Delphinus Riviera Maya — Attraction in Quintana Roo

Sadly disappointing. We were there on the 17th February 2023. We asked in advance if we could take photos and video, as one member of the family did not participate in the experience. Even before we paid the 505 USD (160 USD/per person + 25 USD for the extra ride for my sun) it was confirmed that this was possible, that the family member not participating in the programme could go in with the others and can take photos and make videos. Unfortunately, after payment it turned out that this was not allowed and when we complained, we received a rude and aggressive response from both the staff member handing out the vests and the manager on duty that day. They were particularly aggressive and rude with the women, swearing and responding in a cynical and humiliating manner. They have an area designated for photography outside the fenced area but you can't see anything from there because it is very far from the pool where the programme takes place and plants are planted in front of the view so that you most definitely can't see anything or impossible to take photos. They do everything to be able to sell the very high priced photos they make. The premium programme is supposed to last 45 minutes, but unfortunately this is not respected either, only a shorter time is provided. If you maybe mention it, you get the same negative and rude response. They have no appreciation for the guests who pay the high ticket prices to them, sadly they fail to demonstrate a fair business attitude. They are out to get as much money out of visitors as possible, they are not really interested in the rest. It could have been a very nice experience if they had the right staff and attitude and the they do not try to mislead us. I would not recommend anyone to go here.

Response to Delphinus' comments: The two members of the staff mentioned were cynical and rude, no misunderstanding. My family members were disappointed with the shorter time and because they wanted a video of the ride (we paid extra for the ride). We also paid the higher price to have a small group, just us, so it is easier to make the pictures. If we had known that it is not possible, we wouldn't have bought the tickets. I find it unacceptable that the park designates a place for photography from which nothing at all can be seen. It is not in the park's interest to find a suitable and safe place for photography closer and with a good view, because then it would not be able to sell its own pictures at a high price. In another area of the park, accessible to all visitors, there were also dolphins and a baby dolphin. This pool is only separated by a low fence and you can walk quite close to it. In fact, visitors are allowed into this area with their stuff, here for some reason the park does not attach importance to the dangers posed by mobile phones...

Booked this thru AmStar at our resort. Spent about $400+ for my son and I to do the Primax4 which I could've gotten cheaper elsewhere, the other company was further away so I stuck with Delphenus. Day of the trip, we got to the the front lobby of resort about 15 min early for our pickup from the Delphinus shuttle. Well, my son sees them drive off so we got left behind.... I go to the AmStar desk and they tell me they should've called our name out before leaving us. So, we had to rebook for a different time which was a very big inconvenience to our day as we had other things planned that day and only 2 days left before heading home. What Delphenus should've done was get their butt back and pick us up to make the customer "happy" or to make it "right". You do what u can to always make the customer happy! That's customer service! So, we get a different time slot, 3 hours later than we originally planned....

They also do NOT let you take any cameras along so they can get you to buy the only memories you have from their "photographers". Those packages start around $160 to $300. Wish I had known that bc right before we left I had spent $35 on a water camera to take my own pics there. So, needless to say, after spending $400+ on the experience, we didn't get one photo. Ripoff.

The experience itself with the dolphins was nice and it's marked off my bucket list.

Afterward, we waited about 45 minutes in the front of the building for our pick-up back to the resort. Waaaay too long if you ask me. Be prepared and check with the front desk when they will pick up again.

The dolphin part of the experience was great. The dolphins we're sweet as can be. We had no problems other than the instructor lady was not very friendly, wish I would've remembered her name. And I had trouble understanding what she was saying bc she wasn't loud enough. I was intimidated to ask her to repeat herself so many times. My son also had trouble hearing her, he asked me many times what he was suppose to do. The visitors that we're on the other side of us kept giving us looks bc of her attitude with them. Very stern when she was telling over to them.

I definitely wouldn't book with this dolphinarium company. Only reason I didn't get up and demand my money back was bc I had my 8 yr old with me and I didn't want to take the experience away from him when it was the companys fault for not getting things straight. Really sad we didn't get any pictures. For one single pic, they charge you $40. I would've done that but I didn't see any pics with my son and I with a dolphin so we would've ended up having to buy 2 pics just so each of us had a pic with a dolphin.

Tourist trap,...

SEE UPDATE BELOW Awful. So regret not going with Dolphin Discovery. We loved our Dolphin Discovery experience some years back but they were closed on the day we could go. Delphinus clearly has connections so they are attached to Xplor Xelha mega company and other locations. This was a terrible experience and to total rip off for the money. Delphinus said small groups but they meant a mega group split up into 8 groups that took forever with 2 smaller, older dolphins. They kept repeating simple exercises to stall for time. We paid extra for the superman push and the dolphins fail to push kids out of the water properly (not even past the waist) To be fair, the dolphins weren’t given enough swim distance to get the momentum needed but we really had to question how small and old these dolphins are that the same 2 dolphins were performing these activities for a huge group. Then at the end, they added some weird and unnecessary snorkel with the dolphin. You can get the same experience in a smaller group, better run and actually get pushed out of the water during the superman push at Dolphin Discovery. The photos are super expensive but they are no matter where you go. Delphinus does not offer the additional video though. We added the additional cost of transport. It takes about 30 minutes from Playa del Carmen. We had a 10am reservation so they picked us up at 8:50am at a nearby location. On the transport back, they combined us with a group that clearly stayed for another experience so we sat waiting 20 minutes for them in a non air conditioned area with nothing to do and no food or water. Then to add to the wait, we dropped them off first at playacar - I’m sure they were happy. So this added another 10 minutes for a total of 1h 40m (11:20am-12:40pm) for what should have been a 30m transport. We were hot, bored and very hungry – we thought this just added to the stinky experience. To finally being dropped off at 12:40pm. The driver wouldn’t even let us off a few blocks earlier with some nonsense about being tracked, like that was our problem. After multiple complaints and getting re-directed, a month later they refunded the transport.

UPDATE: wow, you are being untruthful in your response - not surprising. We carefully questioned about booking sizes and I have that in writing on chat and there was NO indication of group sizes of 10. We did not bend our knees and this is not the first time we have done this. The same 2 dolphins failed to push the next guy up sufficiently and he demanded they re-do it for him. You have failed to address the repetitive activities to stall for time. What a lame response to try to blame us for your...