dolphin encounter on our own

[bhoffman]

Okay - I have finally decided that our daughters and my husband should do this excursion (I think! ) and now since we leave in a couple of weeks, of course it is all full and we can't go through Disney. I will save $53.50 doing it on our own anyway....My question is this, how difficult is it to do this on our own? What is the procedure once you get off the boat to get to this place? They say that the boat ride is included but how do you get to the boat? Obviously I am confussed. If anyone has any info. on doing this on your own, please share! It is a lot of money so if it is hard to do, we will just skip it this time around..Thanks!

 

[DisneyDarwin]

We did this on our own 4 years ago. I'm afraid I don't remember the exact details, but you take a taxi over to Paradise Island ($10 or less?) and catch the water taxi from there. It was not difficult. The dolphin folks ought to be able to give you some pointers, I would think.

For what it's worth, we consider this more of a photo-op with dolphins than swimming with dolphins. We went to a place in Marathon, FL where you could really swim with them that was a lot more exciting. Still, I've got dolphin pics on my wall.

 

[lovethatdisney]

It is not difficult at all and I thought it was a fabulous experience!

You do take a quick cab ride from the dock to Paradise Island. The Dolphin Encounters has their own ticket pavilion and dock once you get there. My DH, DS (age 12), my mom (age 68) and myself all partook in the experience and loved every minute! There are alot of photo ops, but being that close to dolphins and being in the water with them is something really special. Smiles will abound, I promise!

Be sure to do the dolphin swim versus the adventure where you are only knee deep in the water. The swim is much more fun! They provide life jackets and they do take pictures that will be an additional cost. However, you are free to take your own pictures too!

Have fun!

 

[bhoffman]

When you booked directly with the company did you do it via email? I ask because I sent them an email two days ago about booking and haven't heard back...wondering if I should call....

 

[lovethatdisney]

When I booked I called. It was easy!

 

[Jsme]

I would think my worries would be a refund in case anything happens and you are not able to make it to port or the weather is bad. I have read that it can be hard to get a refund when you book on your own. I have never had this experience but it is a concern of mine on booking any excursion on my own. We have had a 50% rate of cancellation on our water excursion. If you book your excursion with the cruise line and for some reason it is cancelled they will credit your onboard account for that amount. On our first cruise many years ago, we had an excursiont to snorkel at Cozmel and a storm came up. We were refunded the amount of the excursion plus a refund for the underwater cameras we bought! Another time we were going to do the Sea Doo Eco tour and the wind was bad. No problems with a refund at all.