Push Pull Swim with Dolphins excursion... ANYONE DONE THIS EXCURSION??

My hubby and I are going on our 2nd cruise with carnival and the third port is Cozumel.... we pre paid for the push, pull, and swim with the dolphins, i am just wondering if anyone else has done it and what they thought? any tips or tricks we need to know?

We have this booked too. Please share if you are "in the know". Thanks cruise experts:)

We have this booked too. Please share if you are "in the know". Thanks cruise experts:)

are you guys going on the carnival magic 03/04/2012? :D

We did this excursion last week and really enjoyed it.

After we arrived at the pier we easily found our guide under one of a number of clearly marked awnings. We signed in, were issued wristbands, and kind of milled about for maybe fifteen to twenty minutes waiting for everyone to arrive. Once everyone was there our guide explained how we were going to be transported to the park and then led us out of the port building to the taxi area.

We all loaded into a number of four person taxis or eight person taxi vans. The road was a straight shot of about ten minutes to the park. Our guide met us all there and explained how we would get back and what times the prepaid taxis for our excursion would be leaving. In our case we had an 0830 excursion and taxis back to the pier were at 1100, 1200, and 1300. Our guide then explained what was going to happen and what we could do in the park after the swim if we wanted to hang around.

We then went to the restrooms/changing areas and put our bags and towels in lockers (you can carry your towels with you if you want but they might get splashed). The lockers are small so you may need two. The keys are on a cord so you can wear them around your neck. After that they take you to a trainer who instructs you in the hand signals you'll use during the swim. They don't expect you to remember them all so don't be afraid to ask later. In most cases they'll just tell you the hand signal again anyway. After that they divide you into groups of roughly a dozen and you go through a short line to get life jackets.

You then move to the dock and are escorted to your assigned area where you meet your dolphin and his or hers trainer. You take off your shoes and leave anything carried on the dock and move onto a platform that's roughly waist deep.

You then get introduced to your dolphin who will do a few tricks while the trainer talks a bit and explains what you'll be doing. You'll do roughly half a dozen different individual interactions with the dolphin, not in any particular order. The trainer will ask at times what you have not yet done so that no one misses out on any interaction. After all the individual interactions the group swims out and the dolphin will swim by and dance with everyone and splash water with it's tail while you splash back.

After that we moved to another area where we spent about ten minutes interacting with a manatee.

After that they take you straight to the photo place at the gift shop so you can view the photos and decide if you just want one or two or a disk with all of them. Warning... The individual pics cost $30 each. They took over sixty of my wife and I and we couldn't choose just a couple. The cost to buy the whole disk is $89 if one guest is on the disk or $119 for two guests. Luckily I had been warned about this ahead of time so I budgeted for it. I figure we may never do it again so why not. They won't let you use you own camera, but they sell waterproof cameras there and will make sure you know they are available and have staff walking around selling them before you head to the water. I didn't catch how much they were.

After that we were on our own for the day. It was right around 1100 and we wanted to do some shopping and get some lunch so we met our guide again who put us in a taxi. At the pier I took our wet stuff back aboard ship and then we headed downtown.

Hope this helps :)

We did this excursion last week and really enjoyed it.

 

After we arrived at the pier we easily found our guide under one of a number of clearly marked awnings. We signed in, were issued wristbands, and kind of milled about for maybe fifteen to twenty minutes waiting for everyone to arrive. Once everyone was there our guide explained how we were going to be transported to the park and then led us out of the port building to the taxi area.

 

We all loaded into a number of four person taxis or eight person taxi vans. The road was a straight shot of about ten minutes to the park. Our guide met us all there and explained how we would get back and what times the prepaid taxis for our excursion would be leaving. In our case we had an 0830 excursion and taxis back to the pier were at 1100, 1200, and 1300. Our guide then explained what was going to happen and what we could do in the park after the swim if we wanted to hang around.

 

We then went to the restrooms/changing areas and put our bags and towels in lockers (you can carry your towels with you if you want but they might get splashed). The lockers are small so you may need two. The keys are on a cord so you can wear them around your neck. After that they take you to a trainer who instructs you in the hand signals you'll use during the swim. They don't expect you to remember them all so don't be afraid to ask later. In most cases they'll just tell you the hand signal again anyway. After that they divide you into groups of roughly a dozen and you go through a short line to get life jackets.

 

You then move to the dock and are escorted to your assigned area where you meet your dolphin and his or hers trainer. You take off your shoes and leave anything carried on the dock and move onto a platform that's roughly waist deep.

 

You then get introduced to your dolphin who will do a few tricks while the trainer talks a bit and explains what you'll be doing. You'll do roughly half a dozen different individual interactions with the dolphin, not in any particular order. The trainer will ask at times what you have not yet done so that no one misses out on any interaction. After all the individual interactions the group swims out and the dolphin will swim by and dance with everyone and splash water with it's tail while you splash back.

 

After that we moved to another area where we spent about ten minutes interacting with a manatee.

 

After that they take you straight to the photo place at the gift shop so you can view the photos and decide if you just want one or two or a disk with all of them. Warning... The individual pics cost $30 each. They took over sixty of my wife and I and we couldn't choose just a couple. The cost to buy the whole disk is $89 if one guest is on the disk or $119 for two guests. Luckily I had been warned about this ahead of time so I budgeted for it. I figure we may never do it again so why not. They won't let you use you own camera, but they sell waterproof cameras there and will make sure you know they are available and have staff walking around selling them before you head to the water. I didn't catch how much they were.

 

After that we were on our own for the day. It was right around 1100 and we wanted to do some shopping and get some lunch so we met our guide again who put us in a taxi. At the pier I took our wet stuff back aboard ship and then we headed downtown.

 

Hope this helps :)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING TIME TO SHARE THIS!! I really appreciate it so much, I am nervous but so excited... and your awesome for taking time... I will definitely budget for the disc...

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING TIME TO SHARE THIS!! I really appreciate it so much, I am nervous but so excited... and your awesome for taking time... I will definitely budget for the disc...

You're welcome :)

One of my pet peeves is when I see someone asking for details about an excursion and someone replies with a vague answer that doesn't really answer the question. I'm all about the details ;)

Have a great cruise!

You're welcome :)

 

One of my pet peeves is when I see someone asking for details about an excursion and someone replies with a vague answer that doesn't really answer the question. I'm all about the details ;)

 

Have a great cruise!

WELL, I really appreciate it... and I told hubby about the cost of the pics... he said there is no way we are paying that much... however, it now gives him time to get use to the idea :))

WELL, I really appreciate it... and I told hubby about the cost of the pics... he said there is no way we are paying that much... however, it now gives him time to get use to the idea :))

Keep in mind that you can always ask how much the waterproof cameras are and just trade off when you are in the water. One take pictures while the other is with the dolphin. Speaking of water, it was actually a bit cold at first but felt great after a few seconds.

Keep in mind that you can always ask how much the waterproof cameras are and just trade off when you are in the water. One take pictures while the other is with the dolphin. Speaking of water, it was actually a bit cold at first but felt great after a few seconds.

yea, I thought of that, but I bet the pics they take are totally awesome,. and it isn't like this is something we would do all the time, ya know?

Thank you for sharing. We are going in two weeks and it's my 13 yr old daughter and I! I'm budgeting to buy the pics because we will never do this again at her age and I want to remember it! Thanks for sharing!

My hubby and I are going on our 2nd cruise with carnival and the third port is Cozumel.... we pre paid for the push, pull, and swim with the dolphins, i am just wondering if anyone else has done it and what they thought? any tips or tricks we need to know?

Not to hijack this post but I noticed you are from Collinsville, OK-we lived there and in Tulsa for over 15 years. Got back for a visit last year and were amazed at how much downtown C'ville had grown!

WELL, I really appreciate it... and I told hubby about the cost of the pics... he said there is no way we are paying that much... however, it now gives him time to get use to the idea :))

Also, on the Carnival site in reviews of this excursion, several people mention that you can negotiate the prices. No specific examples of $$$ were given, but just know that (apparently) the photo CD price is negotiable.

We plan to do this in October. :)

Also, on the Carnival site in reviews of this excursion, several people mention that you can negotiate the prices. No specific examples of $$$ were given, but just know that (apparently) the photo CD price is negotiable.

 

We plan to do this in October. :)

Wish I had known it was negotiable. The prices were posted on a sign by the computers where you view the pics and the staff there really give you the impression that they are carved in stone. I would have been happy even to get $20 off. I might have bought a T-shirt or two :D

I just did this on our January cruise. I booked it independently through Chankanaab web site and saved quite a bit of money. FYI don't tell them you are with Carnival because they have an exclusive contract with them and tell you that you have to book through the ship excursions. I had read on several postings beforehand that we were not allowed to bring cameras or to have anybody watching us have cameras, but when we got there they said sure, we could take our waterproof camera with us as long as it was not on us while we were actually swimming with the dolphins because it could scratch them. My friend and I switched off the camera between the two of us and each took each other's pictures when it was our turn to swim with or kiss the dolphins. Our pictures came out FANTASTIC! Also her husband was sitting on the dock and used his telephoto lens to take actual videos of us and some still pictures also. We got many beautiful shots.

I actually had a quick question about this excursion. I will be on the Imagination in May and we are stopping in Cozumel. My friend really wants to do this excursion but I am extremely scared of fish (as in begin to hyperventilate if they come anywhere near me). Is there a way to pay for a taxi to the park and be an observer? Do you need to pay for admission to the park? I don't have a problem going and watching (and paying a small fee to get into the park if necessary) but I do not want to pay a lot of money for an excursion that I know I won't be able to really participate in. Thanks!

I actually had a quick question about this excursion. I will be on the Imagination in May and we are stopping in Cozumel. My friend really wants to do this excursion but I am extremely scared of fish (as in begin to hyperventilate if they come anywhere near me). Is there a way to pay for a taxi to the park and be an observer? Do you need to pay for admission to the park? I don't have a problem going and watching (and paying a small fee to get into the park if necessary) but I do not want to pay a lot of money for an excursion that I know I won't be able to really participate in. Thanks!

I think a taxi to the park was around $10 each way and admission to the park was $21 for adults and $14 for children

Hi there! My SIL and I did the dolphin swim and LOVED it! I think that there are more than one different places to do it though...ours was at Dolphinarius and it was lovely.

Our experience was very much the same as the previous poster (LOVED the details!!) with the exception of the manatee part.

We were not allowed to bring our own cameras but there was a viewing area that spectators could watch from (and they could take pictures from there so if they had a good zoom they may get a few decent shots).

We bought bought the disc of photos and DVD of the part where they pulled us across the water (Oh MY!! SO muchfun!!) thinking that this is likely the only time we will ever do it.

We didn't pay the posted price though. We hemmed and hawed and the price kept getting lower :p

Quigonator - we do not sail on NCL until October. I just booked on the Chankanaab web site and got a very good early booking price plus online discount. Just find out which ships are in port the same day as you and use that cruise line (I used Mariner of the Seas). They will not sell to you online if they know you are on Carnival. They do not check when you arrive. As far as ziplining, on our last Glory sailing, we were routed out of Belize to Costa Maya because of "port congestion" and we totally missed Roatan due to high winds. A very disappointing cruise! On previous cruises we did ziplining in Roatan and it was fantastic. Never done it in Belize - did the cave tubing there.

Hi, we are wanting to do the Dolphin Swim in Cozumel at Chankanaab Park but would like to use the discount. How did you book it online through the park without them finding out your on Carnival? Also, was it easy to get transportation there from the port and was it expensive? I also noticed "Cozumel insider" which I found online offers the same price discount but I have never heard of them and not sure if is safe to book through them. Have you ever heard of that site or company? Sorry so many questions but we are first time cruisers and hate to get caught and end up without a dolphin swim.

i booked yesterday for August. We put Marriott in for a hotel name. We are in port 10-5 and booked 1240 timeslot . You must get there half hour b4. It takes 1 hr and 40 minutes, for our interactive choice which with discount was $252.80 for 4 people. It includes kiss and fin shake.

Thanks for your reply. Did you book directly through Chankanaab Park online directly or through Cozumel Insider online

I just booked directly with Chankanaab (or dolphin discovery.com is the same thing) a few days ago and got 25% off. It made the dolphin swim adventure about $75. They also have a 15% off Paypal discount.....but this wasn't there when I booked.....that could be quite a savings. Chankanaab is awesome...you'll love it. A taxi ride will cost you about $15 one way for 1-4 people....it's less if you have a bigger group. We are on the Disney Fantasy in 40 or so days. I just googled the name of a hotel in Cozumel and put that name down. No problems.

Kathy

Thanks BugsMom for the information. I wanted to check back with you about the paypal discount because I am not seeing it unless it ended already...

Enjoy your Disney cruise! I have heard its a fabulous cruise.

Rebecca

If you can, do the Royal Swim. That is the best because you get to have the dolphins push you by the feet and you are standing straight up in the air!! I didn't think it was possible looking at the pictures of it, but when you do it, it is really easy. We got some awesome pictures. They do let you bring your waterproof cameras in, even though they say you can't. They don't check for any proof of what ship you are on or what hotel when you check in at the desk, they just verbally ask you. Don't worry, you'll have a great time!

Thank you Brandybit for all the information. This was very helpful. I will make sure I do this and not worry so much. :)