I had made our Ocean World reservations over the Internet. The night before I called and confirmed the time (2:00 pm) of our swim and the transportation. They confirmed that yes, it was 2 and that a bus would pick us up at 8:50 am.
Previously I had ask Jennifer if we could buy drinks and food at the other resorts. She said no and explained that the Dominican workers worked hard and did a good job on the one task they are assigned. However, throw something at them that's outside the lines and...
Booking over the Internet seems to be something outside of the lines. When the bus pulled up, the first thing the guide wanted was ticket stubs. No, were paying at the park so we don't have ticket stubs. He walkie-talkied somebody and then let us on board.
The bus was nice with scented air and the ride was pretty. We pulled into the park and the guide said that they were filming a movie and that we would not be able to drive under the waterfall, but we would drive under on the way out.
At the ticket counter (which everyone had to go to) I was dismayed to learn our name was not on the list for 2:00. The counter agent was a bit shy and said "Sorry amigo, no today."
I don't know if he expected me to say No worries and walk away, but I held my ground. He consulted two or three times and came back with a friend-to-friend tone and said, "I told them you booked for 1:00." He smiled and wrote out the slip and printed our wrist bands.
Booking on the net was easy, during the confirmation call there was no hint of trouble. Maybe they had their hands full trying to work around the movie shoot. 1:00 or 2:00 made no big difference to us (I was wrong about that) so we got in ok.
The park attendant puts the wrist band on you and there is a contrived series of cutout shapes in the glue part of the band. You cannot peel it off without it being apparent.
Finally a tour guide brought us together and took us inside. Past the gift shop, past the counter where you buy your photos and videos, past the restaurant where lunch is included but you must pay for water. Then, into the park itself.
It is a stunning place. They used white rocks that contrasts the blue Atlantic waters. Very well done. The sea lion show was at 11:00 and we watched some pretty cool tricks; sea lions applauding, standing upside down, waving a flipper. All pretty entertaining.
The bird sanctuary only had toucans and parrots at this point, but they are the most colorful birds I've ever seen. We walked through and my wife found a piece of apple to feed to the parrots.
The dolphin swim is fantastic. If you've ever seen a Flipper TV episode or a movie that included a "dorsal tow" you have to do this just for the experience. Dolphin facts: they have 88 interlocking teeth, four stomachs, no vocal chords, they can hold their breath for 8-12 minutes, the longest dive by a dolphin is over 1200 feet in an experiment conducted by the US Navy, and they can swim up to 25 miles an hour.
Next we ate our lunch -- good food -- and bought our drinks. Then, we headed for the snorkel reef. This is great fun for those outside watching the idiots through the glass or being the idiot inside the tank. The schools of fish swim around you. In fact one was so close I accidentally bonked it on the head when I moved my arm.
One point. There are lockers where you store your stuff while playing with the dolphins or swimming in the reef. They are free and they lock. The key is attached to a little float. The staff at the park are not set up too well to deal with lost keys. Now, I am not admitting first hand experience about this, but trust me. Don't lose your locker key -- like anyone would... like you'd have to be really stupid to do something like that. Again, I do not admit this is a first hand experience.
The park offers a sea lion experience and a shark experience, but we did not do them. There was also a private beach where we could just chill out and swim every once in a while. But we were happy and showered and changed back into the street clothes and went up to get a drink. This is where we had our first Dominican rain.
The sky really let loose! Soon it was a full-fledged thunderstorm including lightning. As we sipped our drinks under the roof of the snack bar I realized that had I been an asshole and insisted on a 2:00 swim, we would be in the dolphin pool now. They say that God protects fools and drunks and I happen to be doubly blessed.
Total cost for the two of us was about $400 USD. $290 for the entrance fee and swim and about $100 more for the photos and nick-nacks.
Previously I had ask Jennifer if we could buy drinks and food at the other resorts. She said no and explained that the Dominican workers worked hard and did a good job on the one task they are assigned. However, throw something at them that's outside the lines and...
Booking over the Internet seems to be something outside of the lines. When the bus pulled up, the first thing the guide wanted was ticket stubs. No, were paying at the park so we don't have ticket stubs. He walkie-talkied somebody and then let us on board.
The bus was nice with scented air and the ride was pretty. We pulled into the park and the guide said that they were filming a movie and that we would not be able to drive under the waterfall, but we would drive under on the way out.
At the ticket counter (which everyone had to go to) I was dismayed to learn our name was not on the list for 2:00. The counter agent was a bit shy and said "Sorry amigo, no today."
I don't know if he expected me to say No worries and walk away, but I held my ground. He consulted two or three times and came back with a friend-to-friend tone and said, "I told them you booked for 1:00." He smiled and wrote out the slip and printed our wrist bands.
Booking on the net was easy, during the confirmation call there was no hint of trouble. Maybe they had their hands full trying to work around the movie shoot. 1:00 or 2:00 made no big difference to us (I was wrong about that) so we got in ok.
The park attendant puts the wrist band on you and there is a contrived series of cutout shapes in the glue part of the band. You cannot peel it off without it being apparent.
Finally a tour guide brought us together and took us inside. Past the gift shop, past the counter where you buy your photos and videos, past the restaurant where lunch is included but you must pay for water. Then, into the park itself.
It is a stunning place. They used white rocks that contrasts the blue Atlantic waters. Very well done. The sea lion show was at 11:00 and we watched some pretty cool tricks; sea lions applauding, standing upside down, waving a flipper. All pretty entertaining.
The bird sanctuary only had toucans and parrots at this point, but they are the most colorful birds I've ever seen. We walked through and my wife found a piece of apple to feed to the parrots.
The dolphin swim is fantastic. If you've ever seen a Flipper TV episode or a movie that included a "dorsal tow" you have to do this just for the experience. Dolphin facts: they have 88 interlocking teeth, four stomachs, no vocal chords, they can hold their breath for 8-12 minutes, the longest dive by a dolphin is over 1200 feet in an experiment conducted by the US Navy, and they can swim up to 25 miles an hour.
Next we ate our lunch -- good food -- and bought our drinks. Then, we headed for the snorkel reef. This is great fun for those outside watching the idiots through the glass or being the idiot inside the tank. The schools of fish swim around you. In fact one was so close I accidentally bonked it on the head when I moved my arm.
One point. There are lockers where you store your stuff while playing with the dolphins or swimming in the reef. They are free and they lock. The key is attached to a little float. The staff at the park are not set up too well to deal with lost keys. Now, I am not admitting first hand experience about this, but trust me. Don't lose your locker key -- like anyone would... like you'd have to be really stupid to do something like that. Again, I do not admit this is a first hand experience.
The park offers a sea lion experience and a shark experience, but we did not do them. There was also a private beach where we could just chill out and swim every once in a while. But we were happy and showered and changed back into the street clothes and went up to get a drink. This is where we had our first Dominican rain.
The sky really let loose! Soon it was a full-fledged thunderstorm including lightning. As we sipped our drinks under the roof of the snack bar I realized that had I been an asshole and insisted on a 2:00 swim, we would be in the dolphin pool now. They say that God protects fools and drunks and I happen to be doubly blessed.
Total cost for the two of us was about $400 USD. $290 for the entrance fee and swim and about $100 more for the photos and nick-nacks.