Cozumel royal swim or snorkel with dolphins?

[3littlepeas]

We will be on the 2/26 western cruise with our 3 sons 5, 7 and 11 and would like to do the "swim with the dolphins" tour. What is the difference btwn royal swim and snorkel with the dolphins, is it just that the royal swim is "more physical" than the snorkel. I know my 5 year old would prefer the snorkel but then again is he too small? can I take him with us anyways and have him stay on the shoreline while mom and dad rotate with the other 2? Has any of you done this with younger kids and what did you prefer? Where did you book? so far I've only looked at shoretrips.com.
Thanks
Julie

 

[MarkLem]

If you are referring to the dolphin swim& encounters at Chankanaab Park on Cozumel, I believe there is an age cut off of around 10 for actually swimming with the dolphins. Last January our kids were 8, 6, 2 1/2 and all were too young to do the swim. They have a dolphin "encounter" that we did instead. You stand on a 3 ft deep deck and the guide has the dolphins do tricks and swim by you. The kids get to touch and pet the dolphins, but there is no swimming with them by any of the guests. We opted for this due to the age of our kids.