Looking for someone to go to Ocean World with sometime between Feb 12 and 26th

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Laurie88

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I'll be in Puerto Plata from Feb 12-26th and am looking for people to go to Ocean World with. Will be going solo and would like to meet up with someone who would be willing to take some pics of me with the dolphins, seals, etc, in exchange for me getting some shots of them as well, as I hear the pictures they take there are rather expensive!
Cheers!
Laurie
 
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NYerinDR

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Jan 9, 2004
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You will not able to take pictures for each other because you will be in the water. Or you mean have some one to stay with you on land while you are in the water doing all the activies.

They price of the picture is US$8.00 to 14.00 and the DVD is US$45.00. Have a great time.
 
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Giglet

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I might be able to go with you if you like.
That's an excursion i haven't done yet. So if you just want company that's cool with me.
Drop me a pm if you like. I'm there from 4th until 25th.

Giglet
 
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wishingiwasthere

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I know the manager of ocean world reads and posts here - but they do spoil a great day out on the photos issues.
If you try and take photos yourself the staff will get in the way of the photo to make you buy the photo from Ocean World.
I fully understand that everyone has to make a living, but it does leave a bit of a sour taste. And thats a shame really as EVERYTHING else is so good.

Perhaps if the price of the photos was less then more people would buy them?
Apart from that - that is my only little niggle about a fantastic day out!
 
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Newfoundlandrover

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Just hearing that has changed my mind about going to Ocean World.My Wife and I were planning on visiting Ocean World during our stay from Jan 31-Feb 8th...but if we are going to get hassled in any way,shape or form by the staff for taking pictures...we just won't bother going.Here in Canada word of mouth spreads pretty quick when it comes to unfriendly Vacation spots.
 
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Robert

Robert

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The staff are outstanding at Ocean World, everyone I know that has ever been always comments on how professional and helpful they are.
Just read the posts on this board, we have hundreds of positive stories.

I have seen many many people taking videos and photos at Ocean World on my many visits. I have NEVER seen a member of staff say anything or go out of their way to discourage people taking video or photos.

Having an issue with the price is one thing, but saying staff go out their way to discourage you or block shots is BS in my opinion and experience.

Yes, Ocean World staff get the best shots and the best access points to take photos. They should, it's all part of their business, just like in most adventure parks around the world. If you want the great DVD, the great shot, then your going to have to pay :)

Laurie88, take your camera and have fun. Please come back here and post the results :)
 
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Chip

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Jul 25, 2007
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wishingiwasthere said:
I know the manager of ocean world reads and posts here - but they do spoil a great day out on the photos issues.
If you try and take photos yourself the staff will get in the way of the photo to make you buy the photo from Ocean World.
I fully understand that everyone has to make a living, but it does leave a bit of a sour taste. And thats a shame really as EVERYTHING else is so good.

Perhaps if the price of the photos was less then more people would buy them?
Apart from that - that is my only little niggle about a fantastic day out!
Click to expand...

I find it hard to believe this would be true, based on the fact that high quality resorts here, like anywhere, will be cognizant of "Western" customs, such as customer service, and typically would not want jeapordize that as their very livelihood will depend on good reviews from visitors. If it turns out this was the case, the individual who perpetrated this apparent acts should be reported to a manager, so that in a short time the employee can wonder how they were so stupid to loose such a good job.
 
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expatsooner

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We did not have the experience of staff trying to block photos, if anything our experience was the opposite, the staff went out of their way to be helpful as I was taking photos of my children and husband. I was last in our group so I stayed on the side at first while my family was in the water to get some nice photos with my big camera.

After that I even took my little optio wpi that is waterproof to 5 meters and took photos while I was in the water with the dolphins and my children and those are quite nice. I just made sure that the camera was secured to a lanyard around my neck and it was a great experience.

We did buy some of the photos offered by the park since we wanted all four of us in the shots. And some of the kids were just too good to pass up. I found their prices to be quite reasonable when compared to places like Six Flags, Disney, Busch Gardens, etc.

Our trip to Ocean World was one of the best day trips we did in our nine years of living on the island.
 
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Laurie88

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Jan 26, 2008
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Wow you guys! Thanks so much for all the feedback! I will probably get a few shots from Ocean World, and possibly even the DVD, but I would like my own as well. I really appreciate all the advice!
 
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wishingiwasthere

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Hi Laurie,

Please go and have a great day out. It really is a fun day - and without doubt the best tourist attraction on the island for familys.

I must have had someone walk past me by accident.
Apologies to all.

PS - Take a deep breath before kissing a sea lion - they have smelly breath! ;-)
 
Conchman

Conchman

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wishingiwasthere said:
I know the manager of ocean world reads and posts here - but they do spoil a great day out on the photos issues.
If you try and take photos yourself the staff will get in the way of the photo to make you buy the photo from Ocean World.
I fully understand that everyone has to make a living, but it does leave a bit of a sour taste. And thats a shame really as EVERYTHING else is so good.

Perhaps if the price of the photos was less then more people would buy them?
Apart from that - that is my only little niggle about a fantastic day out!
Click to expand...

The prices of photos at Ocean World are cheaper than comparative photos in comparative parks around the world. If you pm me I will give you specific examples for dolphin parks in Mexico, Hawaii, The Bahamas, and the Florida Keys.

In order for people to receive photos within hours of their experience, in a park where hundreds of people want these souveniers in different sizes, you need to have processing equipment that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars in addition to a lot of staff to take, process, and sell the photos. In addition, the animals need to be trained in order for these photos opportunities to happen in the first place.

Of course Ocean World makes money with the photos, but we are not charging excessive.
 
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SosuaJoe

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Worth the cost

Meh.

I understand that people want to get as much as possible for as little as possible, and there's nothing wrong with that.

That being said, Ocean World is a business. They provide a service and sell a product. The gift shop, restaurant, photo services etc are all optional add-ons that increase revenue for the park. A side effect of that is that they can charge less for admission and still meet their financial goals. Nothing wrong with that, and nothing wrong with realizing a return on a (sizeable) investment.

If a visitor finds the food, or the gift shop, or the photos too expensive then as a consumer they simply don't have to buy it. Same with the Mickey hats at Disney World.

For myself, I think the park is well worth the trip and well worth the money. It really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience (or in my case, several-times-in-a-lifetime experience). A couple of dollars more or less on the cost of a tshirt or a photo memory is really not a deal breaker for me.

As an aside: The prime rib on the buffet in the restaurant below the casino is the best I've had in this country, and I know my meat.
 
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wishingiwasthere

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Conchman said:
The prices of photos at Ocean World are cheaper than comparative photos in comparative parks around the world. If you pm me I will give you specific examples for dolphin parks in Mexico, Hawaii, The Bahamas, and the Florida Keys.

In order for people to receive photos within hours of their experience, in a park where hundreds of people want these souveniers in different sizes, you need to have processing equipment that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars in addition to a lot of staff to take, process, and sell the photos. In addition, the animals need to be trained in order for these photos opportunities to happen in the first place.

Of course Ocean World makes money with the photos, but we are not charging excessive.
Click to expand...


Hey Conchman,

Really not looking to argue with you, Robert, Chip or anyone else on this issue. I have no problems with you or your fantastic park where I have enjoyed many many days out. To be honest back in the UK where I am working hard on a cold day I often think of the parrot enclosure. There is a spot there where you can look out to the sea, and in between are the lush gardens and its just a beautifull place to be!

With regards to the Photos - I fully understand the issues of pricing to cover costs, expense and making a profit. I operate a sizeable business myself - have no issues there - fully get it!

But - lets be fair - sometimes, in the past, staff may have accidently walked in the way to block a photo being taken?

And the cost? Well - I think for many poorer people that visit the DR and make this a 1 day off resort trip, is it $8 a photo for the mid size ones? could be a little execissive from their point of view - especially if they have a camera with them - the photo is then "free".

Once again, I mean no disrespect - but its just MHO.

Again, I will finish with - Ocean World is THE ONLY place to visit with familys. Fun, Exciting, beautifull and creates fantastic memories!
 
Conchman

Conchman

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wishingiwasthere said:
Hey Conchman,

Really not looking to argue with you, Robert, Chip or anyone else on this issue. I have no problems with you or your fantastic park where I have enjoyed many many days out. To be honest back in the UK where I am working hard on a cold day I often think of the parrot enclosure. There is a spot there where you can look out to the sea, and in between are the lush gardens and its just a beautifull place to be!

With regards to the Photos - I fully understand the issues of pricing to cover costs, expense and making a profit. I operate a sizeable business myself - have no issues there - fully get it!

But - lets be fair - sometimes, in the past, staff may have accidently walked in the way to block a photo being taken?

And the cost? Well - I think for many poorer people that visit the DR and make this a 1 day off resort trip, is it $8 a photo for the mid size ones? could be a little execissive from their point of view - especially if they have a camera with them - the photo is then "free".

Once again, I mean no disrespect - but its just MHO.

Again, I will finish with - Ocean World is THE ONLY place to visit with familys. Fun, Exciting, beautifull and creates fantastic memories!
Click to expand...


No offense taken. Yes I can see how it could appear excessive when you don't know the dynamics and numbers behind the costs.
 
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dot

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Jun 19, 2005
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And the cost? Well - I think for many poorer people that visit the DR and make this a 1 day off resort trip, is it $8 a photo for the mid size ones? could be a little execissive from their point of view - especially if they have a camera with them - the photo is then "free".

I'm sorry, but, if someone can afford a trip to the DR and afford to go to Ocean World, I wouldn't think $8 for a photo is too much. I paid $20 US for an 8 x 10 of myself with a dolphin in Cuba.... My husband had taken several photos but, theirs was so much better.

BTW, we were at Ocean World twice - each time, we took lots of photos of our friends participating in activities and no one tried to block our shots.

We are returning to Puerto Plata on Feb. 23 for 2 weeks and are going to Ocean World again and taking a local friend and her daughter with us... can't wait as we are treating them to the "Sea Lion Encounter".... Well, technically, Ocean World is because I was the high bidder on a pair of gift certificates that they donated to Beyond the Beach Children's Foundation, Beyond The Beach Children's Foundation for our fund raising efforts.

Looking forward to seeing you Conchman and, thank you!

Olive Thompson
President, BTBCF
 
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wishingiwasthere

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Oh dear - I cant help myself but reply.
MOD - Can you please close this thread before it goes off on a tangent.

Firstly - I have many many positive memories of Ocean World. Its a great fantastic place to be and I will be going again in about a week. ( If conchman lets me in ).

WIth regards to poorer people lets be honest - its a Relative term. To put things into perspective – you can get a weeks all inclusive vacation from the UK to Fun Royal or Fun Tropical for around ?400 including flights from the UK.
Some times – people don’t event take spending money on an ALL INCLUSIVE. Now they may not be very educated on the island, or perhaps financially well off and ?400 may be a lot of money to them.
Lets just say you have a camera – a nice digital one and you can take lots and lots of photos for FREE on this camera – or you can pay ?4 ($8) each for a photo.

As I say, expensive, wealthy etc is all a relative term and that was the point I was making. Your own camera – free photos and lots of them. Have your photos taken at Ocean World you pay around $8 each.

Folks – please, we can all agree that OW is a great day out for Families, couples, children and conchman is a great bloke. I do personally know how much he does for charity as well.

MODS – Please close this thread……..
 
Robert

Robert

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The thread will stay open, people are still posting their experiences of Ocean World, which appear to be overwhelmingly positive.
 
F

fightfish

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SosuaJoe said:
Meh.

I understand that people want to get as much as possible for as little as possible, and there's nothing wrong with that.

That being said, Ocean World is a business. They provide a service and sell a product. The gift shop, restaurant, photo services etc are all optional add-ons that increase revenue for the park. A side effect of that is that they can charge less for admission and still meet their financial goals. Nothing wrong with that, and nothing wrong with realizing a return on a (sizeable) investment.

If a visitor finds the food, or the gift shop, or the photos too expensive then as a consumer they simply don't have to buy it. Same with the Mickey hats at Disney World.

For myself, I think the park is well worth the trip and well worth the money. It really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience (or in my case, several-times-in-a-lifetime experience). A couple of dollars more or less on the cost of a tshirt or a photo memory is really not a deal breaker for me.

As an aside: The prime rib on the buffet in the restaurant below the casino is the best I've had in this country, and I know my meat.
Click to expand...

Two things that dissuaded me from entering Ocean World as a consumer.

At the entrnace, they had one price for gringos and another price for Dominicans, a practice I don?t support. The price difference was substantial.

And secondly, and folks may not like this, dolphins use as interactive attractions are under incredible physical and mental stress. They develope physical manifestations of this and are being what I consider abused for profit. Just my two pesos...
 
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