Up close: Hannah Haxton, 9, greets a dolphin at Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.
On their sixth family cruise, Alex and Shauna Haxton, of Port Stephens, get up close and personal with dolphins.
WHAT
Dolphin encounter and water-park adventure at Atlantis Resort.
WHERE
About 20 minutes from Nassau, the capital and main cruise port of the Bahamas.
THE SHIP
Alex, Shauna, Hugh, 10, Hannah, 9, and Alex's parents cruised for four nights on Disney Dream, starting and finishing in Port Canaveral in Florida. They booked the holiday, including the dolphin experience, via Disney cruise specialist Magical Holidays (magicalholidays.com.au).
THE EXPERIENCE
"The chance to get up close to dolphins is something the kids will always remember," Alex says.
"They've grown up in Port Stephens and see dolphins all the time, but they were so excited to be in the water with them.
"We were in the water for about 45 minutes, standing waist deep, and we had a lot of time to interact with the dolphins while the trainers told us some of the commands and training techniques they use.
"When the dolphin encounter was over we had the rest of the day to explore Atlantis Resort, which includes an aquarium and a huge water park with water slides.
"There's one slide that goes through the middle of a pool full of sharks: you're in a perspex tube but it really feels like you're just in the water, with all the sharks swimming around you.
"The shark slide is one of four slides that start at the top of a big pyramid; one of them is almost a vertical drop but there are also gentler ones for younger kids.
"We had access to all the amenities of the resort, which is an experience in itself - you could spend a whole day there without even doing any of the activities.
"We had lots of fun in the water park, had some lunch, and just relaxed in the Caribbean sun."
VALUE FOR MONEY
The dolphin interaction and water-park package costs $269 an adult and $229 a child, including lunch.
"For a dolphin experience and a full day at a theme park, as well as lunch, it is very good value," Alex says. "You can just buy entry to Atlantis, but for us it was worthwhile booking the whole package up front."
As told to Jane E. Fraser
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