Cozumel dolphin experiences vs. Grand Cayman??

I will be taking my daughter on her first cruise next March on RCL. I know she would really like to experience dolphins. Can anyone comment on one port over the other? Are they similar facilities?

Cozumel and Grand Cayman will be our only ports.

I will be taking my daughter on her first cruise next March on RCL. I know she would really like to experience dolphins. Can anyone comment on one port over the other? Are they similar facilities?

 

Cozumel and Grand Cayman will be our only ports.

There are two different companies that offer dolphin experiences in Cozumel, Dolphinaris and Dolphin Discovery. Dolphinaris has a slightly more pool like setting and then a little protected/stocked snorkel area. My 8 yr old really enjoyed it. Dolphin Discovery has docks in the ocean itself. Per reviews, I've heard it can be a little tougher for little kids. When I was deciding between Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Cozumel was a little cheaper.

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Do the dolphins in Cozumel and in GC take her to Stingray city. If you do the dolphins at Chankanaab you can spend the rest of the day enjoying the park, their beach, watching the sea lion show, snorkeling, etc.

In GC we've used Moby Dick tours to Stingray City a couple of times and were very pleased - smaller boat, not crowded, kid sized gear, and great service from CAPT Mark.

Have a great cruise! :cool:

There are two different companies that offer dolphin experiences in Cozumel, Dolphinaris and Dolphin Discovery. Dolphinaris has a slightly more pool like setting and then a little protected/stocked snorkel area. My 8 yr old really enjoyed it. Dolphin Discovery has docks in the ocean itself. Per reviews, I've heard it can be a little tougher for little kids. When I was deciding between Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Cozumel was a little cheaper.

 

 

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So did you snorkel with the dolphins in the protected area? We recently snorkeled with them in Roatan and it was amazing!!

I will more than likely book through the cruise line just because its me and my daughter and I feel more comfortable with that. We are on RCL and I believe their excursion is to Dolphinaris.

Do the dolphins in Cozumel and in GC take her to Stingray city. If you do the dolphins at Chankanaab you can spend the rest of the day enjoying the park, their beach, watching the sea lion show, snorkeling, etc.

 

In GC we've used Moby Dick tours to Stingray City a couple of times and were very pleased - smaller boat, not crowded, kid sized gear, and great service from CAPT Mark.

 

Have a great cruise! :cool:

I would love to do the stingrays but my daughter is not a fan! The last time we were in GC it was really windy and our excursion was canceled. I think we are doing the turtle farm in GC

So did you snorkel with the dolphins in the protected area? We recently snorkeled with them in Roatan and it was amazing!!

 

I will more than likely book through the cruise line just because its me and my daughter and I feel more comfortable with that. We are on RCL and I believe their excursion is to Dolphinaris.

The dolphins are in their own area where you can only swim with them with the trainer. The snorkel area was separate, but a great way to introduce snorkeling to a child. She will never see that many fish in one place again.

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The GC dolphin encounter was good, but pretty much all in deep water. In our case the stingray area was closed by the government that day so we got half off our tour. Dolphin Discovery does a good job in Cozumel at Chankanaab, and you can use the pool afterwards. Not much of a beach, but snorkeling is pretty good unless the waves are high.

Given a choice (and we are doing this next cruise), I would do Dolphin Royal Swim in Chankanaab and a snorkel/stingray tour in Grand Cayman.

We were just at Dolphinaris. We did the dolphin encounter, which we really enjoyed. The water is clear but cold, the trainer was great. But I also did the snorkeling there and got stung by something, so wear water shoes if you snorkel in the area. I didn't have flippers on either.