Dolphin Swim vs. Encounter

[dtuleya]

We will be on the Eastern Caribbean sailing of the Magic in November. I was going to book the Dolphin Encounter in Aguilla through DCL. I assumed this meant I would get to actually swim with the dolphins. Isn't this the case? If not, can I book directly through the company?

 

[LibertyBelle]

Generally, Dolphin "Encounter" means that you will not be in the water swimming with them, that is how it is in Nassau and Freeport (you are on a ledge about waist deep and the dolphins come to you)... However, the Shore excursion description provided BY Disney for the excursion you are looking at says that it is in fact a "SWIM":

Anguilla Dolphin & Stingray Encounter (7 - 7.5 hours)

You will get the opportunity to feed and touch stingless stingrays before you swim, feed and play with dolphins while learning fascinating facts about them. There will be plenty of photo opportunities, so don't forget your camera (underwater cameras are not allowed in the water). For a perfect ending to a memorable morning, take time for fun and sun on the beach at beautiful Meads Bay, where you can enjoy an authentic Caribbean barbecue lunch.

Adult Price: $180 (ages 10 and above)
Child Price: $158 (ages 5-9)
Departure Time: 7:30 am

 

[RKB]

We used shoretrips.com to book a true dolphin swim in Cozumel. The Disney Excursion was an encounter. I looked on the website adn they do offer a swim in St. Martin. We were very happy with this company. Hope this helps. $197.00 adults and $169.00.

 

[bobsuzla]

Please let me know how you make out with this, our main goal in 11/05 is the Dolphin encounter, I am considering booking seperately, I don't care about lunch and beacvh time, my daughter just wants time with the Dolphins... But I don't know about transportation etc if you book on your own directly through the company.

 

[UMTerp]

Hello everyone!

The Anguilla Dolphin Encounter - you do get to swim with the dolphins. We did this excursion in April. I was told that the DCL group is the only one scheduled for the day when the ship is in port in St. Martin. There were no other people there with us. The group was divided into two, one group went to the beach first, the other went with the animals first. Then they divide into groups of five for the animals. You alternate between the dolphins, stingrays, hermit crab race, and the parrots in the lobby. They serve lunch when the groups rotate. The excursion is available for those not wanting to swim with the dolphins as observers. They do not go in the water with the animals at all. The beach at Meads Bay was beautiful! Beware of the prices of the pictures at this place! They wanted to charge me $30 US per person! For the four of us it would have been $120! When I balked at that the woman gave me a "special" rate of $75 for all of our pictures. However, I was missing four pictures when I got home and checked the CD. Overall we enjoyed it but would not spend the money again - once in a lifetime kind of thing. My kids were 6 and 9 when we did this excursion.

Any questions, just ask and I'll try to answer.

Enjoy!

UMTerp

 

[Nysie]

UMTerp- Would you say it was worth the $$ for the Anguilla dolphin encounter? We have booked it for our cruise in July! Do you remember what time you got back to St Marrtin? Did you have any time to shop? Also, when did you graduate from UM? Thanks!!

 

[skyhawk]

Just a warning: I went to book a dolphin swim in Cozumel for our August trip - and it was all booked! I was told (by Shoretrips) that these go very quickly, and you need to book many months in advance. So, I think we will be doing the Encounter instead - still cool, but not as much fun as a "swim"

 

[xnascar2x]

We did the Dolphin encounter on our Eastern Trip in Sept 03 and loved it!

 

[mark & sandra]

I waited until 1 week before my cruise and was able to book a dolphin swim at dolphin discovery directly...Mark

 

[DVC4US]

skyhawk,

I had the same problem when we wanted to book the Dolphin Swim for our April cruise. I think I tried to book in late Jan or early Fed and they were already full for the date I wanted so I put our party on a wait list. Around the middle of March I got a call from them saying our wait list had come through so we were able to do the swim. You can book the encounter with DCL as a back up(I think you have until 3 days before you cruise to cancel) and see if the swim comes through. We have done both and the swim is so much more fun.

One other thing I did was tell them which swim and what time I preferred, but I also said we would take either the regular swim or Royal swim at any available time. We did end up getting the swim and time we original requested. HTH

LeiLani

 

[UMTerp]

Hi Nysie - I'm sorry I have been offline for a few days. Yes, I think it was worth it for a one-time thing. We won't be doing it again. Beware of the cost of the photos! They will only give you photos they take on CD. They wanted to charge me $30 per person - $120 for my family! When I balked at the price the woman gave me "all" of our pictures on a CD for $75. When I got home, 4 of our pictures were missing. They add a number of their own pictures of the dolphins which look pretty fake. You can not take your own pictures during the dolphin part so unless you have someone doing the observer you will have to buy their pictures if you want them.

We got back to St. Martin about 4 (I think?). We didn't have any time to do any shopping except for the small market area right by the dock. When got off of the ferry and shopped a little right there.

I graduated from UM in 1979. Do you know any of my fellow alumni?

BTW, The trip I am describing is the Dolphin Encouner in Anguilla which is a DCL excursion from St. Martin.

I booked this excursion the minute reservations opened up for our cruise. There were others who waited a few days and were never able to get in for the encounter. Good luck!

UMTerp

 

[bobsuzla]

dvc4us, thanks for the info, but could you tell me how you got to the swim, the length of time it took and did you do the royal swim? what is the difference between booking directly or booking through dcl? (besides price and lunch I mean) This is the most important thing that my DD9 has wanted to do for years, She has been saying since she was five that she wants to be a Marine Biologist. She loves dolphins (so do I) thanks!

 

[dmancuso]

How much swimming is there with the Dolphins? Are we in the water with them for long? Do the get real close?

Thanks

 

[UMTerp]

dmancuso - If you want to know about the Anguilla trip... You are in the water with the dolphins for about 1/2 hour. You do swim with them and go across the pool a number of times. They require you to wear life vests so you can easily stay alfoat when you are in the water with them. You spend about a 1/2 hour at each of the other stations and then the other half of the day at the beach with lunch in between.

UMTerp

 

[corrybaybe]

would you please let me know how you booked the dolphin swim?I haven't been able to find anything online about it is there a phone# or wed site ?


thanks peg

 

[UMTerp]

You can book your excursions 60 days before your cruise date. You call DCL directly. Your full payment must be made and you should get information about available excursions before the 60-day mark. If it is getting close you can contact your TA or look at the options on the DCL web site. If you want to do the dolphin encounter on the 7-day Eastern I would suggest being on the phone early the day the excursion reservations open up.

Good luck!

UMTerp

 

[corrybaybe]

umterp,
WE are crusing in oct. How will i know when to book? Also is it possible that it could already be book? THanks for all info!

peg

 

[UMTerp]

corrybaybe - count 60 days back from the first day of your cruise and that is when you can call to book your excursions. Since you are cruising in Oct you should be able to book your excursions in August. Hope that helps.

UMTerp

 

[corrybaybe]

UMTerp
Thanks for the info !! first time cruiser still trying to get things straightend out