Dolphin Experience- Long and Honest

[excellent]

Here's a link to a story about the recent developments in Antigua. Apparently they, Dolphin Fantaseas did a "midnight move" into the facility with several illegally obtained dolphins.

 

On June1, 2004 Dolphin Discovery took over Dolphin Fantaseas

Click here for more about who they are. In the dark of night on June 3rd, they imported, possibly illegally, 8 more dolphins into Antigua; 5 from Mexico and 3 from Cuba. ABITPC has taken a stand against this importation.For specific reasons please see our LATEST NEWS SECTION - Antigua Sun June 9th 2004

Here's the link on the story about the proliferation of this.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/sfl-dolphins-caribbeanmay18,0,943085.story?coll=sfla-home-dots-utility

My problem with this company is that they hide behind the premise of educating the public. I saw no evidence of any atttempt other than a feable one at that to provide any real educational opportunities to the customer. The only message they had was to recycle......I do that in my front driveway every week, I do not need to travel halfway across the hemisphere to hear that message, I practice it religiously already.

[Mom3Boys]

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

 

Debi,

I am interested in doing the dolphin encounter in Cozumel. Our two sons are going (12 and 7). Do you think this would appeal to them? Did you book through Princess or use another vendor? Do you care to tell the cost?

Thank you,

Linda

[cjh]

Anyone ever done it in Tortola? If you have or are going to I have questions. My oldest daughter will be 15 when we go, she is in a wheelchair but swims in competition and would love to do this but I need to know if her chair can get down to the platform.

[cnmiranda]

Sorry for your bad experience, Excellent. If that's how you were treated, imagine how they handle the dolphins that have no way to complain. Please follow up with your response from Princess. As if paying $160pp wasn't enough, they nickel and dime you the whole way through. Princess should not do business with that company.

[excellent]

I still need to caveat my experience. It is in this location only. I gather that there are outfits that operate above board, which is proven by some of the posts attached to this thread. There is a right way to do this and a wrong way. Some of the problems with this particular operation are detailed in the post I made before this, the link to the Sun-Sentinel newspaper and the excerpt from the Antigua-Sun.

 

I find it outrageous that they have to conduct there operation in the dark of night and away from the prying eyes of by-standers. Questions that were asked of them BEFORE I went were assured with "we're not like the others".

 

It is only recently have I found out that they (Dolphin Fantaseas) were taken over by another operation, Dolphin Discovery. They are still operating under the same name. The fact still remains that they seem to have quite a problem on their hands, and not from the discussion in this thread. I wonder if the FTC is aware of there recent purchases of dolphins from Cuba. Last time I checked it was illegal for Americans (which are the owners) to do business with a black-listed country.

 

I do not want to seem that I am beating a dead horse with this but in many years of travel across the world I have NEVER had an experience that even comes close to this. It's one thing to have a meaningful and educating encounter with a gentle creature of the ocean, this was quite the opposite. The lagoon in which these animals are kept in was the most brackish water I've ever seen in the Carribbean, could not even see your hand when it was placed in the water. I even heard about a large "fish Kill" problem that is reportedly caused by the way the drainage in this lagoon is affected by the walling off of the natural mangrove swamp that provided the oxygen that the fish need to survive.

 

E

[imsulin]

I agree whole-heartedly with you, excellent! It's all about exploitation and making money, because we think that dolphins are just "too cute", and we can't wait to get into the water with them! I know I did! Caribbean islands are not necessarily "governed" under one specific guideline as far as using aquatic mammals or fish, and treating them humanely for purposes of making money from thousands of tourists. Way back when, you used to be able to "swim with green sea turtles". Same kind of thing - you hooked your hands over the upper shell, and thought you were having a great ride, when, in fact, the sea turtle was just trying to get away from you. There's a very fine line between using aquatic creatures for "educational" purposes and using them for "monetary" purposes.

[boyd_san_diego]

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

 

I don't know if you mean Dolphin Quest or Dr. Poole's spinner dolphin excursion, but here is something I posted on the old boards.

 

We didn't actually do Dolphin Quest, but we stayed 3 nights last month at the Moorea Beachcomber in an OWB 100 feet from Dolphin Quest and saw a number of people do it including a new friend. It didn't look worth the $180 for 30 minutes (or whatever it was) to me, but our friend thought it was great and well worth it. They do several activities where you interact with the dolphins in the water, such as stroking and getting a kiss from it, signaling it to do tricks, feeding it, etc. It starts with an informational lecture.

 

I've been going to Sea World since I got an annual pass at 16 years old ($5 looooong ago) , so that may be why it wasn't a thrill for me.

[chamima]

Debi

My husband and kids (26, 22 and 15) did it in Cozumel last year while I watched and took pictures. They loved it! I tried to book it on our own ( go to ports of call board- Cozumel for name of company) but they were full so we booked through Princess. It's about $20/pp more through Princess. The dolphin swim is at a park and when you are done you can stay at the park and their beach for the rest of the day so factor that into which time you choose.

It was very expensive but they all said it was GREAT!

PS The pictures and video from the park are extremely expensive so take lots of pictures yourself! (Mine actually came out better than theirs)

[truffles2]

We have done the dolphin experience in more than one location and found that Dolphin Fantaseas in Antigua had more to offer than most. We were impressed with their cooperation in all areas (at that time you could take your own camera) and especially in promoting information for dolphin safety. Our excursion was booked with Royal Caribbean and the charge was VERY much less than what you paid Princess!

[excellent]

Truffles-

 

 

 

Kindof re-enforces my point, they were just recently taken over by another operation less than three weeks ago. Now I cannot imagine that they totally changed what they presneted in that amount of time, it is possible. One other observation is that one of the local workers, not the trainers, told me that the new owners have made it clear that they want to run almost 300 people a day through this location. Take the charge on there site for one person $140.00 and multiply by 300= $42,000 EACH DAY. That is greed pure and simple. If they plan to run the 'experience' like they did on the day that I was a customer, then can only imagine the response from the patrons. Although, once we had our all so brief encounter I felt myself forgetting the fact that it was a manipulating experience, because we had so little time in the water I was quickly brought back to reality and decided that my original feelings were correct. I'm sure there are scores of people who have let the experience override what they may have felt before getting into the water. Having a "cute, cuddly, friendly" dolphin in you're midst for a scant few minutes can do A LOT to temper anyone's feelings about the overall presentation, it almost happened to me. Maybe I over-analyze things but I realize now that my first feelings were correct.

 

 

 

E

[imsulin]

For that kind of money, you can get a much better, personal, experience at Discovery Cove in Orlando. They don't "rush" anyone through, and you have scheduled times. They also take very good care of the dolphins, and I've heard that they have a connection to Sea World...not sure, though.

[excellent]

In San Diego, can't remember the price but I imagine that it is much more expensive to do it in a regulated (U.S.) environment.

 

Still no correspondance from Dolphin Fantasea's or Princess. Will keep you all up to date.

 

E

[srphnx]

Please do, I am curious as to what Princess might do about it.

[boyd_san_diego]

In San Diego, can't remember the price but I imagine that it is much more expensive to do it in a regulated (U.S.) environment.

E

FWIW here is a link to Sea World San Diego's dolphin interaction program. It's park admission plus $140 or $105 if you are an annual pass member, but the details are not listed. Convenient for me but not many of you.

 

http://www.seaworld.com/seaworld/ca/sp_dolphin_interaction_program.aspx

 

Boyd

[excellent]

I've contacted the tour operator, June 26th, no response from them (not surprising)

 

Finally 'officially' registered my complaint with the "Passenger Relations" department. Sent a fax to them in letter form on June 22nd. Took them until Saturday to log it in as being rec'd. Had to then call them today to find out that is was rec'd and was then told that it takes 4-6 weeks to respond. Does'nt bode well since they take that long to respond, either they are way understaffed (likely) or have way too many complaints (likely).

 

All this after I've already filed a complaint on the day of the excursion, June 17th, been handed form letter detailing Princess' (supposed) response, and then being handed off to the call center. IF this is how Princess deals with complaints then I have to say that it's not truly "where I belong" is it?

 

With the lack of any action up until this point I've no option other than to send the CEO, Alan Buckelew, a letter that outlines this problem and the subsequent handling of the issue's that I have brought up. I have sent that letter as of today.

 

Now if I wanted to buy something well then.... the phone or issue gets treated right away....Customer Service in this day and age is the most oximoronic phrase we have. Even better than Jumbo shrimp.

 

I may split this into another thread since this one is getting very long and people will not want to cycle through. once I have something to post I will begin again with Dolphin Experience-Update.

 

E

[excellent]

Here's what I sent to the tour operator as of June 22nd. I have had ZERO response from them. If, as a business owner, got a letter like this then I would, at the very least, acknowledge response and act from there. Wonderful customer service, not....

>>
[font=Arial][size=2]What started out as a very highly anticipated experience turned out to be very disappointing to say the least. Your emphasis on the various photo and video options were VERY apparent. The charge of $160.00 was high enough but to then have the nerve to charge $60.00 for a DVD and $12.00 for a photo when these items cost pennies to reproduce was greed at it's finest level. [/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]Your experience would have been much more palatable if you placed an emphasis on maximizing the time in the water with the animals, instead you had little or no educational content, save for a video that had more to do with liability then education, and the emphasis was solely placed on getting the material in video or photographic form to then re-sell to the customer. Once the video/photo. opportunities were taken the customer was left to stand by themselves in the water but reminded several times to not interfere with the other video/photo opps. [/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]This experience I have had has been posted to numerous web-based cruising sites and has drawn quite an interest in the form of responses. The inability of Princess to deal with this issue when it was raised has made that decision for me. Should you have issues in the future with excursions booked with Princess ,or other cruise lines, I alert you that it is in your best interest to have any issue dealt with swiftly and in a fair and upfront manner. [/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]I have asked in my letter for a full refund of my fee and expect that, in light of the experience I have had, it will be forthcoming. Should this not be forthcoming I will be in contact with the A.B.I.T.P.C and the tourism minister of Antigua to share with them my experience with your facility. [/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]This experience could have been so much more with an educational presentation that maximized the customers time in the water with the animals. It was no more than a smoke screen approach to generate an even larger revenue stream while using the premise of education as a backdrop. [/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]I await your response. [/size][/font]

[PeabodyNVL]

[quote name='excellent']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.

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[/QUOTE]If you thought that my post was in support of Princess, I suggest you RE-READ my post. I was merely pointing out that complaining to them about a "photo-making opportunity" is basically useless, as they do it themselves at every opportunity. I didn't say I supported it. RE-READ my post...and try not to be so nasty.

[Debi_D]

Mom3boys - one thing I want to say sorry about the late response but I have been so busy I have not have time to answer to all the post that I have been watching:o Hopefully this will answer your questions regarding the kids:

[url="http://www.dolphindiscovery.com/cozumel.asp"]http://www.dolphindiscovery.com/cozumel.asp[/url]

You will be able to see what they do and how to book them, I believe Princess charged us $160.00 and now I see on the website they charge for the [color=black]"Royal Swim" which is the one I recommend $125.00. But I believe there is a age thing and I think the youngest is 8 years old, so I don't know about the 7 year old unless he looks 8 or 9.[/color]

Hope this helps, most of all yes it is expensive but it is something you will never forget;)

Debi

[amagar]

cjh:regarding tortola

I can't help you with the dolphin encounter, but I can tell you that the beach in tortola is really lovely and quite a nature experience for swimmers. when we were there in february, the water was absolutely FILLED with 4-inch fish...and, of course, dozens of brown pelicans. We spent two hours floating about in water about 12-feet-deep...and the bottom two feet was nothing but a solid, shimmering moving mass of silvery fish (you can't even see sand). All around you, pelicans divebomb, as close as three or four feet. I guess it might be frightening for some...but it's really fascinating to watch...and the fish are a great tickle when they come closer to the surface...A cab dropped us at the beach. No steps...but there's about 20 yards of sand before the water. The beach is on the opposite side of the island from the pier. There are a series of snack shacks on the beach, along with roosters. If you like pina coladas, make sure to buy one from the beach vendors. They sprinkle them with nutmeg...and it adds a whole new delicious twist. Tortola was an unexpected highlight. Water as calm as Megan's Bay...

[Jacqueline]

I must say that I agree with many of the more insightful posts such as Insulins....This undertaking SEEMS like a good idea but the more that you learn the less likely you would be to actually participate and subsidize these practices.
It is unfortunate that this sort of activity has become so popular. I hope that as more cruisers understand what happens behind the scenes, the more likely they will be to participate in a true encounter with nature, such as snorkeling.
I heard terrible stories in Antigua about some people who got the idea to create a Stingray City as a tourist attraction. They trapped and captured hundreds, almost all of which does within weeks. This was told to us by the vendor of our trip there, Eli.
Cruiseships provide an economic opportunity to these islands which can be very positive. But it also presents risks to the environment and to those less scrupulous. We should try to be careful who we patronize and pass along this information to the cruiselines via the evaluation forms.

[excellent]

Pea- You're correct, I do apologize. It seemed as if you were saying that Princess does it so don't complain if other's do. Merely frustrated by the fact that Princess seems to corraborate the behavior by not dealing with the issue(s) that are raised by compliants, mine and others.

Jacq.- I am now more aware of what really goes on with all of these operations and would never do it again no matter where I travel. Princess is not aware of this change in my attitude as they would merely dismiss my complaint as some "tree-hugging liberal". The fact still remains that they, Dolphin Fant., are consistently presenting the facade of educating the public while in the background can be heard a cash register that is constantly clicking over. They take in a huge haul, daily, it does not look like that $$ is plowed back into the operation. If it were it would have been plain to see.

E

[geoherb]

[color="black"]We went on an excursion through Princess in St. Martin back in 2001. It was just OK--not excellent--but we thought worth the money. Some friends of ours, whom we had met at the singles party, thought it wasn't worth it and complained. They received a refund without much hassle.

We watched the dolphin swim in Cozumel at Chankanaab. It did not seem worth it to me. Apparently a lot of folks who do it feel different about the experience.[/color]

[roadrunner454]

My husband and I took our first cruise in Nov.2003 and we went to cozumel and did the dolphin swim.We also had our 11 year old daughter with us.We were disappointed with the time allowed in the water with the dolphins (not enough for what we paid).It was a little over 500.00 for 3 of us.But we would do it again if we could.And yes it was a once in a lifetime thing for us and we bought the pictures and video to bring home for our older kids and there families to see.We are also planning to take our granddaughter when she is old enough.
We were at the dolphin discovery which was fun we went snorkeling on the beach afterwards.And this was our familys favorite excursion.
Almost forgot we were on carnival at the time not princess.

[woodofpine]

We did the dolphin discovery in Nassau and it was excellent. It has also been scrutinized by the liberals of Hollywood who have used it for film production.

There are a lot a poor quality dolphin operations and its too bad the one in Antigua is one; personally, I'm not enclined to patronize the one at Cozumel either.