Dolphin Encounter ®
A program for all ages: Learn and have fun!Designed especially for kids and families, the Dolphin Encounter is the ideal program to introduce your children to nature and the beauty it offers. Your kids will be able to enjoy safe and fun activities that will delight them and have them entertained while they learn. The entire activity is done from a platform, ideal for those not comfortable with swimming. The program includes a dolphin kiss, a hug, and a handshake. While you’re in the water, you will also be able to enjoy their games, dancing, and singing.
After your swim, uncover one of Cozumel’s hidden treasures, Chankanaab Park. Enjoy the best snorkeling of your life in the pristine sea at the park, where you can explore the underwater worlds of coral reefs, colorful fish, and many other undiscovered surprises.
Dolphin Discovery location at Chankanaab Park is open at 9:00 am.
A program for all ages: Learn and have fun!Designed especially for kids and families, the Dolphin Encounter is the ideal program to introduce your children to nature and the beauty it offers. Your kids will be able to enjoy safe and fun activities that will delight them and have them entertained while they learn. The entire activity is done from a platform, ideal for those not comfortable with swimming. The program includes a dolphin kiss, a hug, and a handshake. While you’re in the water, you will also be able to enjoy their games, dancing, and singing.
After your swim, uncover one of Cozumel’s hidden treasures, Chankanaab Park. Enjoy the best snorkeling of your life in the pristine sea at the park, where you can explore the underwater worlds of coral reefs, colorful fish, and many other undiscovered surprises.
Dolphin Discovery location at Chankanaab Park is open at 9:00 am.
Our Trip to Chankanaab & Dolphin Encounter
Let me just start by saying that we enjoyed the park and we loved the dolphins. There were a few did few small issues that I will highlight later. We purchased our excursion from Carnival, which is not always the cheapest way to go, but it included transportation to and from the park. I was willing to pay more simply to remove the hassle of figuring out transportation in a foreign country with 3 kids. Some packages include lunch, but ours did not but it worked out well for us.
First up, was our dolphin encounter. This is a photo I took from a distance of some people doing the push/pull with the dolphins. Sadly, this is the only photo I have of the dolphins. Photo's are not allowed in the dolphin area because the have photographers to take your photo. The photos are great and costly. I knew this from my research beforehand and decided the photo's were not in my budget. I resisted the urge to buy them by not going to look at them and forgetting my credit card on the ship.
Our group was small 4 mom's (including me) and 6 kids. My 11 year old was the oldest child and my 2 year old was the youngest. First we were directed to the free lockers to stow our stuff. This is where I encountered my first issues This one is purely our issue, nothing to do with the park itself. The lockers are a nice size, however we had brought our wheeled backpack as a beach bag/diaper bag. I thought this would be a huge help with the stroller and the 11 year old in a cast. Not so much It would NOT fit in the locker. So we were forced to remove valuable and cram them in the locker and the stash the backpack and stroller nearby.
We then resorted to wrapping my son's cast in Saran wrap and white duct tape. Yes, it did get wet, but not to bad. Due to the locker issue and the arm wrapping we were a little late getting to the instruction portion of the encounter. Next up, we were given life jackets and headed down to the pier and into the water.
Our group was small 4 mom's (including me) and 6 kids. My 11 year old was the oldest child and my 2 year old was the youngest. First we were directed to the free lockers to stow our stuff. This is where I encountered my first issues This one is purely our issue, nothing to do with the park itself. The lockers are a nice size, however we had brought our wheeled backpack as a beach bag/diaper bag. I thought this would be a huge help with the stroller and the 11 year old in a cast. Not so much It would NOT fit in the locker. So we were forced to remove valuable and cram them in the locker and the stash the backpack and stroller nearby.
We then resorted to wrapping my son's cast in Saran wrap and white duct tape. Yes, it did get wet, but not to bad. Due to the locker issue and the arm wrapping we were a little late getting to the instruction portion of the encounter. Next up, we were given life jackets and headed down to the pier and into the water.
Our dolphin was Frieda and we had the added bonus of having her baby in the water with us. While we encountered Freida with her trainer there was another dolphin trainer working with the baby dolphin in the other end of the enclosure. On the deck was the photographer ( paparazzi!) and another employee. We absolutely loved the dolphins and the staff was great.
Enter Issue # 2: I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS EXCURSION FOR CHILDREN WHO WILL BE PRIMARILY HELD IN THE WATER. I had my doubts about how this excursion would go for my 2 year old. She loves dolphins and does well in water. However, she can be unpredictable so I knew going in that there was a good chance that she and I would end up watching. And we did. She and I both stayed in long enough to touch the dolphin, but it is extremely hard to balance on the platform, reach for the dolphin, and hold onto a child at the same time. My lack of balance started making her nervous. In theory, you stand on the waist deep ledge, hold on to the fence behind you and reach out as the dolphin swims ups to you. Hard to do while holding a small child, or if you have a cast. However, the boys still enjoyed it. The loved kissing and holding the fins and making the dolphin dance and wave good bye. Little miss and I sat on the pier and watched them, the baby dolphin, and the birds. Yes, we enjoyed it. Did we get our money's worth? Not really. Even though Amber was free, we still paid about $300, not including tips and snacks.