Dolphin Swim in Cozumel?

[LexyLou]

So, I don't really know if this goes in Disney travel or non disney travel because we are going on a Disney Cruise in April but my question is for one of the excursions in Cozumel, one of our stops.

I'm so confused. There are two different areas to swim with dolphins.

There is Dolphin Discovery and Dolphinarium.

The only real difference I can see if that Dophinarium is only 5 minutes from port while Dolphin Discovery is 20 minutes.

Have any of you been to either of these?

TIA!

[Tondi G]

I would check the boards on Cruise Critic. They have specific ones for different ports. Chances are there are a bunch of reviews on the 2 dolphin swim options.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=210

[Tinkerbell313]

OK...my friend and I went on a Carnival Cruise this past September and did Dolphin Discovery. Therefore, I can only speak to that particular dolphin swim.



First, we booked directly through Dolphin Discovery at http://www.dolphindiscovery.com/cozumel/cozumel-location-overview.asp. At the time we booked, it was buy one get one free. Therefore, its was $129 for the two of us. We booked the Royal Swim. However, when we booked through Dolphin Discovery, the website asked us what cruise ship. When I put in Carnival, the website stated I had to book through the ship (which was $130 a person). Based on posts on cruisecritic.com, I chose hotel, and chose undecided. We had no problems even with our towels with Carnival written all over it.

We took a taxi from the port (there are 2 ports in Cozumel...we were at the big port) to Dolphin Discovery. It was about a 15 minute cab ride straight down the road and the road had no traffic. At that time, the price of the cab each way was $4.00. I think that was up to 4 in the cab. At the port, there is a sign that lists all the popular tourist destinations and the cab price. Also, there are plenty of cabs at Dolphin Discovery to take you back to the ship.

Dolphin Discovery is located at Chakannab National Park. Besides the swimming with dolphins, sea lion show (fee) and the manatee encounter (you have to pay), there is a very small place to go swimming, a swimming pool, and big beach where you can snorkle and lay out on with tons of chairs, a restaurant, and a bar. Also there is a replica of a mayan village that you can walk around. The day we were there, the weather was overcast and it was off season so there were not many people. We were given a tour of the village and the tour guide was wonderful. It was all about the history of the Mayans.

The grounds were very clean. There were clean bathrooms and showers as well. Also, the lockers were free which came in handy for storing stuff whil swimming with the dolphins. It was a very safe environment.

The actual swim with dolphins was a bit disappointing for us. It was a big photo shoot. You are not allowed to bring cameras (I even had a waterproof camera) with you when you swim with dolphins. Also, there is someone back on deck that will tell people that they cannot use their zoom cameras from shore. You are assigned one dolphin trainer,a photographer, two dolphins and we had about 9 people total in our group. Again, this was for the Royal Swim. Each of us got to hug the dolphin, kiss the dolphin, foot push, dorsal tow, and hand shakes. I think we were with the dolphins for about an hour at the most. Each time one of us had a turn with the dolphin, lets say it was time to kiss the dolphin, the photographer would pose you and have you look at the camera so s/he can take a picture. After you were all done with the swim, they walked you to the gift shop so you can view and purchase the pictures. The pictures were pricey...the CD price was based on the number of people in your family. I can't remember the price...I want to say it was going to be $175 for my friend and I. It was crazy.

We chose the 2nd swim of the day and glad we did as we had plenty of time to spend the rest of the day at the park. There was someone at the front of the park who called a cab for us and we were on our way back.

I don't know how old your children are, I think there is a minimum age of 8 as well as a minimum height. Every one is required to wear life vests which are provided. We had a young girl in our group, and she had trouble touching the base that was in the water that we stood on while holding onto the dock. So, when it was her Dad's turn, one of us would hold on to her so she felt safe. Also, due to the weather, it was breezy which made the water choppy. So we had to hold on quite a bit.

Over all, I enjoyed our time at the park. It was a relaxing day.