Mediterraneo Marine Park — Attraction in Naxxar

To all the staff,

I want to say thank you for helping me out during my first visit last week on Saturday 2023!

Now while I understand that the next group after me could not do it due to the fact the dolphin was stressed out and I can not imagine what it would be like for him at such a young age that he was at. If I recall correctly, I'm sure you told me that he was 4 years old and yet I thought he was 3 years of age, though I don't know when it comes to that sort of size dolphin!

Now regarding some feedback:

+1 With the park being small, it's easy to get around the park without having to get lost all of the time.

+1 I would like to thank one of the trainers for helping me get in and out of the pool and while I understand it's not really their job to do that sort of thing, I just like to add this to my feedback and on the other hand, I have given one of the trailers a 10 eur tip to show my appreciation for the work they put into the park.

+1 This point is for the education park during my dolphin swim, seems I learned something new about dolphins than what I thought I did and one was the age thing, just I could not really tell how old he was plus how many teeth they have. I thought they have 25 teeth and not 85 teeth if I can even recall.

-1 The size of the pool looked a bit too small for that dolphin and I think you could at least make it 2x - 4x bigger so that your dolphins can feel a bit safer should they feel they don't want to do this dolphin swim thing anymore.

-1 I could not see much in terms of things to buy from the gift shop especially when it comes to adults like myself who would love to buy myself a shirt with the brand logo on it to show that I have been to the theme park.

Additional comments:

Now, regarding the dolphin who I was swimming with, could you please tell me what his name was called and to let me know if he is okay, just I don't like to see any animal, especially dolphins for this matter to feel upset, sad, annoyed or stressed out etc.

I do know I do have another dolphin interaction this week Saturday plus with the reptiles and the birds, so when it comes to my next dolphin interaction, would it be okay if I can meet the male dolphin again for a few minutes so I can talk to him, if not that's okay but want to see if he would remember me from last week seems online they do have a very good memory.

Oh, before I forget, is it just male dolphins you allow to be around humans or do you also allow female dolphins around humans too during a dolphin interaction? So what I mean do you like to swap dolphins so they can take turns or is it due to some sort of thing that I am not allowed to know, if that is so I understand.

P.s I uploaded the 4 photos via this email should you wish to use them for marketing purposes!

Thanks...

Extremely Disappointing Experience at Mediterraneo Marine Park

I feel compelled to share my recent experience at the dolphin park in Malta as a cautionary tale for others. I had booked a swimming program with dolphins for 160 euros, with high hopes of creating cherished memories. Unfortunately, what transpired was a sequence of events that left me utterly disillusioned.

My day began with an enthusiastic visit to the park, arriving at around 10:30 AM. To my dismay, a lengthy queue awaited me at the cashier's counter, with approximately 10-15 people ahead of me. After a prolonged wait, I finally acquired my ticket at around 11:00-11:05 AM. With my ticket in hand, I eagerly headed towards the meeting point, only to be informed that I had missed my program, which was scheduled to start at 11:15 AM. The time was a mere 11:05 AM.

The staff's lack of communication and coordination was perplexing, leaving me bewildered and frustrated. The supposed manager approached me and suggested rescheduling for another day, a proposition that was impractical given our extensive travel time and prebooked activities for our short 4-day vacation.

Furthermore, when I inquired about joining the afternoon session for swimming with the dolphins, I was informed that the spots were unavailable. Instead, they insisted on transferring me to the Shallow program, an alternative that cost less (109 euros) than the swimming program I had initially paid for.

We agreed that I would participate in the Shallow program, with the understanding that we would discuss the refund of the price difference later.

As the day unfolded, my anticipation turned to disappointment as the manager vanished from the premises, leaving my grievances unaddressed. My interaction with the cashier lady, although empathetic, yielded no resolution beyond promises to "try to do something."

This entire ordeal marred what should have been an enjoyable day, tarnishing our experience and casting a shadow over the program we had eagerly anticipated. I am still awaiting a response from the Marine Park regarding the perplexing mishandling of my situation and the apparent discrepancy in the program costs.

In retrospect, the lack of accountability, the disregard for customer satisfaction, and the overall mismanagement of the situation have left a lasting negative impression. I implore those considering a visit to the dolphin park to exercise caution and carefully assess the reviews and experiences of others before making a reservation.

This experience has taught me the importance of transparency, communication, and customer-centricity in the hospitality industry, qualities that were sorely lacking during my unfortunate visit to Mediterraneo Marine park.

Extremely not...

It is 2024, for those who are still planning to visit this place you should think about it again! Dolphins should swim free in the ocean or be in sanctuaries if that is not an option for them anymore, cause they have been in captivity for decades. 3 dolphins died in the premises last year and two of them have been living most of their lives in those small tanks. DO NOT support this kind of 'entertainment' do not teach your kids to do the same, animals are not supposed to be kept in captivity no matter how loving the staff is! close this place down. A Sea Lion Completely Alone in Malta

Junior is a South American sea lion, born in captivity in 2003 at the Mediterraneo Marine Park in Malta. He was the first and to this day, the only sea lion ever born on the island. In 2023, his companion Dana died of stomach cancer. Since then, Junior has been completely alone.

Sea lions are deeply social animals. In the wild, they live in large colonies, form complex bonds, compete, collaborate, and communicate. Their ethology is clear: they are group creatures, made to interact.

Junior has spent his entire life, 22 years, confined to a tank, forced to perform every day for an audience, to “act cute,” to respond to whistles and food rewards. A life stolen, a solitude imposed. And if this isn’t a circus, then what is?

The park has announced plans to "improve" the sea lion area and introduce new companions. But this is not a solution, it’s simply repeating the same injustice. Taking more lives from the sea is not progress. It’s exploitation.

What we demand is not more captives!

It’s not hard to see that such an environment doesn’t reflect the life Junior would have chosen, nor the one he was born for or the one he deserves.

The Mediterraneo Marine Park holds not just five dolphins captive, but also him. The tank conditions remain inadequate. And there is nothing ethical or educational about these parks ,they are entertainment industries disguised as conservation.

If you truly love the sea, if you truly love these animals, don’t buy tickets to places like this. Let’s stop funding suffering behind a...