Has anyone done the cave tubing in Belize?

[mandms40]

catsy57,

 

No, I would definately NOT let your kids do this on your own, there are too many things that could go wrong with this excursion, what happens if by some onseen forces that they dont make it back to the ship? Do you want them stuck in Belize by themselves? Are you going to give them a credit card just in case they have to fly to the next port? And would they even know to do that? JMHO

 

We had the family with us, so if anything happened, we were all together, I would worry the whole time not being with them. Sandy

[vacruizer]

catsy57,

 

No, I would definately NOT let your kids do this on your own, there are too many things that could go wrong with this excursion, what happens if by some onseen forces that they dont make it back to the ship? Do you want them stuck in Belize by themselves? Are you going to give them a credit card just in case they have to fly to the next port? And would they even know to do that? JMHO

 

We had the family with us, so if anything happened, we were all together, I would worry the whole time not being with them. Sandy

 

I agree - especially with two young girls. The culture is a bit different and two young girls alone could be seen as a target. Chances are they'd be safe but how would they feel if a bunch of guys started hitting on them -even if they meant no harm? It's fairly common in Central America for women to be catcalled especially if wearing revealing clothing like a swimwuit.

 

The caves are over an hour from the port down some pretty rough roads and very isolated. This isn't somewhere they can just grab a cell phone and call for help if they are stranded or uncomfortable or in trouble. I think it's a very small chance something could go wrong and that a good guide would look out for them, but I wouldn't want two young girls alone in a foreign country - it just seems too risky to me.

[brohar]

So im mildly claustrphobic, does the cave get really tight in places or is it pretty open?

[vacruizer]

So im mildly claustrphobic, does the cave get really tight in places or is it pretty open?

 

It's pretty open but very dark. Your headlamps will be the only light in most of the caves.

[k2]

This will definitely sound over the top to many of you. What about the creatures of the jungle? How do I know that we will be safe from the rather large snakes and spiders and predators? Is there anything in the water to worry about? (I am new to the jungle thing) :eek:

[vacruizer]

This will definitely sound over the top to many of you. What about the creatures of the jungle? How do I know that we will be safe from the rather large snakes and spiders and predators? Is there anything in the water to worry about? (I am new to the jungle thing) :eek:

 

I wouldn't worry but it is the jungle. So there are snakes and spiders. and insects. Bring water resistant OFF! - we were fine but quite a few others were bleeding from the biting gnats. I did see a HUGE spider while getting everyone in our tubes right beside me on the rocks.

 

I also had something (I assume a fish) nip my rear end while floating downstream. :eek: Didn't do any damage.

[greenfox]

I wouldn't worry but it is the jungle. So there are snakes and spiders. and insects. Bring water resistant OFF! - we were fine but quite a few others were bleeding from the biting gnats. I did see a HUGE spider while getting everyone in our tubes right beside me on the rocks.

 

I also had something (I assume a fish) nip my rear end while floating downstream. :eek: Didn't do any damage.

 

I stayed in Belize for two months. I had alot of mosquitoes bites all over me. The mosquitoes seam to like the OFF Spray. After bitten you can do this it seem to help.You can also use it to treat bites by making a paste with baking soda and water. Use just enough water to make the baking soda sticky and apply directly to the bite.

[soazlaney]

We booked with Major Tom. My parents (80 and 77) LOVED it. We were very well taken care of. Mom and Dad were pulled up the river in their tubes to the cave where we met up with them (we walked the trail) and then we all floated together out of the caves and down the river. We will definately use Major Tom the next trip.

[Deemuch]

Yes, three times! would recommend regtour.com or cavetubing.com. I had read that Carnival no longer offers this tour due to a tragic accident that happened last year on the cruise sponsored tour.

 

 

FYI:

I am going on cruise with Carnival Valor this March, and they are showing the cave tubing excursion as one of the choices...

 

http://www.carnival.com/ShoreExcursionDetails.aspx?region=CW&portcode=BZE&excursionname=Cave+Tubing%2c+A+FUN+Adventure&excursioncode=509053

[Happy2cu]

I wouldn't worry but it is the jungle. So there are snakes and spiders. and insects. Bring water resistant OFF! - we were fine but quite a few others were bleeding from the biting gnats. I did see a HUGE spider while getting everyone in our tubes right beside me on the rocks.

 

I also had something (I assume a fish) nip my rear end while floating downstream. :eek: Didn't do any damage.

 

I've booked with Major Tom and I have to say this statement really scares me. I am absolutely terrified of spiders nonetheless HUGE ones! And the comment about something nipping you while floating doesn't make me feel too secure, but I am going to face my fears and go anyway!

[maggieworkman]

Yeah. I'm also going to keep the "huge spider" and the "nipping" to myself and not tell the family!!! We went tubing in Jamaica, so I'm hoping it will be similar to that. We really enjoyed that excursion.

 

Maggie

[klmorg]

I've booked with Major Tom and I have to say this statement really scares me. I am absolutely terrified of spiders nonetheless HUGE ones! And the comment about something nipping you while floating doesn't make me feel too secure, but I am going to face my fears and go anyway!

 

We did cave tubing with Major Tom a few weeks ago, and we never saw any spiders or snakes or bugs or anything like that, and never got nipped by anything. I guess it can always happen, but don't let it freak you out. It was a very enjoyable excursion!

[HammerTX]

We went cave tubing with Major Tom on 1/19/10. It was amazing! As everyone else stated, the zip line/tubing group gets at it right away so everyone can meet up in the end for the ride back. There were four of us (tubing only), but we met a group of four on the ship who had no plans for Belize and Major Tom made space for them to join. Here is what I LOVE about Major Tom and his crew-

They are FUN, energetic, polite, thoughtful of all ages and sizes, and a wealth of information! Safety is key. There were a lot of groups at the river when we tubed. Some from the cruise ships, some private. As we were tubing through the caves, the other guides had very little to say. I felt sorry for their groups. Sometimes I think they brought their groups up close to us on purpose to they could hear what our guide had to share. The caves are WOW inspiring and have quite a story to tell. Our guide even knew about the surrounding foliage, gathered leaves to taste, and talked about the medicinal Mayan uses. One was the Mayan equalivant of Novocain and numbed our lips! A few brave adventures even sampled termites! Yes the water was cool, but it felt refreshing after our hike to the entrance to the cave. I am a non-swimmer coward :o) but felt safe at all times. They did all the work, pulled us through the shallow areas while we floated and enjoyed! Although, if you hear the words “butts-up” React! I can not say enough good things about Major Tom, Mike, Minor Tom and all of his staff.

On another note-This was our second trip to Belize. On our first visit, the river was too high and the tubing with Major Tom was cancelled. We were gladly given a refund. We were so bummed and had nothing to do. To our surprise, Minor Tom and Mike took a small group of us to the Mayan Ruins. The day turned out to be spectacular and we learned so much about the Mayan culture from the two nicest young men you could meet! This was above and beyond what we ever expected.

I am quoting from you Major Tom (and Arnold) “I’ll be back!” It was UnBelizable!

[chevy75]

Just home from Carnival Glory on 1-31-10, We used Cavetubingdotcom, had a great time, lots of culture on the bus ride to the caves. This is a total awesome once in a lifetime experience. I would not use the ship excusions for this, we saw them in line lots of extra un-needed equipt and they had a shortage of the un needed equipt so they really had to wait a long time. Our only complaint was that we got back so late that we did not have time to shop and according the them we would have 1 to 2 hours. we had to go straight to the tender line. Not sure I would have left the protected area, looked pretty unsafe when we were traveling thru the city in the bus to the caves. I would recommend that you pack a lunch and snacks, they do offer a lunch after the caves, and it is good, rice, chicken and coleslaw, for 5.00 however if you don't like it, it is a long time without a snack.

[FLCRUISINGCPL]

Just went Cave Tubing with Vitalino Reyes this past week.

1. He met us at the port (Terminal 1)

2. We left port after goup assembled (12 of us) at about 8:45 AM

3. Had 2 cave tubing adventure, not 1 like other operators

4. Had lunch including drinks (water, beer, rum punch)

5. Back to port at 2:30 PM in plenty of time

6. Cost $45/person and well worth it based upon quality of guides

7. Included everything, and was less than half cruise ship price

8. Small intimate group, family owned and operated

9. His sisters and wife prepared lunch, and his sons accompanied us as guides

10. Do not worry about getting back to ship on time if you book with http://www.cavetubing.bz