Dolphin options on Tortola

[chellbird]

I have read the descriptions of both the Dolphin Encounter (cheaper) and the Dolphin Adventure (about $600 for my family! :eek: ). I'm wondering if any of you have tried either of these excursions. The Adventure sounds much better in the description, but I'm not sure about $600 for a 30 minute experience. Our girls are dolphin fanatics:)! I would greatly appreciate any input.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

 

Check this out on this board and the general board.

 

We have never done this tour "Dolphin Adventure" as it was not offered on our cruise last March. This could be something new.

 

We have read where some people said that a "Dolphin Adventure" means you only get to see the dolphins.

 

Others have said that they prefer tours that say "Dolphin Encounter" where they actually get into the water with the dolphins.

 

Check this out.

 

:)

[chellbird]

If I'm not mistaken, you get to be in the water with the dolphins and touch them on both of them. I think the Encounter is standing on a platform in the water and the Adventure description includes "hugging" and possibly riding by holding on to the fin! The Adventure also mentioned pictures of you and "your dolphin" and a video (which I'm sure is another large amount of $ :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

 

Just it check out what REALLY happens on both.

 

We have heard so many different stories and don't want you to be disappointed.

 

:)

[temple10]

Chell,I was pleased to see your post I am crusing for the first time in Dec. 2004 on the statendam and I want to swim with dolphins really bad!! i also have looked up the two excursions you did and truthfully neither of them actually state you can get in water and swim with them.( very confusing) :( I will keep watching your post to see if any new info comes up on this subject.:)

[gizmo]

Check this link outhttp://www.*****swim_dolphins.asp

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I did the Dolphin Discovery in Cozumel in March of 2002. I was not impressed. I am only 5 ft tall with having to stand on the metal platform that the water came to almost my shoulder. They of course make you wear a life jacket this is not bad but with the water so high I would float away. I would constantly have to hang on to the chain fence behind me. When it was my turn to see the dolphin the poor guy next to me had to hang on to my life jacket. I was not thrilled with how they handled the whole operations plus the dolphins did not look happy.

Don't get me wrong I am not one of these activists that is against these type of things. I find the one at the Hilton on the Big Island of Hawaii to be top notch. I just felt they were shoving tourist thru as fast as they could with no concern for either the dolphins or tourists. The Dolphin Adventure may be better but does sound pricey for what you get.:(

[wcolucci]

my favorite option w/ dolphin??? French Fries please.........

[texkat]

We did the Dolphin Adventure in Tortola a couple of weeks ago, and had a blast! Here are some photos I took of another group, before we got in the water. This will give you a pretty good idea of what the setup is like.

 

You'll be in a group of 8-10 people, standing on a submerged platform, and your dolphin will swim by and interact with you, and let you pet him or her:

 

Your dolphin will come to you for a kiss:

 

Your group will swim out and interact with the dolphin for some "free play"... These folks are making the gesture for "talk", and the dophin is playing and talking to them!

 

More "free play", with the dolphin swimming around and playing with the group. With hand gestures and other actions, he'll splash you, dance in circles, approach you for kisses...

 

This lady is being towed by the dolphin. One at a time, you swim out and hold your arms in a specific position. The dolphin will swim out to you, turn over on his back, and let you hold onto his fins while he swims back to the platform with you!

 

Here he's dancing for his trainer:

 

We enjoyed our time with the dolphins... they do take photos, which you can purchase for $10 each. We have photos of each of us getting kissed by the dolphin, and of the swim. They also shoot a video on VHS tape (I think they'll do another format for Euro/British visitors), and I think that was $50.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Texkat, it looks like you had a Great Dolphin Encounter. I would say that Tortola is definitely better the Cozumel.

I wish we were going to Tortola next March. I would definitely rethink doing the Dolphin Adventure.

I just tried to post pictures from from our March 2002 trip but it did not work. I will have to figure out what I did wrong.:( :eek:

[chellbird]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience and pictures with us!:) I just want to verify with you that what you were showing is the HAL shore excursion called Dolphin Adventure, and it costs $149 per person? Do you know the name of the company there on Tortola? We found a website for Dolphin Discovery and found different options than what was offered on the HAL site - even different things that different ages were allowed to do. Our girls are 5 and 8. Were there small children in any of the groups you saw?

 

 

Thanks again!

[scluvsrain]

I thought that Dolphin Discovery was just on Nassau. There was a site I think I remember seeing called Prospect Reef (??) but when I went to it, it was not an active URL any longer.

[chellbird]

This has all been pretty confusing for me- "discovery," "adventure," "encounter."

 

It's hard to tell which is which. The link Gizmo left on this thread is for "Dolphin Discovery" on Tortola (and other places that are not on our itinerary).

 

Mandy left a link for "Dolphin Encounters" at Nassau on the other thread.

 

I still don't know if these are the same places that you can book through HAL. It appears to be less expensive if you book it yourself instead of actually booking the shore excursion through HAL.

 

I know you are running out of time. I hope you are able to do something with the dolphins:) . Have you tried Gizmo's link? I would think that's your best bet at this point.

[RevNeal]

Thanks for the photos of the Dolphins. It's one of the things I've always wanted to do, and HOPE to do, on my next cruise. This is the excursion that HAL offers in Acapulco, Mexico:

 

Dolphin Adventure in Acapulco, Mexico

 

Does anyone know anything about this offering? It's gotten good marks as a passenger favorite on the HAL site.

 

Thanks!

[texkat]

The dolphin excursion that we went on was in Road Town, Tortola. We booked it through the HAL website, and in the printed HAL "Shore Excursions" brochure it's listed as "Tortola Dolphin Swim". It was the $149 excursion. The vendor was Dolphin Discovery.

 

Reading through the descriptions of all the different excursions offered in different locations was VERY confusing! There were "dolphin adventures", "dolphin encounters", "dolphin swims", and all kinds of variations. I just knew I wanted to spend as much time as possible with them, and get a chance to really swim with them. Most of the excursions described as "encounters" did not include that, but I think you need to read the descriptions (and reviews where available) pretty carefully to be sure what you're getting into...

 

The description says "children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. There was one child who appeared to be about 3 or 4 in the group we watched- I'm not sure she enjoyed it. She looked pretty scared to me! :cool:

[darnapar]

There is a very long Dolphin Adventure write up on I believe the NCL board. It was not given a very good review. The author stated the facts and why he felt as he did.

[MandyGirl]

I haven't been able to make contact via emails or website with the Dolphin place in Nassau for the swim. I will probably just have to pick up the phone. Nassau: http://www.dolphinencounters.com/program.html

 

If any of you do the dolphins in Nassau and are looking for something else to do in Tortola, here is what we are booking for Tortola: http://www.patouche.com/

I have been extremely impressed with the communication with this group, and had read a couple of very good reviews here on CC. Also, I had read that the Zuiderdam had flip-flopped St Thomas and Tortola ports on a couple of recent cruises (at the last minute), so I let Patouche know of this possibility. They work with us either way. We're doing a sail/snorkel to the Baths and a couple of other spots if we are in Tortola as scheduled (Wednesday), but if it is flip-flopped, we will do a sail/snorkel to three spots on the smaller BVI in the area that I've read about before. (We always do at least one day on a sailboat or catamaran - love it so much! And the waters in the Virgin Islands are so calm for this.)

[darnapar]

Sorry it was the Princess board, here is the link

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=44816&highlight=dolphin

[MandyGirl]

Thanks for sharing that link, darnapar. Hopefully their experience with the dolphins in Antigua is totally opposite experiences cruisers might have in Tortola or Nassau, but it was definitely insightful to read.