Dolphin Encounter Cancelled

[tawasdave]

Got a call today from Disney...(3/25/04) and they said that the dolphin encounter at Nassau has been closed and our excursion to there on 4/5/04 has been cancelled...anyone know why? If you have this excursion scheduled you may want to check into it.

 

[tommysmom]

I hope someone has heard something. I booked this on my own through dolphin encounters and havent heard anything. Im on the 4/25 Wonder. Their website is still up and running and looks like taking reservations....

I sure hope this isnt the case as my DS5 is soooo looking forward to it

 

[ericamanda01]

That's a surprize to me. However when my family and I went it was during spring break season and I have to tell you I was disappointed. Oh don't get me wrong the dolphin encounter was great, however the college kids, most of which were in their early 20's just like I was at the time, were out of hand. There was nothing to serious like nudity or any of that. There just seem to be some serious drinking and inappropriate language. But having spent 3 days at WDW and being treated so well on the ship I thought that this was far below Disney standards. We are going on our honeymoon and have no intention of going anywhere in Nasseu, with the exception of a small shopping trip. So don't be too dissappointed, i'm sure that Disney will make up for the change.

 

[***tink386]

Did they give you any alternative excursions or suggestions?

 

[tawasdave]

They did give us the Castaway Cay Getaway package for free...free snorkels, float and one hour bike rental...not quite the same..but better than nothing...

 

[KennyK]

To all,

I had read a posting awhile back about a situation in the Bahama's in ref to an ecology problem where some environmental group petioned the Prime Minister to free the dolphins and protect them from harmful neglect.

The way the story had continued it looked like the PM was in favor of agreeing with the environmental group and had ordered its closure. So maybe it really happened.

If I had this excursion booked privately, I would call them and see what goes. It's very possible that Disney doesn't like the potential of bad press considering their fore front in the protection of the environment.

just a comment.

kennyk

 

[tommysmom]

kenny, you might be right...I did a couple of searches in the nassau guardian and other bahamian news sources and didnt seem to find anything...Guess Illl have to be patient and wait till morning and give them a call...

 

[RKB]

if you want to book it yourself (non-Disney) go to shoretrips.com and see if they are still taking reservations. Maybe you can get some answers there?

 

[Certifiable WDW Nut]

I'm on your cruise, tawasdave, but I booked the excursion on my own. I guess I should call and find out what is going on. Thanks.

 

[Certifiable WDW Nut]

Okay - I just called them directly and they said my reservation for 4/5 was still there and available.

My concern is that when I made the reservation, they said I could pay within 7 days by calling an 800#. Now they just told me I had to pay or my reservation would be canceled. But they also said, given how close it is, I could pay when I got there. It was really very confusing.

I'm hesitant to pay ahead given the Disney arranged excursion has been canceled. I guess I will pay by credit card and if something happens, I'll challenge the charge with the credit card company.

 

[immalemon]

I actually was on the phone with Dolphin Encounters everday while they were working with the schedule. They told me I couldnt make my reservation yet, because they were actually in the process of cancelling a bunch because the owners of the dolphins or whathaveyou were worried about the well being of the dolphins and are starting to cut down how many people can go. It took them three days to figure it all out and to cx the reservations, but they fixed it and I was able to go ahead and get my 4/19 encounter scheduled. Also, I did get confilicting stories about paying, the day they started all this scheduling issues, they told me if i could make my reservations I would have to pay withing a certain amount of days with an 800#. By the time they fixed the problem and I was able to make my reservation, they told me to just pay there. I asked about the 88# and they told me that was for the dolphin swim. Ugh, I just hope there is nothing screwed up when I get there.

Amanda

 

[weluv M&M]

I want to book the dolphin excursion for a June 13 Wonder trip. Since it seems like it will no longer be possible through Disney would you give me the information for contacting the company direct. I hope that I can work this out because my dd 5 and ds 7 are looking at the dolphins as a highlight of the trip.
Thanks

 

[immalemon]

Dolpin Encounters:

PH: 242-363-1003 (no 800 # to make the ressies )
Web Site: dolpinencounters.com

$75 for encounters, and they offer observers for $20. My mom was very happy for this, she did not want to get in the water with dolphins They also do a dolphin swim, where you swim in the water with the dolpins, but my daughter is 4, so we obviously did not opt for this. If you need any other info, let me know. I did hear rumors that in May the prices are going up to $85 for the encounter.

Amanda

 

[sartini-co]

How does dolphinencounters compare to the disney offered excursion. It sounds like though that disney will not be offering this, as was pointed out in earlier posts. We are thinking of doing either a dolphin or stingray excursion.

 

[immalemon]

Disney goes through Dolpin Encounters. They used to get 55 slots through them, but now that they are lowering the amount of people able to go, Disney I guess will no longer be doing this. It is the same program, just cheaper, I guess because you do it yourself instead of paying Disney to set it up for you.

Amanda

 

[bskts4bj]

Don't forget when booking the excursion yourself that you'll be responsible for figuring out how to get there too. My family did this last fall, it's not real tough, just "inconvenient". You have to get off the ship and get your own transportation on a water taxi over to Paradise Island. Then you have to get off the water taxi, and walk down and across the street to the Dolphin Encounter taxi. My suggestion would be to book the Blue Lagoon Island excursion through DCL - that would get you there & back, plus you could spend the whole day out there. I believe that lunch is included in the excursion as well. When it's time for your dolphin encounter you can just walk over to their place.

Good luck!
Brenda

 

[weluv M&M]

Booking the Blue lagoon Excursion is a great idea. That excursion includes transportation and lunch...am I right? In order for the times to match up what time should I book the dolphin encounter for? any ideas?

 

[Billinaz]

I think the correct website is

www.dolphinswims.com


We booked it ourselves for our Feb cruise, and we paid them when we got to the pier.

 

[immalemon]

I did all my reservations through

Dolphinencounters.com

at least that is where I found them, and got the number and did it all through the company Dolphin Encounters

There are probably other websites, but this is the oen I went through. It may be more inconvenient, transportation wise, but Disney was booked, and the people who did it through Disney are getting the cancellation notices.

 

[immalemon]

Actually, Dolphinencounters.com and dolphinswims.com are the same company and same web site. They took both web addresses because they offer both the swim and the encounter. You can get to the same company either way.