We drove from Christchurch to this and late before we arive we get a call it might be cancelled instead of just telling us it would be.
Thanks for 3 hours wasted driving. Another Company in town were Salling that Day so does not make sense...
We drove from Christchurch to this and late before we arive we get a call it might be cancelled instead of just telling us it would be.
Thanks for 3 hours wasted driving. Another Company in town were Salling that Day so does not make sense...
Hi martinpZ4706JV, thanks for taking the time to review your trip experience on TripAdvisor. We are sorry that we were not able to inform you before you left Christchurch regarding the cancellation of your trip. Unfortunately, sometimes the wind/sea conditions are not clear until the morning and we endeavour to get in touch with everyone that may be affected. We take passenger safety very seriously and do not take the decision to cancel any trip lightly and only do so when we believe it is not safe for us to be operating. We hope you are able to come out with us on another trip soon.
We had a wonderful time with Black Cat Cruises even though we were not lucky enough to swim with the dolphins. That is the risk when you choose trying to interact with wild animals, and it is exceptional that Black Cat Cruises has a refund policy in place in instances when nature chooses not to cooperate as was the case with us. Everyone we worked with there was very nice and accommodating. They do give you a snorkel and mask, but we did not feel like we really needed them as we spent much of our time floating on the water. Maybe if the dolphins had come to play with us, we might have wanted a mask to try and see them underwater. Even though we didn’t get to swim with the dolphins, we still got a nice harbor cruise and were able to see dolphins and some fur seals. We were worried about the swimming without a life vest requirement, but we didn’t have any problems and found that with the wet suit we and salinity of the water, we were relatively buoyant, so the swimming wasn’t as difficult as it might be in fresh water or an area with strong tides.
Hi dleighb, thanks very much for taking the time to write us a review on TripAdvisor - we really appreciate it! I'm so glad you had a great time out on the water with our crew. Yes as you mentioned, it is a wild swimming experience and we leave it up to the dolphins entirely if they are keen to interact or not - thank you for your understanding :-) Sounds like you still had a wonderful day viewing all the dolphins around you and we hope to see you out with us for another try soon!
Originally, we planned swim with dolphins. However, it was cancelled due to bad weather. Staff suggested the alternativw that we can change to other day or switch to cruise to see dolphin. Since it is the last day in Akaroa, we took the cruise. Luckily, we can see the dolphin.
最初,我們計劃和海豚一起游泳。 但是由於天氣惡劣,取消了預訂。 工作人員建議我們可以改成另一天或改乘遊輪去看海豚。 由於這是阿卡羅阿的最後一天,所以我們乘船遊覽了。 幸運的是,我們可以看到海豚。
Hi fayefayeyeung, thanks very much for reviewing us on TripAdvisor! We are really sorry we had to cancel the swim due to bad weather, passenger safety is our number one priority and we want to make sure you are safe at all times. So glad we could still take you out to see the Hector's dolphins on our cruise - aren't they just beautiful! We hope you can come back to Akaroa one day and try the swim experience in more favourable weather conditions.
We cruised today with Captain Kate and Helen and Alex. We saw New Zealand fur seals and dozens of Hector's dolphins. The crew were very helpful and informative. The narration was funny and educational. We had a wonderful morning on the Black Cat!
Hi H2831DEmargaretb, thanks very much for the review on TripAdvisor! Wow you saw heaps of wildlife out there - sounds like an amazing day out! Thank you for choosing us to take you out for the day. We hope to see you out on the water with us again soon.
My husband and I chose to swim with the Hector dolphins with Black Cat Cruises while on our honeymoon to NZ. We were very impressed with all staff members we encountered and the overall organization of the facility/operation. Our swim met all our expectations as we understand the animals seen are truly wild animals and therefore unpredictable. We encountered several small pods of dolphins which were interested in the boat, swam near the boat for a while, interacted with us for a few minutes, then swam off. Our guides were excellent at finding nearby pods when the current pod lost interest in us humans. Due to the "lack" of interest the dolphins had, our guide ensured all passengers received a 25% refund as promised when dolphins are a little less participatory than usual. The accountability and honesty Black Cat Cruises upheld was impressive and validated our choice of a reputable company to book our tour with. Additionally, our guides were very knowledgeable about the wildlife in the area and demonstrated true concern for the overall well-being of the exquisite ecosystem Akaroa has to offer.
When we completed our swim, the waters were very cold and as an individual with a circulation condition, I would highly recommend the staff offer gloves to passengers in the future if at all possible. (Although I was a competitive swimmer my entire life and am used to differing water temperatures, my fingers turned entirely white and numb from the tips to the second knuckle after a short time in the water).
Hi W2865KGlindseym, thanks so much for taking the time to review us on TripAdvisor. We really appreciate your feedback regarding gloves and will pass this on to our operations team at our next monthly meeting! Despite the dolphins being a little shy, it sounds like you still had a brilliant time out on the water! We hope you can come out with us again soon.
What an amazing day from start to finish. The staff were amazing, from the ladies behind the counter to the guys on the boat with us. The knowledge and love these guys have for the Héctor dolphins was outstanding! The day was just so special from start to finish! We saw lots of dolphins in the waters swimming and playing around which was beautiful to see. Unfortunately we only got in the water once and the dolphins weren't very interested in staying around us for very long but it was still amazing to have a wild dolphin swim past you!!
It was a really lovely gesture to serve hot chocolate on the way back to warm everyone up a little and eventhough I personally had a once in a lifetime experience the tour guides felt we did not get the best experience and decided a partial refund was necessary. Black cat cruises were amazing and I'd definitely recommend this cruise.
Thank you so much!!
Hi cazr85, thank you so much for your wonderful review on TripAdvisor. Sounds like you had an amazing day out in the water despite the dolphins not wanting to play too much! Thanks for the lovely feedback on our staff, I'll be sure to pass this on to the team - they'll be wrapt! We hope you can join us again soon.