- akakd
- First Reviewer
- 3 out of 5
- Avg. Member Rating
- 7
- Reviews
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2
- Photos
Be Careful, This Company Will Take Advantage!
- May 6, 2008
- Rated 2 of 5 by
angela bardoe from vineland, New Jersey
I really want to start with the positive first. I did the Royal Swim and my children did the general dolphin swim. Overall, the experience was wonderful. I would do it again in a heartbeat even though it was pretty expensive. However, we did run into a few snags with the company that I thought you should know before going. The company offers to pay your transportation if you book as a group which we did. Unfortunately, when we arrived we were early and there wasn't any people from Dolphin Discovery near the entrance (only the park workers were there) so we had to pay the taxi ourselves and they refused to reimburse us for that expense. Secondly, when we did get there, they told us that two of our children we under 18 so they couldn't do the Dolphin Experience without us in the same group. They tried to make us upgrade their swim to the Royal Swim and have us pay the difference. However, I refused. When we made the booking nothing was mentioned to us about this "rule". Also, my children didn't want to do the Royal Swim because they were a bit scared, plus they did have my sister with them who was 18. Finally, they gave in but we did have to stand our ground about it. When it was over, my sister wanted to buy two pictures and they have a discount for buying two. The catch is that you must buy two pictures of yourself; not, for example, one of yourself and one of your spouse, so she didn't buy any at all. This is just not good business sense. And worst of all, we did buy two dvd's; one of our swim, and one of the children's swim. I think they were $30 each. Well, we just tried to watch them with our family this weekend and our dvd was completely scratched (we hadn't even tried to watch it before so it couldn't be our fault). The audio didn't work at all, it never stopped skipping, and my husband and I were completely cut out of it! This was so disappointing; we really wanted to have the memory. Anyway, the swim experience was great. The dolphins were well trained and the people working with the dolphins were friendly and kind. The business aspect of the company needs a lot of improvements. I would encourage you to go but be careful and watch your wallet!
Follow-up….
I recently contacted dolphin discovery group to see about getting my dvd replaced because it skipped incessantly and the audio didn't work. They seemed to be willing to replace it for me, and told me that I would need to send it back to them and give them my name, the date, and the time of our swim. I sent them that information, and even included our registration number etc. Then they emailed me saying that they would also need a picture of me to in order to prove that it was me in the swim! I thought this was ridiculous but sent it to them anyway. THEN, they sent me another email saying that I needed to remember the name of the dolphin that we swam with that day! This company is just terrible! They will take your money, provide you with a lousy product and then give you every excuse in the book to not make good for it. Do not purchase any of their crap unless you are willing to take a loss on it or just swim with the dolphins through another company if you can. This is just incredible!
Captive dolphin swims
- April 17, 2007
- Rated 1 of 5 by
rodman416 from brookfield, Wisconsin
To swim with caged animals is worse than kissing your sister. Look at the critters, will you? They do what they do for a food reward. How many survive a year in the capitivity that they call home? We saw a nurse shark in a pen that was maybe 15 feet wide, 10 feet across, and 4 feet deep, with 3 trimarans of 30-50 people each, lined up to have their pictures taken with the shark. 4 of us went out that day to snorkel and drink, and visit Isla Mujeres, stayed on the boat, did not need to hold the shark. The poor dolphins get captured, get penned up, and are expected to perform for food and not bite anyone. How many die of stress related problems, does anyone think about that?
From journal Swimming with our mammal friends, in pens
Dolphin Swim
- May 31, 2005
- Rated 4 of 5 by
Lefko26 from Chico, California
This is pretty expensive ($75 to $125 per person), but something I've always wanted to do, so we went ahead and went for it. Even if you don't pay to swim with the dolphins, it's still fun to visit Puerto Adventuras, as there are shops and restaurants all around the lagoon where they keep the dolphins. There are also lots of other animals to see (sea lions, manatees, birds, monkeys, etc.).
From journal Cancun (Puerto Adventuras), Mexico
Swam with Dolphins
- July 18, 2004
- Rated 4 of 5 by
Cannon5 from Folsom, Pennsylvania
It was my dream to swim with dolphins and I got to do that. They are beautiful mammals. The cost was $119.00 for 1 hour, it was well worth it. The video was $50.00, which we did get, and the pictures were $20.00 apiece, but we did not get them. The water was not clear blue - it was dirty, that was the only bad part; but it was a lot of fun.
From journal A week at Aventura Spa Palace in Mexico
Sealife Adventure
- February 22, 2004
- Rated 5 of 5 by
karlag from Normal, Illinois
Pictures and words cannot describe this experience. It is called the Sealife Plus and it is given by Dolphin Discovery at Puerto Aventuras, which is approximately 40 south of Cancun.
The staff at Dolphin Discovery was very friendly and informative. And when my daughter put on a snorkel and started feeding the gentle manatees, I thought I would cry. Then she moved on to the stingrays and was amazed at their "velvety" feeling.
But the best part of the day was spent in the water getting to touch and interact with the stars - the dolphins. The animals were very gentle and everyone had a lot of one-on-one time with the animals.
From journal Cancun Christmas