Dolphin Swim Adventure + Beach Club in Grand Cayman

LOVED the Dolphin Swim Adventure in Grand Cayman!

It was quite windy when our Celebrity Silhouette cruise ship arrived in Grand Cayman. We had an announcement from the captain that we were going to try to drop anchor in a calmer cove, but it only allowed three cruise ships. Thankfully, we nabbed a spot and were able to get on the island.

Grand Cayman was the only port that didn't have a pier. We had to tender, and hop into a smaller boat, that took us to shore. What a mess this process was. We waited for 30 minutes to get on our tender, and waited some more. The water was very choppy, so everyone was moving slowly and safely. It took us more than an hour to get to shore, even though the boat ride itself was less than 10 minutes.

When we got on shore, many of the excursions had been canceled. Snorkeling, sting rays and boat rides were canceled because of the weather. People were not happy. Bunny and I's first choice of excursion had been canceled two days before, so we were already signed up for our second choice. We decided to go swimming with dolphins and then have some beach time. Thankfully, this was not weather reliant.

We took a 20-minute van ride through Grand Cayman to the Dolphin Swim Adventure center. We arrived, put our swimsuits on and locked our valuables. We each got a life jacket and watched some other groups finish up their time with dolphins. We were broken up into small groups of 10 and led to our area in the tank. The water was cool and the bottom was slimy. Be warned!

The whole premise of the excursion was to meet the dolphins and get your photo taken. They had a paparazzi on the side of the tank catching every moment. The trainer worked with the dolphin for great photo poses and had it splash us, wave and took us for a couple of rides. For the first one, we held onto the dolphin's fins while it was belly up and pulled us across the tank. On the second one, we hopped on a boogie board and it pushed our foot to launch us forward through the water.

The trainer was great about getting everyone their turn quickly and I was happy that all dolphins got a break after our visit. We headed into the gift shop and purchased our photos. Holy cow! $28 for one photo! But, I was a sucker and knew I couldn't live without it. There was only one photo taken of me where I didn't look terrified, so that was the one I chose!

We enjoyed a beach break at the Royal Palms Beach Club. It was pretty busy, but when you're on a cruise, you'll never be by yourself. I now know why 7-Mile Beach is top rated in the world! Photo courtesy of the beach club.

The Royal Palms Beach Club was next! Another 10-minute van trip to 7-Mile Beach and we were treated to 1.5 hours at a fancy private beach club. 7-Mile Beach is stunning. Beautiful turquoise sky and water. Huge waves, so be careful with little ones. The beach club restroom was clean. Bunny and I just grabbed chairs on the beach and relaxed in the sunshine. It was perfect.

One thing we figured out through our excursions is to always have an extra dry change of clothes in your tote bag. Those who swam at the beach got back on the van wet and that's not desirable.

Getting back on the ship was much easier. We showed our sea passes to security and hopped on our tender. The sea was much less choppy this late in the afternoon, but we still got off the tender onto the ship very slowly because some people had mobility issues and needed extra help.

Verdict: I didn't initially want to swim with dolphins, but I'm so glad I did. There were no small children in our group - I pictured kids screaming for hours on this excursion. It was a real highlight of our trip and Grand Cayman was one of our favorite ports of call.