Oceanarium — Attraction in England

It's sad to be writing an unhappy review but sometimes I wonder if the super positive ones are real or encouraged somehow. It is upsetting when you believe them completely and pay out for not only tickets but parking etc. Our visit cost us over £100 so apologies but it is important to give feedback. This review is for management really in the hope that certain aspects can be improved for the animals as well as visitors.

First, if you have mobility issues and choose the lift whilst your party use the stairs - there's no guidance whatsoever once you are out of the lift as to how to re-join them or where the stairs might be. There were lots of older people, with walking sticks and larger people like myself desperately needing a rest and yet not single seat anywhere on the premises other than cafes. A person with mobility issues needs a rest along the way, not just at eating places. One or two chairs would have been enough. There was space out of the way to do this.

In terms of the fish and displays - this was very disappointing. Not much to see and the glass in some cases was so dirty you couldn't see in (see photo). We waited for the otter feeding only to find that the enclosure had no roof daylight as with the penguins. It was so dark and dingy that we found it hard to even see the otters and gave up (see photo - there's an otter right in the middle which you can't see). Otters live outdoors and in fresh streams and rivers - their enclosure in no way represented this. I felt very sorry for them.

I've been to zoos and aquariums who have made an effort to help visitors of all heights and ages see better into enclosures. Here I found one peep hole in the otter enclosure almost on the ground. Only a tiny toddler was able to look in - he didn't find anything though to look at. I think management need to visit other zoos and do a bit of a refurb. Of course this takes investment but the enclosures are completely out of date so it is necessary for the animals as much as the visitors.

By comparison the penguins had a better deal but very little to do and explore.

The shark tank was difficult to look into and see anything due to reflections. You could see them better in the tunnel. The stingrays were easier to see into the tank but the plastic guard window which I assume is to stop people reaching in was scratched and not clean so if you have a child you'd need to lift them up above to see. Again, peep holes positioned well would have been good here.

The coral nursery was very disappointing ... saw two little Nemo looking fish not having a great time in the couple of inches of water there was.

There was some poor looking lizard in a dark, musky enclosure - the arrow in the photo shows how much you can actually see of him.

The whole walk through was very humid. The toilets were quite messy and cubicles very narrow so if you are a bigger person, there are some cubicles you won't be able to get into.

On the plus side the staff were courteous and friendly and the gift shop had some nice items.

If you have small children who are easily excited - this may be a good place to come. For teenagers and adults though ......

TLDR- In and out in about 30mins including parking the buggy and toilet stops. Disappointing and struggled to see the animals in the tunnel, would waste time or money 😬

Unfortunately, upon our visit we were left thoroughly underwhelmed by the space, how the exhibit where constructed and the other visitors, which whilst is no fault of the venue staffing be used differently to have made this better. Now I'll dive deeper (no pun intended).

The space, there seemed to be no real flow, I feel we missed out on parts and had to double back in some areas. If this was not the case, signage needs to be improved. Also buggy park being upstairs means that we had to wait a while to park the buggy and exit including waiting for other buggy and wheelchair users for quite some time.

The other visitors, at the 'pop-insude photo opt' in particular a lady who was there alone was waiting for the chance to have her picture taken, I agreed to take it and as she was half way underneath a woman with a junior aged child push infront of this lady. This then happened straight away after with my husband who was holding my baby another family pushed past to get there shoot without waiting or apologising after. I find this incredibly rude and I'm out case dangerous.

The exhibits, most seemed ok but for me the main part of an aquarium with an underwater tunnel is the joy of walking through and viewing the animals ... At this one, for some reason, has been constructed underneath a giant window. It made the water look incredibly murky and we couldn't really see the animals. It was incredibly disappointing. The view point from outside it were better but the tunnel took so much space it seemed crammed.

Such a disappointing visit, we had avoided the Portsmouth one because of the reviews and feel like the reduced travel time would have made that one a better experience. We have also been to to the Brighton Aquarium (within the last 13months) this is definitely the better of the three along this bit...

This is definitely worth a visit if you're in Bournemouth. It's in a beautiful area located right next to the pier at the seaside. There are plenty of other enjoyable amenities around to enjoy like the Ferris wheel, gift shops, the beautiful gardens, cafes, the upside down house and of course the amazing beach. I think the prices are very fair as it must be ridiculously expensive to keep this place going in this day and age. Staff were friendly. After buying my ticket (I was alone) I noticed on a sign above the entrance that for a small extra charge I could have purchased a yearly membership! I would highly suggest that all serving staff are trained to mention or (sell) the offer before any sales are taken. I was around the whole place within 40 minutes but, decided to go back around again to listen to the narrated videos sharing super interesting facts about marine life. Even though it was a week day and not school holidays there were a lot of very loud toddlers running around screaming excitedly, sweet but just over and hour and my nerves were frayed, not with the kids but the ignorant parents. Probably better to go a few hours before they close, I think it would be quietest then. I absolutely loved seeing the sharks. I went into the cafe after to see what was on offer but there wasn't any free seats and it was noisy with families so I opted out. The gift shop was well stocked with a large range of goodies from a few pounds upwards. All in all a well kept, enjoyable, unusual place to visit. Well done...