Our day at Coral World and Sealion swim

[Sportsdoc]

Used this site A LOT when planning so hopefully the following info with help other travelers.

 

We spent our day in St. Thomas at Coral World and did the Sea Lion Swim as part of the adventure. There were five of us three adults and two children ages 6 and 9. They did offer this excursion through Royal Caribbean but to participate you had to be 8 years old. When I looked directly at Coral World's web site they only list a min. of 50 lbs. as a limit. When I called they also confirmed that as long as my 6 year old was 50 lbs. he would be good to go. Incidentally there was another family in our group with the same issue who also booked independently so their children could participate. I suppose the cruise line has more rigorous liability issues to adhere to? In any case this is a way to get around the age limit. I called Coral World about three months in advance and pre-paid with my credit card over the phone. They emailed me a confirmation. You have to pay for the activity AND the cost of aquarium admission. That morning we were up early and easily found a cab. "Timmy" our driver was very nice. The ride was about 25 min. or so and cost $9 per person. He dropped us right at the entrance. We got to Coral World just in time to start their feeding sessions which was great. We hopped from the underwater reef exhibit to feeding the sharks to feeding the stingrays! The stingray feeding was great and everyone (who wanted) got pieces of fish or squid and were invited to feed the Stingrays. My kids loved it! We also paid $5 and got nectar to feed the birds. This was also fun. The birds would land right on your arm for the treat. Some great photo ops. Our SeaLion Swim time was 11:15am so they ask you to report 15 min early and there are waivers to sign and a brief introduction. We were taken back and given water shoes and life vests to wear. The experience was about 30 min and we interacted with Franco the South American SeaLion the whole time. They take photos for you and you can buy all the photos they take on a USB drive for $50 at the end (which compared to the photos of dolphin swim at Atlantis a few year ago is a steal). We spent time on the deck and in the water with the sealion. The trainers did a good job easing the kids into the interaction which was great. We really enjoyed the day. I had read reviews on line that the coral world aquarium itself is not all that and perhaps because I had low expectations but I was really pleasantly surprised with the other exhibits. I would allow at least two hours to explore esp. during the program times. There is a beach just next door if you would want to use before or after but we decided to just head back to the ship. We called "Timmy" to come back and get us which apparently people do not do. He was so happy we called him to come back he gave us the scenic route back to the boat complete with photo stops and a stop for banana rum drinks which were out of this world! We enjoyed this day and I would certainly recommend for families with young children.

[BSR]

Used this site A LOT when planning so hopefully the following info with help other travelers.

 

We spent our day in St. Thomas at Coral World and did the Sea Lion Swim as part of the adventure. There were five of us three adults and two children ages 6 and 9. They did offer this excursion through Royal Caribbean but to participate you had to be 8 years old. When I looked directly at Coral World's web site they only list a min. of 50 lbs. as a limit. When I called they also confirmed that as long as my 6 year old was 50 lbs. he would be good to go. Incidentally there was another family in our group with the same issue who also booked independently so their children could participate. I suppose the cruise line has more rigorous liability issues to adhere to? In any case this is a way to get around the age limit. I called Coral World about three months in advance and pre-paid with my credit card over the phone. They emailed me a confirmation. You have to pay for the activity AND the cost of aquarium admission. That morning we were up early and easily found a cab. "Timmy" our driver was very nice. The ride was about 25 min. or so and cost $9 per person. He dropped us right at the entrance. We got to Coral World just in time to start their feeding sessions which was great. We hopped from the underwater reef exhibit to feeding the sharks to feeding the stingrays! The stingray feeding was great and everyone (who wanted) got pieces of fish or squid and were invited to feed the Stingrays. My kids loved it! We also paid $5 and got nectar to feed the birds. This was also fun. The birds would land right on your arm for the treat. Some great photo ops. Our SeaLion Swim time was 11:15am so they ask you to report 15 min early and there are waivers to sign and a brief introduction. We were taken back and given water shoes and life vests to wear. The experience was about 30 min and we interacted with Franco the South American SeaLion the whole time. They take photos for you and you can buy all the photos they take on a USB drive for $50 at the end (which compared to the photos of dolphin swim at Atlantis a few year ago is a steal). We spent time on the deck and in the water with the sealion. The trainers did a good job easing the kids into the interaction which was great. We really enjoyed the day. I had read reviews on line that the coral world aquarium itself is not all that and perhaps because I had low expectations but I was really pleasantly surprised with the other exhibits. I would allow at least two hours to explore esp. during the program times. There is a beach just next door if you would want to use before or after but we decided to just head back to the ship. We called "Timmy" to come back and get us which apparently people do not do. He was so happy we called him to come back he gave us the scenic route back to the boat complete with photo stops and a stop for banana rum drinks which were out of this world! We enjoyed this day and I would certainly recommend for families with young children.

 

Thanks for your review. We are thinking about going to Coral World, but I read somewhere that it's under construction and not all of it is open. Is that true? Do you still have the number for Timmy?

[ozarkmama]

thanks for the info. We plan on going to Coral World in November. Sounds like you had a great time.

[trish1c]

Can some people in the group do the Sea Lion swim but have the others just go to the park? I want to see the Sea Lions but DH wants no part of it. I don't want to spend the money if he's just going to sit there.

[sanger727]

How much was the total cost per adult for a sea lion swim and admission?

[kelleyd]

Thanks for this - This is pretty much what we were going to do - I also have a 6 year old. All said and done would you do it again knowing how much it costs? For the four of us ( 2 adults 1 teen 1 kid) I am looking at $495 for the swim and $72 for the taxi round trip. Another $50 for the photos...just wondering if its going a little overboard.

 

I know money is subjective...but...still asking.

[Tak8]

I did the Sea Lion swim a couple of years ago. I'm not sure I would do it again, but I'm glad we did it. My wife wasn't too sure about it when I booked it, but it turned into the highlight of the cruise and we have some great photos with son. Yes, I'm glad I did it. We spent the rest of the day at Coki Beach, so a fun day in St. Thomas.