dolphin encounters question..

[believinthemagic]

I noticed all of the dolphin encounters say you must use bio-degradable sunscreen. Do they provide it? Or is that something I need to look for??

 

[jodical]

The excursion we did in Costa Maya did not provide it and as far as I could tell, they did not sell it either. As a matter of fact, I don't recall there being any mention of it the day of! We walked off the ship and down the pier without any sunscreen then applied our usual brand at the conclusion of the encounter.

Maybe some of the other companies are more strict???

 

[Kimosabe]

Dolphinaris in Cozumel did not raise the issue at all. Never even crossed my mind...of course, it rained on us, so sunscreen was not at the front of our thoughts!

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

The excursion we did in Costa Maya did not provide it and as far as I could tell, they did not sell it either. As a matter of fact, I don't recall there being any mention of it the day of! We walked off the ship and down the pier without any sunscreen then applied our usual brand at the conclusion of the encounter.

Maybe some of the other companies are more strict???

I don't mean to hijack your question OP, but Did you enjoy the dolphin encounter at Costa Maya? I'm trying to decide to take it or not.

 

[sayfay]

Dolphinaris in Cozumel did not raise the issue at all. Never even crossed my mind...of course, it rained on us, so sunscreen was not at the front of our thoughts!

We went there too and I could swear I remember them making us rinse off before we went into the water to wash off the sunscreen.

 

[CanuckTraveller]

We were asked to use biodegradable sunscreen at the dolphin encounter at Blue Lagoon in Nassau, but no one checked. I looked at it more as a courtesy to the dolphins allowing us to visit them in their home, kwim? We found some at a natural health food store in our small town, although now a local children's store also carries a line of organic and biodegradable sunscreens too.

 

[LemonPie]

We did a dolphin adventure in Puerta Vallarta and the site said NO sunscreen was allowed. We all burned but it was fantastic and worth it.

 

[believinthemagic]

I don't mean to hijack your question OP, but Did you enjoy the dolphin encounter at Costa Maya? I'm trying to decide to take it or not.

No problem! We are signed up for it in Costa Maya for this Tuesday. So I'd love to hear feedback too!

 

[believinthemagic]

Thanks everyone for the replies

 

[Bear3412]

Ripe, but applicable.....
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2720290&highlight=sunscreen+dolphins

 

[jodical]

I don't mean to hijack your question OP, but Did you enjoy the dolphin encounter at Costa Maya? I'm trying to decide to take it or not.

Our family really enjoyed it!! We were sailing for the two sets of grandparents; 40th anniveraries so the grandfolks and the grandkids took the excursion while my husband and I played "papparazzi."

The dolphin pool area is at the end of the cruise pier, take a hard left and you can't miss it - I think we passed a few small kiosk shops on the way. There is a restaurant nearby with (I'm guessing) clorine pools (at least they appeared so) umbrellas and beach loungers that surround the dolphin area so it was very comfortable for the non-participants.

As I recall, they had a locker area in the back where everyone suited up in life vests and stowed their gear. I understand they had a brief talk as well. Then they marched out to the pool area. DH and I were hanging out waiting to see which "station" they were going to be doing their encounter from and we set ourselves up right outside the roped off area accordingly. They took photos of the group before descending about a dozen steps into the water - I heard it was cold! Then they lined up along a curves wall and stood on a ledge. I'd say the water level at the ledge was 3'+. The trainer called the dolphin over and let him do some "drivebys" so that everyone could hold their arms/hands out to touch. Then he took him through a few tricks and a jump or two. Then they had each participant individually do a few personal interactions - holding arm up straight out overhead so dolphin could lift up and touch his nose to the hand. Kisses. Dancing. Etc. All the while their photographer is taking pictures like mad. (If you are stationing someone outside the pool with a camera, make sure to remind your participants to look at you after they look at the staff photog - or before. After the encounter, my group gathered round to review my shots while they waited for the others inside to view theirs. Then they looked at the photo shots and decided they were happy with my pics so they didn't but any. Sorry, I either don't recall the per picture cost there or I never heard it to begin with.

They also do a dolphin swim there. I saw another group get pushed on their feet across the pool, they also got to hold onto the dorsal fin and get pulled. This was while we were waiting for our crew to finish orientation/get vests, etc.

I Think our cost through Disney was $79pp for the kids (both under 10) and $89 or 99pp for the adults. Ihope that helps!