My first message to you if you are considering this trip. DONT DO IT! This was a big waste of TIME and MONEY. I am talking for the booking off of the Inspiration. You only hae a couple of hours as it is, and this will take every minute youve got. You are hearded like cattle from place to place with no real time to enjoy anything.

First they ferry you to the main dock, cruise ships dont directly dock at this location. They your grouped up to go to the locations you paid for. They give you an arm band, they take you to a parking lot where your ride is waiting. From there is is about a 20 minute trip to Dolphin Cove. You walk through a little forest area with some parrots. Take your photos fast because they are rushing you through to get the next group in. You enter a souvenier shop and exit onto a patio facing the cove where the dolphins are kept.

They then seperate you into those who paid for the Encounter (Touching), and the Swim (Just another form of touching). This is the funny part. The explanations for the no cameras policy is because the dolphins could eat them, but that doesnt stop them from sending kids down to take your photographs when your doing your thing with the dolphins. Their cameras are dolphin friendly I guess. They also charge like crazy when you llok at them after the event. You cannot take pictures of you or your family doing this yourselves. If you want photos, you have to buy them.

The encounter was shaking fins, then the guy yelling "Are you having fun"

Then touching his belly as he swims by, then the guy yells "Are you having fun"

Then touching his back as he swims by then the guy yells "Are you having fun"

Then the photo shot. The dolphin comes out of the water for a kiss, then the guy yells "Are you having fun"

You are then hearded up to the porch where you wait for the boat to take you to Stin Ray City. You board a boat that takes about 20 minutes to get to the sandbar where the stingrays are. This was great (funny I mean) this was nuts. There was about ten boats docked in a circle around this sandbar. All having about 25 to 30 passengers a piece. Here you are let off the boat and put into a circle. The guys on the boat do all the wrangling of the stingrays while yelling at you "get in a circle please" the guys bring the stingray around to you to touch, then they bring it behind you where they sit it on your back and head for the obligiatory photographs. One thing to remember that everything is about making money. A couple f people including myself snuck away from the group and did the encounter on our own. This part was great. The rays do come up to you. You can pet them, and hold them with no problems. The largest I saw was about 5' across. (Huge) Definately take the underwater cameras for this one. All this time you still here the guy yelling "In a circle please" It's funny. Anyway you hearded back onto the boat where you are taken back to Dolphin Cove.

You then catch a shuttle back to the dock. Here you stand in line to catch a ferry back to ship. No time for sightseeing.

If I had it to do again I would skip this tour all together. If anything I would do the Stingray City on waverunner. This is offered by a company on the web, sorry I dont have the name. They have fun driving out to the sandbar, do the encounter in a small group of about 6 persons, then have fun driving back. Please dont waste your money on this. I was excited probably like you are right now about the whole thing. What a let down this was. Definately book something else.