beagledog11

After much research trying to decide between the 2, we decided on Chankanaab even though it was a bit more expensive. We were very torn from the start because we wanted to swim with the dolphins, but have also heard a lot of the awful stuff that goes on "behind the scenes". My 16 year old son had watched the cove and we were really debating if we wanted to support this industry. I did a lot of research and this is what I found. Dolphin Discovery at Chakanaab has a breeding conservation program and all of their dolphins have been born under human care. They do not support the drives and slaughters where many of the captive dolphins come from. Apparently Dolphinaris cannot make this same claim. To me, animals born in captivity that are not used to roaming the open seas is a lot more humane than dolphins ripped out of the ocean and put in swimming pools. That is another difference. Chakannab dolphins are kept in sea pens, so they are still in the ocean, but confined to a blocked off area. Dolphinaris keeps their dolphins in large swimming pools. Overall we found Chakanaab to be more in line with the way we feel about this industry, so it was worth a little extra money. They are having a 30% off special, so it wasn't a large difference. We have a group of 4, myself and 3 sons who are 16, 14 and 3. I believe the quote from Dolphinaris was $240 and I just booked today at dolphin discovery at chakanaab for $290. It was a $50 difference, but I have heard that you can usually work out a better deal for your pics at chakannab if you plan to buy them, plus you have entertainment for the day because you get entrance to the park and I have heard that the snorkeling is great. Just a tip, if you are on Carnival, don't tell them. They have a contract with Carnival so that Carnival can hike up the price and sell you their shore excursion. If you tell them, they have to tell you to go through your ship. Made that mistake with first rep. Didn't tell the second one and booked no problem.

I have done extensive research on this since my children and I will be leaving in a few days and my husband is staying home. First let me say that many of the AT&T reps do not know their own policies or packages. Many will give you the wrong answer. Before our cruise last year, I went in to an AT&T store to handle it in person. They assured me that if I added this certain plan, that I could text from the ship and would have 50 texts for $10. On the way to the ship, I called AT&T cust service about something else, and in the course of conversation, the rep brought up the recent package I added. When I explained the reason, she told me that what was added would not cover me on the ship, but that she would fix it and add the right package. After an hour on the phone, she assured me it was fixed. When I received my bill, I had been charged for each text. I called again, and was told that they don't have a partnership with carnival, only celebrity, royal, and a few others. When I explained that the previous rep didn't even ask what cruise line I was on and had assured me that it would work, they took off the charges. So, this year, I did more research. I went to a different AT&T store and that rep told me that there are no packages to cover you on a Carnival cruise ship. You can add a plan for in port, but nothing on the ship. He said that each text will cost .50 cents, sending or receiving. I came home and did research on the site and found that he was half right. There are no packages for on the ship, and sending will cost .50 cents, but receiving texts is on whatever domestic plan you have, so if that is unlimited, you will receive texts for free. What I finally arrived at to stay in touch is this: I purchased a Telestial Passport sim card for $19.99. This does me no good on the ship, but in the ports, I can receive international calls for free. I added the international call plan to my husband's AT&T phone for $5, so it will cost him .01 a minute to call the international # I will have with the sim. So during port days, he will call me, and it will cost us almost nothing. While on the ship, I will have my AT&T sim in with all data turned off. I will text occasionally to check in at .50 cents each, and he can text me back for free. Hope my long winded explanation helps

Well I am a lifelong bartender and can tell you if I needed to make 600 pina coladas in a 8 hour shift,thats over 1 drink per minute non stop to make $225 for the day I would not be working at that bar/restaurant for very long!!!!Thank god most people still at least give a buck a drink

Really? That breaks down to $28 an hour on top of the small amount that the cruise ship pays them. I would say that $30+ an hour for someone from a country where most people make a few dollars a day is a pretty good wage, especially when room and board is covered too. There are probably quite a few unemployed people in the US that would think that is pretty good pay too.