Anyone been on Dolphin Encounter on Nassau?

[jtjcwise]

We will be crusing on the Wonder in June and was wondering if anyone had done the dolphin encounter and what you thought.

My wife and I and my 2 sons 5 and 8 years old are thinking about doing this, but not sure how sons will enjoy it. Any tips would help.

 

[tam012864]

My 7 yr old son and myself are going on this excursion in June too..(June 13)
What day are you going? We cant wait!!!!!

 

[chasbos]

We did the Dolphin Encounter in January (DH, myself, DD's 13, 11, 9 & 6) and we loved it! The girls still talk about the fun stuff they did with the dolphins.

Just a quick note - every family gets there picture taken with the dolphin before you start the encounter and you can only pick one person to be kissed by the dolphin in the picture. Well - with 4 kids it was quite the ordeal picking who but we figured it out (we had a couple of upset kids though!) But during the encounter everyone got to kiss the dolphin so everything was good again! Just be ready to pick someone!

 

[bhoffman]

I was wondering this as well. We are going in July and have a 7,5 and 2 (almost 3) year old children I think the 2 year old would FREAK OUT! But the older two would love it. Is is possible for me to just go watch with the baby and my husband actually do it with the older two? Is it worth the money? Thanks!!!

 

[chasbos]

I think the youngest they allow is 3. If you are booking through the Disney Shore Excursions you and your youngest can likely just book the beach day and you will be on the same ferry over to the island.

It is a lot of money but we found it to be very much worth the money - but that is why we go on vacation - to experience things we cannot do at home!

Go for it - you won't be disappointed. Just remember to call and book 90 days before you cruies because the Dolphin ENcounter fills up very quick.

 

[mommommouse]

We loved it. It was well worth the money. Our 6 year old loved it too.
You and the baby can just book the beach excursion and still go watch the rest of the family. Atleast you could in January 2004.

 

[poconoboatniks]

OUr kids are 10 & 7. We did the dolphin swim in Nassau. We also did the swim in St. Martin last year. The kids love the Dolphins. Even my 7yr old ds did the toe push. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!! It is worth every penny. Do it!

Poconoboatniks

 

[budget mom]

How long are you actually with the dolphins in the water? Is there a show or anything else with the dolphins? How much time did you have at the beach and was it a good beach?

 

[bhoffman]

I guess I am confused a bit about exactly you do on this excursion. I just read the Disney description and it said it is not a swim with the dolphins experience, so what is it? How much interaction do you get with the dolphins? I think the kids would like it, but not sure if I should book right through disney or where else would I go to book on my own? Someone had said they saved a bunch of $ by booking right with the company, would love to find out how to do that! THANKS!!

 

[ll_california]

You stand in the pool and the dolphin swim by you (about 10 people in a group). Then they let the dolphin greet you one by one and you can touch it. In the end they take a picture of the dolphin kissing you on the cheek. You can choose to have the whole experience video taped.

Hope that helps.

 

[chasbos]

I figure we encountered the Dolphin personally for about 15-20 minutes. I know it sounds like a short amount of time but we did some neat stuff - not just touch them. We fed, danced, kissed, felt its tongue and teeth. And our trainer was a hoot, the kids loved him and all of his joking. We booked through Disney - just lazy I guess! I did not want the hassle of having to find transportation to the island for the 6 of us and then paying for the encounter when I got there (the island was cash only).

We had about 2-3 hours after our encounter to have lunch and play on the beach. But we took the 2 p.m. ferry back (there was a 4:00 p.m. also). It was a great day.

 

[jtjcwise]

My 7 yr old son and myself are going on this excursion in June too..(June 13)

We are going on the Wonder June 19-23.

I cannot convince my wife to do this. My 2 sons would love it, but she does not want to spend the whole day doing this.

 

[Billinaz]

We booked it directly with the company at www.dolphinswims.com

We did the encounter and it was worth it. Just schedule it yourself and take a taxi or the ferry to the dock where you are taken to the island.

If I had to do it again, I would take the ferry rather than a ground taxi....

You can schedule it for the AM and have the afternoon free....

 

[jtjcwise]

Thanks for the info. My wife's big hangup to doing this is on the Disney Excursion info it appears you have to spend the whole day at Blue Lagoon according to the return times listed.

Being able to only spend a few hours and return to the ship when you want is more appealing to her.

 

[Billinaz]

Plan on about 4 hours. It was a blast. If you send me your email address, I can forward you some photos of when we went.

 

[Hookemhorns]

The Disney shore excursion information about the Dolphin Encounter is a little misleading - it does sound like you will be away from the ship from 9 til 5. In reality you have an option of returning much sooner.

We did this on our recent trip on the Wonder (3/17-20) and really enjoyed it. Be aware that the Disney arranged dolphin encounter is not a "swim" - for more information about the differences see their web site, dolphinencounters.com.

We left the ship around 9:15 AM, took a ferry over to Blue Lagoon Island, and after a short orientation session we were led to the area for our encounter. The whole thing probably took an hour. Afterwards you walk over to a nearby open air covered area where you get a lunch and then you are free to lounge on the beach, swim in the lagoon, rent floats and water trikes, etc.

We saw several groups doing the swim and it looked very cool. Don't think my 6 year old daughter was ready for that yet, but she definitely loved getting to pet, kiss, hug, and dance with a dolphin.

One mistake we made was staying too long - we wish we had gone back on the 2 PM ferry instead of staying at the beach and going back on the 4 PM ferry. As the afternoon progressed passengers from other ships began arriving and the crowd quickly became less family oriented. Sure the beach is nice, but you're going to be at Castaway Cay the next day, so head back to the ship and enjoy some time by the pool!