Anthonys Key Resort Dolphins

[Luckyfishrag]

Help!
I am feeling a bit frustrated. I found a pretty neat looking dive on the internet at Anthony's Key Resort in Roatan. They offer a dolphin dive. I called to book it but actually ended up calling a Florida booking agency that books for them. They told me that I could not book the trip due to the fact that I was coming to Roatan by way of cruise ship. That I would have to book any excursions from the ship. Unfortunately, the ship that I am on only offers a dolphin encounter, not a dolphin dive. They said I was pretty much out of luck... But, I haven't given up yet. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Lucky

 

[diver_paula]

I dove off a cruise ship at Anthony's Keys Resort last year. I didn't do the dolphin dive but do have some advice. The dive trip from the resort was the only excursion during the cruise that was late getting back to the cruise ship. I'm not sure if that is typical but do know you don't want to risk missing the ship. They will wait if you are on a cruise organized excursion but not if you go on your own.

Have fun!
Paula

 

[JRRKAR]

My wife and I are going to Fantasy Island in Roatan in January and wanted to get a reservation for the Dolphin Dive/Snorkel at AKR. We were told that if you are not staying at AKR, then you cannot make a reservation until you are on the island.

From what I was told by other people on the board, the Dolphin Encounter or Snorkel (I don't know if these are the same thing), is actually less expensive but better interaction with the dolphins than the dive. The dive is limited to two people at a time for a few minutes, and then you switch with the other divers. On the snorkel, the whole group is in the water for a lot longer time and more interaction. We decided we are going to do the snorkel instead of the dive.

I agree with Paula in that you are better off trying to schedule with the cruise ship due to the limited time on the island. You don't want to have to pay for a ride to the next port. I would just suggest that if you want to do the excursion with the ship, sign up for it as soon as you get on the ship. The good excursions fill up quick.

Have Fun,

Jeff

 

[Aeolus]

I have stayed at AKR and also dived with them from a cruise ship (NCL). I agree that if you want to dive on Roatan from the cruise ship, it is probably best to do so through them (sign up early). There is not a lot of time on the island and if there is a problem with the shore excursion, booked through someone else, you are just out of luck. In my opinion, it is not worth the risk.

The dolphin shows are free for people staying at AKR - not really very impressive though. I have not been on the doplhin dive, but I have talked to several people who have and they loved it. From what I understand, the snorkel encounter is good as well. These are done very near the resort at Bailey's Key.

The dives with them may or may not be close to the resort, depending on weather. If it is kicking up a little, they may stay on the south side of the island rather than going to the west end. If you get a choiceon thec west end, request a dive on the new wreck - the Odyssey. If you stay on the south side, request a dive on Mary's Place. Be sure to look around on the top of the swim throughs for Sea Horses.

 

[GratefulDiver]

Has anyone ever done the "Trainer for a Day" at AKR, http://www.anthonyskey.com/akr/dolphins/dol_trforday.html

I think I'd really like this.

Bob

 

[JRRKAR]

We thought about doing it on our upcoming trip. But we didn't want to loose an entire day of diving just to learn what goes on behind the scenes. It looks really cool IF you are there maybe two weeks, so you don't mind losing a day of regular diving. I would think this would be very good for someone that wants to get into training dolphins or working at a marine park.

Jeff

 

[AllenG]

Re snorkel vs. diving with dolphins @ AKR:


Having been to AKR many times, having been with the dolphins many times, having spoken with AKR divers about this issue many times, there is a clear answer - SNORKEL! Forget the money issue, it's about contact time and quality of that contact. When you dive with the dolphins, you wait while each person gets his/her few minutes with the dolphins. And that's all there is.

With the snorkel, you get to do a waist-deep encounter for about 20 minutes - typically 2 people with each dolphin. You get to touch, pet, look at, talk to, pose with the dolphin all you want. You then get to do an exercise with it (imagine lying flat on the surface of the water and having the dolphin come up behind you and push you around by your feet!). And then you get like 20 or 30 minutes snorkeling in a large, contained pen and can have as much interaction with the dolphin as you want provided you can be more entertaining than the others around you! Because the dolphins want fun interaction, things you do to engage them promote even more interaction. So it's not just swimming and watching them swim.

Yes, it sounds like diving with them should be more fun (i.e., more bottom time, no need to surface for air), but every person who dives with the dolphins comes back with a modestly positive reaction, every person who snorkels with the dolphins comes back with an ear-to-ear grin that says he/she had a great time, and everybody who dives and then snorkels with the dolphins says "why did I bother with the dive!"

Enjoy your trip!

Re trainer for a day: it depends on your predisposition. Training for a dolphin (or any other species for that matter) is rote, repetitious and not necessarily the rewarding experience that you may fantasize. If you took an Intro Psych course in college, you probably had to do an experiment wherein you were training a rat to hit a lever in order to get a reward. The rat experience is stultifying mind numbing. Extrapolate to dolphins and you see that the trials consist of watching for behavioral antecedants to the target behavior, sneaking in your auditory and/or hand signal, hoping the dolphin shows the behavior sufficiently to permit giving it a reward (fish) and then repeating again and again and again . . . It is not necessarily a Henry Higgins-Eliza Doolittle process ("the rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain . . . ") or giving hugs to the dolphin every time it shows the desired behavior. But if you have the right disposition, it can be a ball. And the staff are great!
Allen

 

[GratefulDiver]

Thanks for the tip regarding the snorkeling vs. the dive. Good advise.

For the Trainer for a Day, I don't expect to teach a dolphin to fetch or anything. I'm more interested in the behind the scenes aspect of their diet, care and habitat, etc, so I may do it as well. Maybe on my last day before I fly.

Bob

 

[JRRKAR]

Bob,

When's your trip? I am going the first week of January. Let us know how you make out.

Jeff

 

[DCDivenut]

I want to echo previous sentiments regarding the snorkel not the dive. I was in Roatan in July and people from my group did both. Their feelings were exactly as described before.

Dive - Cool
Snorkel - Awesome!!!