Dolphin Island

Before I begin the review proper, I should get this out of the way. A few years ago, there was some controversy before the attraction opened, which culminated in hysterical candlelight vigils in 4 countries for 3 dead dolphins (1 more has since died, leaving 23; 1 death in 24 in 3 years seems a pretty good record). So if charismatic megafauna (i.e. big, pretty animals) in captivity upsets you, please stay away from this attraction (and other similar ones all around the world). Otherwise, saying that this place sucks is like a vegetarian going to a Brazilian Churrascaria and complaining about all the animals which died to bring us their meat.
Dolphin Island is located beside the Adventure Cove Waterpark, and you can either do on a topup on your Waterpark tickets or buy tickets to Dolphin Island (which include Waterpark admission). Positioning the Waterpark as a complimentary activity to Dolphins seems strange, but I suppose if you’re going to get wet with the dolphins, you might as well go down some slides too. Please see my separate review for the Waterpark.
There’re many packages on offer. The one I had was Dolphin Discovery, which lets you go waist-​deep into the water to interact with the dolphins.
Administration for Dolphin Island was rather messy. Although I had made my reservation the day before, when I turned up there was a long delay before I was let in — and they changed my timeslot to boot.
Once we were in, though, the experience was great and everything went smoothly. We were given the safety briefing, told about dolphins and suited up in wetsuits. We then split into small groups to see the dolphins close up in the (cold) water and interact with them. Each group got one dolphin (with one trainer), but we could observe what the others were doing.
We got to stroke our dolphin, pose with it (in a «kiss» that was naturally captured by the camera) as well as see it and the rest swim around and do tricks. It wasn’t for a very long time but the experience didn’t feel rushed.
Of course, everything ended with the obligatory ‘Save the Earth’ spiel. I’m not sure how impressed the guests were, but it didn’t gel well very with the rest of the programme and was probably tacked on so the staff and management would feel better about themselves.
The worst part about Dolphin Island is the photos. Naturally, you’re not allowed to take any yourself, and the shock at the gift shop when you find out how exorbitantly priced they are is the most dangerous part of the experience. I can’t remember the exact prices but they were something like $ 50 for one photo, with 3 photo packages ranging from $ 100+ to about $ 300. Daylight robbery does not even begin to describe how shockingly priced the photos are.

I know the history of the dolphins and went along to see how Resorts World are spinning their story.
They lie about them coming from an endangered population. The trainer even said that dolphins were better off in the wild. They seem to think that people will buy the line that seeing dolphins close up helps people to care about the environment (stupid people obviously buy it)
I know a bit about dolphins and one of the dolphins I experienced was an 11 year old male. Right about the age their hormones start kicking in and they become aggressive. He wasn’t obeying commands and I knew there was an air of concern about his behaviour. I’d never let my kids swim with dolphins.
It was pretty much the experience I expected. 24 hour veterinary care and restaurant quality fish don’t make up for these dolphins being stolen from the Solomon Isles, regardless of the traditions in that area. If you want to see a happy dolphin, look into their eyes. That permanent smile they seem to have, it’s only an aqua dynamic feature, nothing else.