Canopy Tour - Any "Sudden Stops?"

[skinnytoe]

Would like to take the canopy tour when we stop in Roatan via NCL in April.

I am of average fitness and in mid 50's, but have a degenerated disc in my lower neck (C6/C7). Doctor told me to avoid things like roller coasters, or anything that may give me a "whiplash" type motion. Would really like to do the canopy tour, but don't want to get paralyzed in paradise. Can anyone tell me if you get whipped around much while zipping through the canopy? Thanks!

[Marlissa]

I'm not sure what to tell you. We did the canapy tour in Dec and it was wonderful. The actual zipping has no sudden movements like a roller coster would, it was very smooth. I think your problem comes with the stopping. You have to be able to stop on a platform that could be as small as 4' x 4'. Yes, there is a guy stationed up there to help you, but you still need to do most, if not all, the work.

 

The best way I can think to describe the landing to you is to think of a parasailer. When coming down from the flight, the person must land on their feet and run when they hit the ground. With the canapy tour, think about coming out of the air and having to land on a platform at a dead stop, without the ability to run.

 

I will tell you that when we were there, there was a lady that could not manage the actual slowing down of herself. After about the second/third attempt, she had a personal escort that was hooked to her and zipped with her. Maybe an option for you?

 

Good Luck,

Marlissa

[ljrfrm]

Some of the lines are faster than others. You control your speed with your braking hand....so you can go pretty slow on some of them so you wouldn't come to a quick halt that could be jarring.....but, there are a few lines that are very fast...they can warn you ahead of time..my son went tandem with the guide on those lines, so he didn't have to worry about hitting the platform too hard...so that's a good option for you. The guides are wonderful with helping!

[kidfanz]

I have a "couple" of questions for the pros who have done this. First, what do you see as you fly overhead? Is this jungle terrain or something else? Are there animals to see? Can you bring a camera and take pictures from above? How long does the actual zipping take? How many people are in a group at one time? What is the youngest age allowed? Is it best to go early and are there assigned times or first come first served? Did this tour sell out when you cruised? Did you book in advance before cruising? Does the bus/shuttle hold your beach items while you zip? Can you start at the beach first then to the canopy and back? Can you then stay as long as you like in Tabyana or does the whole thing have a set time that begins and ends? Is the b-b-q only for a certain time? I know the stop in Roatan is from 12 p - 8 p. , and would like to be there as long as possible. Info greatly appreciated.

[bwellen]

We did the Canopy tour last week on the Norwegian Dream. We of course used the NCL tour.

 

The zip lines travel through the forest/jungle. It is actually pretty dense jungle, in some parts you can see where they have trimmed branches to make a path for the zip lines. As you get farther down the hill, the jungle starts to thin out. The final 3-4 zip lines are actually within a resort and you cross over a manmade lagoon with a footbridge and small waterfall. At the end of the last zipline, you are literally on the beach. We mainly saw some Iguanas and a few monkeys. I am sure you could see lots of birds if you were looking for them.

 

I took our digital camera with me and that seemed to work fine. You really won't have time to take a picture while you are zipping, only when you are standing on the platforms. When we get our pictures posted on our website, I will try to post a link here which will give you an idea what it looks like.

 

I would say that there were about 25 people on our tour. There was another tour from the ship which was going to go about 45 minutes after us. I would guess that the actually zipping time was about 30 minutes, maybe longer. The only time that you have to wait is at the first zip line, after that everyone is staggered enough that you just keep going from line to line.

 

I guess I am not sure what the age limit was. I would say that the youngest age that I saw on our tour was a boy around 10 years old.

 

We prebooked the tour through NCL about a month before our sailing. The earlier you book should guarantee you that you will be in the first group to go which means that you will zip right away and then head for the beach. Remember that I mentioned that the other group was about 45 minutes behind us. That means that they did everything 45 minutes behind us. Zipping, eating, getting to Tabyana beach, etc..... It didn't look to me like this tour (or any tours on the ship that week) sold out because I never saw any names on the waiting list at the Shore Excursion desk. But if you really want to do this tour, I would certainly book it now to guarantee you will be on it and also get the early group. You can cancel the tour anytime up to about 24-48 hours before the excursion if you decide not to go.

 

It was my definite impression that you can only zip first and then head to the beach after that. The van that drops you off at the top of the hill is the same van that will pick you up at the bottom and take you to Tabyana. You leave all of your belongings on the van and the driver will watch everything for you. We left both our videocamera and my wifes purse on the van and everything was fine.

 

When you are done zipping, you board your same bus again and it is a short drive to Tabyana, only about 10 minutes. When we arrived at Tabyana, the BBQ had started and the person that gave us orientation said it would last for about 3 hours. Plenty of time to eat. The food was pretty good. BBQ chicken, hamburgers, hotdogs, lots of fresh fruit, and salad I think; plus water, lemonade, or ice tea. It was all you could eat/drink. There was also a cash bar there for soft drinks/beer/mixed drinks. Also had a pretty good band there which was really heavy into Bob Marley music. The music was kind of loud in the eating area, but the nice thing was that you could also hear it on the beach.

 

There is really no set time that you will have to leave. About an hour and a half before the beach closes, they will start loading buses for the trip back to the ship. These were almost all old school buses, not the same vans which you came on. When one bus is full, it leaves and another one starts loading. There was a time given for when the last bus will leave, but that is pretty much the same time which the beach closes at. I think we were on the second to the last bus to leave, and when we arrived at the pier we only had about 45 minutes to look around the shopping area before we had to be on the ship. If you were to take the last bus, I think you pretty much have to get right on the ship when you arrive at the pier.

 

I think I answered most of your questions, please ask if you have more. The beach was really nice and had lots of chairs available. We did not go snorkeling, but we heard that it was pretty good except maybe a little crowded.

 

We had lots of fun on this tour and we think you will also.

[kidfanz]

bwellen,

 

Thank you very much for taking the time to explain what you did. It helps a lot. I like to know when spending that much money just what to expect. There are six of us, so at close to 6 hundred dollars I like to know. You gave me a pretty clear visual and I appreciate it. Thanks