RCI excursion--Do you HAVE to use their transportation?

[Cecilia V.]

I have been researching dolphin swims and have decided we'd like to book RCI's Push, Pull, Swim excursion at Chankanaab in Cozumel. At $99, it is reasonably priced and I prefer the cruiseline's cancellation policy as compared to the one we would get if we booked privately.

 

I would like to book this excursion for my two teen daughters only, ages 14 and 17; my husband and I want to come to the park and pay the $19 admission fee but not do the dolphin swim. I am concerned because my daughters' excursion fees includes a taxi ride to the park and we don't want our daughters travelling without us.

 

Will our daughters be allowed to ride in a taxi with us to the park and then meet up with the excursion group there? Do you think there would be any problems if we want to do that?

 

Thank you for your help!

[Ella2]

Typically for ship excursions you show up on the pier, find the person with the placard for your excursion, and they turn you over to the tour operator who escorts you to the transportation and the tour.

 

You have to hand them the shore excursion TICKET that you paid for, at the time and place designated, and I just don't think there is any way you can deviate from the ship process, at least at the beginning of the tour. You COULD meet up with the tour operator on the pier and ask this question, and they may be willing to just meet up with you at the park...but there is really no way to know that ahead of time.

[dohertm1]

Why book it through RCCL? It's probably cheaper for the four of you to share the taxi and pay the admission directly at the park. Ship excursions are usually more expensive. My family often does things on our own and we save money. Just an idea.

[Cecilia V.]

In this particular instance, RCI is offering a competitive price and their cancellation policy is much better than if we book thru Dolphin Discovery.

 

RCI would refund our money completely if we can't do the excursion for any reason. Dolphin Discovery would either offer 90% refund if we end up not going to Cozumel OR possibly a one-year extension on our experience if the weather is bad and we can't do it. Since we don't plan to be cruising again within a year, this would not help.

 

Has anyone else booked the dolphin swim thru RCI for only some of your party? I really don't want to pay the $99 each for my husband and myself. On the other hand, I don't want my girls riding independently to the park. I just don't know what to do.

[windjamming]

Have you tried shorex@rccl.com? I've traded emails with them in the past and found them to be willing to be helpful.

 

I would also try the Ports of Call forum for details on this particular excursion.

[Stevesan]

In this particular instance, RCI is offering a competitive price and their cancellation policy is much better than if we book thru Dolphin Discovery.

 

RCI would refund our money completely if we can't do the excursion for any reason. Dolphin Discovery would either offer 90% refund if we end up not going to Cozumel OR possibly a one-year extension on our experience if the weather is bad and we can't do it. Since we don't plan to be cruising again within a year, this would not help.

 

Has anyone else booked the dolphin swim thru RCI for only some of your party? I really don't want to pay the $99 each for my husband and myself. On the other hand, I don't want my girls riding independently to the park. I just don't know what to do.

If the tour operator does use taxis, you can grab a separate taxi and instruct your driver to "follow that cab". :) There are plenty of cabs at the pier.

[unberwoob]

If the tour operator does use taxis, you can grab a separate taxi and instruct your driver to "follow that cab". :) There are plenty of cabs at the pier.

 

This may not work. We had to wait in a long line for a taxi to the park. The ship's excusion may not have people wait in this line. Also, they will fill up the taxi with excursion participants most likely.

[Grand Prix Racer]

I would go to the shore excursion desk as soon as you get on board to make sure everything goes OK for your family. They are generally helpful with these issues.

 

Because you may take a cab without booking the excursion from the ship you must be 100% clear what you need to do.

[Paul65]

My advice would be to book it. When you are onboard, check with the excursion desk to explain your situation and see if you can arrange to ride along with the excursion group. They can probably work that out for you. If not, I don't think you need to worry about following in a cab, while your daughters ride with the excursion group. They'll be travelling in a group and will be fine, and it won't be hard for you to catch up with them at the park. I believe, as part of the excursion, they can get vouchers for a taxi on the way back, rather than traveling with the group. That's not at all unusual for people to hang around and enjoy the park after the dolphin encounter, rather than going straight back to the ship.

[Cecilia V.]

Thanks so much for your help. I think I will go ahead and book the excursion for my daughters. Then, I'll check with the excursion desk after they board. I suppose I can cancel the excursion if I don't like the answers I get.

 

Does anyone know the cancellation policy regarding this? If I book an excursion online and then want to cancel it once onboard, can I do this?

[negc]

Perhaps you should just book it for your daughters through the cruiseline and ask your question at the shore excursion desk as soon as you board. If you aren't pleased with the answer you can cancel at that point and get a full refund. Then all of you could go directly to the location and see if you can book the activity for them when you arrive. Unless you fear that you won't be able to book it onsite, or that doing so will be prohibitively expensive, this might be your best option. I personally think that your daughters should be fine traveling with the other passengers who are on the ship's excursion but only you are qualified to make that kind of value judgement. You might also find a fellow passenger who will be on the excursion whom you could trust to watch over your girls until you can join them at the excursion site.

[Daghis]

I have this exact same issue. I called a Royal Caribbean shore excursion representative and was advised to go ahead and reserve the excursion for our son and then inquire on board to see whether there is an associated "Observer" excursion that provides transportation and admission only. If not, the excursion is fully refundable up to 24 hours in advance.

 

I also noticed that Royal Caribbean's excursion price is very competitive, running about 50-70% of the price that it would cost to book the experience directly, especially when you factor in park admission and transportation.

 

I'm tempted to just go ahead and book the excursion for me as well. Although I don't have any pressing desire to swim with a dolphin, it's definitely the case that it's something I've never done before and wouldn't likely do again, so I'm considering just giving it a go for the experience.

[JenAndDan]

Definitely ask RCCL because I did the dolphin encounter in Curacao and in our group over we had a family of five but only four were actually participating (so the mom got to ride in our van with us but didn't participate in the excursion and I am pretty sure she paid for her admittance fee when we got there).

[FreshOffTheBoat]

Just do it yourselves too, you wil have fun.

[cruisingram1]

In this particular instance, RCI is offering a competitive price and their cancellation policy is much better than if we book thru Dolphin Discovery.

 

RCI would refund our money completely if we can't do the excursion for any reason. Dolphin Discovery would either offer 90% refund if we end up not going to Cozumel OR possibly a one-year extension on our experience if the weather is bad and we can't do it. Since we don't plan to be cruising again within a year, this would not help.

 

Has anyone else booked the dolphin swim thru RCI for only some of your party? I really don't want to pay the $99 each for my husband and myself. On the other hand, I don't want my girls riding independently to the park. I just don't know what to do.

 

When we were in Cozumel last April, my two granddaughters and son in law did the Dolphin Swim and the rest of us bought observer tickets through the RCL tour desk. The dolphin swim was booked through RCL too. We all traveled together and the non swimmers were able to watch the dolphin swimmers and then we were all able to spend the rest of the time in the park and travel back to the ship together.

[Caliterp07]

I have this exact same issue. I called a Royal Caribbean shore excursion representative and was advised to go ahead and reserve the excursion for our son and then inquire on board to see whether there is an associated "Observer" excursion that provides transportation and admission only. If not, the excursion is fully refundable up to 24 hours in advance.

 

I also noticed that Royal Caribbean's excursion price is very competitive, running about 50-70% of the price that it would cost to book the experience directly, especially when you factor in park admission and transportation.

 

I'm tempted to just go ahead and book the excursion for me as well. Although I don't have any pressing desire to swim with a dolphin, it's definitely the case that it's something I've never done before and wouldn't likely do again, so I'm considering just giving it a go for the experience.

 

If you book it directly that includes park admission as well. The prices are pretty identical, if I remember correctly. The bonus to booking on your own is that the groups will be significantly smaller (we had 7 people in our dolphin group, the ship excursions had more like 15 last year).

[SmokinActuary]

I have a similar dilemna with my Venice stop. RC has a Saint Marks at night tour that starts at the ship, but I am already going to be in the city. I emailed the shorex desk to ask if I could meet the tour at Saint Marks but the contact told me that they did not know and I would have to speak to the shorex desk on the boat. :rolleyes:

[SmokinActuary]

Oh I forgot to add Saint Marks isn't open to the general public at night.

[Cecilia V.]

Thanks for all of the help. I'll probably go ahead and book for my daughters and then talk to the Shore Excursion people on board.

 

Another question--none of us have snorkelled before. I know they have snorkel equipment for rent at Chankanaab. Will they also show you how to actually use it? And, if we do a dolphin swim, will there be time to snorkel afterwards?

[cruisingram1]

When we were there last April (2008) the water was VERY VERY rough. Rough enough that the tour operator asked us if we wanted a refund. The caveat was that we had to request the refund right then.. on the pier.. before going to the Park. Since this was a special treat for my granddaughters, my daughter decided to take a chance. BAD decision. The younger (age 5) was petrified of the waves, even in the contained area and climbed out almost immediately. Can't blame the staff for the weather.. and they really tried to help by sending in an extra lifeguard to help out. (One dad.. two kids) The older one (age 7) braved it out, but the experience was less than optimum. I don't know if these conditions are typical, but we did appreciate that they offered a refund on the pier. This was booked through RCCL so I don't know if this guarantee would come from a private tour.

 

The water in the beach inlet in the park was delightful, even though the ocean was really rough. Lots of tide pool creatures to look for. The facilities in the park were clean.

[SmokinActuary]

Weather and water conditions are the luck of the draw.

[aggie1]

We were on a family cruise over New Years on the Conquest and our granddaughters did the dolphin encounter because of age (2 & 7). The price on the ship was $159 ea. We booked thru Dolphin Discovery and the 2 yr old was free with a paying adult. Carnival had no break in price. We paid $77 ea for Mom & Dad and $67 for 7 yr old. DD emailed our reservation to us and it said that if ship did not dock in Cozumel we would be totally refunded. Nana & Pops just paid admission to park and watched. We grabbed a cab at terminal and it was $15 for 8 of us! It was a great adventure for the girls, but the water was very cold on Jan.2 in 2009. I am sure prices have increased.

[cruzin lady]

My only concern if I were in your shoes would be if that shore excursion was full, and you couldn't purchase tickets to go with your kids. I know you can easily cancel RC's shore excursions once onboard, so I would probably go ahead and reserve for the entire group. Then as soon as you are on the ship, you can talk with the Shore Excursion people to see what you need to do. That way, you would be with the kids. Just my opinion, for whatever it's worth. :)

[Cecilia V.]

My only concern if I were in your shoes would be if that shore excursion was full, and you couldn't purchase tickets to go with your kids. I know you can easily cancel RC's shore excursions once onboard, so I would probably go ahead and reserve for the entire group. Then as soon as you are on the ship, you can talk with the Shore Excursion people to see what you need to do. That way, you would be with the kids. Just my opinion, for whatever it's worth. :)

 

Good idea, Cruzin Lady. Maybe I should book for all 4 of us, and then hopefully cancel for 2 of us and get an observer rate. Can I definitely cancel RC's excursions without penalty?

[akcruz]

Good idea, Cruzin Lady. Maybe I should book for all 4 of us, and then hopefully cancel for 2 of us and get an observer rate. Can I definitely cancel RC's excursions without penalty?

 

You can cancel an excursion 24 hours or more before hand and get your money back. They will credit your onboard account with the refund.