Chankanaab having restrictions on Carnival Passangers?

[mymi]

I called to try to set up reservation for royal dolphin swin....if you book now directly through them you get one for the regular price the other for $1.00! Thats an aweseome deal!! Well I told them what day I would be there and what ship I was coming in on and they said they had restrictions and carnival passangers had to book directly through carnival. Carnival charges $50 bucks more for the same swim! Anyone ever delt with this and how did you get around it. Did you lie? And if you lied...since you werent considered a no stop no pay person did you get your money back if you werent able to stop? Also if you know of anywhere else to swim with dolphins in cozumel or jamacia please let me know!

[mitsugirly]

This has been discussed on here a lot of times if you search, you may find more information from people that have actually did it.

 

Yes, Carnival has an agreement with them and you have to buy your excursion with the cruise ship.

 

Most people on here check the schedule and find another ship that is there that day and say they are on that ship. (Just make sure you don't bring your Carnival towels). :D

 

Or, you can say that you are staying on the island at one of the resorts. It has worked for most people. :)

[GrandmaHofmann]

That is what I would do. Carnival has no right to control its passengers in that manner. Do you even have to say where you are staying?

[DonnaBeachLover]

I tried to book and got the "no" and didn't want to pay extra $ for the Royal Dolphin swim. My daughter and her family were going too. She called them back and booked for all of us - and gave them the name of a hotel.

We enjoyed the dolphin ride - so don't know what would happen if you had to cancel b/c the ship didn't stop there. I'm guessing you just lose your $.

It was a chance we were willing to take. I can't see paying extra "just because" I'm on carnival!:D

[TrulyTexan]

If you can find a way to do it on your own, then I would highly recommend it! We did the Carnival excursion this week and it was a lot of wasted time just standing around and waiting. From the time we got off the ship and met the tour guide until we actually got in the water with the dolphins was about 2 1/2 hours. And it was sooo hot and humid. Bring water (and maybe even snacks). The dolphin swim itself was great! Just didn't like waiting for everyone in group to arrive, then waiting to be sorted into groups of 8 to ride taxis to park, then waiting for all taxis in excursion to arrive at the park, then waiting to hear description of park facilities, then waiting to be sorted into different dolphin groups (Encounter, Push/Pull or Royal Swim), then waiting for everyone to get lockers, then waiting to be sorted in groups for your particular dolphin swim. Get the idea? Just seems to me that if you did it on your own, you'd get there in the 7 minutes it takes to drive from port, then swim with dolphins and have the rest of the afternoon to swim and snorkel.

[nazgul1]

I did the excursion through Carnival in March 2011 and really enjoyed it. I didn't feel there was a lot of waiting around. Once there we were divided into smaller groups and had a lot of personal attention from the trainers.

 

 

I prefer to do the excursion through the cruise line for the added sense of security.

[Me76]

I tried to book and got the "no" and didn't want to pay extra $ for the Royal Dolphin swim. My daughter and her family were going too. She called them back and booked for all of us - and gave them the name of a hotel.

We enjoyed the dolphin ride - so don't know what would happen if you had to cancel b/c the ship didn't stop there. I'm guessing you just lose your $.

It was a chance we were willing to take. I can't see paying extra "just because" I'm on carnival!:D

 

We had booked this with dolphin discovery for last Oct. when we went on the Dream. At the last min. we got rerouted East, and had to cancel. You have the option of either re-booking the same swim anytime in the next year, or a refund -15%. Had no problems getting the refund at all. Just called and canceled, and it was back on our debit card within 4 days, and the international processing fee our bank charged was even refunded.

[Gemynii]

Here's how to book independently:

 

Go to: http://cozumel-tours.com/chankanaab-park.htm

Click on the dolphin swim that you want.

Scroll down to the bottom and click where it says "Book It"

A little window pops up. Fill in the info on right. Click "Book Now"

The page will change so that you can see your total after discount. Click "Checkout"

Enter your Personal Data and Billing Information.

Where it says "Where are you coming from?", click "Cruise Ship"

On the drop down menu "Choose a Cruise Ship Company" select "Ecommerce"

For "Cruise Ship Name", type in "Ecommerce".

Click "Book". Make sure to print a confirmation.

You will also receive an email with a "Discount Card" that you can use at numerous locations in Cozumel.

I read how to do this on several threads here on CC. Under Ports of Call, Cozumel, you can do a search for Dolphin Swim... you just have to read through them all to find it.

I walked my sister through the process so that she was able to book her Dolphin Swim for when we're there in July. She ended up paying only $300 for 4 tickets.

The package that sis chose was the Dolphin Swim Adventure. Normally $99 ea, she paid $75 ea.

This package is the Push, Pull, Swim that Carnival sells for $130 ea.

 

Enjoy!

[Terri1270]

Do you know if Cozumel time is the same as Galveston time? I booked a 1pm time and the ship is suppose to be in from 10am-6pm that day. Just need to make sure there time and my time is on par.

 

Thanks!

[k2excursion]

Do you know if Cozumel time is the same as Galveston time? I booked a 1pm time and the ship is suppose to be in from 10am-6pm that day. Just need to make sure there time and my time is on par.

 

Thanks!

 

It is, with the exception of 4 weeks of the year. They do daylight savings the same times that we used to (early April thru late Oct). Now, we switch in mid-March & early Nov. So for 3 weeks in March-April & 1 week around Halloween, there is a difference.

[beckymomof2]

I got ready to book directly and went online and started a chat with a rep with some questions. They said I couldn't book with them because I was with Carnival. I waited a couple days then went online and booked. I selected hotel instead of cruise ship. Then put "undecided" for the hotel.

 

It worked... so far. :D

[Gemynii]

Just as a follow up... my sis and her family had no problem getting into the dolphin swim with their online booking (using "ecommerce") confirmation printout.

[beckymomof2]

Do any of you know what the time difference will be between Cozumel and the Carnival Liberty in August?

[Gemynii]

Do any of you know what the time difference will be between Cozumel and the Carnival Liberty in August?

 

Cozumel will be one hour behind ship time for Liberty.

[alfecia]

Is this new? We were there in September of last year and didn't have any issues. Does anyone know if they have restrictions for just showing up that day and using the beach? My guys loved snorkeling there and are looking forward to doing it again in August.

 

Thanks!

Alicia

[Gemynii]

Is this new? We were there in September of last year and didn't have any issues. Does anyone know if they have restrictions for just showing up that day and using the beach? My guys loved snorkeling there and are looking forward to doing it again in August.

 

Thanks!

Alicia

 

The only restrictions are if you want to do the dolphin swim. Anyone can purchase tickets for the park itself.

[alfecia]

The only restrictions are if you want to do the dolphin swim. Anyone can purchase tickets for the park itself.

 

Thanks for clearing that up for me! I was beginning to worry about it. We're all looking forward to spending another lazy day at Chankanaab!

[Gemynii]

Thanks for clearing that up for me! I was beginning to worry about it. We're all looking forward to spending another lazy day at Chankanaab!

 

It's really beautiful there. I did end up paying $7.50 for 3 can of soda though. :eek:

Cozumel and Chankanaab Park is the next part of my review that I'm doing. Lots of pics.

[sail7seas]

Is it easy to find taxis back to the ship when ready to leave the beach?

 

[mitsugirly]

Is it easy to find taxis back to the ship when ready to leave the beach?

 

 

 

Very easy. There is a parking lot right beside (within) Chankanaab out front. There is a guy that stands out front with a walkie talkie and when you are ready, he just radios them over. We left real late last time and the beach was just about cleared and there were still tons of taxis in the parking lot. :)

[sail7seas]

Great!!

 

Thank you. :)