A man led us to where we needed to go. He explained everything to us, and gave us wristbands.
We did the Royal Swim with dolphins (the foot push is awesome), the swim with sea lions (so much fun), and snorkeled. It was an awesome time despite it rained all day. If the Magic can't dock, you are fully refunded.
The DVD of the Royal swim is a little more expensive. It is $55. The DVD is cheaper if you do the dolphin encounter for some reason. The pictures we purchased depended upon the independent photographer that took the pics. Some of them came down drastically on their price that they originally quoted, others don't budge on price at all.
It was a great time. Well worth the money. And an easy excursion to do without disney! Any more questions? You can pm me!

 

[joliejacqueline]

Hi, we are planning on attending the Dolphin Encounter and to book directly with Dolphin Discovery. Does the fee cover entrance to the park? I see that the fee is about $75.00 per adult and $70.00 for child. Our son will be 5 and a half when we travel on the ship Magic in Nov/06. What about the sea lion swim, it this good.

If you book with Disney at around $105.00 adults, do you get any extras (transportation, entrance to park, lunch???) Is it to our advantage to book thru Disney. Do you end up saving very much money

thanks Jacqueline

 

[GreatDaneMom]

I've researched Dolphin Discovery extensively in the last few weeks both here and on other cruise boards, as well as on the Dolphin Discovery website. I haven't read a single negative experience from anyone about booking through them directly. Most cite the Royal Swim as the best value for the money.

The benefit of booking through your cruise line is that they cover transportation and park admission as part of what you've paid. The downside to booking through them appears to be that you get less dolphin interaction for more money. (One exception to this is that if you book one of Dolphin Discovery's package deals - Dolphins & Sea Lions - Dolphin Discovery does include park admission.

Admission to the park is $12 for adults and I think $6 or 8 for children. Taxis for up to four cost $10 one way and are readily available where you dock.

I have booked my DD and myself in the Royal Swim for April '06. The Dolphin Discovery contract that you receive very clearly states that the fees are refundable if your ship can't get you there. The quote below is cut and pasted from what I received from them:

"*Note to cruise ship passengers: if your ship is diverted or delayed for any reason, causing you to miss your program, you will be entitled to a full refund, subject to verification with the cruise ship."

I also found that Dolphin Discovery has numerous locations throughout the Caribbean and in Hawaii. They aren't a small local program.

Sorry this post is so long but I thought it might give some help.

Cheryl

EDIT: There are age and height restrictions on the differing activities at Dolphin Discovery. They are fairly consistent with what the cruise lines require. I think the Royal Swim is for 8 yrs and 4' tall but some of the other encounter type choices allow the younger kids.

 

[bailey0308]

is the dolphin discovery the same one that is at xcaret or is it a seperate park all together?

 

[GreatDaneMom]

Dolphin Discovery is at Chankanaab (sp?) on Cozumel. I've also seen some of the cruise lines book excursions through Atlantida for the Cozumel port. I'm assuming that's at a totally different location but I didn't do much research on it due to some concerns I had about what I had read about them. They may be perfectly fine but I didn't get a positive first impression. On the other hand I read nothing but positives about Dolphin Discovery so I focused my research in that direction.

Cheryl

 

[sweetsue]

Hi, we are planning on attending the Dolphin Encounter and to book directly with Dolphin Discovery. Does the fee cover entrance to the park? I see that the fee is about $75.00 per adult and $70.00 for child. Our son will be 5 and a half when we travel on the ship Magic in Nov/06. What about the sea lion swim, it this good.

If you book with Disney at around $105.00 adults, do you get any extras (transportation, entrance to park, lunch???) Is it to our advantage to book thru Disney. Do you end up saving very much money

thanks Jacqueline

We just did the Dolphin Encounter there with my DD4 two weeks ago. It was awesome! We booked through DCL. The price includes park admission and round-trip transportation via tax (but not lunch)i. They put 8 people into each taxi. On the return, we were starving, so they dropped us off at a local restaurant instead of the pier. We booked through DCL because our cruise was supposed to be an Eastern Caribbean and ended up being a Western 1-hour into the cruisen thanks to Pierre and Rita. I typically don't book through the cruise lines.

Sweet Sue