Major Toms Zip line & Cave Tubing

[lovenlife]

Has anyone went on this trip? Do you recommend it? Good points? Bad points? Anything....

[black forest]

We did the cavetubing. I like it very much. But keep an eye on the time to return to the ship. It is because of tendering to Belize. Try to get on the first tender and hope that all the others on the tour will be early, too. We were a group of 5 couples with three guys. All of them sons of Major Tom, nice and reliable. We + another couple did the cavetubing only. The other 3 couples went to zipline first and then to cavetubing. Both areas are close together. It takes about 50 minutes to get to rain forest/mountains where everything takes place.

[bandit68]

We used them last month in December, the cave tubing and zipline was awsome..., loved it. But, I cannot recommend Major Tom as a tour guide, we were constantally waiting on them, when it came time to do the tour we were totally rushed, we litterly were jogging during the hike through the jungle, no time for pictures, commentry or to take in the scenery. There would have been plenty of time if Major Tom was organized, they had us waiting around while they chit-chatted with their friends and our guide(s) were always the last ones to be ready.

 

We paid for lunch but never got it, now this should be very telling of their service/organization..... you would think that a tour guide would know who paid them for what, but not Major Tom.... As we were leaving we inquired about where we were going for lunch, his response was that he shouted out earlier in the parking lot to see if anyone had pre-paid lunch and he did not get a response.... and it was not just us, there was another couple that did not hear him and had paid for lunch. Major Tom said it was too late, they were leaving, we would have to e-mail his Dad (owner) and ask for a refund when we get back to the states.

 

Now I have read on here that some ppl had a good time with Major Tom and I believe they did, they did a great job taking us through the cave, it was just all the little things in between. I am not a complainer or a picky person, but I know bad service when I get it. I could mention much much more, but that would be too time consuming and I think you get the picture.

 

Another problem I see with this tour company is that our guide (Minor Tom) is the owners son, I do not think this is his chosen profession, he got his job because of daddy and the other guide just does what he says. I highly recommend doing the zip-line and Cave-tubing, it was an awsome experience, I would just use another company, there is another company that does the same tour and I have heard good things about them, do a little research and you should easily find them.

[lovenlife]

Thanks for the help! I hate getting mixed reviews I dont want to choose the wrong company and have a bad experience! Decisions .... Decisions.....:confused:

[black forest]

As I said keept an eye on the time - I meant that they didn't have the same feeling for time as I do, so can agree with bandit68. I wasn't sure if it was only us. When we met Major Tom he asked who has booked lunch and as we had to wait for the other 3 couples he return the prepaid lunch to the couple waiting with us. After the tour the guides offered to have lunch but I begged all the other not to eat because I was afraid of reaching the last tender to the ship. We arrived at the port in time, but I think there not many tender boats anymore to get. Besides the time trouble I like the tour. But I will never book a tour outside Carnival that takes me far away of the ship. I don't want to have that unsecure feeling anymore..... May be I am a coward.

[black forest]

As I said keep an eye on the time - I meant that they didn't have the same feeling for time as I do, so can agree with bandit68. I wasn't sure if it was only us. When we met Major Tom he asked who has booked lunch and while we had to wait for the other 3 couples he return the prepaid moneyfor lunch to the couple waiting with us. After the tour the guides offered to have lunch but I begged all the other not to eat because I was afraid of not reaching the last tender to the ship. We arrived at the port in time, but I think there not many tender boats anymore to get. Besides the time trouble I like the tour. But I will never book a tour outside Carnival that takes me far away of the ship. I don't want to have that unsecure feeling anymore..... May be I am a coward.

But Major Tom and his guys did everything they promised.

 

Made mistakes and wanted to correct them and didn't know how it works. Therefore my text above again..... Hope, this doesn't trouble too much.

[Tiggerized1]

We just were in Belize last week and the weather was very cool. We did the cave tubing and it was awesome. The tour guides were excellent and very friendly. It was the first time that I used an outside excursion.... and Cruise Critic reviews were the reason for using Major Tom. The strangest part was that the tour guides would not take a tip at the end of the trip. I would recommend that you get the lunch, it's not a large lunch but enough to satisfy you till you can get back to the ship and it was tastey.......:D The time issue wasn't a factor, we were on NCL and arrived at the port around 3pm, we even had time to shop before the last tender.

[kamilli]

We did this a couple years ago and had a nice time cave tubing with Minor Tom, and then Major Tom took us on the zipline. I found the zipline to be overrated. The ziplines were not long and exciting enough in my opinion. I didn't think they were worth the significant increase in money. If I were to do it again, I would just do the cave tubing. But we had no problems with Minor and Major Tom. They were both very professional and I enjoyed their company very much.

[startover]

Hi, I did the Zip Line a couple of years ago through Carnival. I thought it was great, however, the following year i did it in Isla Roatan,. It was more fun..did it with a local tour guide and it was much less in cost.

 

I am doing the same cruise again this year and am considering the cave tubing. I have found several "tour operators". Has anyone used someone other than Major Tom, if so, do you recommend.

 

thanks

[bandit68]

One thing I noticed was that all the tour operators were very quick to say they have never had anyone miss their ship, and they do these tours all the time. I did some searching and I never found a posting where someone said they missed their boat while on this tour. The tour operators post info on their web sites about how that is a huge priority for them and how they have backup plans just in case. I personally think that this is a non issue. If you think about it... if they miss just one boat and word got out, their business would be kaput..... they are going to get you back in time, their business/livelyhood rests on it. But, that still does not sit well with some ppl, if you worry about these things it could ruin your trip, or at least have an anxiety attack on the ride home. There was a younger couple on our tour that was very upset since they thought they were cutting it close, in reality they made it with time to spare. It all depends on you.... if you are not a person who worries then book it yourself and save the $50 per person. If you like the comfort of knowing you are protected then book through the ship.... personally I do not worry so much and took the savings.

[klmorg]

We just were in Belize last week and the weather was very cool. We did the cave tubing and it was awesome. The tour guides were excellent and very friendly. It was the first time that I used an outside excursion.... and Cruise Critic reviews were the reason for using Major Tom. The strangest part was that the tour guides would not take a tip at the end of the trip. I would recommend that you get the lunch, it's not a large lunch but enough to satisfy you till you can get back to the ship and it was tastey.......:D The time issue wasn't a factor, we were on NCL and arrived at the port around 3pm, we even had time to shop before the last tender.

 

We were there last week, too. The guides were happy to take our tips! :eek:

 

 

We did this a couple years ago and had a nice time cave tubing with Minor Tom, and then Major Tom took us on the zipline. I found the zipline to be overrated. The ziplines were not long and exciting enough in my opinion. I didn't think they were worth the significant increase in money. If I were to do it again, I would just do the cave tubing. But we had no problems with Minor and Major Tom. They were both very professional and I enjoyed their company very much.

 

Typically if you're stopping in Belize, you're also stopping in Roatan. I would highly recommend saving the ziplining for Roatan. We did both cave-tubing in Belize and ziplining in Roatan last week, and the ziplining in Roatan was AMAZING. We enjoyed Major Tom and the Fun Team, too!

 

One thing I noticed was that all the tour operators were very quick to say they have never had anyone miss their ship, and they do these tours all the time. I did some searching and I never found a posting where someone said they missed their boat while on this tour. The tour operators post info on their web sites about how that is a huge priority for them and how they have backup plans just in case. I personally think that this is a non issue. If you think about it... if they miss just one boat and word got out, their business would be kaput..... they are going to get you back in time, their business/livelyhood rests on it. But, that still does not sit well with some ppl, if you worry about these things it could ruin your trip, or at least have an anxiety attack on the ride home. There was a younger couple on our tour that was very upset since they thought they were cutting it close, in reality they made it with time to spare. It all depends on you.... if you are not a person who worries then book it yourself and save the $50 per person. If you like the comfort of knowing you are protected then book through the ship.... personally I do not worry so much and took the savings.

 

Major Tom told me via email they have never had anyone miss their ship. Depending on many factors, you can cut it a little too close for comfort, especially if there are both cave-tubers and zipliners. MT also told us that he has his own boat/tender if there were ever a need to get you to the ship. They also will call ahead to the ship and alert of any delays. This is a great company to use IMO.

[kamilli]

We were a group that did cut it pretty close. But Major Tom called his son, Minor Tom, and told him to go to the dock and let the tender operators know we were on our way. I think the tour operators and the people who run the tenders work together a lot. I also think the idea that the ship pulls out at a certain time--no matter what--is false. I've seen them wait for people when they knew they were on their way. Not that we shouldn't do everything we can to be there on time! :)