Just back from the Fantasy Western Caribbean. I read up on a few excursions before we went and wanted to leave a review for others.
First Cozumel we were booked at Dolphin Discovery but a few days before our departure it was cancelled due to storm damage. We then booked Dolpinaris. Apparently the damage was minimal and they ended up being open that day but we stuck with Dolpinaris. The facility location was gorgeous right on the water and everything looked clean! First problem we encountered was they said sunblock would be provided and even stated so on the bus but when we arrived you were asked to shower to rinse off any chemicals but never gave “safe” sunblock. No biggie for us since we did not burn but wanted to let others who do know. Second it literally took 30-45 min to pass out life jackets so just a lot of time wasted. Seemed to be some confusion all around so could have been an off session. When we went into the water our guide was not very loud and had some confusion trying to get everyone in place. Again just bad luck other groups did not seem to have a problem and our guy NEVER smiled. Another thing for people with small kids it says you will touch/interact with dolphins on platform but our guide made us swim out 10 feet and then have the dolphin swim by to touch. Even for me it was VERY difficult to float in one place so you could touch the dolphin my kids never were able to touch when the dolphin swam by because he was a few feet from where we were. The guide actually had to get the dolphin to swim by 4 or 5 times before the adults were even able to feel the dolphin. Our instructor did things differently where he let 2 people swim right out at the beginning then he brought the dolphin over and did kisses then he asked who had swam and seemed to forget only 2 people had and then seemed to be frustrated. Also look for the photographer they never told us to look at her so no one in our group was looking in any of the pics. I really wanted a family pic but she walked off before I could ask her. Since I had swam in other places I was a little disappointed but think our instructor was the problem. The restaurant/buffet was good. The view is amazing food was good and the staff at the restaurant/bar would get a 10! They were all wonderful! We had nachos/fajitas and I think everyone in our party went back for seconds. Other thing I would recommend would be going early we went at 11:30 and we had no time for anything other than the swim (most of the time was waiting for group assignments/life jackets/showers/instructions in Spanish and English) so if you want to really enjoy the facility go early. We literally were one of the last taxis back. Overall all it was OK but just a few small things that I honestly think a different instructor would have made it great!
Grand Cayman we did the deluxe Stringray Swim and snorkel. Hmm this is a hard one to review if you just want to see the Stringrays then it is great. Nice boat! Not sure why it says deluxe or why they say snorkel. Unfornately my kids were really wanting to snorkel but there was no snorkeling. They handed out mask to view the string rays but they did not fit my kids and I only put mine on to keep the waves from splashing me in the eyes. I did ask the port adventure desk CM about the snorkeling part they said they have mask and snorkels on the boat and they were not sure why no snorkels were provided. They said they just added the snorkel description a few weeks ago but I think they should take that part out. Also if you want a true interaction with the string rays book a smaller tour. We had probably close to a 100 on our boat they do not take pics so bring your camera they will take a pic for you. Also no snacks provided but they do sell them on the boat.
Hope this does not seem to negative but wanted to give a review to help other people be prepared!
First Cozumel we were booked at Dolphin Discovery but a few days before our departure it was cancelled due to storm damage. We then booked Dolpinaris. Apparently the damage was minimal and they ended up being open that day but we stuck with Dolpinaris. The facility location was gorgeous right on the water and everything looked clean! First problem we encountered was they said sunblock would be provided and even stated so on the bus but when we arrived you were asked to shower to rinse off any chemicals but never gave “safe” sunblock. No biggie for us since we did not burn but wanted to let others who do know. Second it literally took 30-45 min to pass out life jackets so just a lot of time wasted. Seemed to be some confusion all around so could have been an off session. When we went into the water our guide was not very loud and had some confusion trying to get everyone in place. Again just bad luck other groups did not seem to have a problem and our guy NEVER smiled. Another thing for people with small kids it says you will touch/interact with dolphins on platform but our guide made us swim out 10 feet and then have the dolphin swim by to touch. Even for me it was VERY difficult to float in one place so you could touch the dolphin my kids never were able to touch when the dolphin swam by because he was a few feet from where we were. The guide actually had to get the dolphin to swim by 4 or 5 times before the adults were even able to feel the dolphin. Our instructor did things differently where he let 2 people swim right out at the beginning then he brought the dolphin over and did kisses then he asked who had swam and seemed to forget only 2 people had and then seemed to be frustrated. Also look for the photographer they never told us to look at her so no one in our group was looking in any of the pics. I really wanted a family pic but she walked off before I could ask her. Since I had swam in other places I was a little disappointed but think our instructor was the problem. The restaurant/buffet was good. The view is amazing food was good and the staff at the restaurant/bar would get a 10! They were all wonderful! We had nachos/fajitas and I think everyone in our party went back for seconds. Other thing I would recommend would be going early we went at 11:30 and we had no time for anything other than the swim (most of the time was waiting for group assignments/life jackets/showers/instructions in Spanish and English) so if you want to really enjoy the facility go early. We literally were one of the last taxis back. Overall all it was OK but just a few small things that I honestly think a different instructor would have made it great!
Grand Cayman we did the deluxe Stringray Swim and snorkel. Hmm this is a hard one to review if you just want to see the Stringrays then it is great. Nice boat! Not sure why it says deluxe or why they say snorkel. Unfornately my kids were really wanting to snorkel but there was no snorkeling. They handed out mask to view the string rays but they did not fit my kids and I only put mine on to keep the waves from splashing me in the eyes. I did ask the port adventure desk CM about the snorkeling part they said they have mask and snorkels on the boat and they were not sure why no snorkels were provided. They said they just added the snorkel description a few weeks ago but I think they should take that part out. Also if you want a true interaction with the string rays book a smaller tour. We had probably close to a 100 on our boat they do not take pics so bring your camera they will take a pic for you. Also no snacks provided but they do sell them on the boat.
Hope this does not seem to negative but wanted to give a review to help other people be prepared!
