WARNING: Dolphin Experience - RIP OFF ARTISTS!

[mkadovitz]

I was very disappointed to learn how some shore excursion companies work in "CAHOOTS" with NCL. :mad:

 

We attempted to book our own tickets directly to the Dolphin Experience (from their website) in Cabo for our upcoming cruise. They are located within 50 yards walking distance from the ship. I have cruised many times and have been able to save money instead of paying the extra fees - sometimes as much as 30% to 60%, by making my own arrangements, with the same excursion companies.

 

The Dolphin Experience has a practice to give all their spaces away to NCL (Star) and require all passenger to purchase their excursions with NCL and pay the addtional fees. EVEN IF NCL DOES NOT SELL ALL OF THE SPACES! I asked the Dolphin Experience if NCL does not sell all of their allotted space if we can walk over to them and buy our tickets directly or purchase them a day in advance to save money (by going online). They told me that they would send me right back to the NCL agent nonetheless.

 

The Dolphin Experience's reasoning is that if I purchased in advance with them and our ship changes ports due to weather or other reasons, I would not be able to get a refund from them. If I booked through NCL, I would be able to get a refund for any change in plans. However, I am covered for such circumstances with travel insurance as well as insurance on my credit card. Why I should have to pay $30 more to walk from our ship to the Dolphin Experience, which is what NCL passengers would do anyway, is ridiculous.

 

We have decided to forego the Dolphin Experience altogheter because of their unprincipled business practices.

 

Buyers beware!!!!!!!!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Budget Queen]

The ship tours involve contracts that the venders are bound to. It is NOT unethical, it is VERY common. There weren't there any other venders that were not ship contractors???

 

Are you a new cruiser??? Check out the port boards, they are extremely informative on alternative tours, if you do not want a ship tour.

[newlywedcruisers]

Welcome to cruise critic.

In response, I have to say that I can see why a vendor will books all its spots through one cruiseship. It helps with remove some of the hassle that would be inherent in having large numbers of people booking through several different sources. While you did not want to go through NCL, I am sure that there are other Dolphin Excursion sources throughout the port. Perhaps it would be best to try one of those other avenues rather then forego the excursion.

[mkadovitz]

I have cruised 2x before. I have been able to bypass the NCL Shore Excursion Desk by booking my tours on my own with the vendor.

 

The Dolphin Experience allows travelers to book directly in their website and offers discounts for the privelge. I wish to have the same discount.

 

I have booked with the shore excursion desk when there was no other way to book such tours. For eample on the NCL Sun, we went to Kuhunlich, as there was no other way to book it. The tour operator did not have a website nor offered it any other way. In Hawaii our Road to Hana trip required to book through NCL becuase our ship did not arrive in port early enough nor returned to the ship in time before leaving port.

 

This is different. The Dolphin Experience allows you to book online, offers a discount, and you are not getting anything more or less when booking through NCL. Why should I or anyone else be denied the same savings. In my book that's wrong, unethical and unfare.

 

Unless there is some concession from NCL or the tour operator, we've decide to enjoy an alternative activity in Cabo.

[Markandrews]

30. dollars would seem like nothing if you had to buy a plane ticket, (or four) to meet the ship in the next port of call.

 

If you buy through the cruise line and a problem arises causing you to be late they hold the ship for you. They will be more then happy to leave you behind if you purchase excursions on your own.

 

You may have insurance for trip emergencies but is it worth the hassle?

 

Times when we purchase excursions independently:

 

When the ship stays overnight..Like on NCLA Hawaii cruises.

 

Early morning excursions that do not require a bus or boat for transport.

 

Land excursions that will take place near the ship.

 

 

When we will ALWAYS book cruise line excursions.

 

When it is the last port of call before a string of sea days.

 

When the next port of call has limited inbound flights.

 

When we are in a country were would be more comfortable touring with a large group.

 

When the cost of the excursion is so low that a few dollars savings would not make a difference. (usually less then 50 dollars per person.)

 

On our NCLA cruise we did save 100's of dollars by booking on our own. We always felt we would be able to rejoin the ship in another port cheaply if we had a problem.

[clm101798]

Ok, I'm not trying to flame anyone or anything like that, I am just confused. I understand that some tours and such contract directly with a cruise line and will only take people from the cruise line. I did a helmet dive like that - they would ONLY take people from cruise line, no one else.

 

But you are saying that this Dolphin Experience takes revservation online for non-cruise people, just not for people on the ship. So some Joe Schmoe staying on the island in a hotel can book that exact same day and time online and save money.

 

When you make a reservation with them online how do they know you are on the ship and not Joe Schmoe staying in a hotel?

[clm101798]

oops double post

[Toyz711]

i gather that what the OP was told was that if the ship was late getting to port that their amount paid would be refunded if purchased through the ship. since the ship is in the area of the dolphins and it's not a all day excursion, i don't think they are worried about missing the ship leaving port.

let me guess, to see the dolphins..they make an appointment for you. if you miss that time, you are out of luck. while the ship is in port, they give the prime times to the cruisers? or even reserve that day for the ship's passenagers? (as per their contract)

since, as much as i love these little guys, i don't like the idea of shorting their life span by forcing contact with us, humans. one less person spreading their germs to the dolphins works for me:eek:

 

any excursion listed on any ship's list has a contract with that ship. it amounts to a "non-competition" cause. totally legal, even in this country.

it would be unethical if they broke their contract.

you are just mad because you don't like it. it's your right to be mad, some of us just don't agree with you.

but thanks for the information, i was looking for things to do in cabo. we have never been, but we have family that goes fishing there at least once a year.

[hamiltito]

It is NOT unethical, it is VERY common.

 

Just because something occurs regularly doesn't mean that it's ethical. (Nor is something necessarily ethical because it is legal.)

 

I would venture that there is probably nothing illegal happening in this circumstance, but it doesn't seem to be the right thing to do. As someone else said before, if the dolphin company wants to play games in that realm, why not play games right back and try booking again, but not indicate that you are with a cruise?

[gomexico]

Businesses have the right to legally organize themselves as they see fit - and becuase someone doesn't agree with the way a business is run doesn't mean that that business is unethical. Don't like the business plan, don't patronize the business. I think the criticism is unfounded. I won't even get into the issue of whether or not it's ethical for passengers to be so anxious to involve themselves with dolphins in the first place.

[Bruin Steve]

I read this and shrugged my shoulders and thought "Huh? What's the point?"...

 

As a matter of business, it appears nothing different than the restaurant that closes its doors to the public one night because someone's booked it for a special event...You can't knoock on the door and say "I see all the tables aren't being used by the private party"...

 

This outfit likely runs tours on a DAILY basis...

They'll sell to the public, booking over the internet and giving out discounts on days WHEN THERE IS NOT A SHIP IN PORT...

 

When they have a cruise line in port, willing to underwrite their operation for the day and book the entire capacity, it makes complete business sense to handle it that way...

 

Absolutely nothing unethical, nothing illegal...nothing wrong...

 

You have no RIGHT to a discount...nor do you have the right to decide what is fully booked or not...If NCL has booked the entire capacity, whether they use it or not, that is theri right...and it is the right of the contractor to sell them the entire capacity...It WOULD be unethical for the contractor to sell NCL the entire capacity and then to continue to sell slots to YOU...

 

Picture if YOU, say, chartered a yacht that has room for 12 guests but you only had eight in your party...and the yacht charter company sold space on your charter to 4 more people unassociated with you because "it wasn't full"...

 

By your logic, that charter should not be allowed to turn those folks away...

 

If you want the tour...and NCL is the only one selling--or reselling--space, well, you'd better go through them...and pay whatever it is they're charging...

Or find something else to do...

 

...Or head down there some other time while not on a cruise and no cruise ship is in port and bargain for all the discounts you can...

[Host Caroline]

There are numerous tour operators in the Caribbean who book exclusively through cruise lines so the fact that some do so along Mex. Riviera is not surprising.. Honestly, sometimes one gets the impression that people think they will be a rung lower on the ladder if they book a ship tour.:rolleyes: As many have mentioned, when weather etc. can be an issue for a tour, it's easier business-wise for the company to book thru the ships... and it's also their prerogative.. If they weren't getting enough business by booking tours for cruise passengers exclusively through the shore excursion dept. you can bet they'd change their policy!

[OceanDreamin]

I had the same experience with trying to book independently for the dolphin swim in Puerto Vallarta through Dolphin Adventures.:eek:

 

Here is their e-mailed reply to my booking:

 

"Thank you for your online reservation request. Unfortunately our Dolphin Swim is already fully booked for your chosen date of Apr 25th 2007. This is an exclusive tour for your cruise ship that day and all allotments are held by the Carnival Pride.

You will be able to purchase these tickets board your cruise from the shore excursions desk. The tour that day will start and end at the cruise ship terminal."

I understand the OP's frustration. I was pretty irritated after having done my research and thinking I was going to save about $135 I think it was. Still, I want to experience the dolphin swim, more than I want to be irritated about it, so I went ahead and booked through Carnival.

 

I can totally understand why the company sold all their time-slots to Carnival, since they don't have to worry about un-sold time slots. From Carnival's perspective, they have more time-slots available for its less internet-research savvy passengers too.

 

Was I frustrated? Heck yes! Do I think it is underhanded or "unprincipled business practices?" No, not really. I'm still going to go and have a great time!:)

[lovebug33]

Okay, I'm going to play devil's advocate. The dolphin people are going to get more money off the cruise ship. Thus, they only want to go through the cruise ship. That just seems like business sense to me!

[10splyr]

I find this whole thing very interesting b/c I booked directly with Dolphin Encounters in PV several months ago, and I'm on a Carnival cruise and advised them of this. No problem. They took my money, gave me a confirmation number, and emailed the confirmation and directions/instructions. I guess it's possible the policy has changed since I booked in June.

[jstrack]

Life aint fair... I live in Illinois and have to pay more for a cruise than people living in California or Florida...plus I have to pay for airfare... its not fair... but dats da way it tis... The main thing to keep in mind is its all about your own personal good time and life experience. By not going on the dolphin trip, are you depriving yourself and family a wonderful experience that they will remember for many many years?

[gottago2mexico]

What you're describing is not unethical, it is a binding contract between the dolphin center and the cruise ships. It's simply a non-compete clause, which is a fancy way of saying you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.

 

Cruise ships say "We'll send you our potentially thousands of guests each year, but if we do, you have to agree to not go behind our back and sell your cheaper activities to our guests, thereby robbing us of our lucrative commissions" - in other words, "if we (the ship) are your client (sending you all our customers), you can't compete against us and steal our clients or else we just won't sell your activities". It's a pretty easy no-brainer for the tour operator, because they have guaranteed business.

 

What also happens is that the cruise ship does buy out all the spaces for certain time slots for the popular activities. Then they resell them to the passengers. So the dolphin center is fully booked for the slots that are most popular on cruise days, and don't have spots to sell you.

 

Of course, as with everything, there are ways to get around the system - you can just book the excursions outside the ship with a third-party travel agency or tour broker and get the discounts. You just can't book directly with the dolphin center themselves, you have to go through someone else, thereby not violating the non-compete clause between the cruise ship and the tour operator. Plus, it will help if you can be flexible on the times you want to go during the day. There is a lot of information on this on these forums, particularly as it relates to the dolphins activities.

 

No matter what you decide, you'll have a great time!

[ronrythm]

Why are you so upset with the vendor, but not with NCL? They are the one that's charging you the extra, not the vendor. If it bothers you this much, don't go on NCL!

[gizmo]

This practice is VERY COMMON with all cruise lines not only in Mexico but the Caribbean also. The cruise line has a contract with the tour company, dolphin swim, or whatever.

 

In Curaco, RCL had a contract with the Seaqarium for Dolphin swims. Their web site even stated that they contracted with RCL on Wed. and the dolphin swims were for RCL pax only. If you were on a different cruise line and in Curaco on Wed you were SOL if wanted to do the dolphin swim.

[junglejane]

It sounds like the dolphin encounter folks were completely upfront about their policy. It's not like they're doing anything sneaky. I agree with the poster who said your complaint should be with NCL.

 

I also think this is a common practice. When we were in Alaska in August, we tried to book the Misty Fjords floatplane trip directly through the company's website. They told us we had to book through Celebrity, even though as I recall the Celebrity price was at least $30 pp higher. And guess what happened? There was a last minute (just a few days before the departure) intinerary change, and we ended up going to Ketchikan on a different day. The shore excursions were automatically rebooked for the new day, and we were all glad to not have to worry about it.

[Cruise_More_Often]

It sounds like the dolphin encounter folks were completely upfront about their policy. It's not like they're doing anything sneaky. I agree with the poster who said your complaint should be with NCL.

 

I also think this is a common practice. When we were in Alaska in August, we tried to book the Misty Fjords floatplane trip directly through the company's website. They told us we had to book through Celebrity, even though as I recall the Celebrity price was at least $30 pp higher. And guess what happened? There was a last minute (just a few days before the departure) intinerary change, and we ended up going to Ketchikan on a different day. The shore excursions were automatically rebooked for the new day, and we were all glad to not have to worry about it.

Boy, I'm confused, junglejane! But, maybe I'm reading your post wrong. You say the OP should be upset with NCL, yet it sounds like you ran into the same thing with Celebrity and gladly booked your excursion with Celebrity. If you weren't upset with Celebrity, why would you advise someone else to complain to NCL?

 

BTW, wasn't Misty Fjords by seaplane wonderful? We did it in May (through Island Wings).

[junglejane]

Boy, I'm confused, junglejane! But, maybe I'm reading your post wrong. You say the OP should be upset with NCL, yet it sounds like you ran into the same thing with Celebrity and gladly booked your excursion with Celebrity. If you weren't upset with Celebrity, why would you advise someone else to complain to NCL?

 

BTW, wasn't Misty Fjords by seaplane wonderful? We did it in May (through Island Wings).

 

Actually, I don't think the OP has much of a legitimate complaint. I suspect that the cruise lines make the companies that contract with them enforce some sort of exclusivity policy. As I recall, the misty fjords company would've let us book directly if we'd been willing to take the later flight time, but the early morning flight was reserved for people booking through Celebrity. The cruise lines are striking a bargain with the shore excursion companies that the cruise line will send customers to them in exchange for a cut of the profit and presumably some agreement not to book directly, or at least to limit direct bookings. I'm sure the cruise lines say the customer benefits from this arrangement. In our case we did benefit, because we were saved the hassle of rebooking, and maybe finding out the seaplane company would refuse to rebook and forfeit our $$.

 

And yes, the seaplane excursion was great! --Junglejane

[10splyr]

I booked directly online with Dolphin Adventure in PV as I posted. I suppose it's possible that the timeframe I have is not one that Carnival has bookings for, but nevertheless, I didn't have a problem. And I completely understand the contracts these companies have with cruise lines and I don't have a problem with that. I'm just saying that I didn't have the problem that others posting here have had. I can also tell you if I get there on time and can't swim with the dolphins I will be very mad. But I have kept all of my emails and their answers which are going with me.

 

I'll post here when I return and let you know what happens.

[CAT GIRL]

I've ran into this situation in Antigua. I was talking to someone who

was from there and told her I wanted to do the dolphin swim while

I was there. She assured me that we cound just show up and do the

swim. Silly me believed her because she lived there. Well, time comes

for that port and we take a cab to several different vendors and no

one would take us because of the cruise ship tours. We were ticked

off because we wasted a lot of time driving around unnessesarily and

more so because we were traveling with another couple and that was

the one thing they wanted to do on the whole cruise. By trying to save

some money I ruined their day. We've saved plenty of money before by

doing our own thing and this is the only time we've ran into this situation.

I guess it's a dolphin thing.

In Jan. I'm going to Cabo and yes, I've already booked the ship's tour.

I'm not going to miss out on this special experience.