Nassau Dolphin Encounter

[RLTerz]

Hello all. I am new to this forum but not Disney. I will be cruising with DCL, on the Magic Sept 1 for the 8th time. This forum has been a wealth of information, although I cant seem to find enough info on the Dolphin Encounter in Nassau.My main concern is if the lockers/facilities secure enough to bring my camera for taking photos after the encounter. Also, should I bring a change of clothes? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

Rich

 

[michellem1118]

Hello all. I am new to this forum but not Disney. I will be cruising with DCL, on the Magic Sept 1 for the 8th time. This forum has been a wealth of information, although I cant seem to find enough info on the Dolphin Encounter in Nassau.My main concern is if the lockers/facilities secure enough to bring my camera for taking photos after the encounter. Also, should I bring a change of clothes? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

Rich

Are you talking about the encounter at Blue Lagoon or the encounter at Atlantis? The one at Blue Lagoon has good locker space & is also a very controlled environment, so your camera could easily be secured. We didn't bother with a change of clothes, since we walked around and looked at the dophins & sea lions after the swim, and we dried off really quickly... so I don't think a change of clothes is really necessary, though it's definitely an option.

However, I'd recommend booking this encounter either through shoretrips.com or directly through dolphinencounters.com, for three reasons: first, it's cheaper than through Disney; second, these sites offer an actual dolphin swim rather than just an encounter; and third, the age limits are lower than through Disney. It's a *little* more complicated to actually get to Blue Lagoon if you book independently, but we had no trouble making a 10:30am swim.

 

[RLTerz]

Are you talking about the encounter at Blue Lagoon or the encounter at Atlantis? The one at Blue Lagoon has good locker space & is also a very controlled environment, so your camera could easily be secured. We didn't bother with a change of clothes, since we walked around and looked at the dophins & sea lions after the swim, and we dried off really quickly... so I don't think a change of clothes is really necessary, though it's definitely an option.

However, I'd recommend booking this encounter either through shoretrips.com or directly through dolphinencounters.com, for three reasons: first, it's cheaper than through Disney; second, these sites offer an actual dolphin swim rather than just an encounter; and third, the age limits are lower than through Disney. It's a *little* more complicated to actually get to Blue Lagoon if you book independently, but we had no trouble making a 10:30am swim.

Thanks for your response. I was talking about the one Blue Lagoon, which has already been booked through DCL. I plan on buying their photos, but I'm sure I would regret it if I didn't bring my camera.

 

[cruisinmama06]

We've done that particular encounter twice already at Blue Lagoon. I have to tell you that you will kick yourself if you don't have a camera DURING the excursion.

In the past, I bought a disposable water proof camera (at places like Wal-Mart, about $12-$13)

I JUST bought a WATERPROOF DIGITAL camera and it is amazing. It takes amazing underwater shots. It is an Olympus SW and I got it at Circuit City, but they have them at Best Buy too. (Just ordered mine on sale for $249 and free shipping to my house)

So seriously, get a waterproof camera and bring that with you. Leave your "good camera" on the ship, locked up. So at least you can use the waterproof (be it disposable or not) and REALLY catch the moment.

 

[Husker4Life]

I am so glad to hear the rave reviews about the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter. We are going in November, and booked directly through Blue Lagoon. I'm afraid had we waited until we could book through Disney there might not have been anymore times available. We are doing the swim, and can't wait. I also have to comment Blue Lagoon on their customer service, even though we are not going through Disney and have to ride a different boat to the Lagoon than those who purchase through Disney, in order to get back to the ship on time they are allowing us to ride the special boat back to the ship.

My suggestion so far would be to book directly through Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter.

 

[mrstbalt]

I JUST bought a WATERPROOF DIGITAL camera and it is amazing. It takes amazing underwater shots. It is an Olympus SW and I got it at Circuit City, but they have them at Best Buy too. (Just ordered mine on sale for $249 and free shipping to my house)

Can you post or email some of your underwater pictures you took with this camera? Would love to see them. Thanks

 

[Laxmom]

We did the Blue Lagoon encounter and swim on a couple of different trips several years ago. It was an incredible experience!! Here is a link to their website;

http://www.dolphinencounters.com/

 

[cruisinmama06]

I JUST bought a WATERPROOF DIGITAL camera and it is amazing. It takes amazing underwater shots. It is an Olympus SW and I got it at Circuit City, but they have them at Best Buy too. (Just ordered mine on sale for $249 and free shipping to my house)

Can you post or email some of your underwater pictures you took with this camera? Would love to see them. Thanks

Yep, I took it to the pool and fired off a couple of shots. There are 4 underwater settings. So I am trying to see which one works best before we leave in 2 weeks.

It was funny to see all of the other moms thinking I had lost my marbles because I put my camera underwater.

It takes both stills and video...

CLICK On the image BELOW to see the video.

 

[RLTerz]

Thanks for all the info. I have checked out their website as well. Photography is a hobby of mine, and I was concerned about bringing my DSLR. Never having been there, I wasnt sure what the layout I guess of the facilities would be. Im not too comfortable with leaving it in a locker (locked?), thats not in view during the encounter. Instead, I am going to bring my point and shoot camera, and take my chances. I may seem a bit over cautious, but I guess my line of work (police officer) has made me that way.

 

[sharen24]

Besides getting into the water with the dolphins, do you get to swim or enjoy the beach while on the island? Passporter says lunch is included, but DCL website says food is available for purchase. What has been your past experience? Also, how do you get there if you don't book through DCL?

 

[Laxmom]

If I remember correctly, there is an island getaway that can be booked that goes to the same island but is not included in the dolphin encounter/swim. You can spend the day on the beach on the other side of the island and enjoy a barbeque lunch. When we went, people doing that and the dolphins rode the same launch to the island then parted ways with them going to the beach on the other side and our group going to the dolphins. There was no food included with either of our trips. You can do the dolphins and then go to the beach but you must pay for both trips.

 

[SAGE]

We are doing the Dolphin Encounter at the end of next week.
Are the lockers, (LOCKED)? I've bought a disposable water proof camera but plan on purchasing photos too.
Where do you keep your credit card, ID for the ship etc?

Thanks!

 

[Laxmom]

This is a picture from our trip a few years back. That's Fat Man in the middle!! I don't remember the lockers. DH kept our cards in his bathing suit pocket.

 

[Anal Annie]

We just did the Dolphin Swim booked directly thru dolphinencounters.com last month - it was amazing! They were very professional and a well run organization. They provided small complimentary lockers as well. Their photos were great too and we bought a small photo package from them...but we also took a digital underwater camera...the Vivitar ViviCam 6200 (can purchase online for approx. $130 with tax & shipping thru Amazon or Target.com) http://www.amazon.com/Vivitar-VIVICAM-6200W-MegaPixel-Underwater-Digital/dp/B000QCI65I/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1219542768&sr=8-1.

For the money spent it did a fantastic job as a supplement to my Canon Powershot and Canon Rebel. We took video clips of our "footpushes" at the end of our swim. We took approx. 270 pics on it - LOVED that it was digital and that we can upload all the pics with the rest of our vacation. It seemed to have a faster recycle time between shots than my Powershot - only thing we didn't like was that it didn't have a viewfinder - only a 2" LCD screen and it was hard to see sometimes in the water in bright sunlight. But any LCD is hard to see in the sun. It was just HARDER in the water! Here's a few pics we took with it:

At the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounters:

This is the family shot the Blue Lagoon photographer took of us:

Snorkeling in the lagoon on Castaway Cay:

Snorkeling on the Seahorse Catamaran on CC:

 

[Laxmom]

I cannot believe you posted those!!! I have been looking at that camera but desperately wanted to see some shots with it! I was afraid that it wouldn't do well for the money. Awesome pics! Thank you so much! I think I am going to order it! Now, if I can just get it by next Friday!!

 

[RLTerz]

Are the lockers locked? Where can I keep my credit cards/id/money, etc.?

 

[SAGE]

Are the lockers locked? Where can I keep my credit cards/id/money, etc.?

I want to know the answer too.

As a back up, I bought a waterproof pouch from a CAA store. It's plastic and hangs around my neck. Quite small but will hold credit card and ship ID.

 

[Anal Annie]

Photography is a hobby of mine, and I was concerned about bringing my DSLR. Never having been there, I wasnt sure what the layout I guess of the facilities would be. Im not too comfortable with leaving it in a locker (locked?), thats not in view during the encounter.

Their lockers are small but would hold a DSLR / bag. They are complimentary and have a keyed lock - so you take the key with you when you go on your encounter...but you need a pocket that secures shut to put the key in! We took a small backback type bag that we locked up with our wallet & such but just left our flip flops & BIG bag with our towels out on the benches. That's pretty much what most people did.

Make sure you take towels - the water in Nassau is very salty/sticky - I couldn't wait to rinse off under a fresh water shower afterward!! We didn't really CHANGE 'cuz I didn't want to bring so much stuff + your time afterward to order pics & browse is limited... We rinsed off in the restrooms & dried off with towels as best we could then pulled our clothes back on over top. I wasn't too concerned with what we looked like at that point.

 

[Anal Annie]

I cannot believe you posted those!!! I have been looking at that camera but desperately wanted to see some shots with it! I was afraid that it wouldn't do well for the money. Awesome pics! Thank you so much! I think I am going to order it! Now, if I can just get it by next Friday!!

Glad to help. I really had wanted to just get an underwater housing for my Canon Powershot but it was not available for my particular model so I just wanted a cheap alternative. My husband actually orderd it for me for my birthday...he DID mention that the shipping took a long time and he had been worried about whether or not it would arrive in time (although I already knew what he was getting me). ANYWAY, look around thoroughly for it before ordering and maybe order it with priority shipping or something.

(PS) I did edit those pics in Photoshop to autocorrect the lighting & contrast which is a simple fix... But I edit EVERYTHING - that's why I love digital!!

 

[RLTerz]

Their lockers are small but would hold a DSLR / bag. They are complimentary and have a keyed lock - so you take the key with you when you go on your encounter...but you need a pocket that secures shut to put the key in! We took a small backback type bag that we locked up with our wallet & such but just left our flip flops & BIG bag with our towels out on the benches. That's pretty much what most people did.

Make sure you take towels - the water in Nassau is very salty/sticky - I couldn't wait to rinse off under a fresh water shower afterward!! We didn't really CHANGE 'cuz I didn't want to bring so much stuff + your time afterward to order pics & browse is limited... We rinsed off in the restrooms & dried off with towels as best we could then pulled our clothes back on over top. I wasn't too concerned with what we looked like at that point.

Very helpful. Thanks.