Costa Maya--Dolphin Encounter or Dolphin Swim?? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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As a rule of thumb (without looking up the specifics of these excursions), "encounters" tend to be shallow-water touch experiences, while "swims" involve things like being pulled through the water by the dolphin. Another way to look at it is the price - the lower the price, the gentler/less physical (and shorter) the experience is likely to be.
Another rule of thumb is, if the description doesn't mention it explicitly, it's not going to happen. The only difference between two excursions of different lengths and prices may boil down to a few key words in the description. Take a pencil, and line-through every item the excursions have in common, and see what's left. (To be fair, excursions often include at least one pleasant surprise - a sight you didn't expect to see, or a small refreshment/free sample - but there's no assuming what it may be.)
When I analyze excursion offerings for a port I've gone so far as to create a spreadsheet with several dozen columns. If it's mentioned, it gets checked-off or the details (duration on the bus/boat, time in water with the creatures, age/height restrictions, etc.) are entered in the appropriate column. I've been known to calculate the ratio between travel time and activity time, cost per hour of activity time vs. total cost per hour...
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Co-Author, PassPorter's Walt Disney World, PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line, and PassPorter's Disneyland and Southern California Attractions
I agree to all of the above. The Dolphin excursions always seem to have the most options and are the most tricky. It really does come down to just a few words here or there that you really have to LOOK for. I think you're the opposite of most though, while most people WANT to be pulled through the water by the dolphin it sounds like you'd be happy just standing on a platform touching them and looking at them, so i'd start looking at the most least expensive excursion options. The description should also tell you about how long to expect in the water "interacting" with the dolphin. Look for the verbs, "interacting" "observing" "swimming" "touching" "propel" that will give you a good indication of what to expect on your excursion.
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