Chankanaab question

[erinmomof2]

We are looking at booking a dolphin swim for our family of 4 in November. Booking through the ship is $180 more than booking directly. This is our first cruise, so I was hesitant to book anything on our own, but everything I'm reading makes it seem like this is a really easy excursion to do on our own. The one thing I'm worried about is if for some reason the ship cannot dock in Cozumel for some reason that we would be out all the money. Is this something that happens? Alternatively I know you can book these type of excursions through outside companies, would this offer more protection in case we needed to cancel due to weather? And, my last question, if it is better to use an excursion company does anyone have any recommendations on who to use?

 

Thanks!

[Jgarriso]

Last year, we like a lot of people booked straight through chankanaab website, we kept hitting the cruise line wall and were forced to say we were staying at local hotel. We had no issues. Even brought our towels. Just kept them in a bag until we got our wristbands. Saved a fortunate. I don't mind the cruise ship making money, but instead ov leveraging their power to get better deals they get greedy and rip u off. Just my opinion. Ps, saved a fortunate

But u always run the risk and u are the one who has to deal with it.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Jgarriso

[Addictedtocruising]

Don't want to change your subject but thought I could also get some advice here :D

 

I'm wondering if anyone walked up and paid at the entrance for a sea lion encounter?

I really don't want to book ahead, does that excursion get filled up quickly?

 

Thanks much!

[mitsugirly]

Yes, Chankanaab has the policy when you book that if your cruise ship is not able to dock because of weather then I believe their policy is that they give you the chance to use it next time you come back or a refund. I would have to do some research to find out the details for sure. You could always talk to them (they use to have a button to talk online, chat, and you could ask these questions...or call them). :)

[momof5cruiseluvrs]

We did this last year through Cozumelinsider.com in November. We booked on our own for 11 of us in our group to swim with the dolphins. It was much cheaper and because we booked through them we got a free "swim with a manatee" and the lunch buffet included. The lunch wasn't the best but it was free. We saved hundreds of dollars. Everything went smoothly without a single hiccup. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

 

My cousin was on the same cruise with us. She booked the same excursion through the ship. We got there before her, got the free lunch, got to swim with the manatees, and paid so much less.

 

I was hesitant to do it too. It was our first cruise and we were traveling with our 5 children in our group. It was super easy to get there. We were all able to take the same taxi there and back. It was amazing! My biggest piece of advice (besides the tip to use cozumelinsider) is to bring bug spray if you want to walk through the wooded area to explore the grounds. We were checking out the replicas and I wanted to try the tequila tasting. We were eaten alive by bugs. I should have thought about it. I mean, we were in the tropics!

[skittl1321]

Yes, Chankanaab has the policy when you book that if your cruise ship is not able to dock because of weather then I believe their policy is that they give you the chance to use it next time you come back or a refund. I would have to do some research to find out the details for sure. You could always talk to them (they use to have a button to talk online, chat, and you could ask these questions...or call them). :)

 

 

Keep in mind, if you cruise on a line that has an exclusivity contract and are not "allowed" to book directly and you lie and say you are staying at a local hotel to get the less expensive price, it is unlikely you will be able to use this guarantee. So there is a bit of a gamble in that. I don't know what line the OP is on; but this most often seems to be something Carnival cruisers have to do if they book directly.

Edited August 28, 2015 by skittl1321

[erinmomof2]

Thank you for all the tips. We are on Norwegian, I'm not sure if they have an exclusive contract or not. I'm not comfortable lying to save money, so I guess I'll have to see how that goes. I may try booking through Cozumel Insider, the only potential problem I see is that they do not offer a full refund if the cruise ship is unable to dock there.

[beckyjohns]

We are on Norwegian in November and I just booked straight thru Dolphin Discovery.

 

Take a look at your shore excursions thru NCL and read the description. I looked at our particular cruise and it was apparent that NCL's excursions were going to Dolphinaris, not Dolphin Dicscovery. However, when I tried to book online at Dolphin Discovery, it wouldn't allow me to do it if I said I was on a cruise. I didn't want to lie, though, because I wanted that guarantee that I would get my money back if the ship didn't dock. I clicked on the "chat" button on their website, explained the situation, and she booked me directly with no problem at all.

[mitsugirly]

Thank you for all the tips. We are on Norwegian, I'm not sure if they have an exclusive contract or not. I'm not comfortable lying to save money, so I guess I'll have to see how that goes. I may try booking through Cozumel Insider, the only potential problem I see is that they do not offer a full refund if the cruise ship is unable to dock there.

 

Carnival is the one that has the contract with dolphin discovery

[kateg]

I just wanted to add that I just booked this for December using the live chat option. It was very easy and the representative told me that if the ship doesn't dock then we can get 90% of our cost refunded. She did mention needing a "letter from the cruise line" as proof. We are on NCL, and I said we were on a cruise ship, but the representative never asked which cruise line we were on.

[StuckiTribe]

We went to Chankanaab in February and we just got off the boat, got a taxi, and went into the park. It wasn't crowded at all! I was amazed at how cheap it was to swim with the dolphins vs. the amount we paid at Dolphin Encounter in the Bahamas! We didn't swim since we had just done that on our last cruise, but we thought about doing the sea lion or manatee swim. We took Fruit Loops from the ship (mitsugirly has great reviews that I read through!) and we had chairs and shade, the kids laid in the hammocks, we walked around the grounds....all in all, it was a great day and we saved a ton of money by doing it ourselves! We didn't book through an excursion company at all. The taxi fare was $25 each way for the 6 of us if I remember correctly. It honestly was a great day! Enjoy yourselves!