Dolphin Discovery Cozumel

[LostGirls]

Can anyone give me their opinions on this excursion? We'll be with a 7 and 3 yr old. THANKS!

 

[MamaGriz]

We went on this excursion on the 2/28/04 Western. DH, DS9, DD6 and I LOVED it We highly recommend it.

My kids are in love with dolphins to begin with, and we didn't tell them that we were going until that morning. It is all very organized and coreographed. The water was about 30 inches deep and there were gentle waves coming in off the ocean. Mailman028 and family were in the same excursion with their DS4 (I think he was 4) and he loved it as well. His mom held him most of the time.

We purchased some priceless pictures of the kids being kissed by Triton, our dolphin, and their faces tell it all, they had a blast. When we go again, the kids will be old enough to do the dolphin swim, but they have to be 8 minimum for that.

Have fun

 

[LostGirls]

MamaGriz,
Thanks so much! That's what I wanted to hear!!

 

[msh8675]

Can you tell me if transportation was provided? How did you book?

 

[skyhawk]

MamaGriz...
Is there a dolphin swim? Looking at the Disney Cruise website, it ists the Dolphin encounter, which I believe you went on, but it doesn't mention the "swim". I would like to have the "swim", but thought we might have to settle for just an "encounter".
Thanks

 

[msh8675]

Skyhawk,
Actually I found all of the options on this website and you may be able to get a better price also depending on what you're looking for if you book separate from disney. They list the swim as welll as the encounter and a ton of other things you can do at this park.
http://www.dolphindiscovery.com./cozumel.htm
Good luck!

 

[Tiggeriffic]

My daughter,who was 6 at the time, had a hard time with the water getting into her eyes. So, it was difficult for her to see the dolphin once we were in the water. It might be a good idea for young children to wear swim googles or a mask if salt water bothers their eyes. Overall it was a good experience, but that made it more difficult for us.

 

[skyhawk]

msh - thanks so much for the info. looksa like fun!

 

[MamaGriz]

You can book directly with the Dolphin Discovery place. When I sat down and figured that the Disney excursion also covered transportation ($10 each way) and the entrance fee into the park, the Disney price does not look too bad. If you book through Disney, transportation and entrance fee is provided. They engage a cab for your family and give the driver vouchers (both directions). If you hop into a cab without the Disney rep there, be prepared to pay for it yourself.

During our dolphin encounter, the water was about 30 inches deep-up to my daughter's chest (6 yo) and we didn't have any trouble with it in her eyes. You are in a large pen adjacent to the ocean with a submerged platform running up the side.

The dolphin swim has to be booked directly, and the kids have to be at least 8 years old. For strength reasons, they say.
http://www.dolphindiscovery.com./cozumel.htm

 

[wayneg]

My DW has a phobia of fish. Are there many or any in the Dolphin enclosure?
Wayne

 

[momofofo22]

We did the dolphin swin in February.

We booked through Dolphin Discovery website. If you want to do it you have to book a lot in advance because you are only 8 by group.

We loved it. After we bought the video and some pictures.

Personnally, I didn't see any fish in the water. However, in our group we have on lady who didn't want to go in the water because she was afraid of the fish. There are maybe some because you are in the ocean.

Do it you will love it. It is a must.

 

[MCazer]

We did this in August of 2002. My children had a very hard time. If you can, try to find out if it will be high tide at the time you are going.

I say this because the dolphin encounter is in the ocean, on a platform and the small children have life vests on. If their feet can't reach the platform (because of high tide), then they are being hit with waves and banging into eachother and you.

Also, we tried to hold them up, but their vest kept riding high on them. They were not comfortable. My children were 6 and 4 at the time, and they are not small for their age, they are among the tallest in the their classes.

It did help that we were the last people to go into the section, so that when my children got tired of being pushed back and forth by the waves, that they were able to sit on the stairs that leads down to the platform.

Also, you cannot lean on anything, as the platform juts up against a chain link fence (this is how they have them sectioned off).

I personally would not do it again until my children were 10 and 8 so they would definately be tall enough to compensate for high tide. The salt water in the face was not conducive to a relaxing dolphin encounter and at that age, it was a little scary for them.

The dolphins are beauftiful, but the access to them is limited. My children actually go to touch a dolphin more at Seaworld.

So, if you are interested, I would see if you could find out if it will be low tide or high tide that date and time.

Sorry to be such a bummer, but it was a very expensive excursion!

 

[JenKatt]

The web site doesn't tell you this, but the swim that you book through the park also includes park admission and return taxi fare. At least that's what happened last October with us

 

[mickey minder]

We did the dolpin encounter excursion and booked through DCL. Transportation to the park and back to the port was provided. Just a warning, some of the taxi drivers go very fast. The water came to my waist - I'm five feet tall. There is nothing to hold on to other than the fence that is behind you. It is a chain link fence with the little metal barbs. The waves tossed us around a bit, mayube it was just the time of day. I got a small cut on my hand, but if I had not held on to the fence I would have fallen in. The smaller children there had difficulty. You would have to had held a three year old in your arms and you could not have done that and hold on yourself. One child had to be taken out. I would not recommend this for very young children. Just MHO. For older children and adults, it was great.

 

[LostGirls]

Thanks so much to all of you! You've given me great info. to consider. And yes, it is expensive, so I'm glad to know your experiences. How would I get along without these boards? They are my new obsession!!!

 

[Skybaby]

JenKatt - You booked the swim through Dolphin Discovery and it included your cab and park admission?

 

[JenKatt]

Originally posted by Skybaby
JenKatt - You booked the swim through Dolphin Discovery and it included your cab and park admission?

Yes it was, but we didn't find out until we got there. We wound up having to pay for the cab fare there, but from what I remember the guy said we could have gotten a vouycher or something. Cab ride back, there's a guy standing at the taxi stand directing people to cabs and giving the cabbie a voucher for the fare.
The park fee included the beach and chairs. I think they let us keep the snorkeling stuff to use on the beach, but I don't remember.

 

[LostGirls]

Good suggestion to check the tide table for our day at Cozumel. I surfed a bit, and didin't find any web sites that providied that. Does anyone know of a good site? And how many days out can you check? THANKS!