Dolphin encounter cancelled?

I just received an e-mail that this tour has been cancelled.Does anyone know why?This is exstremely disapointing.We were really looking forward to this,so I thought of booking it on our own but I hear there is a time difference in Nassau.Can someone please tell me,is this true?We will be in port from 12 noon till 6:00 pm.The last tour is at 1:30.If there is a time difference we'll never make it.

"Somewhere, beyond the sea.." EXPLORER 4-17-2004

I too was dissappointed recently when i found out that they cancelled the BOB tour in key west. We were really looking foward to it. Now i am having a hard time picking a 2nd chioce that is just as good....bummer!!

Stacey

1985 M/V Atlantic

1992 R.C. Nordic Empress

1996 Carnival Fantasy

Days remaining till Enchantment of the Sea!!!

I heard the dolphins are sick!

stormyweathers...are you serious???

until my Majesty of the Seas cruise!

Carnival Inspiration - June 2003

RCCL Monarch of the Seas - July 2002

There's been a lot of bad press lately on these activities. Studies have shown it's extremely stessful on the animals and results in poor health, underweight animals and limited breeding. Many people are not taking these excursions, as enticing as they are, for the sake of the animals. Facilities are shutting down because of it.

tinsel57

At least they told you ahead of time that it was canceled.

We signed up for the Sea lion swim in Cozumel for my son who is a seal and sea lion freak, so after looking forward to getting to swim with a sea lion and telling everyone about this once in a lifetime wish We get there and they had closed the sea lion swim 2 weeks before we were scheduled to be there for maintenance. We didn't find out until we had paid the entrance fee to get into the Chankanaub Park and then they wouldn't give us a refund for the swim. We had to do the Dolphin Encounter, my son was crushed that he couldn't do the sea lion swim but he was okay with doing the dolphin thing instead. I, on the otherhand, asked for a refund on my part of the sea lion swim and it was denied. I am very afraid of the water and it was a very big stretch for me to do the sea lion swim. I was basically forced to do the Dolphin Encounter. It was horrible. I absolutely hated it!!!!

Trust me, you are not missing anything. IMHO, it was a complete waste of money. A half hour standing in cold freezing salt water so a dolphin can splash you and then you can have your picture taken with it, which is extra.

Mariner of the Seas 02/08/04

Navigator of the Seas 01-2003

My wife and I loved the Nassau dophin encounter. It is unfortunate that you will miss out on it. Fortunately a lot of cruises stop in Nassau, so hopefully you will have other opportunities.

Mike

See our reviews and pictures at Mike and Carol's Website

Costa Classica 3/94

Celebrity Mercury 4/98

Carnival Destiny 4/99

Crown Princess 7/01

Norwegian Star 11/01

Grand Princess 12/01

Sun Princess 3/02

Celebrity Constellation 11/02

Brilliance of the Seas 6/03

Navigator of the Seas 11/03

Jewel of the Seas 06/04

Tahitian Princess 02/05

We are also sailing on the Explorer on the 17th. We planned on booking the dolphin excursion but it was not available online. We called RC customer service and they told us we would be able to book once we were on the ship.

If this is now cancelled my daughter is going to be very disappointed.

Did they give you any reason why they cancelled it?

It is definately cancelled If you go to where you book the excursions on line.look to the botom of the dolphin encounter description.It tells you there in red letters that it has been cancelled.

"Somewhere, beyond the sea.." EXPLORER 4-17-2004

Who knows why this was cancelled,but last year,one in Cancun was cancelled due to the death of a dolphin.I too wonder if it is getting to much bad press.

Cathy

NCL-Starward 1982

NCL-Seaward 1986

NCL-Norway 1992

Carnival-Celebration 1996

Carnival-Jubilee 2001

RCI-Rhapsody 1999

RCI-Rhapsody- 2003

Grand Princess or Rhapsody ?

2004

Is it just canceled when booking thru RC or can you still book though the Dolphin Encounters web site? I sent a "reservation" for the swim last week but haven't received anything saying I was booked or it wasn't available.

5/24/04 Sovereign of the Seas

Now I am totally confuse! I just check the RC excursions for my sail dates and the close dolphin encounter is still available for the Wed. of my cruise. I've even gotten as far as the guest assignment screen. I'm still holding out to hear from Dolphin Encounters for the swim as a surprise for my nephew.

5/24/04 Sovereign of the Seas

We went on the 1:30 tour last year and didn't arrive back to the ship much before 6 PM. The next trip we booked on our own!

Golden Princess

Radiance of the Seas

JUST GO BACK FROM THE 3/28 SAILING AND IT WAS CANCELED IN NASA.

Dolphin deaths still a mystery

Experts from nearly a dozen agencies are on the case, trying to learn if Red Tide is causing the Panhandle deaths.

By TAMARA LUSH, Times Staff Writer

Published April 2, 2004

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Just before sunset on March 10, wildlife rehabilitator Barbara Eells discovered a dead bottlenose dolphin lying on a deserted beach at St. Joseph's Bay in the Florida Panhandle.

A half-hour later, she spotted a second dead dolphin. Then a third.

"Uh-oh," Eells said to herself. "I hope this isn't the beginning."

But it was.

Since Eells made her grisly discovery, 103 more dolphin carcasses have washed ashore along Panhandle beaches. The most recent was found Sunday.

What's killing them is a mystery that has sparked an investigation involving nearly a dozen state and federal agencies. Necropsies have been performed. Blood and urine tests taken.

Toxicology tests are still pending, but experts say they have found evidence of Karenia brevis, a toxin produced by Red Tide algae, in the dolphins' bodies.

Yet no Red Tide bloom has been found in the Gulf of Mexico.

"That's the big mystery," said Leanne Flewelling, marine research associate at the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg. "There must be either currently or recently a bloom up that way that we just missed," Flewelling said. "Maybe it's sub-surface and we weren't able to detect it."

Red Tide is a higher-than-normal concentration of a naturally occurring algae that can kill fish and other marine life while causing respiratory problems for people. Fish die after sucking the toxic particles through their gills and into their bloodstream; dolphins then eat the fish and become sick and die.

"Somewhere adjacent to the shore along the Gulf, something happened," Eells said. "Whatever it was killed these dolphins while they were eating. Their stomachs were full."

The Gulf of Mexico is home to 26 different kinds of dolphin species. Most people along Florida's Gulf Coast usually spot the most common kind, the bottlenose dolphin.

The dolphins have been living offshore. Researchers are trying to determine if the dolphins migrated, and where they were headed when they died.

Water samples also have been taken from the Gulf from Pensacola to St. Joseph Bay. While no evidence of Red Tide toxin has been found, another harmful algae, Pseudo-nitzschia, was found in the water.

A toxin caused by that algae was also found in the dolphins, said Blair Mase, fisheries stranding coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"We're suspecting right now that could be a cause," Mase said. "With all the research going on right now, we're closer to solving the mystery than ever before."

Pseudo-nitzschia produces domoic acid, a biotoxin commonly known as the cause of amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans.

That can be a life-threatening syndrome, with gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms. In 1987, four people died after eating toxic mussels from Prince Edward Island in Canada.

Florida has seen large-scale dolphin deaths before. In 1999, about 100 dolphins died near the Panhandle. Red Tide was suspected then, Mase said.

In 1987, viruses affected dolphins along the Atlantic coast and about 700 dolphin carcasses washed ashore from New Jersey to Florida that year.

None of the dolphins had viral infections, she said. A dolphin that recently washed ashore in Pinellas County had some kind of infection, experts say.

That 418-pound dolphin was discovered near the Don CeSar Hotel in St. Pete Beach last week. Rescuers took it to the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, where it is recovering, Mote said.

Experts say they don't think a wave of dolphin carcasses will wash ashore in Pinellas County because there is no indication of algae blooms.

- Tamara Lush can be reached at 727 893-8612 or at lush@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 2, 2004, 01:20:42]

I sent an email to the Dolphin Encounter company regarding our 4/17 cruise and here is the response I just received.

First of all thank you for your patience these past days.

As you well know it is never our intention to cause our guests, any

inconvenience.

Our veterinarians recommended that we run some precautionary tests. These

tests are time consuming and we have to run a range of tests. Quite simply,

on their advice we had to limit and subsequently cancel visitors to the

facility to run those tests.

The booking schedule for April 2004 are at a stand still until further

notice.

Our animal's health and well-being is our top priority and we will never

compromise on that.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

At the moment, we are waiting for a few lab test results to come back and

the vets to give the ok to resume operations.

We feel that this will happen soon.

Dolphin Encounters remains committed to providing our animals with the

highest levels of animal care.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Regards,

Reservations Department

It looks like the study they released not too long ago was telling the truth, it's stressful on the animals to put them through this.

I have wanted to swim with dolphins since I was a kid. I was so excited to be able to do this on the cruise, I was leaping out of my skin. But after I read the report on just how all this stuff effects the animals, all negatively, I just couldn't bear a part of it.

tinsel57

Funny but when I had posted on this topic a few months back most posters jumped on me about how animals have no feelings and how so many animal lover/activists are "over the top." Hmmm guess animals do have feelings huh?

Stress is a human trait isnt it? (if that in fact has some bearing on whats going on) I hope they get to the botttom of whatever it is that is killing these beautiful animals so they can try to control it - very sad

Enchantment Feb,2002; Monarch Nov,2002; Radiance Nov,2003; Golden Princess Feb 28,2004

I know I may get flamed for saying this, so remember this is my own personal feelings on this subject.

I, for one, would be estactic if all these dolphin encounters would be gone forever. I agree it is most stressful for these beautiful, intelligent, wild sea creatures to be penned up and used day after day for our "entertainment".

How cruel! They need to be in the open oceans with their own kind--not in a pen doing shows for us humans.

........just my opinion.......

"To live on the land...we must learn from the sea"

(26 prior cruises. Nobody cares, so why list them all?)

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mariapd719:

Funny but when I had posted on this topic a few months back most posters jumped on me about how animals have no feelings and how so many animal lover/activists are "over the top." Hmmm guess animals do have feelings huh?

Stress is a human trait isnt it? (if that in fact has some bearing on whats going on) I hope they get to the botttom of whatever it is that is killing these beautiful animals so they can try to control it - very sad <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>One poster said they had heard of "studies", but didn't provide any actual information.

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"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits" Mark Twain

"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's formal night attire, poolside attire, child rearing practices, walk-talkie usage, chair hogging, seat saving, line cutting ..." Mark_K

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Catnip:

I know I may get flamed for saying this, so remember this is my own personal feelings on this subject.

I, for one, would be estactic if all these dolphin encounters would be gone forever. I agree it is most stressful for these beautiful, intelligent, wild sea creatures to be penned up and used day after day for our "entertainment".

How cruel! They need to be in the open oceans with their own kind--not in a pen doing shows for us humans.

........just my opinion.......<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Catnip, you are absolutely right.

Mariner of The Seas 09/04(Royal Hounds)

Days til Valor Vampires Cruise

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There was a scietific report on the internet regarding this in the last month. I didn't keep it but if you are interested I am sure that if you surf around it shouldn't be very difficult to find.

tinsel57

tinsel57,

I looked some up - Not surprisingly, those published by dolphin enounter companies found no problems, and that their dolphins fared better than those in the wild. Those published by animal rights activists found that it was bad for the dolphins.

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"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits" Mark Twain

"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's formal night attire, poolside attire, child rearing practices, walk-talkie usage, chair hogging, seat saving, line cutting ..." Mark_K

Well darn, I wish I could find the one I read, it was from neither, it was a funded scientific research project. It was one of those that when you pull up yahoo it was in the side bar. If I knew I had to keep it to show others I would have!!

tinsel57

tinsel57,

Most research projects are funded and scientific, including those on both sides of most issues.

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"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits" Mark Twain

"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's formal night attire, poolside attire, child rearing practices, walk-talkie usage, chair hogging, seat saving, line cutting ..." Mark_K