Dolphin Experience- Long and Honest

This is posted in the Ports of Call area as well, but it was booked through Princess and they have been less than helpful with the issues that I have raised. They have even gone so far to say that the Dolphin Fantasea's needs to make a profit and that I do not know how to run a business..........that's why it's here

>>Buyer beware with this excursion.

The Dolphin experience in Antigua was no more than an exercise is trying to get the passenger to spend more money. With a charge of $160.00 per peson for this trip it was very apparent to me that the entire experience of swimming with the dolphins is no more than that.

We arrived at the location of the excursion at approximately 9:45am. We were then given a normal overview of the entire opeation, shown a place where our carry-ables were to be stored and then ushered out into a back area that contained several other activities that were not part of the advertised experience. I have had experience as an Operations Manager with Space Camp in California, built it from scratch and know how a fee-based program is to be presented in order to maximixe time and keep customers interacting with expectations that are based solely on advertising.

There were several of these diversionary activities that include wading in a stingray pool, meeting a macaw parrot, and a tree-sloth. Please don't get me wrong, I did not expect to have the entire time "swimming with the dolphins", advertised words not mine. But I do have an issue of how these other activities were presented....I've never met a tree-sloth, or pet a nurse shark so 'm glad I got to do that. These diversionary activities were set up as photo/video opps. so that they could have another opp. to charge you for photos and video. The presentation of these activities were NOT educational and consisted of staff making sure that each person had been photographed with the various animals with most of the time spent positioning each person(s) to "capture the experience" again advertised words, not mine. When your photo had been taken you were left to stand and wait until the other participants photos were taken, so alot of standing around and no presentation about how, why, what. I even asked a question regarding what a tree sloth eats, I said they must be herbivores, and the woman did not know what that meant, remarking that she "thought" they ate meat but did not know what type. Sorry, but you take care of it and you don't know what it eats??? I could not have been the first person to query that question......

After the activities with the other animals we were brought into the main house and shown a video about basic dolphin information, mostly just a liabitlity video sprinkled with just enough basic info. to keep you from going to sleep. Then we were shown the lifejackets and how to put them on, told that we were NOT allowed to take any form of camera with us in or around the water. This is one reason why I bought an underwater camera, but I understand why they say it because I'm sure someone has dropped one in the lagoon and has not had a positive effect on the animals. After the initial reaction to the let down of not being able to take my own pictures I decided that while my wife was in the water what would stop me from standing outside, on shore, and snapping a few pics of my wife? .......The fact that you had to walk clear around the lagoon to get to the area where your "experience" would take place, about 100-200 yards total, kind of hard to use a fix-focused lens to get any worth-while pictures. Once we walked the distance over it became VERY apparent why they did not want any camera's around, as we were broken up into groups of ten, a small armada of camera and video personnel had arrived and began the tedious positioning, yet again, of each person(s) to capture the "experience". Each process of interacting with the dolphins was designed SOLELY to take a picture or video of the event, since once the picture/video was snapped/taken you were left to yourself in the water with no other information on what you were seeing or why it was being done. We were also lined up in a way that only aided the process of video/photography and not maximizing any time you had in the water with the animals. There was one person who had a video camera and was not taking part in the actual swim itself, so he was able to video his wife from the shore and hopefully got a good shot. This only happened after several loud arguements with the staff since they realized that they were losing an oppourtunity to sell a video to that one customer. I spoke with him afterwards and he shared the same feeling s on how this was "presented" and more importantly advertised.

The total time we spent in the water with the animals amounted to about 20 minutes or so. Most of which was spent positioning the individuals of the group to "get the shot". I have been an ocean person for all of my 34 years and have a great respect for the ocean and it's inhabitants, I was a litttle apprehensive about this excursion to begin with since I really do not agree with exploitation of animals for fun and profit. I was assured MANY times that this was not the case with this operation. I surf regularly and have had a more intimate encounter with dolphins on my own surfboard then this experience....plus I did not have to pay $320 for two people to do it. I did it because my wife, who is not an ocean person, REALLY wanted this one thing out of all of the trips offered.

I have never felt more taken advantage of from a standpoint of what was advertised and what was presented. I trade stocks for a living and I see blatant manipulation every minute of every day.....suffice to say that this "experience" is a great example of capitalism for the unaware, and beleive me I am aware, I make my living on the premise of it.

Dealing with Princess has also been an act of utter frustration. I immediatley went to the excursion office to register a complaint. Of course I was given the obigatory form to fill out which is when I realized the game that is played here. The "Purser" tried several times to divert attention from the issues I was raising and even tried to suggest that I did not know how to run a business since obviously they had to (Dolphin Experience) make a profit. It was a smoke and mirrors approach to dealing with any complaints, the form does not even use the word complaint....they are issues, LOL! I was given a form letter that stated they would get back to me on the last day of the cruise, again making sure that the issue was dealt with AFTER I was off the ship and the next customers were being tended to. Prior Princess cruisers will understand it when I say I did not have an "excellent" experience......

I run a successful business that makes a serious profit...but I do not do it at the expense of ripping off my clients. IF I practiced the same principles of business that the Dolphin Experience did then I would have no customers and I would be well on my way to the poor house. They are a captive audience business, if you don't want to do it you don't have to. I do not have that luxury in my business.......

This is, of course, my opinion and I am sharing MY "experience". It is but one opinion and can be taken for what it's worth. It all depends on expectations and I pride myself in not setting mine too high with anything I do, you are less likely to be let down when you do. Mine were really not that high to begin with but I feel completely ripped-off and I am now the problem, from Princess' standpoint , than the actual tour operator and the concerns that I have raised with them. I cannot be the only one......

Thanks for providing a well-written and detailed description of the complaints. I think we've all been taken at some time or another by tourist-trap rip-offs.

On my very first cruise (3 days on Carnival Ecstasy in 1994) we had a swimming with the dolphins excursion and it was totally the opposite. We spent our entire time in the water. Cameras were allowed if they were on straps around your neck. There were several dolphins and we were divided into smaller groups with a "handler" for each group. The personnel were so knowledgeable and it was nothing short of incredible. It is my single biggest memory from the cruise. On top of that, it was not expensive.

Looks like Princess has a double problem - selecting the excursion company and handling the complaint.

wow that was some revue. has anyone done this at the dolphine encounter on morrea?

Thank you very much for your very informative review. I appreciate that you have presented a very thoughtful and fair presentation. Sorry that Princess failed you but your posting here will do more to "fix" this situation than one complaint (though valid) to the tour office.

Thanks again for taking your time to share your experience.

Happy Sails to you! :p

Hello, Excellent,

Thank you for the well-thought-out report. Did you, or will you, ask Princess How Long they have had this particular Vendor? I would also copy the Vendor and ask for a reply from them as well. It Was a lot of money for little value and a poor experience. :mad:

In Moorea, a small Group of us (in September) are planning on doing the Dolphin Cruise with a specialist who takes us into the lagoon where the dolphins swim freely and perform. This guide does University Research and tracks these dolphins. :p

The one that is presented at the hotel - Dolphin Encounter, referred to by Regent - sounds more like what you did.

I know that Princess strives to give pax what they want to have a good time and it is disappointing when it is Not Good. I hope that your efforts resolve to improve or delete this Shorex. :o

We went on the same excursion with Celebrity in January of this year and it was a fantastic experience. We were told ahead of time that cameras could only be used outside of the lagoon. We were also given at least 40 minutes in the water with the dolphins....their photographers were certainly on hand to take pics of everyone with the dolphins but that was only for like the last 5 minutes when we were asked to pose with the dolphins. In fact, since I am a poor photographer, I was thrilled to be able to purchase a few decent shots. Although expensive, they are the first pics we show when talking about our cruise....

I am sorry you had a miserable time.

We swam with the dolphins in Nassau and it was great. Princess needs to change suppliers! That really sounds like a ripe off, I would have been furious!

Therese

We swam with the dolphins in Cozumel and it was excellent.... We watched a video for about 15 mins, which did explain about what you were going to do and safety issues. We were in the water being pulled around by the dolphins, doing foot push, having them jump out of the water above our heads. Petting them for about 5 mins., total time in the water was 40 mins. It was and excellent time.... Yes there was a lot of photo activity with them but it did not interfer with the program. I am sorry to hear about your experience but I do know not to book with if I were going to Antigua but if you get to Cozumel try it again.

Thanks for all the info...

Debi

Thanks for your report on this excursion. This is something that I want to do but always hesitate because of the issue of exploitation of the dolphins.

Did you feel in any way that this was an issue.

I do hope you get some satisfaction from Princess, but if not, you have certainly let us know not to do this excursion through Princess.

Was asked If I felt the issue of exploitation was relevant, I most certainly did after this excursion was finished. The other experiences that were described here were very far from what I encountered. It was very obvious to me what the overall slant was.....re-selling pics and video. I can't recall one moment when the "video/photo" crew were not jockeying for position to "get the shot". It's one thing to snap a few candids while you our enjoying your time in the water, but ther ENTIRE time was spent positioning people for said shots. When you were not having your all so brief encounter with the animal, you were left to the side and reminded not to interfere with the person being photographed. Albeit in a subtle way it pretty obvious why they had the group constantly moving back.

As far as education goes, I learned absolutely nothing new, although I had quite a bit of knowledge regarding these animals in the first place. THey really did not explain anything short of when they blow on the whistle the animal knows it's feeding time. Did not even use the word echolation, which is how they communicate. Pretty basic stuff IMO.

Go to the Antigua Sun newspaper (search on Google) and then do a sub-search on Dolphins, you will find some very interesting views on this topic of exploitation of animals for fun and profit. The Tourism minister is basically saying that although it is a bit inhumane, every other island is doing it so we have to........What a world we live in. He also states that it is done in the context of education, in this particular instance there was little or no educational value, when there was it seemed rushed and offered only if a question was posed.

I have sent a three page letter to Princess with these issues and how they initially treated my complaint. I hesitate to go back to the tour operator because I "know" what there response will be, "we're sorry you feel that way". Better to put pressure on an entity that I have already spent multiple thousands of dollars with and pressure them to at least put some on them. They do contract with them and I'm sure they don't pay anything close to the price we were charged, it's all based on volume and that was very obvious in this situation.

On a last note to the above post...I feel just as exploited as the animals appeared to be with this operation.

Complaining to Princess about a company that takes every opportunity to take photos and make money...wait a minute! Isn't that what Princess does? Of course Princess isn't going to take the "photo" complaint seriously...then they'd have to take a good look at themselves.

I would prefer candid shots, especially in a setting such as the Dolphin Encounter/Experience. They ought to just let people who are not interesting in all the hoopla pass through. The problem is, this excursion has become the most popular. Most people want a good photo of themselves with the dolphin. This process ensures that. You know, sometimes after these types of photos are taken, I've actually seen people lose interest in the whole activity. For some people, the whole experience is getting the photo to be able to show it to others and once the photo is taken they are no longer interested. I find that particularly sad.

For some people, the whole experience is getting the photo to be able to show it to others and once the photo is taken they are no longer interested. I find that particularly sad.

It's funny how people do something just to "show" rather than to live the experience :)

YOu fail to understand the scope of the complaint. It's not that I am complaining that they want to take pictures and video, that is an essential part of that type of buisness. My complaint is that the ENTIRE "experience" is centered around that main function. There was NO emphasis in the interaction with the animals, no educational material or anecdotes, no maximization of your interaction with them. The ONLY thing that was maximized was the video/photo opportunities. I suggest you re-read the post.

There are others who have responded and have painted a very different picture with there experiences: more time in the water, more of an 'experience, they were also aware of the photos/video but they were not forced down your throat like this operation did. They have been vastly different than mine. As I stated this is my opinion and it reflects the goings-0n at that particular location at that particular time.

I also suggest you get a job with the shore excursion office with Princess as this is exactly the same type of "argument" they used with me. Have to make a profit, blah, blah, blah.

RE-READ IT

Your review is very good. It is always good to have reviews from other people then we won't make the same mistake. We will be going on Coral Princess from FLL to S.F. in April of next year. My daughter really wants to swim with Dolphins does anyone know if the is a web site that I can contact either in Aruba or Acapolco which is two of the ports we will be stopping at, that has this or do I have to go through the ship. Any information I can get will be really helpfull. Thank you.

Delores

I have NOT been on a dolphin excursion so can't relate here. However, I only have an "issue" on one occasion and the Excursion office took the complaint with grace. And if I remember correctly I observed some that were not satisfied with an excursion and they were given full credit for the cost of the excursion.

Did anybody else remember this being the case?

These were on European cruises. Is there a difference? Just wondering.

Flyer

THey, shore excursion office, acted as if this had been an issue with other passengers before. I realize I have to go through the "channels" but they have made it very difficult to get anything done. My letter to them has not even been 'logged' into the passenger relations data-base, they've had it for three days. I know I have to be patient but Princess is betting that my patience will give up and not pursue, sorry.....

I have asked for a full refund for this excursion, whether I get it is another thing but I will make sure that the squeaky wheel gets attention, it always does.

This won't help you but may help some people in the future. I was recently on an Alaskan cruise and had read some negative feedback on "dog sledding on wheels exxcursion" in Skagway from the boards. I knew this $99 trip (new to Princess this year) was not going to be the same as the $400 trip and was worried if it was not worth the $99. The complaints on the board dealt with the time on the dog sled (someone said just a few minutes).

I went down to the shore excursion desk and asked about it. Unfortunately, neither had been on the excursion (still early in the season and a new excursion). The tour desk person picked up a notebook and read a very accurate account of my tour (different then the tour book description):

1. Van will pick up the passengers and transport them approx 30 minutes to Dyea (site of tour).

2. The 12 passengers will split up into 2 groups of 6 people. Each group will spend 45 minutes playing with the dogs, looking at sled equipment, asking questions, etc. . The other 45 minutes will be spent on the dog sled and with the dog musher.

3. Van will transport passengers back to cruise ship terminal.

---------

I was impressed that they let me know how long it would take to get to the tour and how long we would spend with the dogs (both playing and on sled). Maybe if you are unsure of a tour in the future, you can ask for this description book.

Oh my goodness, you paid 160 dollars per person to swim with a dolphin. NEVER in a milion years could I see wasting that much money on any dolphin encounter.

That is 320 American which is about 420 -430 Canadian ( I'm Candadian) that is half a cruise fare almost!!!Those dolphins would have to be wearing tuxes, dancing, singing and serving complimentry rum punch for me to blow that kind of dough!!

I guess it the excursion had been what you wanted it might have been worth it to you, and I do think that Princess should smarten the heck up and treat complaints with more respect!!!!

That all being said and done , we never book excursions with the cruiselines, they are ALWAYS more exspensive than doing it on your own, and we have never missed the ship ( seems to be a prevailing fear among those who advocate ship tours)

I have asked for a full refund for this excursion, whether I get it is another thing but I will make sure that the squeaky wheel gets attention, it always does.

My first - and only - "Dolphin experience" was at Xel-Ha, back in 1999. We paid $55.00 each for a 30-minute very programmed "experience". Put on life jacket. Float in a line. Dolphins jump over you and swim under you. Stand here, and hold out your arms, and Dolphin will slide his head into your arms for the photo shoot. Float in a circle, and Dolphins will weave in and out, and you're lucky if you can actually touch one. Turned me totally off. In Jan. of 1997, I got to spend a week at a biological station (Marenco - Osa Peninsula) in Costa Rica, and we took a boat out to see dolphins behaving naturally, and were able to interact with them. Far more meaningful than the Xel-Ha "dolphin experience"! I'm not in favor of exploitation of any kind, but I think that the "Dolphin encounters" are some of the worst. Sting Rays and sharks are "programmed" to feed out-of-hand (think Pavlov's dogs), but are usually not captured and caged. Just an IMO thing.

Oh my goodness, you paid 160 dollars per person to swim with a dolphin. NEVER in a milion years could I see wasting that much money on any dolphin encounter.

YOU BET I PAID 160.00 PP FOR THIS EXCURSION. BEING A DIVEMASTER AND LOVING THE SEA AS WE DO IT WAS A "ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE" AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN IN A "HEARTBEAT"....:)

In Cozumel they were fantastic with the Dolphins, very protective of their enviroment and they watched very carefully how we (our group) treated the dolphins.

I really enjoyed the excursion and I am very excited because I will be getting a "SECOND LIFETIME EXPERIENCE" this November. This time I will be able to not only enjoy the dolphins again I will be their when my sister will be able to enjoy them. So I will have the best of both worlds:) :)

Debi

My friend was a dolphin trainer on a small island in Honduras. When she first started they had small groups of ususally 3 people per trainer where they could spend time with the dolphin. The had a shore encounter where she explained some of the facts about the dolphins, how they communicate, reproduce, care for their young etc etc etc. All the while she is doing this she has one of the dolphins there allowing each person to touch the dolphin. They love to swim up and feel human skin. (I don't even remember if they had a professional photographer -- I am sure they did) Our cameras were allowed and we got some great pictures. After that was the swim, where you were given a mask and snorkle and swam with the dolphins.

Most of the dolphins were born in captivity and could not survey in the wild. In fact durning the hurricane some got out and were found dead within in a few weeks.

The excursion changed when it became more and more popular and her normal groups became between 12-20 people. The company would not put a cap on the cruise passengers doing the encounter. With this many passengers, she would have problems with things such as kids putting their fingers in the dolphins blow hole (don't know all the science words), and other things with mistreating the dolphins. She finally had enough and quit her dream job, it just depressed her too much.

I feel so blessed that I was able to spend time with the dolphins, it was an incredible expierence. The first time was my 25th birthday and I remember being so amazed I was brought to tears. That expierence would have been worth a few hundred dollars. The one excellent had wouldn't be worth 20 dollars to me.

Christy

I realize the credit angle, but it is a charge to the ship board account which is part of a larger charge. My total charge was 1124.xx, almost 1/3 of it was for the Dolphin experience. This is why I'm so frustrated, so much money for so little delivery. Also find it really funny how the meta-search function on this site keeps putting up Dolphin encounter ads at the top of the page.

I am going to copy the tour operator on the letter since I already really know what they're response will be "Sorry you feel that way", typical HR response.

I will have satisfaction!! You will all be kept abreast of it, lest anyone else here be felled by this particular operation.

E