Dolphins (or else) in the wild - tips

DH and I waded out to our knees on Serenity Bay and he found a sand dollar... made me worried to walk around there, afraid I would accidentally harm something by stepping on it!

I know everyone hates on Nassau, but we actually liked the semi-sub excursion there... we saw sharks, barracuda, sea turtles, etc. It's around a tightly controlled reef, and at one point we saw something that shouldn't have been there (it wasn't trash, but now I can't remember what it was! a piece of equipment maybe?). The guide said he'd have to go back out and retrieve it b/c essentially no one else had permission to go there. He was part tour guide, part caretaker of the protected reef. DS8 was desperate to see sharks in their native environment, so the tour was completely worth it in that respect. I'm not sure what we'd do if we encountered one on Castaway... I might be less happy with that view than the one I had from inside the semi-sub!

In Alaska a few years ago.... Totally COOL and there were LOT of them. They came up right next to the ship for quite a while.
Also I once saw a bird STANDING ON THE WATER. I stood up to get a better look and it was actually a bird riding / resting on the back of a sea turtle (think the comic BC but in the water instead of on land)
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Amazing photos!! We saw a few dolphins on a catamaran tour in Oahu last summer, but nothing like that! And none whatsoever on the one Alaskan cruise I've been on.
 
In Port Canaveral watch the water b4 the ship leaves. The port area is full of wildlife. I routinely see dolphin, manatee and turtles paddling around. Tarpon too.

When the screws and thrusters start everything moves away for a bit. But as mentioned dolphin will often play in the bow wave and the wake during departure.

I can't think of a time when eating at Grills I DIDN'T see dolphin ....
 
In Port Canaveral watch the water b4 the ship leaves. The port area is full of wildlife. I routinely see dolphin, manatee and turtles paddling around. Tarpon too.

When the screws and thrusters start everything moves away for a bit. But as mentioned dolphin will often play in the bow wave and the wake during departure.

I can't think of a time when eating at Grills I DIDN'T see dolphin ....

I would love to see manatees and turtles!!!
 


In Port Canaveral watch the water b4 the ship leaves. The port area is full of wildlife. I routinely see dolphin, manatee and turtles paddling around. Tarpon too.

When the screws and thrusters start everything moves away for a bit. But as mentioned dolphin will often play in the bow wave and the wake during departure.

I can't think of a time when eating at Grills I DIDN'T see dolphin ....
Where is Grills? (1st time cruiser here!!)
 
I agree with you! Let's encourage people to spot them in the wild instead of encouraging "swim with the dolphins".
My daughter is a huge dolphin fan....she has written book reports on dolphins almost every research project she's had since kindergarten!! We took her on a dolphin cruise from Myrtle Beach last summer and we were able to see them swimming and jumping in the ocean from the boat, it was a great experience! I came clean with her that there were dolphin swim excursions on the cruise we will be going on, but when I showed her the excursion to the baths and how it seemed more natural and beautiful than the dolphins swim, she agreed even without me pushing too hard about their captivity. I'm intrigued by this post to find ways to see wildlife in their natural habitat on our trip! It is my first time on a cruise.
 


I agree with you! Let's encourage people to spot them in the wild instead of encouraging "swim with the dolphins".

I try with every chance I get! But be prepared for major kickback. Just FYI if you are on Facebook look up Justice for Captives, Sea Shepard Cove Guardians, and Ric O"Barrys Dolphin Project.
 
I try with every chance I get! But be prepared for major kickback. Just FYI if you are on Facebook look up Justice for Captives, Sea Shepard Cove Guardians, and Ric O"Barrys Dolphin Project.

I'm keeping an eye out for it on the thread just fyi...! Surely we can all keep disagreements on the matter civil. :)
 
you pluck flesh off with your fork

it falls away

super mild flakey white fish catching all the flavors of the marinade .......

try it ......
 
Ive seen turtles in the open areas in the pier at PC, turtles and dolphins while having dinner at Fishlips, turtles and other assorted wildlife at the fishing pier at Jetty Park (the big pier at the end of the channel)
 
We were in room 2070 on the Wonder and it was the PERFECT spot on the ship for the wake-break. One evening as we were getting ready for dinner, we caught up? to a pod of dolphins. There were hundreds of them and they were jumping right outside of our window. We could see their eyes and mouths opening and closing. They were that close. Needless to say, we ended up missing dinner that night and just stood at the window in awe for 2 hours. We were off the coast of Costa Rica. We also saw crocodiles going through the Panama Canal.
 
We were in room 2070 on the Wonder and it was the PERFECT spot on the ship for the wake-break. One evening as we were getting ready for dinner, we caught up? to a pod of dolphins. There were hundreds of them and they were jumping right outside of our window. We could see their eyes and mouths opening and closing. They were that close. Needless to say, we ended up missing dinner that night and just stood at the window in awe for 2 hours. We were off the coast of Costa Rica. We also saw crocodiles going through the Panama Canal.
What a wonderful experience! Did you notice if there were fish (ie: Dolphin food) in with the dolphins? I wondered if they were following the food or just playing with the really big fish (the ship)?
 
What a wonderful experience! Did you notice if there were fish (ie: Dolphin food) in with the dolphins? I wondered if they were following the food or just playing with the really big fish (the ship)?

Not that we noticed. But that doesn't mean they didnt exist. I will never forget sitting at the desk getting ready and seeing something out of the corner of my eye fly by in the reflection of the mirror out the window. I thought I was seeing things...but then it happened again, so I looked and there were hundreds of them. It felt like a private dolphin show just for us. They were jumping and flipping. One of the highlights of that cruise.
 
they like playing in the pressure waves that the ship creates. We see this as the waves that form the wake. I've seen large swarms come from quite a distance away to come 'play' around the ship. Thvy'll jump and wave surf for a while then decide it is time to move on and off they go to their next adventure.
 
I'm keeping an eye out for it on the thread just fyi...! Surely we can all keep disagreements on the matter civil. :)

I try to avoid threads regarding dolphin swims. It is tempting to comment but bursting someone's bubble is touchy especially when they don't ask for it/don't want to hear it.

Nobody is going to swim with Dolphins thinking: "I'm going to encourage the captivity of dolphins in bad conditions". Most of them think that they are well treated and they want to think that the places keeping them are caring very much for them.

I've seen them in the wild... It was so magical that when I finally ended up taking a peak at dolphins in captivity at Blue Lagoon, I felt horribly sad. The space they live in was just ridiculous.
 

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