Unexso

[EI83]

Has anyone booked through UNEXSO directly? The prices are much cheaper & they have childs rates. Thanks

[Cajun Reefer]

Are you talking about the UNEXSO Dolphin Close Encounter?

 

http://bestonbahamas.com/unexso-dolphin-close-encounter.html

If so, I'm interested too. How does this compare to the one Carnival Cruise Line has through their website?

 

http://www.carnival.com/ShoreExcursionDetails.aspx?region=CE&portcode=FPO&excursionname=Dolphin+Close+Encounter&excursioncode=416001

 

Thanks!

Dennis

[kimba16001]

Through ccl it is $109/pp and through unexso it is $75/pp. I called them directly and was told that b/c I was on a cruiseline I was not able to book through them. So I booked through ccl. I was kinda mad about the price difference though.

[bzymom22]

My sister and I did the Dolphin Close Encounter through Carnival about 3 weeks ago. We were really happy that we booked through Carnival. It takes about 20 minutes to get to the place near Lucaya. Then another 20 minutes by boat out to the place where the dolphins are. Plus return time. We had very little time in port (5 hours).

We had really overcast skies when we left. When we got there, the trainer was having some problems with the dolphins. We were supposed to have 2, but they were brothers and not getting along that day. While the trainer was trying to figure out if we were going to have 2 dolphins or 1, we went over to an area with parrots. We each got to have the parrot sit on our arms and get our pictures taken.

Then we went back to the dolphin pool. We all sat in along the edge of the pool with our legs in. Then in groups of 4 went down to stand on the edge of a platform in the pool. Be careful. The platform is very slippery. There is a wooden edge right where it drops off to 15/20 ft.

My sister and I were in the 1st group of 4. The 2 people in the middle stand back to back and the people on the ends face the people in the middle. The dolphin comes between you and your partner. You can pet and tickle the dolphin. We talked to him and he talked back. We probably had about 5-10 minutes in the pool. They take your picture with the dolphin and in one he gives you a kiss. Right as we were getting our pictures taken it started to rain.

In between groups, the dolphin swims out to a more open area and does tricks. The trainer gives you information about the dolphins while groups are getting in and out of the water.

Just as the next group was getting into the water it started to thunder and there was lightening. We all got out and waited under a canopy. There were some chairs, but it was leaky so the chairs were full of water. My sister had bought some plastic backpacks for her kids when we got off the ship. We put our cameras and purses in them to keep them dry. I would only bring a waterproof camera to the pool. There were several times where the dolphin splashed us. The trainer said she was going to warn us before hand so we could protect our cameras, but she didn't. I was glad mine was safe.

It was still raining when we got in back in the pool. We had 2 more groups go. Then before we left we got to put our hands in the water and the dolphin swam under our hands so we could touch him again. He went past us about 4 times. Then the dolphin did some final tricks and it was time to go.

We got back on the boat. The dolphin people were worried about the time and the weather. We took the boat ride back. The captain said that he normally would've taken us on the open ocean there and back, but it was too rough.

Back at the home base, they rushed us over to the picture area. I thought the prices were decent if a bought you more than one. $20 for 1. We ended up buying a package of 3 for $27. I would've liked to look in the store, but they were in a hurry to get us back to the cruise ship on time. Also want to note there is a bar there that sells bottled water. 3 for $4.00 which I thought was reasonable.

Just as the bus was pulling away, it started pouring, beating down rain. Our poor bus driver was in a hurry to get us back to the ship on time - 1:30 for a 2:00 sail-away. He got stuck behind some really slow moving vehicles and was getting frustrated, but kept calm. My sister was looking at her watch reading off the time - 1:25, 1:30, 1:35, 1:40… At 1:45, we pulled in to the port. We had to run along the long fence, past all the shops (now closed) to security in the pouring rain. Then run back the other way to board the ship. We were soaked and so was all our stuff except what we put in the plastic backpacks. So we were happy we went with the Carnival excursion, because they were late and the boat didn't sail away on us.

The weather was a bit of a bummer, but we still had fun. We were very glad we went first. We talked to a guy that had done the swim portion. He didn't even buy any of his pictures, because he went last. It was raining so hard that none of them turned out. I think on a nice day the boat ride there would've been awesome.

My sister and I took the 10:00 tour. If I had to do it again, I'd take the 8:00 tour. I don't think it would be as rushed. We were gone about 4 hours and didn't get lunch until we were back on the ship.

[EI83]

Thanks Byzmom, great review. My 10 yr old daughter wants to do this & it sounds like we'll do it from your feedback. Did you have to pay cash for the pictures? I was hoping to get a video of us with the dolphins, could 1 of the others in the group have a chance to video with my recorder?

[bzymom22]

We paid cash for our pictures, but it's in a retail store so I'm sure they probably take credit cards.

 

You can give someone your camera to record it. I would bring something waterproof (like a bag) to protect it. There was one point in the program where the dolphin swam by and splashed everyone.

[traci2cruz]

We are considering doing this tour on our cruise to the Bahamas next year. I do have a few questions. First, I went to the website listed above and made a "mock" booking of the Dolphin Swim tour. They were going to allow me to book it and even asked for the name of the cruise ship I was arriving on. Kimba, why would they not allow you to purchase through them if you were on a cruise? As far as I can tell, Carnival does not offer the Dolphin Swim tour in Freeport, only the Encounter and the Open Ocean swim. I am afraid the website will not allow me to complete this reservation. Yikes! Also, has anyone done the Dolphin Swim (not the open ocean one, but the one that gives you more interaction than with the encounter?) If so, how good of a swimmer would one need to be in order to do this. I am assuming you would be wearing a life jacket, correct? Thank you for the info!

[lovermonkey]

We are going in April for just the encounter one. Was interested to see if anyone had video or pictures of their adventure? My Girlfriend really likes dolphins so I had to do this for her. Just concerned if was worth it to do so.

 

Thanks!