Ocean Encounters- Swim with Dolphins and Manta Rays

Where do I even begin? The main issue we had was the captain. He was rude and extremely pushy with how he conducted himself. His political and personal comments were not what we signed up for. Making comments about gender, guns, religion all while he was supposed to be preparing us for swimming with the rays. Several people even outside of our group made comments about how he was not conducting himself professionally. We tried to keep this simple and dispute the CC charge as to not cause issues. Trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. But now the company won’t refund us even given the unprofessional experience we had. And don’t mind if you live 5000 miles away they don’t care. No regard for customer service all the way around. This whole thing is a scam. I talked to several people that also have booked through them who never saw rays and we didn’t either. Do yourself a favor and go with a company that puts the customer first and not their own agenda.

The company attempted to reschedule the snorkeling h tour that we had pre-scheduled before our trip, which we begrudgingly consented to. The next day, they called to cancel our experience. I asked if I would be able to get a refund through Groupon, and expressed concern about my ability to do that. I was assured that I would be able to get a refund from Groupon and to take it up with them. I have since had absolutely no success in attempting to get a hold of Groupon for a refund and the transaction has gone through to the company. However, when I reached out for the company, they refuse to help fix the problem, despite having received payment from Groupon for a service they never provided to me.

I will make sure to never approach this company for services again.

We were on boat 1 with Capt Louie. Him and his crew were spectacular they all went above and beyond to make sure everyone was having the best experience.swimming with the manta rays. Mahalo

Very safe and fun excursion. Crew was very professional and answered all guests questions. We saw an amazing 15 mantas feeding! (This was two nights after a new moon).

Our family booked a Manta Ray sunset snorkel and it was incredible. There was me and my husband and our 17 and 12 year old boys. The water was calm and the sunset was gorgeous. We were in the water for an hour, we only saw 1 Manta swim by quickly in the first 20 minutes and thought that might be it. Our guide moved us about 30 feet away from the spot and we were in Manta Ray paradise. There was up to 6 at a time right under us doing barrel rolls. One touched me as it went by and another ran right into my teenager. We had a 30 minute show and they were so close that we could have reached out and touched them. Our guides and captain were awesome and told us all about the mantas and their behaviours. They obviously have a passion for what they do. I don't have anything bad to say about our experience except maybe if everyone that is going would show up by 5: 30, which is mentioned in your reservation. It is frustrating when everyone is ready to go and a family shows up at 5: 45 and still has to get geared up. The bad reviews about not seeing anything is not the fault of any company, it's nature. They are wild mantas and will show up if they want. Our guide had told us the last 3 weeks they barely saw anything and that we we lucky to have such a great show! This was definitely the highlight of our trip and well worth the money for such a close encounter.

This was an amazing experience. When we first left the docks we saw a few dolphins. We then went out into the large ocean and saw a momma and baby whale who came so close they went under us! On our way back to the docks we saw a sea turtle lounging. All in all this was an amazing experience a lot thanks to our captains Noah, Rachel, and Lena.

Had a great time. The Mana Rays was magnificent. The crew was great. I got some great videos. Love it. Would do it again.

Had a great time on this tour. The guides were so engaging and extremely knowledgeable. Their excitement and passion for what they do made this trip great. We saw so much more than just whales on our tour and the guides were there to show and explain things every step of the way. Mahalo.

Couldn't say enough great things about the staff. From start to finish they staff was all hands on deck in making our experience the best possible experience we could have. We had a party of 6. We had 4 kids that have never snorkeld in the ocean prior to this adventure. They absolutely loved it. Even though conditions were not ideal, the captain and deck hand Ethan made our adventure the best possible experience we could have! Thanks again!

This was absolutely amazing! My husband and I booked this in January and as it got closer I was having second thoughts due to my fear of deep water and basically no snorkeling experience, (except for the day before this adventure) The crew was awesome, Alex was by my side all the way to the board and talked me through everything so I was able to experience it all. We saw close to a dozen Manta rays and tons of fish too. Connor swam me back to the boat and Captain Lena was so excited that I had faced a fear and conquered it. I would definitely go again with Ocean Encounters. They love what they do and it shows. 10 stars!

The manta ray snorkel is a must do! My wife had virtually no snorkeling experience and the crew (captain Lena, Alex and Connor) made her feel extremely comfortable.
There were around 10 different mantas and a ton of fish also. Such beautiful creatures!
Our trip had the full range of ages from kids to senior citizens and the crew gave everyone personal attention. You can tell that they love what they do; funny, caring, informative and still professional.
If you want to see the manta rays up close and personal, this is the crew to go with!

Shoutout to the amazing crew and team at Ocean Encounters! Just had an amazing snorkeling trip with our 7 and 9 year old and we were a bit nervous that we may have bitten off more then we can chew. But NOPE! This crew was phenomenal and not only helped build my kiddos confidence but showed them an amazing time and even found a star fish for the kids to hold and learn about! Can’t say enough good things, will forever use this company for all future snorkeling adventures!

Super friendly crew! During a 3hr trip we got to see dolphins, whales, and turtles! Plus eels and tropical fish while snorkeling. 10/10 tour, plus you can't beat the price with their groupon deals

This was the best experience! Noah, Rachel and Lena were such awesome guides. They were super cool and very knowledgeable. We saw tons of whales. Nothing but good things to say about them and the company they work for!

We had booked swimming with the manta rays and it was a terrible experience. The water was so rough multiple people got sick, we got battered by the rafts in the water and I was cut by them, many people were stung by jellyfish, and we saw no manta rays. I wouldn't be so upset about this if they were more flexible with a refund or exchange, but I was told by the lady working the office in a very rude manner that even though the crew said we could rebook for another trip that is not possible we can only do another manta rays swim. Unfortunately we are leaving, and can't do another trip late in the evening or night. I hope they improve their policy or customer service in the future. I really wanted to live this experience.

They canceled our snorkel tour for 4 ppl less than 2 hours prior to our departure time. They said it's because we were the only people who booked. We're really really disappointed.

Before we made reservation online, we called them to make sure if there’s availability for 3ppl. They said yes and told us to proceed the online booking. It was like 2h in advance for the tour. After we arrived to the meeting point, we waited for 40min there to be told that we are not able to be on board due to the engine problems. So we had to leave. This could happens to anyone i guess. So please be aware.

Manta rays are so beautiful and definitely worthy to see. However, tour was crowded and snorkeling at dawn was still chilly although they provided you a swimsuit (only upper body). Would go for scuba diving tour next time.

Called and spoke with Terry, she was not willing to understand my question and was rude with me for asking details this morning. Not familiar with Groupon Didn't allow me to speak.

We did the night manta ray snorkeling and it was definitely an experience of a lifetime. When we went, there were SO many manta rays and they even brushed us a few times (Vegas rules, we did not touch them). Despite the very choppy and scary waters, the crew did their best to make sure we had our floats and were able to safely view the rays. I will say that the specific night we went, it was VERY choppy water so I would highly suggest that you only go on the night dives if you are a strong swimmer. It was so awesome to see wild rays in their natural habitat and not in an aquarium so I highly recommend going if you have the chance!