NCL Dolphin Encounter and Stingray Sandbar

Hello,

I booked a last minute cruise on the Epic this Sunday and am looking at excursions.

Has anyone done the Dolphin encounter with Stingray sandbar excursion offered by NCL (or similar via other cruise lines?). According to their website, it is a 4.5 hour excursion beginning with a dolphin encounter, then a catamaran ride to Stingray City. Seems like the best of both worlds, as I've never done either the dolphin or the stingray thing.

As a side note, I'm a non-swimmer. I assume the catamaran has life jackets (as opposed to just snorkel vests) available?

Thanks in advance! :)

I did that same excursion several years ago. It was a great day. I am also a non swimmer.

The boat that takes you to the stingrays, anchors in shallow water. When I got off the boat, the water was not over my head. You walk a couple of steps, and it is maybe waist deep. Swimming with the Dolphins everyone wore life jackets that they provided.

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How much time did you actually get to spend with the dolphins? I have read a few reviews of both the dolphin encounter and the dolphin swim that said you really only get a few minutes with them. I'm still on the fence whether I want to do one of these combo excursions or just the stingray sandbar.

I enjoyed the dolphins more thn the stingrays. We were actually in the water with the Dolphins awhile. We each got a chance to hold on to the dolphin and it takes you for a ride. I really enjoyed it.

Thanks for your responses!

I just wanted to report back with my experience as I did end up booking the excursion.

I did the dolphin encounter, not the swim. It was really neat but felt a bit like an assembly line just to get everyone's pictures taken which they would later try to sell at excessive prices ($120 for a DVD of photos of 1 person and the dolphin, or $35 for 1 printed picture). I needed SOME proof I did it and a memory for later, so I was able to make a deal with one of the store employees for $20 for 1 picture (as a side note, this ended up being an under the table cash deal).

After the Dolphins we were rushed onto an awaiting boat which was much smaller than the one we saw leave previously. The ride to the stingray sandbar was extremely rough as the seas were stirring up. What I wasn't aware of, is that it's a 45 minute boat ride each way. So for 45 minutes, everyone and their belongings got drenched by spraying/splashing sea water. Once we got to the sandbar, the waves were enormous - over people's heads and spraying their faces. You almost couldn't even see the stingrays through the choppy water.

I asked for a life jacket as I didn't feel comfortable getting into that water as a non-swimmer, but in the end, I still didn't even get off the boat once I had it on (neither did a handful of others, including one lady who spent those 2.5 hours horribly sea-sick). The ocean was just too rough, and the boat was rocking so much that I couldn't have even got myself safely to the ladder at the back of the boat. So I stayed onboard and took whatever pictures I could. In fact, 4 other passengers opted to transfer to other boats that were leaving to go back as soon as we got there. I wish I could have done the same, but the prospect of having to physically get to the other boat was equally unappealing.

I was quite disappointed - I know weather can be unpredictable and seas change quickly, but I felt there should have been a warning prior to leaving Dolphin Cove and an option to forgo the second part of the trip and return to the ship earlier.

I ended up discussing my experience with the shore excursions staff once onboard, and they were nice enough to give me a 50% refund. They said a few of the snorkeling excursions were cancelled at the very last minute as well, so it sounds like the sea conditions were quite a sudden change and the trips that visited the stingrays prior to the Dolphins were not affected as much.

So all in all, be aware that the ride to the stingrays and back to dolphin cove is 45 minutes each way, and the weather and seas have a tendency to change rapidly. I do think the excursion has the potential to be a really nice day out in nice weather and seas, but I admit the boat ride left me a little traumatized and I likely won't be trying to get there again. And regarding the Dolphins, it's run like a factory and quite rushed, but it will do the job of checking "kiss a dolphin" off your bucket list! :) Just remember when the time comes to view and purchase photos, you CAN negotiate if the staff are willing to break/bend the rules a little! ;)

Ibrandon,

Each "group" spent about 30 minutes with the Dolphins for both the encounter and the swim.

For the encounter, the larger group (of about 12-15 people) gets a dolphin, and a third of the group is actually in the water at a time, while the remaining groups are sitting on the floating dock along the sides. When sitting along the sides, you can pet the dolphin as it swims by, and observe the trainer feeding it and the dolphin interacting with those in the water. You spend about 20 minutes on the side and 10 minutes in the waist-deep water, however out of the 10 minutes in the water, each person only gets a couple minutes with the dolphin at most. You get to kiss it and get a kiss, and dance with it.

So overall, I'd say 30 minutes up close with the dolphin mostly observing (although petting it and making it dance by clapping too), with 1-2 minutes of "personal time" which is spent doing the hand commands and positioning for pictures.

Also noteworthy - you can't take any loose belongings in the water (glasses/sunglasses unless they have a back strap, no watches, and no cameras). They didn't have a restriction on the use of sunscreen though.

FYI, in good weather it's much less than 45 minutes out to Stingray City, more like 20. I'm sorry the weather didn't cooperate to give you a better experience. Usually if it's that bad the excursions get cancelled.

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Our ride out was approximately 20 - 25 minutes, it was a little windy but an otherwise beautiful day so it shouldn't take long in favorable conditions. Did not do dolphin swim though, did National Geographic underwater photo exhibit + Stingray City tour being offered by Stingray City United, had a wonderful time and I got to see Dolphins since our catamaran was docked next to dolphin cove so I saw them as we passed the lagoon.

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Good to know the ride out isn't usually that long (and rough!). I'm really surprised they didn't cancel that part of the excursion for us, but even the crew on the catamaran said they didn't expect it to be that rough. It sounds like the conditions changed quite rapidly (I talked to some other passengers on my cruise and they were at the sandbar about 1 hour earlier and they said it was just getting rough when they left).

No it is not usually rough or long at all. I went yesterday and the weather was fair, not too windy even though the skies looked a little dark but that quickly cleared up (thank God). When we got to Stingray City the water was calm and beautiful so we were able to enjoy the day.

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