Dolphin Discovery Punta Cana — Attraction in Higüey

Our excursion was scheduled for 11:00am however the way there schedule work it doesn't start till 11:15am. No problem so we waited patiently. One of the instructors came out to get people to go the staging area and he left us out. One of the other employees came to get us and instructed us to go with that group. We kindly explained that the other employee told us to wait. The current employee states that the first instructor "English is no good" and walked us over to that group. Then the first instructor walked us back the sitting area and belittled us and reprimanded me as if I was a child. Which made me a bit upset. I explained that the other employee told us to go with this group. The other employee that explained the first employee English is no good came back to us confused on why we were in the staging area again. I explained the first instructor walked us back here. Then the employee proceeds to walk us back were the first employee just reprimanded me as if I was child. At this point I was no longer interested in this excursion. I asked to speak to a manager which was Martha. I explained that the lack of organization and the rudeness of your staff has made this a non enjoyable experience and I would like to not participate in your excursion, and would like a refund. She apologized and offered to upgrade our package. But she failed to understand that the service that is being providing is not one of quality or a well organized one. A complimentary upgrade does not fix those things. Martha said "no problem we will issue a refund" then she checked that I booked through Expedia and explained that I would have to reach out to them to process the refund and that they will approve it. I asked is there any documentation that will be needed she stated nope. We have the documentation from the order number. I was like okay awesome thank you. She asked that we wait outside and and the driver will take us back to our resort. We go outside and the employee that been helping us apologize for the situation and asked is their anything they can do? I explained have a better run facility. He instructed us to go inside the shuttle. We go to get in the shuttle and the driver says "no amgio you must wait". I explained the employee just told us to go to this shuttle. He replies "no". So we go and wait on the bench outside for 5 or 10 mins...the guys outside are confused why we are waiting and we explained the shuttle told us "no". He called the shuttle and made them turn around to get us. Me and my wife felt terrible and apologized to everyone in the shuttle which the people inside were nice and explained its not your fault that they are so disorganized. The best advice I can give anyone if you want a quality experience with great service look else where. I am still in the process of them issuing a refund which they have denied twice. At this point I am ready to do a charge back with my credit card company you cant make me pay for a service that was never rendered. I am still baffled how Martha said they would approve my refund just to deny it later...I really wish this could of been a positive experience and it was everything but that. I hope that there management will hire employees that are enthusiastic about their job and treat their patrons with a positive attitude instead of having a poorly run outfit with very...

I’d done a lot of research into the different options available on the island but was still apprehensive given the mixed reviews. My biggest fear was that we’d be fleeced for tips and photos but took the plunge and booked their top package - Royal Swim Memories. I was persuaded by the promise of all the photos being included in the price and despite the high initial up-front cost am happy we booked it.

Upon arrival the staff at the desks at the rear of the shop were welcoming and friendly. All our questions were answered and it was clear where we needed to head and what would be happening. Leave a fully refundable deposit for a locker key and there’s no doubt whether your belongings are safe. There’s plenty of lockers available and they’re large enough for a couple to share. The changing areas are spacious with individual cubicles and decent showers.

The restaurant outside is nice, offering a limited but good range of snacks and drinks with seating undercover. Other than this area there’s no other opportunities for shade during the experience so remember the sun screen! The area with dolphins is on a raised level so you can’t see other experiences taking place before your time slot, but there is a small pool and kids area while you wait.

Life jackets are handed out in suitable sizes and they’re not uncomfortable and there’s a short briefing before heading up the steps to the main pools where the crowd is split up depending on the experience you have booked. We’d been informed that there’d be a maximum of six people in our experience but our Thursday 1pm booked had just the two of us. This was great since we got the full experience to ourselves are were able to do the listed activities a number of times. The trainer was happy to answer all our questions and was friendly enough.

Following the experience there was plenty of time to shower and change, as well as check out the photos on PCs and browse the shop - our included hotel transfer wasn’t due for another 45-minutes. This is where we were so glad that all our photos were included in the original price, since ordering them individually looked horrifically expensive. We didn’t get any printed but instead emailed to us, which was better as we could then do as we pleased.

Overall it was a great experience and my original fears were unnecessary. We weren’t pushed too badly for excessive tips, didn’t have any unexpected costs and the experience itself was thoroughly enjoyable - it’s...

Disappointed and infuriated are just two words I would use to describe our experience with Dolphin Discovery. For simplicity, I have created a list of each problem below. I hope everyone finds it useful and possibly thinks twice before spending hundreds of dollars on a terrible excursion.

1. No-matter how many times you are told you will be alone or in a family group with an individual dolphin and trainer, the truth is, you will actually be part of a large group of strangers (we got lucky and had a child with what looked like a case of measles in our group). In this group, you will spend 80% of your time standing on the ledge waiting for the others to get their photos taken; so, we strongly recommend you bring sunscreen.

2. Bring your wallet or purse, because although you pay a hefty fee to participate in the fun, our trainer told us that because we had a bit of extra time, my wife and I could do one more boogie board ride... if we tipped him, that is. I wish I was making that up. So I order to be maximally efficient with your time, be sure to bring more of your hard earned money; big bills only, please.

3. Speaking of payments, every person my wife and I talked to paid a different price for the same experience. I understand haggling, but they bring it to a whole new level here.

4. But what about the memories and photos? Those are priceless, right? WRONG. In order to get a family photo, you must Pre-pay $150, whether you like the photo or not. If you do not pay, the photographer will refuse to even snap the photo. Photo prices are also outrageous. $41 per print, and a minimum of $130 for the CD and print rights to the 15-20 photos you get during the day.

5. If you have to use the bathroom, do yourself a favor, go in the dolphin pool. When my wife and I entered our respective bathrooms, we agreed that they hadn’t been cleaned since the building was made. The stench of urine was easily enough to force you to retreat back to the gift shop.

In conclusion, we recommend this excursion to absolutely nobody. In total, my wife and I had about 8 minutes of dolphin interaction between us both. After photo purchases and the base price, the total came to over $300. If my math serves me right, after rounding up to 10 minutes of interaction, we paid a sickening price of $1800 per hour to swim with the dolphins, and although it is cool to watch the dolphins flip, this price was enough to make me...