Tortola Swim with the dolphins

[robandkelly13]

Has anyone done the Tortola swim with the dolphins? If so, will you please share your experience, positive and negative?

Also, if another member of the family books the Dolphin Observer will they be able to see and photograph the swim? In the description of the dolphin observer, it reads that this should only be booked with the dolphin encounter, but the dolphin swim references that others travelling with the person participating in the swim can book the dolphin observer.

Please share your experiences with these excursions.

Thanks!

 

[Aerin75]

Bumping; I was researching the same question. Also was researching the impressions of how the dolphins are "treated." The kiddo doesn't want to do it unless they are treated well.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We did Tortola swim adventure (TT07). We all did the swim one and I'm not a strong swimmer. It was fun. Was it worth the price? Well, I've never done anything like that, so I guess so. You get a few interactions with them and then if you're doing the swim one, you go out twice for pushes back, once by grabbing their fins and once by them pushing your feet.

How are they treated? I asked that, but they seemed happy. They had seawater pens that were maybe the size of our school yard? Hard to say. They had more room than in SeaWorld. Also, I asked where they came from and was told that all these dolphins were rescued. None were captured. You can see some marks on them, which I was told they'd had since their rescues. So, apparently, they couldn't have been released back into the wild and this was a better place for them.

The photos were expensive, but I already knew I was going to buy anyway, so I expected that.

 

[Aerin75]

We did Tortola swim adventure (TT07). We all did the swim one and I'm not a strong swimmer. It was fun. Was it worth the price? Well, I've never done anything like that, so I guess so. You get a few interactions with them and then if you're doing the swim one, you go out twice for pushes back, once by grabbing their fins and once by them pushing your feet.

How are they treated? I asked that, but they seemed happy. They had seawater pens that were maybe the size of our school yard? Hard to say. They had more room than in SeaWorld. Also, I asked where they came from and was told that all these dolphins were rescued. None were captured. You can see some marks on them, which I was told they'd had since their rescues. So, apparently, they couldn't have been released back into the wild and this was a better place for them.

The photos were expensive, but I already knew I was going to buy anyway, so I expected that.

Thanks! That gives me some comfort. The other adult in my party won't be interested in swimming, but is an excellent photographer, so I'm hoping that's allowed.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Oh, forgot... if you do TT06, it's in the same place, you just don't do the two swimming moves. If you're doing the Observer TT25, you're off to the side, but able to watch and take your own photos. They won't be as great as their professional photos, as those guys get to go on to the dock and know just when to get that money shot.

I was worried about the swimming one, but I'm glad I did it. You have a life jacket, so you're not going to drown. And you don't have to swim out very far to get into position, maybe the length of a public pool (not width)?

 

[FigmentSpark]

To give you an idea, this is just one view of the pens. That back part that you see in the photo extends about double that off to the right and the sea pen part behind the camera is about 4 to 6 times (or more) the size of that whole portion. And it's all sea water, as they are right on the sea. There are other fish in the water, as well, but apparently, the dolphins don't like eating those ones.

This is the best photo I have (long shot) of the area. All the rest they sell you are (beautiful) close-ups.

 

[Aerin75]

Awesome, thanks!

 

[bearybubba]

Thanks for the explanations! I am trying to decide between The Baths or The Dolphin Swim for our cruise next November. May now be leaning towards the dolphins!

 

[klasjdfa]

We did the dolphin swim in 2014, so things might be a tad different now. The Fantasy didn’t stop at Tortola, so the dolphin swim was offered via a DCL excursion leaving out of St. Thomas. My wife and eldest daughter who was 6 at the time purchased the “swim” while my youngest (age 4) and I purchased the “observer.”

Since we travelled from St. Thomas, it was an all-day affair which included a water taxi over to Tortola. The water taxi ride was quite an adventure – the air conditioning on the boat didn’t work nor were there any windows that opened. The only fresh air coming into the main cabin was via a door in the very front, but that was promptly closed because the ocean was rather rough and spray kept coming into the main cabin. So, we have a bunch of people in a boat in rough seas with no moving air. You can probably guess what happened next. Thankfully, we survived with our Cabana’s breakfast intact.

The dolphin encounter location was nice. As a previous poster mentioned, there are multiple pens. The “swimmers” were divided into groups of 15 or so people. At the near edge of the pen is an underwater grate that everyone stood on. The trainers move the dolphin down the row of guests so each person has a chance to interact with it. My youngest and I attempted to observe, but unfortunately the spot where the swimmers spent most of the time interacting with the dolphins was mostly obscured by trees and plants. The other pens didn’t have this problem and all provided a clear view. At the end of the encounter, the swimmers had a chance to “ride” the dolphins out to the far side of the pen. That was the only time I was able to see my wife and kid.

They are really strict on where they let you stand to take pictures and as mentioned earlier, pictures are very expensive. We ended up buying the pictures because of my blocked view. I packed a 28-70mm lens so I wasn’t able to get any of the long distance shots.

My wife and daughter say that they had an awesome time, but I suppose your mileage will vary with the “observer.”

While sailing on the Magic in 2016, we stopped in Tortola and visited the Baths – it was awesome!