Stingrays VS manatees, dolphins, and sea lions

[meggggan9]

Hey everyone! I'm going to Cozumel in July for my 21st birthday and having a hard time deciding on a shore excursion!

I am considering going to Stingray beach to snorkel with the stingrays, they also have a scuba dive with the rays that looked interesting

or

Swimming with the manatees, dophins or sea lions at Chankanaab National Park. Would I have time to do more than one swim there?

I'v never been on a cruise before so any help would be greatly appreciated, I want to do the activity that is the most fun, and has a lot to do in the same area so I can make the most of my time in Cozumel! Thanks for your help everyone :)

[gapearl]

Hey everyone! I'm going to Cozumel in July for my 21st birthday and having a hard time deciding on a shore excursion!

I am considering going to Stingray beach to snorkel with the stingrays, they also have a scuba dive with the rays that looked interesting

or

Swimming with the manatees, dophins or sea lions at Chankanaab National Park. Would I have time to do more than one swim there?

I'v never been on a cruise before so any help would be greatly appreciated, I want to do the activity that is the most fun, and has a lot to do in the same area so I can make the most of my time in Cozumel! Thanks for your help everyone :)

 

I swam with the stingrays in Cayman and that was great. You will have a lot of fun doing that. If you go to Chankanaab Park, as long as you hustle to get off the ship first thing, you can do two swims. Keep in mind that each swim will last about an hour, plus you will need to get suited in your life vest and they will show you a video at the end, so really you're looking at about an hour and a half. If you do one at 11 and another at 2, you won't have as much time for snorkeling or laying out on the beach. By the time you finish that second one, it will be time to start thinking about heading back to the ship, especially if you want to do some shopping with the local vendors. I did the manatee encounter and would highly recommend it. I didn't do the dolphin swim, but it looked like fun.

 

I would NOT recommend paying money for the sea lion encounter. We got to participate in this for free because of a screw up with our reservation. The sea lion show is about 30 minutes and public for all customers to come sit and watch. The trainer went back and forth speaking Spanish and English, so we didn't know what he was saying for about half the show. There was a girl who paid for the encounter, and she and my BF were in the water for about 5 minutes while a sea lion did a trick. I later got called on stage to give a bigger sea lion a big hug and kiss. The sea lion also made it's way briefly through the audience. That's all it was. After the show, everyone who wanted to got to go on stage and take a picture with one. You will have plenty of photo ops with them, but it's not worth paying for in my opinion.

 

BTW, here's a link to my review with some pictures. I hope this helps!!!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150809-d504590-r59970416-Dolphin_Discovery_Group-Cozumel_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

[xrayvin]

The manatee encounter was amazing! I would HIGHLY recommend it.