Very extensive 9/11 Spirit Review

[theampres]

Wonderful review. Best CC review & pictures ever (sorry Nathan). NCL, and all of the excursion people should pay you a commission for all of the people rushing to book this cruise after reading your review ! We love the Spirit (yours and NCL's). LOL

 

and add: Canon, too, should be paying you a commission!! sounds like at least a few people have bought or are considering buying the D10 just by reading your review & seeing your great photos - and now make that 1 more! had been wanting to buy a good point & shoot, but didn't know which one to buy. so, not only lots of good info. about the cruise and ports, now I know which camera to get! -just need to find best place to buy online - any recommendations, anyone? that's where I'm off to next.. to find it online. we're on Spirit, Dec. 4 sailing -only 2 more weeks!

 

thanks, mitsugirl, for the informative review and delightful read!

Edited November 19, 2011 by theampres
add

[theampres]

is the lagoon pictured in bottom photo (your post #150) INSIDE Chankanab Reserve, i.e., do you have to pay admission to get to it? think the Reserve is fairly close to cruisehip port - is that correct? (like just a few miles/short taxi ride there?) can you comment further on the reserve, what else to see/do there, besides dolphin encounter?

 

thank you!

[mitsugirly]

Perfect review for us to be excited to be there in few days. Was confused between this and Cozumel Palace All-Inclusive Resort Day Pass which also seems to have a decent shore snorkeling beach.

 

Thanks and we are hoping to go back again next year we loved it so much.

 

Wonderful review. Best CC review & pictures ever (sorry Nathan). NCL, and all of the excursion people should pay you a commission for all of the people rushing to book this cruise after reading your review ! We love the Spirit (yours and NCL's). LOL

 

and add: Canon, too, should be paying you a commission!! sounds like at least a few people have bought or are considering buying the D10 just by reading your review & seeing your great photos - and now make that 1 more! had been wanting to buy a good point & shoot, but didn't know which one to buy. so, not only lots of good info. about the cruise and ports, now I know which camera to get! -just need to find best place to buy online - any recommendations, anyone? that's where I'm off to next.. to find it online. we're on Spirit, Dec. 4 sailing -only 2 more weeks!

 

thanks, mitsugirl, for the informative review and delightful read!

 

Look on ebay or Amazon. I know when I first bought my Canon, I got it for around $399. I love the camera so much that I'm probably going to buy another one for the hubby to use when we are on vacation. We are constantly fighting over who gets it while we snorkel LOL and then when on regular trips, I always have it and never get a chance to get in many pictures. LOL :) I did look it up the other day and found some around $225-$250, but I can't remember where I was on the internet.

 

is the lagoon pictured in bottom photo (your post #150) INSIDE Chankanab Reserve, i.e., do you have to pay admission to get to it? think the Reserve is fairly close to cruisehip port - is that correct? (like just a few miles/short taxi ride there?) can you comment further on the reserve, what else to see/do there, besides dolphin encounter?

 

thank you!

 

The lagoon is inside Chankanaab and located right behind the beach where you snorkel. There is the snorkeling part, the beach and behind the chairs is the lagoon. It's beautiful and Iguanas all over the place walking around and sunning.

 

Yes the admission is $21 I believe, but you can get discount tickets online. They have the snorkeling area and HUGE beach, water fountains you can get in, there suppose to be a pool there (the pictures looked nice), but we were so busy snorkeling, we didn't use the pool, there's the lagoon, there's another smaller beach area with a sandy beach entrance (instead of the steps to go in where the snorkeling is). The swim with the dolphins or manatees. They have sea lion and maybe dolphin shows that are free to watch (just not sure about the dolphin show, but was thinking someone mentioned it before). Of course shops and restaurants.

 

It's pretty close to the port (IMO). It took us less than 1/2 hour to get there and return and they even had part of the town shut down (streets) because of their holiday and there was no problem with traffic or anything.

[HeatherLauren]

COZUMEL, MEXICO

 

We decided to do the Dolphin Encounter at Chankanaab (because of our little one) but also knew that we wanted to do some snorkeling and had heard that the snorkeling here was AWESOME.

 

I’ll start this review with the Chankanaab portion first, because that is what we did first. The Dolphin Encounter price included admission to Chankanaab, so we didn’t have to pay the $21.00 admission price (which after going there, I would more than be willing to pay the admission price). There is a discount coupon online for $2.00 off admission if you are going there and not doing a dolphin, manatee or sea lion swim.

 

http://www.cozumelinsider.com/images/specials/ChankanaabCoupon.pdf

 

The port at this place is…well LONG and winding in order to get out. You have to walk around and up and down and back and forth and….well you get the picture, just to get out of here. You are passing every darn shop wanting to sell you something along the way. Make note that on the way back, it’s more like a straight shot and up the escalator and you are there. Of course I conclude this is a selling tactic to get you to buy things there because it forces you to go by all of them.

 

We caught a cab and the driver told us it would be $12 to Chankanaab. Now I know, because I do extensive research prior to going anywhere, that it was supposed to be a $10 ride. However, I did know that RC Allure and a Carnival ship was docked on down (toward the way we would be traveling, and I knew exactly where we would be going because I “walked the streets” in that entire area on google earth to familiarize myself with it before hand LOL) and thought, well maybe it’s because they are docked closer and the $10 taxi fee was cheaper there. WRONG, on the way home, we found out it was a $10 ride back. So, yea, I was scammed $2. No big deal I guess.

 

We arrived and immediately knew this was going to be good. The entrance and huge “hut” you walk under was beautiful. Waterfalls, beautifully decorated and several shops. We immediately went to the left (after passing the falls on the left that say Chankanaab)ßalso, if you need to use the restrooms when you enter, they are located UNDER the falls in the “cave”. ;o)

 

To the left was a really neat path that takes you to different sculptures and replicas of Mayan Ruins. It was in a rain forest type setting and absolutely stunning IMO. We ran across several lizards/salamanders along the way and a big Iguana sunbathing on the roof of the “sacrifice hut”.

 

 

 

 

At the exit of the walk, we came out and found the small beach area, that people have mentioned here on cc before, that has nice calm waters with a gentle slope walking in. It’s the “kiddie” area people say. We decided not to stay there and walk over to the bigger beach area to look around first.

 

 

The beach was GORGEOUS! Of course it’s not a beach that you walk right into the water. There is a wall all the way around it and you must walk down steps OR rocks, depending where you enter at, to get into the water.

 

We headed to the big snorkeling shack to see about renting equipment. It was $10pp for the mask, snorkel tube and fins. They did have snorkel vest, however, you had to pay $5 to rent them and they flat out told us that you could get them for free and the small shack right before them. So, we walked over to the small shack (which only had life vest, the kind you blow up=real snorkeling vest) and they just required your picture ID. Only 1 ID needed for everyone in your group. People have mentioned that they run out of these quickly, however, they seem to have plenty that day and as I mentioned, there were 3 ships there…including ALLURE!

 

 

We were ready for some snorkeling and put our things at one of the MANY shade hut/papaya’s they had along the beach. One of the locals told us that the water is calmer more to the right (while facing the beach) than to the left. So, we headed down that way. There were a lot of places along there to enter (maybe 7 or 8???). Immediately there were fish EVERYWHERE….WOW. What a beautiful site! Some places had metal steps to walk into the water (then dropped off at the last step) and others just had huge rocks placed as steps. They are slippery, so be careful. I would walk down far enough to get my fins on then pretty much dive in to keep from walking on the steps. We start toward the right and worked our way toward the left. I could not believe how clear the water was and just how many different types of fish we seen all by the areas along the shore line entrances. You could just swim up and down there and see tons without even going out.

 

 

There are several statues that are placed deeper out in the water. My husband swam out there later in the day to take pictures. I stayed back with our little one because at that point, she had snorkeling herself out and just wanted to play in the sand. We started to head out that way at one point, then I saw how deep it was getting and the water was getting colder and turned back because of her. Facing the beach, to the left far out is a person statue standing real tall. To the far right and far out were several other small statues. There were a lot of scuba divers out there, which made my husband very jealous and he wanted to scuba after that. Now, I don’t know how things work in Mexico, but we were told that we could scuba right then and there and the person at the rental hut can “certify us on the spot”. Hmmm, anyone know anything about this? Doesn’t sound too safe to me.

 

We did run a tab with one of the waiters going up and down the beach taking orders. I thought that was nice that they allowed you to do that. The banana daiquiris were AMAZING! Alcoholic drinks (mixed) were $6.00 and soda was $2.00.

 

We decided that we wanted to go check out the lagoon there and we decided to turn out snorkeling vest in (for fear of walking away and someone taking them) so we played it safe. We started walking and then discovered the lagoon is RIGHT BEHIND the beach area where we were sitting. Duh! I thought is was a far distance away from the snorkeling area for some reason. I thought I had seen a map of Chankanaab and it looked like it wasn’t close by. Wrong.

 

 

The lagoon was amazingly beautiful! We walked all the way around it taking pictures. There were several iguanas (black in color) laying around here and there. I had seen pictures of some orange iguanas and had hoped to find one….no luck. :( We did notice someone along the side with a pool like skimmer taking the leaves and such off the top of the water around the edges. They must hire someone to care for the lagoon to keep it so beautiful.

 

Then back to the snorkeling we went for a little longer. We had scheduled our dolphin swim for 1pm (but there was a mix up, which I’ll go into in my Dolphin review) so we decided to turn in our equipment and start walking toward the dolphin area. On the way back, I finally ran into several green iguanas (had a little bit of orange on them). I don’t know a lot about iguanas, so maybe they start black, turn green, then orange as they mature and get older??? Or maybe they are just a different species all together?

 

Whenever we decide to revisit Cozumel…this place will be a priority on our list. We loved it that much! Last year we loved Sapphire Beach at St Thomas on the east Caribbean, now we’ve found our little slice of heaven for the western Caribbean as well. We did not want to ever leave!!!!

 

A link to all my pictures...TONS of snorkeling pictures...the good ones. ;o)

 

 

All your pictures look great! Even the under water video turned out good! What kind of camera do you have?

[mitsugirly]

All your pictures look great! Even the under water video turned out good! What kind of camera do you have?

 

I have a Canon D10 (they have a newer version out now-Canon D20) and I love it. It takes awesome pictures. Even the night fireworks pictures are great. I love that little point and shoot so much that we purchased a 2nd one for the hubby so we both have one when snorkeling. :D

[HeatherLauren]

I have a Canon D10 (they have a newer version out now-Canon D20) and I love it. It takes awesome pictures. Even the night fireworks pictures are great. I love that little point and shoot so much that we purchased a 2nd one for the hubby so we both have one when snorkeling. :D[/quote

 

Great thanks! We're taking a crusie in sept and i've been looking for a waterproof camera! :)

[gambee]

great review thank you!

[QChynaDoll]

COZUMEL, MEXICO

DOLPHIN SWIM AT CHANKANAAB

 

 

 

We booked our dolphin encounter (had to do the encounter because of our little one and at her age, that’s all she was allowed to do) months in advance. They require full payment at the time of booking. If you book more than 30 days (I think), then you are offered a discount. Woo hoo. I’m all for saving money.

 

When we first arrived here, we checked in. They told us to enjoy our day and come back at 1:20 for our 1:30pm swim. So off we went to Chankanaab for activities (as reported above).

 

When we returned (1:15pm) and went to sign in, they informed us that our excursion had actually started at 1pm and we were late. Um, they told me to be there at 1:20. ??? But it was ok, they just told us to catch up to them standing there on the dock being briefed on what was about to happen.

 

They provide free lockers; just insert stuff, key is already in them and you lock it and take the key with you.

 

WARNING…the wooden deck IS VERY VERY HOT! It was burning our feet (those of us that did not wear water shoes…which happen to be me and my daughter). They fitted us for our life vest and then took family by family to have their pictures taken on a chair nearby. I was busy running back and forth to any spot of shade I could stand on. Did I mention just how burning hot the deck was??? Ugh.

 

Finally they briefed us on the particular dolphin we would be working with. Her name was Foxy. She has had 5 babies since she has been with them, 1 that was in the tank with her at the time. He was not trained yet so we were instructed to try to resist touching him (even though he was trying like crazy to get our attention and swimming right up to us and setting there hoping for a little loving lol).

 

The trainer had the Foxy do several things on her own, swimming by us so that we could touch her back and then her belly. So neat and rubbery. Hehe Then they went back and forth letting everyone take turns getting to “kiss” her, then she would in turn “kiss” us. Then we would shake hands/flippers, then hold our left hand (to my husband “no, your other left hand” LOL) and she would come up out of the water and touch it with her nose. My daughter squealed with laugher the entire time and couldn’t stop smiling. What a treat. I knew she was going to love this and worth every penny we spent!

 

 

Then Foxy did several tricks, waving to us and she went by, zoomed by us so fast splashing us, then a few jumps high in the air. She “talked” to us by her little blow hole squealing. Smiled at us showing us her teeth. A lot of neat little things.

 

 

We spent about an hour in there with her and then they informed us that our “tour” was not over yet. Um what? They paraded us around all the tanks of dolphins and over to the manatee tank. Wow, really? They were letting us do the manatee as well? GREAT! I was kicking myself at this point because half way through the dolphin encounter, my battery died. GACK! So, when I found out there was more, I RAN to the lockers to get my other battery. By the time I got back, they were already in the water and I had missed it, but did manage to get some pictures of my husband and daughter in there with them, but just none of her feeding the manatee.

 

 

We went back to see the pictures on their computer screen. The people that are at the desk doing the pictures and putting together the disc are not the photographers. The photographers are out there just snapping pictures and then it is brought to the desk for you to view. ALL OF THE PHOTOS the photographer took are on the computer of the entire group. They are not using just one disk for each family or anything.

 

So, when you go up to the desk, they are looking at all of the pictures and check marking which ones you are in (even if others are in the pictures)...anything that has you in it to offer it to you. They took around 89, I think, of us, some were just us, others were us in a group of people around us...but they offer all. For a group on 3 people (like us) it was $139 for the cd of ALL pictures.

 

Just thought I'd give a little info on it after our return. I do photography on the side here and there, and I didn't think the quality of the shots were worth $139, so we decided not to purchase them. :)

 

So, I’ve decided that my husband not only sucks at taking pictures, but also at videos as well. The pictures he got of me on the video did not turn out too well with water spots on it and sun glare. LOL But, we still have the videos and a few pictures I took from the video along with our memories of the dolphin swim. That’s good enough for us.

 

Definitely had a blast.

 

Additional pictures:

 

 

Hi, great pix!! Btw, do u mind sharing how you were able to book the encounters? I went to their website, and I don't see any booking links... :(

Thanks!

[mitsugirly]

Hi, great pix!! Btw, do u mind sharing how you were able to book the encounters? I went to their website, and I don't see any booking links... :(

Thanks!

 

It's on their front page. You go to dolphin discovery and the booking is on the side of the page asking what location, what swim you want, what date, how many adults, how many children, and what time. :) They also have a live chat that can book for you or you can even call them to book.

[SCGamecock80]

So glad I found your review. This is our first time doing a "resort" area. I am more excited now than I was before. We are doing the Manatee Swim, snorkeling and hopefully catching the Sea lion show. I didn't know about the lagoon and can't wait to see it.

My question... is there any other way to get there besides cab? $30 round trip seems expensive (we were told $15 each way).

I wish the cruise lines would start offering transport to popular places like this but guess they want locals to make money.

Any suggestions?

 

COZUMEL, MEXICO

 

We decided to do the Dolphin Encounter at Chankanaab (because of our little one) but also knew that we wanted to do some snorkeling and had heard that the snorkeling here was AWESOME.

 

I’ll start this review with the Chankanaab portion first, because that is what we did first. The Dolphin Encounter price included admission to Chankanaab, so we didn’t have to pay the $21.00 admission price (which after going there, I would more than be willing to pay the admission price). There is a discount coupon online for $2.00 off admission if you are going there and not doing a dolphin, manatee or sea lion swim.

 

http://www.cozumelinsider.com/images/specials/ChankanaabCoupon.pdf

 

The port at this place is…well LONG and winding in order to get out. You have to walk around and up and down and back and forth and….well you get the picture, just to get out of here. You are passing every darn shop wanting to sell you something along the way. Make note that on the way back, it’s more like a straight shot and up the escalator and you are there. Of course I conclude this is a selling tactic to get you to buy things there because it forces you to go by all of them.

 

We caught a cab and the driver told us it would be $12 to Chankanaab. Now I know, because I do extensive research prior to going anywhere, that it was supposed to be a $10 ride. However, I did know that RC Allure and a Carnival ship was docked on down (toward the way we would be traveling, and I knew exactly where we would be going because I “walked the streets” in that entire area on google earth to familiarize myself with it before hand LOL) and thought, well maybe it’s because they are docked closer and the $10 taxi fee was cheaper there. WRONG, on the way home, we found out it was a $10 ride back. So, yea, I was scammed $2. No big deal I guess.

 

We arrived and immediately knew this was going to be good. The entrance and huge “hut” you walk under was beautiful. Waterfalls, beautifully decorated and several shops. We immediately went to the left (after passing the falls on the left that say Chankanaab)ßalso, if you need to use the restrooms when you enter, they are located UNDER the falls in the “cave”. ;o)

 

To the left was a really neat path that takes you to different sculptures and replicas of Mayan Ruins. It was in a rain forest type setting and absolutely stunning IMO. We ran across several lizards/salamanders along the way and a big Iguana sunbathing on the roof of the “sacrifice hut”.

 

 

 

 

At the exit of the walk, we came out and found the small beach area, that people have mentioned here on cc before, that has nice calm waters with a gentle slope walking in. It’s the “kiddie” area people say. We decided not to stay there and walk over to the bigger beach area to look around first.

 

 

The beach was GORGEOUS! Of course it’s not a beach that you walk right into the water. There is a wall all the way around it and you must walk down steps OR rocks, depending where you enter at, to get into the water.

 

We headed to the big snorkeling shack to see about renting equipment. It was $10pp for the mask, snorkel tube and fins. They did have snorkel vest, however, you had to pay $5 to rent them and they flat out told us that you could get them for free and the small shack right before them. So, we walked over to the small shack (which only had life vest, the kind you blow up=real snorkeling vest) and they just required your picture ID. Only 1 ID needed for everyone in your group. People have mentioned that they run out of these quickly, however, they seem to have plenty that day and as I mentioned, there were 3 ships there…including ALLURE!

 

 

We were ready for some snorkeling and put our things at one of the MANY shade hut/papaya’s they had along the beach. One of the locals told us that the water is calmer more to the right (while facing the beach) than to the left. So, we headed down that way. There were a lot of places along there to enter (maybe 7 or 8???). Immediately there were fish EVERYWHERE….WOW. What a beautiful site! Some places had metal steps to walk into the water (then dropped off at the last step) and others just had huge rocks placed as steps. They are slippery, so be careful. I would walk down far enough to get my fins on then pretty much dive in to keep from walking on the steps. We start toward the right and worked our way toward the left. I could not believe how clear the water was and just how many different types of fish we seen all by the areas along the shore line entrances. You could just swim up and down there and see tons without even going out.

 

 

There are several statues that are placed deeper out in the water. My husband swam out there later in the day to take pictures. I stayed back with our little one because at that point, she had snorkeling herself out and just wanted to play in the sand. We started to head out that way at one point, then I saw how deep it was getting and the water was getting colder and turned back because of her. Facing the beach, to the left far out is a person statue standing real tall. To the far right and far out were several other small statues. There were a lot of scuba divers out there, which made my husband very jealous and he wanted to scuba after that. Now, I don’t know how things work in Mexico, but we were told that we could scuba right then and there and the person at the rental hut can “certify us on the spot”. Hmmm, anyone know anything about this? Doesn’t sound too safe to me.

 

We did run a tab with one of the waiters going up and down the beach taking orders. I thought that was nice that they allowed you to do that. The banana daiquiris were AMAZING! Alcoholic drinks (mixed) were $6.00 and soda was $2.00.

 

We decided that we wanted to go check out the lagoon there and we decided to turn out snorkeling vest in (for fear of walking away and someone taking them) so we played it safe. We started walking and then discovered the lagoon is RIGHT BEHIND the beach area where we were sitting. Duh! I thought is was a far distance away from the snorkeling area for some reason. I thought I had seen a map of Chankanaab and it looked like it wasn’t close by. Wrong.

 

 

The lagoon was amazingly beautiful! We walked all the way around it taking pictures. There were several iguanas (black in color) laying around here and there. I had seen pictures of some orange iguanas and had hoped to find one….no luck. :( We did notice someone along the side with a pool like skimmer taking the leaves and such off the top of the water around the edges. They must hire someone to care for the lagoon to keep it so beautiful.

 

Then back to the snorkeling we went for a little longer. We had scheduled our dolphin swim for 1pm (but there was a mix up, which I’ll go into in my Dolphin review) so we decided to turn in our equipment and start walking toward the dolphin area. On the way back, I finally ran into several green iguanas (had a little bit of orange on them). I don’t know a lot about iguanas, so maybe they start black, turn green, then orange as they mature and get older??? Or maybe they are just a different species all together?

 

Whenever we decide to revisit Cozumel…this place will be a priority on our list. We loved it that much! Last year we loved Sapphire Beach at St Thomas on the east Caribbean, now we’ve found our little slice of heaven for the western Caribbean as well. We did not want to ever leave!!!!

 

A link to all my pictures...TONS of snorkeling pictures...the good ones. ;o)

 

[mitsugirly]

So glad I found your review. This is our first time doing a "resort" area. I am more excited now than I was before. We are doing the Manatee Swim, snorkeling and hopefully catching the Sea lion show. I didn't know about the lagoon and can't wait to see it.

My question... is there any other way to get there besides cab? $30 round trip seems expensive (we were told $15 each way).

I wish the cruise lines would start offering transport to popular places like this but guess they want locals to make money.

Any suggestions?

 

Just so you know, this isn't a "resort", it's a National Park. :) (And a beautiful one at that).

 

The lagoon is beautiful and the iguanas love that area as well. :D

 

Actually $15 for a cab ride one way for up to 4 passengers is a pretty good deal. Every other place in the Caribbean is usually per person and can get pretty expensive depending on how many people you have in your party. The cruise lines do offer "excursions" to this place, but you will pay a hefty price for it...almost double if not more. If they were to offer transportation to any of the places, you bet you'd be paying more than what you would pay to just the cab driver because the cruise lines have to make their cut of the money.

 

I don't know how many people you have going in your party, but if there's just 2 of you, find another couple to split the cost with and it'll be cheaper. :)

[mickev99]

Thanks so much for this review. Our family is sailing on the Jewel on Dec 8th and going to the same ports. We wanted to do cave tubing, but the one from the ship is for ages 10 and above, and my twins are 9. So glad to have found a reputable place to book with that will take all the kids. We also want to do the Dolphin Encounter, so thanks for that review and information as well! I really appreciate the time you took to write this and answer everyone's questions!!!!!

[mitsugirly]

Thanks so much for this review. Our family is sailing on the Jewel on Dec 8th and going to the same ports. We wanted to do cave tubing, but the one from the ship is for ages 10 and above, and my twins are 9. So glad to have found a reputable place to book with that will take all the kids. We also want to do the Dolphin Encounter, so thanks for that review and information as well! I really appreciate the time you took to write this and answer everyone's questions!!!!!

 

You are very welcome. I'm glad you found it useful.

 

It sounds like you will be on the Jewel the week before us this year. Have a great time!!! :)

[mickev99]

You are very welcome. I'm glad you found it useful.

 

It sounds like you will be on the Jewel the week before us this year. Have a great time!!! :)

 

 

Here's a review of the Jewel from this past March if you haven't seen it. Different ports, but she's got menus, pics of food, and dailies and a little kids information, and some pics of the ship.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1811472&highlight=jewel

[mitsugirly]

Here's a review of the Jewel from this past March if you haven't seen it. Different ports, but she's got menus, pics of food, and dailies and a little kids information, and some pics of the ship.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1811472&highlight=jewel

 

Thanks for the link. I just went over and checked it out. :D

[RizMerch]

COZUMEL, MEXICO

DOLPHIN SWIM AT CHANKANAAB

 

 

 

We booked our dolphin encounter (had to do the encounter because of our little one and at her age, that’s all she was allowed to do) months in advance. They require full payment at the time of booking. If you book more than 30 days (I think), then you are offered a discount. Woo hoo. I’m all for saving money.

 

When we first arrived here, we checked in. They told us to enjoy our day and come back at 1:20 for our 1:30pm swim. So off we went to Chankanaab for activities (as reported above).

 

When we returned (1:15pm) and went to sign in, they informed us that our excursion had actually started at 1pm and we were late. Um, they told me to be there at 1:20. ??? But it was ok, they just told us to catch up to them standing there on the dock being briefed on what was about to happen.

 

They provide free lockers; just insert stuff, key is already in them and you lock it and take the key with you.

 

WARNING…the wooden deck IS VERY VERY HOT! It was burning our feet (those of us that did not wear water shoes…which happen to be me and my daughter). They fitted us for our life vest and then took family by family to have their pictures taken on a chair nearby. I was busy running back and forth to any spot of shade I could stand on. Did I mention just how burning hot the deck was??? Ugh.

 

Finally they briefed us on the particular dolphin we would be working with. Her name was Foxy. She has had 5 babies since she has been with them, 1 that was in the tank with her at the time. He was not trained yet so we were instructed to try to resist touching him (even though he was trying like crazy to get our attention and swimming right up to us and setting there hoping for a little loving lol).

 

The trainer had the Foxy do several things on her own, swimming by us so that we could touch her back and then her belly. So neat and rubbery. Hehe Then they went back and forth letting everyone take turns getting to “kiss” her, then she would in turn “kiss” us. Then we would shake hands/flippers, then hold our left hand (to my husband “no, your other left hand” LOL) and she would come up out of the water and touch it with her nose. My daughter squealed with laugher the entire time and couldn’t stop smiling. What a treat. I knew she was going to love this and worth every penny we spent!

 

 

Then Foxy did several tricks, waving to us and she went by, zoomed by us so fast splashing us, then a few jumps high in the air. She “talked” to us by her little blow hole squealing. Smiled at us showing us her teeth. A lot of neat little things.

 

 

We spent about an hour in there with her and then they informed us that our “tour” was not over yet. Um what? They paraded us around all the tanks of dolphins and over to the manatee tank. Wow, really? They were letting us do the manatee as well? GREAT! I was kicking myself at this point because half way through the dolphin encounter, my battery died. GACK! So, when I found out there was more, I RAN to the lockers to get my other battery. By the time I got back, they were already in the water and I had missed it, but did manage to get some pictures of my husband and daughter in there with them, but just none of her feeding the manatee.

 

 

We went back to see the pictures on their computer screen. The people that are at the desk doing the pictures and putting together the disc are not the photographers. The photographers are out there just snapping pictures and then it is brought to the desk for you to view. ALL OF THE PHOTOS the photographer took are on the computer of the entire group. They are not using just one disk for each family or anything.

 

So, when you go up to the desk, they are looking at all of the pictures and check marking which ones you are in (even if others are in the pictures)...anything that has you in it to offer it to you. They took around 89, I think, of us, some were just us, others were us in a group of people around us...but they offer all. For a group on 3 people (like us) it was $139 for the cd of ALL pictures.

 

Just thought I'd give a little info on it after our return. I do photography on the side here and there, and I didn't think the quality of the shots were worth $139, so we decided not to purchase them. :)

 

So, I’ve decided that my husband not only sucks at taking pictures, but also at videos as well. The pictures he got of me on the video did not turn out too well with water spots on it and sun glare. LOL But, we still have the videos and a few pictures I took from the video along with our memories of the dolphin swim. That’s good enough for us.

 

Definitely had a blast.

 

Additional pictures:

 

 

Hey,

 

Thanks for the great review.

 

My wife and I are going to be in Cozumel and I just had a couple quick questions regarding Chank.

 

Would you recommend the dolphin swim for my wife and I? If so, where do I book this?

 

Also, I know you mentioned to just snorkle on your own since it serves the same purpose. If I do, where do I put my stuff while we're snorkling?

 

Thanks for your help - this is my first cruise.

[rhinomike]

Great review. Thank you.

[mitsugirly]

Hey,

 

Thanks for the great review.

 

My wife and I are going to be in Cozumel and I just had a couple quick questions regarding Chank.

 

Would you recommend the dolphin swim for my wife and I? If so, where do I book this?

 

Also, I know you mentioned to just snorkle on your own since it serves the same purpose. If I do, where do I put my stuff while we're snorkling?

 

Thanks for your help - this is my first cruise.

 

You're welcome.

 

What cruise line are you coming in on? If you are coming in on any cruise line (except Carnival) you can book directly with the dolphin swim people online. If you watch, they will have specials all the time were you can buy 1 swim and get another for either free or $1. It sure helps.

 

I highly recommend it. It's a great experience and a really nice place.

 

When we snorkel, we have always just left our things at our palapa and never had any issues. I always take a dry pack with me and our money, ship cards and cc's go in there. So, if anyone was to try to take anything, they're not getting much other than some beach towels and clothes...which can all be replaced.

 

If you are really worried, you can always use the lockers. They are free to use, but the catch is they are all the way over in the building over by the dolphin swim. So it would involve some walking (which I personally would rather not take up any of my valuable time walking back and forth when I need something therefore I leave it at my palapa). :)

 

Here's a over view picture of where the snorkeling is located in regards to the lockers at the main building where you do the swims.

 

[mitsugirly]

Great review. Thank you.

 

Thanks and you're welcome. :)

[manazca]

COZUMEL, MEXICO

DOLPHIN SWIM AT CHANKANAAB

 

 

 

We booked our dolphin encounter (had to do the encounter because of our little one and at her age, that’s all she was allowed to do) months in advance. They require full payment at the time of booking. If you book more than 30 days (I think), then you are offered a discount. Woo hoo. I’m all for saving money.

 

When we first arrived here, we checked in. They told us to enjoy our day and come back at 1:20 for our 1:30pm swim. So off we went to Chankanaab for activities (as reported above).

 

When we returned (1:15pm) and went to sign in, they informed us that our excursion had actually started at 1pm and we were late. Um, they told me to be there at 1:20. ??? But it was ok, they just told us to catch up to them standing there on the dock being briefed on what was about to happen.

 

They provide free lockers; just insert stuff, key is already in them and you lock it and take the key with you.

 

WARNING…the wooden deck IS VERY VERY HOT! It was burning our feet (those of us that did not wear water shoes…which happen to be me and my daughter). They fitted us for our life vest and then took family by family to have their pictures taken on a chair nearby. I was busy running back and forth to any spot of shade I could stand on. Did I mention just how burning hot the deck was??? Ugh.

 

Finally they briefed us on the particular dolphin we would be working with. Her name was Foxy. She has had 5 babies since she has been with them, 1 that was in the tank with her at the time. He was not trained yet so we were instructed to try to resist touching him (even though he was trying like crazy to get our attention and swimming right up to us and setting there hoping for a little loving lol).

 

The trainer had the Foxy do several things on her own, swimming by us so that we could touch her back and then her belly. So neat and rubbery. Hehe Then they went back and forth letting everyone take turns getting to “kiss” her, then she would in turn “kiss” us. Then we would shake hands/flippers, then hold our left hand (to my husband “no, your other left hand” LOL) and she would come up out of the water and touch it with her nose. My daughter squealed with laugher the entire time and couldn’t stop smiling. What a treat. I knew she was going to love this and worth every penny we spent!

 

 

Then Foxy did several tricks, waving to us and she went by, zoomed by us so fast splashing us, then a few jumps high in the air. She “talked” to us by her little blow hole squealing. Smiled at us showing us her teeth. A lot of neat little things.

 

 

We spent about an hour in there with her and then they informed us that our “tour” was not over yet. Um what? They paraded us around all the tanks of dolphins and over to the manatee tank. Wow, really? They were letting us do the manatee as well? GREAT! I was kicking myself at this point because half way through the dolphin encounter, my battery died. GACK! So, when I found out there was more, I RAN to the lockers to get my other battery. By the time I got back, they were already in the water and I had missed it, but did manage to get some pictures of my husband and daughter in there with them, but just none of her feeding the manatee.

 

 

We went back to see the pictures on their computer screen. The people that are at the desk doing the pictures and putting together the disc are not the photographers. The photographers are out there just snapping pictures and then it is brought to the desk for you to view. ALL OF THE PHOTOS the photographer took are on the computer of the entire group. They are not using just one disk for each family or anything.

 

So, when you go up to the desk, they are looking at all of the pictures and check marking which ones you are in (even if others are in the pictures)...anything that has you in it to offer it to you. They took around 89, I think, of us, some were just us, others were us in a group of people around us...but they offer all. For a group on 3 people (like us) it was $139 for the cd of ALL pictures.

 

Just thought I'd give a little info on it after our return. I do photography on the side here and there, and I didn't think the quality of the shots were worth $139, so we decided not to purchase them. :)

 

So, I’ve decided that my husband not only sucks at taking pictures, but also at videos as well. The pictures he got of me on the video did not turn out too well with water spots on it and sun glare. LOL But, we still have the videos and a few pictures I took from the video along with our memories of the dolphin swim. That’s good enough for us.

 

Definitely had a blast.

 

Additional pictures:

 

 

If you do not mind, may I ask how old was your daughter when you did this? Was she swimming by herself?

I am trying to decide between a beach and Chab for our first time in Cozumel (and on a cruise actually!) RCCI requires minimum 2 years of age for this excursion (our daughter is 4). Thanks in advance!

[mitsugirly]

If you do not mind, may I ask how old was your daughter when you did this? Was she swimming by herself?

I am trying to decide between a beach and Chab for our first time in Cozumel (and on a cruise actually!) RCCI requires minimum 2 years of age for this excursion (our daughter is 4). Thanks in advance!

 

She was 3 years old when we did this. She did not know how to swim at the time. (She's now 6 years old and started swimming when she turned 4). You have life jackets on (as seen in the pictures).

 

Chankanaab is an amazing place, not only for the dolphin & manatee swims, but for the place itself. It's beautiful there and a lot to do. :)

[manazca]

She was 3 years old when we did this. She did not know how to swim at the time. (She's now 6 years old and started swimming when she turned 4). You have life jackets on (as seen in the pictures).

 

Chankanaab is an amazing place, not only for the dolphin & manatee swims, but for the place itself. It's beautiful there and a lot to do. :)

 

Thanks for the quick reply! I can't decide between Chankanaab and Playa Mia :confused: Your reviews suggest both places would be great but we can only do one. Any help?

ETA: just saw the final recommendations, didn't look at those before, I guess I know now what your favorite place is :) Mhm ... what would my 4-y old like best?

Edited June 20, 2014 by manazca

[mitsugirly]

Thanks for the quick reply! I can't decide between Chankanaab and Playa Mia :confused: Your reviews suggest both places would be great but we can only do one. Any help?

ETA: just saw the final recommendations, didn't look at those before, I guess I know now what your favorite place is :) Mhm ... what would my 4-y old like best?

 

Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with either place. If you do the dolphin swim at Chankanaab, the park is just an added "greatness" to it (since the admission to the park comes with the swim). At Playa Mia, a 4 year old would love the water park. I just don't think you can go wrong with whatever you decide. Have a great cruise. :)

[tbmrt]

We visited Chankanaab a few months ago and thought the snorkeling and ambiance was the best we've ever encountered. Definitely will go back there again. In addition to the huge amount of fish, I liked the fact that you could get in the water easily and not worry about being cut on the coral due to low water levels.

 

This year we'll be headed to St. Thomas and I was wondering whether you'd choose Sapphire or Coki there for snorkeling....Were these as good as Chankanaab?

 

Love your posts!

Thanks

[mitsugirly]

We visited Chankanaab a few months ago and thought the snorkeling and ambiance was the best we've ever encountered. Definitely will go back there again. In addition to the huge amount of fish, I liked the fact that you could get in the water easily and not worry about being cut on the coral due to low water levels.

 

This year we'll be headed to St. Thomas and I was wondering whether you'd choose Sapphire or Coki there for snorkeling....Were these as good as Chankanaab?

 

Love your posts!

Thanks

 

So glad you loved Chankanaab. It remains my favorite place in Cozumel so far...especially when it comes to snorkeling.

 

Sapphire and Coki are two totally different places in my book. Sapphire beach is so beautiful. The sand, the grape trees lined up and down the beach for shade and the water. The snorkeling there was awesome when we went and we loved it.

 

Coki, the beach isn't as pretty but the snorkeling was definitely amazing!! I got to see things there I had never seen before. The coral was absolutely gorgeous! I was in love with the bright purple coral up and down the wall at Coki. I just couldn't get over it. I also seen my first eel there at Coki.

 

With Coki, you can swim up and down the sides of both walls on each end to snorkel. With Sapphire the good snorkeling is to the right (when facing the beach) and you can swim out really far and it's still not deep (well, it wasn't when we were there and I guess it would depend on the tide). To the left at Sapphire, there is sea grass and although I didn't go that way, I hear that people sometimes see rays and turtles over that way.

 

It's a real toss up for me. Both have awesome snorkeling, but if I had to choose just for the snorkeling, I guess at this point I would choose Coki since I had such an awesome experience. If the beach was more important to me, I would choose Sapphire-plus you can't go wrong with the snorkeling there either. :D I say take 2 trips to St Thomas and do both! :p