FAQs

Adults and children of all ages are welcome on board, however we do have some limitations:
– Children under 9 years old are unable to participate in our Wild Dolphin Swim, however they are welcome to watch from the boat!
– Our DJ Boat Cruises are restricted to 18+ only.
– Infants are free of charge

All of our cruises are in open water – therefore we suggest you consider seasickness tablets to minimize the risk of sea sickness affecting your trip. Please note we will not issue any rebookings or refunds for being seasick on board.

Our catamaran is twice as wide as most vessels its size, this means greater stability and is designed to cut through water, rather than bouncing over them, all this adds up to a smoother cruise.

If you are concerned about getting seasick, we recommend purchasing sea sickness tablets from the chemist prior to the trip and can be taken 30 mins prior to the cruise departure.

We ask that you dress appropriately for the weather – bring a warm jacket or jumper for the wind chill on the water. Please remember to be sun safe as our cruise is outside with little shade/indoor options available.

Please note we have limited raised seating on board. If you are wanting to secure a seat, we recommend you arrive early so you are one of the first on board, that way you can choose where you sit.

Unfortunately there is no wheelchair access on board Temptation and our cruises are not best suited for people with mobility issues.

To board and disembark the boat, passengers are required to walk up and down stairs (both in the Marina where we board and also on the boat). If a passenger is comfortable enough to walk up and down stairs, they are welcome to stay on the back deck throughout the cruise duration.

Boarding commences 15 minutes prior to your cruise departure – please check your confirmation email for the start time as all of our cruises have different departure times.
Boarding is in the Marina Pier, Glenelg – at the bottom of the stairs/ramp in front of the Oyster Bar.

There is secured underground parking in the Marina Pier, or alternatively there are time limited car parks nearby. Please view our parking map here

Our season operates between September and April and our off season is between May and August – we do not operate our cruises during the cooler months. Our office is still open during this time!

We do our best to provide as much notice as possible for cancellations due to inclement weather, however weather forecasts can be unpredictable and can change at the last minute. We aim to contact you the day before regarding cancellations, however sometimes we unfortunately do have to cancel at the last minute as the weather is beyond our control.

If we do cancel due to inclement weather, we can rebook you to another date OR provide you with a full refund. Please note if you decide to cancel due to weather concerns, our regular cancellation policy will apply.

We do have children’s life jackets on board, however children are not required to wear these throughout the duration of the cruise.

Yes, we have both female and male toilets on board.

Absolutely not! We use the same boat for both the swim and the watch which can both be booked together or separately.

Unfortunately, our insurance does not allow children under the age of 9 to participate in the Wild Dolphin Swim, however children are more than welcome to watch the dolphins from on board our boat!

Yes! However, you will only be able to participate in the front swim experience. 

We operate two high powered shark shields during our back swim experience which can short-circuit a pacemaker.

This is very common with a number of our passengers, so over the years we have refined our briefing and techniques to accommodate the most nervous of dolphin swimmers.

• Upon boarding Temptation, you will be given a full length 5mm wetsuits, which also act as a full body floatation device
• You are given a briefing from our crew (about 15 minutes) on what to do and not do when entering and being in the water
• Colour visual charts are used to help show what to do and not do when entering and being in the water
• Our fully experienced crew will demonstrate how to use your mask and snorkel and can provide assistance when trying masks on
• All swimmers must hold onto a floatation line connected to the stern of Temptation
• If at the end of the briefing and snorkel demonstration you are still not confident in entering the water you can stay on-board and do the dolphin We will then refund the difference between the watch and swim price to you if you booked directly.

Please note our swims are controlled, therefore you are not freely swimming in the open ocean.

Yes we do – we have -1.5, -3 and -4.5 prescriptions on board.

We have life jackets on board, however they are not required for the swim as they are quite bulky and will prevent you from having the full swim experience with the dolphins as they will keep you afloat when you need to be face down in the water!

Our wetsuits are 5mm thick and act as a buoyancy device to keep you afloat throughout the duration of your swim.

Yes – there are always risks when dealing with wild animals and open water activities, however, we have never had any accidents in all of our years of operation. Obeying our brief will help decrease any potential risks.

Sharks are present in all oceans and where we conduct our Wild Dolphin Swim is no different.

We use two high powered shark shields which send out electronic signals to deter sharks. However, this does not deter the dolphins as dolphins use sonar. For more information on the shark shields please visit www.sharkshield.com.au

Definitely not! These dolphins are 100% wild and love to join our swimmers for a little fun. They are more than capable of catching their own live food and feeding / touching these dolphins can lead to health issues. Our Wild Dolphin Tour is about seeing Adelaide’s dolphins in their natural environment.

Reaching out to try and touch the dolphins will make them nervous, which can therefore shorten your interaction time.

At Temptation Sailing we do have an extremely high success rate and it is very rare that we do not get all customers to see a dolphin whilst on board (we have never had a day where the we haven’t seen dolphins from above the water!)

In the case that we do not see any dolphins from above water during the cruise, passengers are welcome to come back out on board free of charge within one year from the date of the tour. This cannot be passed on to friends or family. If you are travelling from interstate or overseas and cannot make it back out on board within the year, we will provide a 50% refund (FOR DIRECT BOOKINGS ONLY).

For swimmers who did not get the opportunity to see dolphins underwater, we will refund the difference between the watch and the swim (FOR DIRECT BOOKINGS ONLY) or swimmers are able to come back on board to try again within one year from the date of the tour.

Yes, there are a few:

1. Anyone with a pacemaker (shark shields can interfere with the pacemaker)
2. Anyone who is not capable of holding onto the floatation line while being towed slowly behind Temptation
3. Anyone who is not capable of climbing three runs of the ladder on the back of Temptation

*Please note that Temptation is not wheelchair friendly

We recommend bringing your own snacks on board and bottled water or juice for the kids. Unfortunately our licensed bar will be closed, therefore no alcohol will be available for purchase either and no BYO allowed.

Our wetsuits go up to a size 4XL.

Generally yes – we do our best to make our dolphin swim as easy as possible for our swimmers, but unfortunately this isn’t always the case.

• We do not put the swimmers into the water until the dolphins have turned to come over to Sometimes this can happen quite fast, therefore we have to get the swimmers into the water as quickly and as safely as possible. When the dolphins get too close, we stop people from going into the water because it can scare the dolphins causing them to move away.

• Our crew are constantly shouting at the swimmers in the water directing where to look. Unfortunately our crew must shout so that swimmers can hear them through the
• The first swim can be quite overwhelming as:
  • You are breathing through a snorkel
  • You are hanging onto a floatation line or laying on the front boom net
  • Our crew is shouting direction on where to look

• You may have your breath taken away when you see your first dolphin underwater

• If you are not confident to go into the water, we suggest watching the first swim and deciding if it is right for you.

Yes – we love when you bring your own cameras on board! This is an amazing up close experience with wild dolphins in their natural habitat.

During our cruise, a crew member takes photos of the dolphins for research and also photos of passengers in and out of the water. The photos and GoPro footage taken throughout the cruise will then be put onto a Google Drive Link which can be purchased for $25.00, a great way to capture this once in a lifetime experience.

When joining the dolphin swim and watch cruise part proceeds go to dolphin research, which is helping with dolphin protection.

You can also help by making sure you do not litter our streets, the litter goes into storm water and then out to sea. Also, when out fishing please do not feed the dolphins, this can be detrimental to their health.

The tour goes for approximately 4 hours – we are back in the Marina between 11:30am – midday.

We can have up to 24 swimmers and 26 watchers (50 passengers total).

This depends on the availability. If we are at our full capacity of 24 swimmers, unfortunately you won’t be able to swim. If you are unsure whether you want to do the swim and think you might change your mind on the day (fomo is a real thing!), we recommend you book the swim so you’re guaranteed that swim spot. You can always change your mind after booking in, or even on the day and we will refund the difference of the swim to watch price (direct bookings only).

Swimmers are more than welcome to bring their own full-length wetsuit, booties, mask and snorkel (fins/flippers are not required). We recommend bringing a nice thick wetsuit (ours are 5mm thick) as the water can be quite cold, especially at the start of our season. Unfortunately, anything less than a full-length wetsuit (spring suit/short arm) cannot be worn during our swims due to safety reasons. All swimmers must be wearing a wetsuit to enter the water.

For our Wild Dolphin Swim experience, it is required that all children under 18 have a parent/guardian present with them on board. The parent/guardian can either participate in our Wild Dolphin Swim, or purchase a Wild Dolphin Watch ticket & observe from the boat.

Our Twilight Cruise goes for 1.5 hours.

You are welcome to bring snacks/nibbles on board as we currently don’t have any food for purchase on board.

If you are after a bite to eat on board, we also offer our Package for Two cruise option which includes a beverage per person and a cheese or antipasto plate to share.

As this is a public tour, you’re welcome to bring any pre-cut cake or cupcakes on board, however we do ask for the cake to be mess-free – unfortunately this means no mud cake!

There is no guarantee that you will see dolphins on this tour, however sometimes they do come up and say hello! Every day is different. If you are wanting to see dolphins, we recommend you book onto our Wild Dolphin Tour as we have a 100% guarantee and success rate.

We do not provide food or catering services on board. You are more than welcome to bring your own food on board – platters/finger food works best on the boat! Please note we do not have any food warming facilities on board. You can view our list of suggested caterers here – https://dolphinboat.com.au/suggested-caterers/

No – we have a fully licensed bar on board so unfortunately no BYO alcohol allowed.

If there are less than 10 passengers on board, you will be required to meet the minimum bar spend depending on your cruise duration and our drinks package will not be available.

Due to the high demand of our private cruises, we only offer 1.5 or 2 hour cruises on weekends to ensure we can accommodate everyone. We do offer 3 hour cruises between Monday and Thursday (except public holidays).

If you decide to go with our drinks package option, everyone over the age of 18 has to be included (pregnant ladies are excluded). So if you have 25 passengers, all 25 passengers will need to be included in the drinks package.

Over the years we have hosted a wide variety of events on board, such as:

• Birthday Celebrations
• Hens Party
• Bucks Shows
• Friend and Family Gatherings
• Work Functions
• Award Nights
• Ashes Scattering & more!

• Full name
• Mobile number and email address
• Event occasion (e.g. milestone birthday, work function, bucks show etc)
• Rough passenger amount

***Please note our drinks packages are not available for 18th Birthdays, 21st Birthdays and Bucks Shows.

The deposit amount depends on your cruise duration. The remainder plus beverages will be due on board on the day of your cruise.

Yes you can, however we do have some rules. Please be eco-conscious of what you bring on board. Please do not bring anything that is too messy such as glitter, can stain when wet or can easily end up in the ocean e.g. balloons. Please note you will only have 15 minutes to set and to board passengers before we leave.

You will have access to the boat 15 minutes before your cruise departure for set up and boarding. Boarding is in the Marina Pier, Glenelg – at the bottom of the stairs/ramp in front of the Oyster Bar.

Our Coastal Day Cruise goes for 1.5 hours.

Our licensed bar will be open for beverages on board.

There is no guarantee that you will see dolphins on this tour, however sometimes they do come up and say hello! Every day is different. If you are wanting to see dolphins, we recommend you book onto our Wild Dolphin Tour as we have a 100% guarantee and success rate.

Our Afternoon Tea Cruise goes for 2 hours.

Your ticket on board includes a 2 hour drinks package and a delicious range of fresh fruit, cakes and paninis supplied by our friends at Veloce Paninoteca.

Our Afternoon Tea Cruises operate on the first Sunday of every month between November and April.