Dolphin Encounter ages

[gkrnjlr]

I am thinking about doing the Dolphin Encounter excursion in Nassau. It's not cheap (MY opinion!) at $149 per person.....kids are not at a reduced price, either.

 

My kids are 5 and JUST turning 4 (two days before cruise), and 1. Well, the 1 year old would be in a backpack on Dad's back - if he participates.

 

Do you think it'd be a waste of money for the 5 and/or 4 year old to do this excursion? Are they going to freak out and make everyone there miserable?

[cb at sea]

Do you think they'll remember this? Are they afraid of water? Of animals?? Only you know if this will be worthwhile for your kids.

I would imagine the 1 yo is too young to spend $150 on for this. He is NOT going to remember it!

You may want to wait several years to do this sort of thing with the baby, and perhaps with the older ones, as well! Most kids really don't appreciate this sort of thing until they hit about 7-8 or so!

[gkrnjlr]

The baby is free. She would not get anything out of it at all. What I was thinking the most was that maybe the 4 year old could be an "observer" and his older brother (5) could do the encounter.

 

I just wonder if at 5 he'd enjoy it or freak out!

 

You're right that he's not going to remember it, though!

[ginger2000]

My son was 7 at the time we did this in Nassau and LOVED it! My 4 year old daughter begged and begged for her to do it as well and promised us that she would not chicken out. She is also a daredevil so we really didn't believe what happened. Took to boat out, saw the dolphins swimming, got on our wetsuits and when it was time to go in the water - NO WAY she said! We were totally shocked and so we paid $150 for her to sit on the side and watch. The only upside to this - my 7 year old son got double the time with the dolphin to make up for the fact that we had one sitting out that was fully paid for. Hard call on your kids......I wouldn't have thought in a million years my daughter would chicken out......but she did!

[NEcruisers????]

We did this for our daughter who is disabled when she was 5 and she loved it! Not to mention it was a family bonding experience that none of us will ever forget! (Please don't think I am being sappy). I would not do it for children younger than 5 and when we were there if you were observing you had to sit on a deck aways from the intereaction site, you could be no where near the water. There were several parents in our group who were thinking that they could sit on te side of the platform and not pay... no so. If you are near the platform, you pay. And you are right, it doesn't matter the age of the person, it is all one price. FYI: We purchased the photo/video package (gulp!) and were pleasantly surprised with it! It was well worth the money, if you have the extra $$ I would recommend you get the photo package. Our younger daughter is constantly wanting to pull the book down and re-live her sister's experience with her!

It may seem like a lot of money, and it is, but it is a amazing experience!

[crusinmama06]

Only you can answer this. Would YOUR kids freak out?

 

My kids started doing this at age 2. The younger one is fearless...so no, she had no problems. My oldest was a little more aprehensive.

 

They've done it a few times. But only you can answer how your kids will do. They will have to get into a pool and stand on a shelf that is approx 4 ft deep. You will hold them, so no worries about the pool depth. Then the dolphin comes up to the shelf, does his tricks, pictures taken...all done. :D

 

Then the kids will sit on the side of the pool as he does more tricks and visits with the other cruisers. (Lots of splashing)

[doctordi]

My five yo DD loves dolphins and I was considering doing this as a family, but when I asked her if she wanted to do it, she said no. She would be too scared. I'm glad I asked and didn't surprise her!

[gkrnjlr]

Tough call. I don't think that my 5 year old would be apprehensive with the dolphins and he does say he wants to do this...... tough call.

 

Also, with the observers.....do they stand back completely or are they able to sit on the edge of the pool and get splashed?

 

How long does this last from start to finish? Would we have time to do other things in Nassau while there?

 

Thanks!

[crusinmama06]

Tough call. I don't think that my 5 year old would be apprehensive with the dolphins and he does say he wants to do this...... tough call.

 

Also, with the observers.....do they stand back completely or are they able to sit on the edge of the pool and get splashed?

 

How long does this last from start to finish? Would we have time to do other things in Nassau while there?

 

Thanks!

 

Which one are you considering? Blue Lagoon or the Atlantis dolphin encounter.

 

I haven't done the one at Atlantis, but I have done the Blue Lagoon one, twice. The observers can stand back on the platform if they don't wish to be splashed. You would have the boat ride there (can't remember exact amount of time but I am thinking 20 minutes on boat). The encounter itself is about 45 minutes (less if there aren't alot of people in your group).

 

You are only in the actual water with them for about 10 minutes - max.

 

The rest of the time is spent on the side of the "pool", waiting for your turn, watching the other people with the dolphins, and watching the dolphin trainers with the dolphins showing you the behaviors. While you wait on the side of the pool, the trainer gives the dolphin the signal to go and splash the people sitting on the side. My apprehensive child just took a step back and didn't get wet.

 

I can't imagine not having time to go shopping. They do give you time to mill around at Blue Lagoon so you can get your video or pictures.

 

What time would the ship leave Nassau? Ours always leaves so late, even docking overnight. So we've always had alot of time to do what we want.

 

What ship? What ports (besides Nassau)

[lmg1230]

We've done both the Blue Lagoon (2003) and the Atlantis (2007) Dolphin Encounters. When we did the Blue Lagoon encounter my older daughter was 6. She was a little freaked out by the dolphins and didn't want to feed them and only touched them once. We did the Atlantis Dolphin Encounter two years ago when she was 10 and my youngest daughter was 3 1/2. In my opinion, it was a far better experience. We walked into the water from the beach and there was just our family of 4, the trainer and a photographer. We spent probably about half an hour with the dolphin and the trainer and both girls loved it! My husband had to hold our 3 year old because she couldn't touch bottom but she loved the dolphin! It did, however, take her a few minutes to work up the courage to touch or feed them but we had enough time to allow for that. The photos that we got were amazing! It's a really cool but very expensive experience so you'll need to decide whether you want to take a chance on the kids freaking out and not participating.