Dolphinaris, Cozumel, June 2022

During our stay at Cozumel Palace in June 2022, we chose Dolphinaris as one of our excursions. If booked online through the Dolphinaris website, it is the Fintastic experience, 40 minutes in the water. Regular price of $149 but there is always a discount when tickets are purchased online.
We checked in, filled out paperwork and waited in an area that overlooked the pools. We were called towards the lockers for an “orientation” of what would happen. It’s also where you could rent a lock for the locker, I think the price was $10 or $15 and it came with a souvenir. While this is an option, if you take your things with you, you get your own storage container to put your items in down by the pool, right next to where you get in. Showers were mandatory to rinse off before getting in the water.
After showering, you wait in line to have a life vest put on. During this time, they assign you to a group. After getting your life vest, you have the option to get a drink at the bar and look out at the pools again. You can use your cameras throughout this until you are called from here. Once your group is called, you can no longer use your personal camera. They have a photographer for your group who will take several pictures, many looking like a duplicate because they are taken so quickly.
You are taken to an area with a large umbrella and those storage containers that double as seating. Place your belongings inside and get in the pool. They do provide masks, but you can bring your own.
The trainer is very knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions you might have. They do a great job at keeping track of who has done what. They have to keep the activities mixed up, so the dolphins don’t get bored.
After the time in the pool, you have the option to go to the restaurant, which we did not do, or go through the gift shop. We went straight to the gift shop to check on the photographs. Since we were staying at Cozumel Palace, there was “special” pricing for us. They would not bargain any lower. It was a take or leave it situation. It’s a once in a lifetime experience, we won’t do it again, so we took it.
The photographs are emailed to you within 24 hours. We did not receive ours in that time, so I went back to the shop and explained I had not received them yet. They sent them immediately and were in my email before I left.
Overall, it was fun. The price expensive, but for us it was worth it.
Haters are going to hate, so here’s my comments:
Do I know about the controversy surrounding dolphins in captivity? I do. Do I agree with it? I do…. to an extent. Did I debate back and forth whether to go or not. Absolutely.
I believe wild dolphins should be rehabilitated and released to the wild if possible. Is it always possible? No. It’s also very different when a dolphin is born in captivity. I mean, dogs were wild at one time and there are still wild dogs. Does that mean your little ankle biter of a dog belongs in the forest with bears and mountain lions? Studies have shown that dolphins born in captivity like to be with their humans.
The following Information from www.dailymail....
The study, published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science, was led by Dr Clegg from Paris University.
She worked at Parc Astérix, a theme park with one of France's largest dolphinariums, looking at dolphin behaviour over three years.
Dr Clegg attempted to better understand dolphin emotions by looking at their postures.
Dr Clegg tested three activities: a trainer coming and playing with dolphins; adding toys to the pool; and a leaving the dolphins to entertain themselves.
'We found a really interesting result - all dolphins look forward most to interacting with a familiar human,' Dr Clegg said.
The animals showed this by a movement known as 'spy hopping', which is when they look above the surface in the direction that trainers usually arrives from.
The dolphins also became more active in the pool and swum closer to the edge, according to the BBC.
'I think that wild dolphins are happier in the wild, and captive-born dolphins are much happier in captivity,' said Birgitta Mercera, the director of the Parc Astérix Dolphinarium.