Day 15
This was another port day, but we did not have to be up quite so early as we were not due to arrive in Cozumel until 9:45. I had planned to do the Royal Dolphin Swim that day with Michelle and some of her family and we all headed to Chankanaab together. We had arrayed to meet in the atrium at 9:30 on the off chance that the ship was cleared early. We got up at 8:15 and got ourselves organized. We then decided to get some breakfast at Cabanas. We needed to get some towels from deck 9 anyway. Breakfast was also gorgeous. Graham had some fruit and then some Scrambled Eggs, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Sausages and Bacon. I also had some fruit and then was delighted to spot Eggs Benedict that were very nice. I also had Sausages, Hash Browns and Biscuits that were light and fluffy. We both had coffee and juice and I also had some chocolate milk. Breakfast was definitely a hit.
We went back to the cabin to get our stuff. I had spotted that Captain America would be out at 9:15. I am not into all this super hero stuff normally, but I figured as Disney now owns Marvel, I should get a photo. We arrived a bit early, but the line was quite long and when Captain America arrived, it did not really move at all. About 10 minutes into the set, I gave up as I was very aware that we were due to meet 5 minutes later and there was no way I would be done in time. In the meantime I had lost Graham who had been waiting nearby, but had wandered off. I went down to the atrium as I figured he would be waiting for me there. I bumped into some of Michelle's family and Graham turned up shortly afterwards. Pretty much as soon as I arrived at the atrium, the announcement came that the ship was cleared. Shortly afterwards the whole group was assembled and we headed down to deck 1 to get off the ship. We did get turned around and for some reason we went downstairs midship so we had to cross over on deck 2, as deck 1 does not go all the way through. Still, this did not matter and soon we were off the ship.
This day was a polar opposite of the day before. It was grey and dreary and quite windy. We walked towards the exit of the port. Just before we reached the shopping centre that we had to walk through, we saw people standing there advertising transport for larger groups. There were 11 of us so that sounded great. They quoted us some silly amount. So we decided to stick with the original plan and just share a couple of taxis. They also tried to convince us not to go to Chankanaab saying that everything would be closed because of the weather. Most of us had reservations for one thing or another and we stuck to our guns. We had no problem getting two taxis. The price was a bit higher than I had remembered, but it was still very fair. We soon were on our way and had a clear run to Chankanaab.
Once we got there, we had to check in and were given our wristbands. Graham went to get his admission as he was just going to snorkel and some of Michelle's family booked the Sea Lion encounter there and then. One of the girls was too young to book it in advance. Once we were all sorted, we headed into the park. This had changed quite a bit since the previous year. They have added a new restaurant and a zip line course.
We headed over to the lockers to get changed and store our stuff. Then Graham headed off towards the beach. I caught up with Michelle's family again and those of us doing the dolphin swim checked in for this. We were told to wait on some benches nearby. The people that were not doing the dolphin swim headed off to go for a swim and the rest of us sat down. It was not very long until we got called. We were split into smaller groups and then we were given an introductory talk. They laid down some ground rules and taught us the hand signals that we would need. Then the photographer who was assigned to us took us over to get life vests and then walked us to the interaction area. There we met the trainer we were going to work with that day.
Dolphin Discovery uses ocean pens for the dolphin interactions. The platforms on which you stand are made from metal and are covered witH algae. They are therefore quite slippery at the best of times. Because it was so windy that day, the water was very choppy making it quite challenging to stand on those platforms. There is a fence at the back and for the most part we hang on to this for dear life. We had agreed that when one of us had to step forward for the hug and the kiss, somebody else from our group would hold on to the strap at the back of the life vest to provide some stability. It was still a challenge in this rough water. Pretty much us soon as we were in the water, we started with the deep-water stuff. One person at the time swum a little way out and then held out both arms for a flipper shake. Then this person swam out further. The first behaviour was meant to be the foot push. I had done this once before at Discovery Cove and really hated it as it hurt my feet. There were some other people in the group that were not too keen on the idea either so we were offered to do two dorsal rides. This is something I have always enjoyed so I was happy with this. I was one of the last people to swim out. While people took turns to swim out and the trainer was waiting for people to get into position, the dolphins swam by us and we were able to touch them. We also did the hugs and kisses in between the deep-water interactions. In the end it was my turn to swim out. I did the flipper shake first and then swam out further. I held out my arms when I got in position and the dolphins came to get me. It was a pretty thrilling ride and I did enjoy it, but one of the dolphins kept slapping my leg with his tail fluke. So when we were supposed to swim out for the second time, I decided to be brave and try to foot push. I think in the end everybody did the foot push. This actually worked OK and did not hurt at all. Once everybody had done all the different components of the programme, we got to touch the dolphins a few more times and they showed off for us. Then it was time to say goodbye.
We were told that we would get to meet some of the manatees next. I had done the manatee encounter the previous year and thoroughly enjoyed it. So I liked the sound of that. We were told that we would have a chance to touch and feed a manatee. We went to another interaction area. We got down on the platform, but one of the dolphins in the interaction area next to the one we were in was more interested in us than in the people that he or she was supposed to be interacting with. So the trainer that was with us told us to go back up to the boardwalk and we would go to the platform that was on the other side of the interaction area. There were two problems with this: there was no fence on that side, but a wall and therefore nowhere to hang on to. The waves also were longer coming from behind us, but straight at us and I know I swallowed a fair amount of water. In the end we just abandoned this exercise and went back up on the boardwalk.
They offered us to go and see our photos, but I wanted Graham to be there. So we arranged when we would meet for the trip back to the ship and then I headed out towards the beach. As I walked up to our usual snorkeling spot, I realized just how rough the sea was as the ocean pens are somewhat sheltered. Graham was walking towards me. He had managed to snorkel since he had said goodbye to me, but had enough by this stage. I had no wish to get into this rough water. We decided to check out the inlet swimming area, as this is sheltered. To our surprise this was colder than the open water even though this is quite shallow and therefore I would have expected it to be warmer. We saw a bunch of small fish. After a little while we decided we had enough and headed towards the pool. As we got to the pool, the heavens opened. We did not mind the rain as we were in our swim gear and we were in the water anyway.
After we spent a while in the pool, we got showered and changed. We had a look at the photos and I was thoroughly disappointed. I had budgeted for the Photo CD, but the photos just were not very good. Part of the problem was that my life vest kept riding up, but even other than that the photos were nothing to write home about. So I decided to pass. It is a shame that I have nothing to document this part of the trip, but the photo CDs are not precisely cheap and they were definitely not worth the cost.
We headed towards the exit. They have added some sculptures and other artwork and I wanted to take some photos. I also had a look at the zip lining area. I can't imagine ever trying this myself, but it is fascinating to watch. We then went over to the entrance plaza where we waited for the rest of the group. Once everybody was there, we got into taxis and headed back to the port. This time round we had one person less in the taxi and the price dropped quite dramatically. I assume that there is one flat rate for up to 4 people and if you have more than that, you are charged per person. As soon as we got in the taxi, the heavens opened again, but fortunately it had stopped raining by the time we arrived at the port.
When we got to the port, there was a rope across the path just in front of the Magic's dock. A ship had arrived at the dock opposite and they were in the process of tying the ship up. They did not do a very good job with getting the ropes ashore. In the end it took multiple attempts and we had to wait about 30 minutes until we were allowed to get back on the Magic.
We dropped our stuff back at our cabin and then I headed back down to deck 4. Chip and Dale were due to be out and I had not managed to catch them yet this holiday. Graham came with me as we were going to get some lunch afterwards. The line was not long and we were on our way again very quickly. I was very pleased that Chip and Dale were wearing their holiday outfits.
Once I had said goodbye to Chip and Dale, we headed up to deck 9. Cabanas was already closed, but there was plenty of choice at the quick service outlets near the pool. Graham got a Roast Beef Sandwich and some fruit from Daisy's D-Lights and also got some Fries from Pete's Boiler Bites. I had a Cheeseburger with Fries. We got some drinks from the drink station. I had some Coke and Graham had some Pomegranate Lemonade. We also both had some ice cream. I had Chocolate and Vanilla Swirl and Graham had Strawberry and Banana Swirl.
Nelia and I played our first game show in 5 cruises..."So you think you know your family" And we won! We got 6 out of 8 questions guessed right. It is played like the Newlywed game. Nelia was happy we won a keychain, a luggage tag, a 
