Dolphin Swim PV

[captpeachy]

Thinking about dolphin swim in PV. Anyone try this before?

[OceanDreamin]

I did the Dolphin Swim - through the ship tour at the Vallarta Adventures facility in Nuevo Vallarta. It was really an amazing, amazing experience. One of my friends I met through my RollCall, went to the other dolphin facility in PV on her own, and she said that was incredible too - She and her young son did the Dolphin Encounter, while her husband and older daughter did the Dolphin Swim.

 

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.:)

[cruizluver]

Did you book the dolphin swim from a cruise ship excursion or from someone online? How much did it cost and how long were you in the water with the dolphins? Is it deep water and do you take a small boat out to where the dolphins are or are they confined in an area? We are cruising the last part of Oct. and were considering the dolphin swim. Any info you have would be helpful!! Thanks!!!

[OceanDreamin]

I tried to book directly with Vallarta Adventures, but they informed me that Carnival had booked up all of the time slots for the day, so I would have to book through Carnival, which I did. I think it was about $25 per person more through the ship, but transportation was included. I don't think a taxi would have cost me anywhere near $75, but I really wanted to do this, so I paid the extra money and booked through Carnival.

 

We took a 15 minute boat ride to the facility. Once we arrived, we listened to information about the dolphins while we watched them swim about in a big pool, how to touch them and interact with them, and got to hear them "speaking" to each other under the water. We left our belongings where we were sitting to watch the dolphins, and went to an outdoor shower area to shower off before donning life vests, and getting in the pool with the dolphins.

 

It is a very large pool with 8 dolphins swimming around - two dolphins per "group" - but I don't quire remember how many of us were in each group. The groups were small enough that we got plenty of individual time with each dolphin. It didn't feel crowded. The water is very deep, and life vests are mandatory. Also it allows you to focus on the dolphins, and not worrying about staying afloat. My 6-year-old DD, who was just learning to swim did just fine.

 

First the dolphins just swam around us, checking us out, while we were giving them tummy rubs and such. They were swimming freely around us going wherever they felt like. After a while the trainers sent the dolphins out with fish in their mouths. You would take the fish from the dolphin's mouth, twirl around, and then give it back to them to eat. They also taught us hand signals to get the dolphins to "sing," we got to hug the dolphins, get dolphin kisses, and even got a ride on the dolphins. What they did was to have the dolphin swim up to you on it's back, and you grab hold of their two bottom fins which are sticking up (I don't remember the name of those fins), and so the dolphin is swimming along on its back, and you are tummy-to-tummy with the dolphin, getting a dolphin ride. There was an odd number of people in my group, so I got to ride between the two dolphins in my group, which was really cool! At the end they had us all hold on to the edge of the pool, and all 8 of the dolphins did tricks for us - up close and personal! They don't do the nose to foot push or a dorsal fin tow, as those activities can hurt the dolphins.

 

I think we were in the water with them for 45 minutes to an hour - and it was a truly, truly incredible experience.

 

Things to note: You cannot wear any jewelry since it could scratch the dolphins, so leave any and all jewelry in the safe on the ship. My husband can't get his wedding band off, and since it is just a plain metal band, they said that was fine. We asked what would happen if it had a stone and he couldn't get it off. They said they simply would have covered it with duct tape so that it didn't scratch the dolphins.

 

Also you cannot wear any sunscreen. We are all very fair skinned, and since I wanted to minimize sun burns, I brought extra t-shirts to wear while swimming. I saw some other people wearing hats too, which was a good idea.

[Solstice]

Thank you for the great description, OceanDreamin'! Now I'm more convinced than ever that I want to do this.

[dbdave]

We booked our own 'dolphin swim' online with Sea Life Park in Puerto Vallarta. It can be found at puertovallartatours.net.

[Jay Bee]

Things to note: You cannot wear any jewelry since it could scratch the dolphins, so leave any and all jewelry in the safe on the ship. My husband can't get his wedding band off, and since it is just a plain metal band, they said that was fine. We asked what would happen if it had a stone and he couldn't get it off. They said they simply would have covered it with duct tape so that it didn't scratch the dolphins.

 

I have a bracelet that I have worn for years. It has no clasp, and I would have to break it to take it off. I'm sure it would be unacceptable to leave it on since it could definitely scratch the dolphins. What would be the best solution? Duct tape?

 

Thanks.

[OceanDreamin]

I have a bracelet that I have worn for years. It has no clasp, and I would have to break it to take it off. I'm sure it would be unacceptable to leave it on since it could definitely scratch the dolphins. What would be the best solution? Duct tape?

 

Thanks.

 

Just let them know when you get there that you can't remove the bracelet. They will provide you with duct tape or something to cover it. The other thing that comes to mind is to maybe swim in a long-sleeved shirt rather than a t-shirt, and maybe the material covering the bracelet will do the trick. Just let them know right away when you get there. The staff were very nice and helpful (and all spoke perfect English).

[OceanDreamin]

We booked our own 'dolphin swim' online with Sea Life Park in Puerto Vallarta. It can be found at puertovallartatours.net.

 

I would have done that too, but they wouldn't let my 6-year-old DD do the dolphin SWIM, only the encounter, but Vallarta Adventures would let her do the SWIM, so we went with that.

 

One of my friends I met through the RollCall for the sailing booked privately with Sea Life Park and did both the dolphin swim and the dolphin encounter there (she did the encounter with her 4-year-old, and her husband did the swim with their 7-year-old). When we met up that evening and compared notes, she told me they had a wonderful experience at that facility as well.

[Jay Bee]

Just let them know when you get there that you can't remove the bracelet. They will provide you with duct tape or something to cover it. The other thing that comes to mind is to maybe swim in a long-sleeved shirt rather than a t-shirt, and maybe the material covering the bracelet will do the trick. Just let them know right away when you get there. The staff were very nice and helpful (and all spoke perfect English).

 

Thanks. Good suggestions.

[captpeachy]

Thanks for the info.

[AussieKathy]

I did the Dolphin Swim - through the ship tour at the Vallarta Adventures facility in Nuevo Vallarta. It was really an amazing, amazing experience. One of my friends I met through my RollCall, went to the other dolphin facility in PV on her own, and she said that was incredible too - She and her young son did the Dolphin Encounter, while her husband and older daughter did the Dolphin Swim.

 

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.:)

 

I didn't realise there was more than one place that did the dolphins swims. We are booked into the Sealife Park in Nuevo Vallarta in early October.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

This is what I really want to do but I don't have a stop in PV. I understand there is the same thing at Cabo but more expensive. Does anyone know if it will be just like OceanDreamin described in Cabo? Same company?

[dam1050]

OceanDreamin - Thanks for the great description ...

 

I was thinking of doing this excursion as well and your excellent description has sold me on it

 

Dave

[gumballz]

OceanDreamin, I know you wrote about this a couple of months ago but I just found this thread and have a question for you. You mentioned that you booked directly through Carnival. Did you book the 'Dolphin Swim Experience' for $139 pp or did you book the 'Dolphin Encounter' for $109 pp?

[sueandkent]

OceanDreamin, I know you wrote about this a couple of months ago but I just found this thread and have a question for you. You mentioned that you booked directly through Carnival. Did you book the 'Dolphin Swim Experience' for $139 pp or did you book the 'Dolphin Encounter' for $109 pp?

 

You will definitely want the Dolphin Swim Experience if you want to actually get in the water and swim with the dolphins. When we were there, the people on the Encounter stood on a platform in a pool with a dolphin which they got to touch. We were in the water for just about an hour in a group of 7 with two dolphins and two trainers. It's worth every penny.

[gottago2mexico]

This is what I really want to do but I don't have a stop in PV. I understand there is the same thing at Cabo but more expensive. Does anyone know if it will be just like OceanDreamin described in Cabo? Same company?

 

The swim in Cabo is run by the same folks that run the Vallarta Adventures (cruise ship) swim in PV, and the activities are essentially identical. The Signature Swim is the one you want to do - it's better than the Experience or the Encounter. For a real treat, in Cabo they also offer a half-day Dolphin Trainer for a Day.

 

The Sea Life swim does offer the Royal Dolphin Swim, which includes the very exciting foot push - something Vallarta Adventures doesn't offer. There is no Royal Swim in Cabo yet.

 

Hope this helps, have a great time!

[OceanDreamin]

OceanDreamin, I know you wrote about this a couple of months ago but I just found this thread and have a question for you. You mentioned that you booked directly through Carnival. Did you book the 'Dolphin Swim Experience' for $139 pp or did you book the 'Dolphin Encounter' for $109 pp?

 

We did the Dolphin SWIM. As a prior poster stated, the ENCOUNTER is on a platform, where you are about maybe waist deep in water. You get to touch the dolphins and such, but the SWIM is MUCH better IMO.

 

And to Yukon111, Johann & Sandra are absolutely correct. The Cabo dolphin facility is run by the same folks as the Vallarta Adventures one I wrote about.

[gumballz]

Thank you all for responding, I appreciate it. I normally like to book my excursions with independent companies so I don't have much knowledge on ship run excursions. :) With that being said, if we were to book through the ship, is transportation to and from the facility included?

[OceanDreamin]

I think the cabo dolphin facility is right next door to the pier, but if you book through the ship, transportation is always included.

 

When I wanted to do the dolphin swim in Puerto Vallarta I tried to book directly with Vallarta Adventures, but since they contract with Carnival, they would not book with me directly. My only choice was to pay the extra $ and book through the ship. It was worth it though.:) I'm guessing you'll probably experience the same thing in the Cabo Dolphin facility - but it couldn't hurt to try!;)

[gumballz]

OceanDreamin, I'm talking about the one in PV, not Cabo. Was your transportation included in PV? Thanks! :)

[OceanDreamin]

Oh, sorry! Yes, they put us on a boat to get us there (which DD loved), and we had an air-conditioned bus ride back. It was included in the excursion through the ship. If I had booked directly with Vallarta Adventures (which I was unable to anyway), I would have had to get there on my own.

[gumballz]

lol No need to say sorry. I should have specified in my original question. Thank you for the info!