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Dolphin Encounters?


pennkaren

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am sure this island has changed much since we were there about seven years ago off of the "NCL Sea". At that time, NCL was the only cruiseline stopping there. We did a dolphin encounter through the ship at a beautiful resort called "Anthony's Key". It was the highlight of our cruise. It began with a sit down show we watched from under thatched roof seating areas. The dolphins were in very large cage/pens in the water of a beautiful lagoon. Very Gilligan's Islandy. The handlers put them through their paces for us, all sorts of tricks. At one point a lady in our group expressed her displeasure that the dolphins were in a cage. (the top of which extended about a foot out of the water) The handler asked her how high she had just seen them jump. She says "oh at least 20 ft." He says "Then I assure you madam, they could clear the barrier by 19 ft. !) The crowd roared with laughter.

After the show we were divided into small groups and motored over to the other side of the lagoon in a small launch, to a great beach. We, in groups of 7 or 8 were introduced to a handler and a dolphin. Got pulled around the water by holding a dorsal fin, shown how to use hand signs to make the dolphin do tricks, and were amazed to see that they could differentiate different colors and shapes of sinking toys thrown out for them to retrieve at incredible speeds. There was plenty of time for petting and feeding. A video was taken of our group from both above and below the water, with the opportunity to purchase a copy later.

While perhaps we might not do this again, we have always been glad we had this unique expierience.

There was a nice museum there that explained the island and everything you ever wanted to know about dolphins. (they frequent the reefs outside of the lagoon in large numbers, and can be viewed by taking a scuba or snorkle trip with the Anthony's Key Resort folks)

We enjoyed knowing the animals viewed and interacted with during the day are free to come and go as they please. They stay for the food, and develope strong bonds to their handlers.

Check out http://www.anthonyskeyresort.com

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