Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter

[Ker-Bear]

I am sure there have been other threads on this topic but I was planning a seven day Eastern and my family (being grumpy) would not commit to a seven day cruise. I have been negotiated to a four day cruise but will take it and be grateful. They thought 7 days was too much. So now I need to find out if this excursion is any good. It will be my DH, DS 6, and me. It looks like you are in the water with them but do not "swim" with the dolphins. Let me know your opinion as it would be appreciated!

 

[SuJo]

My family and I did the Dolphin Encounter in May of this year and it was amazing. They first gave us a briefing about Dolphins and what we were going to be doing. Then they had us go over to the water and put on a wet suit (this was a great idea as the water was a little cool and the place you sit can pull your suit). Then they put us in a cove area (kind of a cement U shaped area off the pier) with 2 other families (of 4) where a trainer and her dolphin met us. With your family you are moved onto a platform (the center of the U) that is about thigh deep for adults, my DDs where in about chest to waist deep. The trainer has the dolphin move in between two people in your group to rub down the dolphin (which she does frequently through your encounter). She also has each person give the dolphin a hug and kiss and then dance with them. It was really amazing. My DDs are 6 and 10 and usually they would be frightened but they really enjoyed themselves and thought it was great to get to pet a dolphin and then dance with them. They make a tape of your encounter which you can buy at the end of your session.

 

[Corryn]

That's it???? You get to sit and rub and "dance" with a dolphin? Isn't it over $100 for each person to do this?

I was expecting to literally Swim With the dolphins, maybe hold onto their fin and they can drag me through the water....
Stuff like that.

I am not the only one who thinks that. We're going on a cruise with over 60 other people and a lot of us were considering this and we were talking about it, but now I don't know. That's a rip-off just to sit there and pet the dolphin and "dance" with it. I'd pay $40 to do that, not over $100 for each family member.....

 

[ToyStory]

There are is a Dolphin Swim that is available at the Blue Lagoon that you can book on your own. Disney only offers the Encounter.

http://www.dolphinencounters.com/

We did the encounter this June with another cruise line. My 6 year old son enjoyed it. I felt the swim would have been too much.

Next November I am hoping to do the swim.

 

[tksbaskets]

My family did the Dolphin encounter in Freeport. Two big thumbs up. We were only in the water with the Dolphins for about 10 minutes each, but a good 2 hours were spent with a lot of educational interaction with the marine biologist who was running the encounter and the dolphins were very active in between groups. Worth the $$. Our boys were almost 11 at the time and were very satisfied!

 

[SuJo]

I too thought it was a little pricey but I didn't want to spend the extra $$ for the dolphin swim and have my DDs freak out by having a large fish swim around them while they were in the ocean. It has taken me years to get them in the ocean after a week in Rehoboth Beach where they realized that horseshoe crabs were in the water. After that if they could not see where they were going they did not go in the water. We had the opportunity to upgrade to a dolphin swim at the beginning of the Dolphin Encounter (they had 6 openings) but thought the encounter would be better. I still recommend it as it is a great opportunity to have contact with a dolphin in a controlled environment. The trainers are really good with the dolphins and the dolphins were great with my daughters.

SuJo

 

[Ker-Bear]

Thank you for all your information. I went on the dolphin encounters website and the encounter on your own is $85.00 but through Disney is $113.50. The company appears to be the same. I think my DS's age will play a factor. Again thanks for the help!!!

 

[Corryn]

I've been reading and Thank God I have, because if we would have gotten there and not have been able to actually swim with the dolphins after paying all that money, we would have been upset.

We live on Long Island and are on the bay and ocean all summer, and we go out clamming off the boat, where fish and crabs are always taking a taste of our feet and legs, so my kids won't be bothered by a dolphin swimming around them.

That's what we thought this was, a complete dolphin swim where you will be trucking along next to the dolphin while hanging onto his dorsal fin.

Are there any encounters like that?

 

[disneyjunkie]

Originally posted by Corryn

That's what we thought this was, a complete dolphin swim where you will be trucking along next to the dolphin while hanging onto his dorsal fin.

Are there any encounters like that?

There's a swim with the dolphins, but it isn't offered through DCL. You have to book it directly with the company. It's $165.00 per person.

My son would rather do the swim than the encounter.

 

[Corryn]

Hey, disneyjunkie,
we're on the same page!
(We're cruising next year with you)

 

[westjones]

You may want to look at Sea World's Discovery Cove for before our after your cruise. We had thought about doing the dolphin thing on the cruise, but now we have decided to go to DC instead. Since you are on a 4 night cruise, you could go there after your cruise to finish out the week.

DJ

 

[Corryn]

That IS a Good Idea