need advice for dolphin excursions

[cruisingwithkids]

We will be cruising the Caribbean in late July, visiting Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. We will be with my parents and my brother and his family - 4 kids total. My son is the youngest. He will be seven (his 8th birthday is late August). The problem is that my daughter and I really want to SWIM with the dolphins. Most dolphin excursions say the minimun age to SWIM is 8, but younger can encounter. I'd like to do the excursion with the rest of the family, but they are doing the SWIM. How strict are they on age guidelines?

Also, as an alternative, we are thinking of doing the encounter as a family in Ocho Rios and then just my daughter and I doing the SWIM in Cozumel, but not through the cruise line. Has anyone ever used Dolphin Discovery in Cozumel (in Chankanaab Park)?

Any info/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Dave]

I have no experience with pushing the age limit, but I'd have to say if a kid looked to be 8 or was within a month of turning 8 then nothing will be said. The ship's tour desk certainly has access to passengers ages but I doubt they look at them very closely. All they want to do is sell tickets. The tour operator won't be asking for ID or proof of age.

[penny3333]

We did the swim with the dolphins in Cozumel the year before last. You get to pet the dolphin, kiss the dolphin, and be pulled by the dolphin. They did not seem very strict about the age limit, there was one little girl in our group that didn't look older than 5. I wish we could have actually swam with them, although going out and coming back in the dolphins were swimming in the area. I thought it was totally awesome and well worth the money, but I love dolphins. They video taped the event and took stills, but they really were priced too high. Chankanaab Park was nice (don't know since the hurricane) and there were other places to snorkel and play in the water. We didn't do dolphins in Ocho Rios at all, we did a snorkel and Dunn's River Falls. Have a great trip!