Carnival Valor Cave Tubing Excursion Belize?? Anyone gone yet?

[Deemuch]

Hello...

 

We are going on the Carnival Valor at end of March, and are considering our options for cave tubing. I see that Carnival is now offering the Cave Tubing as an excursion....it states :

 

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Jump onto your tube, feel the excitement as you float into mysterious limestone archways beckoning you into the mouth of centuries old caves, holding untold stories of Maya rituals.

 

• Explore the many awesome formations that decorate these amazing caves and learn about the trees and jungle that surround them.
  
• Feel the rush of cool water as you meander down small rapids, letting the currents guide you.
  
• Board a comfortable air-conditioned motor coach at the pier and begin your journey to the jungle playground that is “Jaguar Jungle Camp”.
  
• Marvel at the diversity of the city and the expanse of the country as you travel past mangroves, savannah and small villages.
  
• Fun and informative local guides will impart local information and when you turn off the highway onto a rugged country road you know you are nearing the caves!
  
• At Jaguar Jungle Camp the river guides will greet you and outfit you for your river and cave adventure, a short safety briefing and it’s off to the clear cool waters of Caves branch River.
  
• Just relax and lay back in your tube, listen to the sound of falling water and let your imagination take over as your guide leads you through the currents that continue to carve and shape these natural wonders.
  
• Exhilarated from your adventure, you make your way out of the river and up to the “Bush-camp Café” where you can purchase a snack and drink and reflect on the marvelous expedition you have just completed with friends and family, before heading back to the pier.
  

Note: Recommend to take a beach towel, change of clothes. Snacks, souvenirs and mosquito repellant are available for purchase. This tour is not suitable for persons with disabilities, heart conditions, back or leg problems. All guests must be in good physical condition and able to walk on a jungle trail for approximately 35 min. Guest will be linked together when the river has a higher volume of water and when going through the caves. Helmets, lights and life jackets are provided and are mandatory. Minimum age, 8. Minimum height, 48 inches. Pregnant women are not permited on this excursion.

 

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I know that Carnival had an incident a few years ago where someone had died from drowing in the caves becuase it was so crowded. I am thinking that since they have decided to offer this again, that they must have changed operators...and it appears that they will have the tubers link together when necessary for safety etc...to avoid another potential situation?? I know that this was always the topic on the forums....about the difference between the private operators & the cruiselines. Maybe this has changed recently?

 

Also from the above description I cannot tell if this is the same cave tubing area, that the private operators go from also...or is there more than one cave entry?

 

So, my question is this....we would prefer an cruise excursion only becuase of no risk to getting back to the ship. I have heard great things about the private tubing companies, but I am wondering if anyone has actually done the excursion through Carnival lately...to compare whether it's just as good now...as far as the caves & the safety etc..

 

I dont know if the cruiseline excursion offers 2 caves like the private ones seem to offer...so just wondering what option is the best. We just want to make the best decision and we're not sure what that is...

 

Please advise if you have any info . We are 2 families of 4, for total of 8. 2 kids age 11, 2 kids age 14, and 4 adults.

 

Thank you :)

[CWcruisers]

Sorry, I can't tell you about the ships excursions. The just reinstated it since I was in Belize in December, but I did want to clarify, you are linked together the entire time, there is no free floating at all. We used Coral Breeze in December.

[splash_in_the_water]

seems like i read something about this on the boards one time. maybe.

[Tenga1899]

I like that "security" of the cruise excursion if I have never been to a port before to get a sense of the area before I would want to do things on my own, but due to all the great reviews about their professionalism we are doing Major Tom for cave tubing when we go in April and we signed up for the cave tubing AND ziplining package. Dunno if the combo would interest your family more than just cave tubing, but I wanted to do both and Carnival doesn't have a combo package like the independent vendors do. Best of luck... :)

[LHP]

IF the Carnival excursions are truly LINKING while in the caves, then that is who I would go through considering you are taking children.

 

Sadly before the accident, ship cave tubing did not LINK (independents did).

 

Ships did not do it because it required to many guides.

 

Cave-tubing.com (Yhnony) has always linked. That is who hubby and oldest son tubed with in 2008. BUT oldest son was 20 and hubby was prepared IF they missed the ship. There would be 8 - 10 people linked THE WHOLE TIME to a guide.

 

VERY IMPORTANT....not just two people linked together. It is important that everyone is LINKED TO A GUIDE!! Even in May when it is dry season....the guide pulled the group through the caves. Much better than having to try to constantly paddle....

 

people who were on ship excursions that did not link back then were trying to grab on .....

 

 

In the 5 years I have been "studying" cave tubing specifically in Belize on this forum and others....I have not read of a single case of Yhnony missing the ship....BUT that is always a possibility. And with younger children, I would not take that risk....IF the ship can assure you that you are all linked to a guide.

[buddylover]

IF the Carnival excursions are truly LINKING while in the caves, then that is who I would go through considering you are taking children.

 

Sadly before the accident, ship cave tubing did not LINK (independents did).

 

Ships did not do it because it required to many guides.

 

Cave-tubing.com (Yhnony) has always linked. That is who hubby and oldest son tubed with in 2008. BUT oldest son was 20 and hubby was prepared IF they missed the ship. There would be 8 - 10 people linked THE WHOLE TIME to a guide.

 

VERY IMPORTANT....not just two people linked together. It is important that everyone is LINKED TO A GUIDE!! Even in May when it is dry season....the guide pulled the group through the caves. Much better than having to try to constantly paddle....

 

people who were on ship excursions that did not link back then were trying to grab on .....

 

 

In the 5 years I have been "studying" cave tubing specifically in Belize on this forum and others....I have not read of a single case of Yhnony missing the ship....BUT that is always a possibility. And with younger children, I would not take that risk....IF the ship can assure you that you are all linked to a guide.

 

 

Your claim in not true, we did cave tubing in Belize through Carnival and we were ALWAYS LINKED together with the tour guide the ENTIRE time....and it was way before the unfortunate accident occurred. By the way, they had us divided into rather small groups 10-12 each with our own tour guides leading each group....so YES, there were enough tour guides just like Yhnony. Rather unfair claim, especially if you did not do Carnival's tour.

[silverridge]

We did it (CaveTube/Zipline Combo) in Jan. on the GLORY, booking directly with Jaguar Paw, which was in the process of being taken over/bought out by an outfit called Bakabush Adventures while we were there. Expect lots of down time, but well worth it. The caves were awesome.

 

We went past cabetubing.com site, it looked pretty primitive, everyone was huddled under a giant tent along side the road, trying to eat whatever comp. meal came with their package. Went past several other outfits that had a ways to hike as well. Try Bakabush as they are right there at the river and all of the other operation have lots of jungle walking through mosquito infested rainforests to get to the caves.

[Cruzman]

Your claim in not true, we did cave tubing in Belize through Carnival and we were ALWAYS LINKED together with the tour guide the ENTIRE time....and it was way before the unfortunate accident occurred. By the way, they had us divided into rather small groups 10-12 each with our own tour guides leading each group....so YES, there were enough tour guides just like Yhnony. Rather unfair claim, especially if you did not do Carnival's tour.

 

May have been the case on your particular tour, but the one where the lady was drowned, it was not the case. Neither was it the norm for the Carnival tour operators to have each group linked as we observed just the opposite on a couple of occasions when we were on private tours. How did we know that what was observed was a Carnival sponsored tour? We asked some of the participants at the end of the tour with whom we were previously acquainted. Perhaps the problem was an inconsistency among the Carnival tour guides.

[golfadj]

Suggest you go to port of call pages for more info on this.

[nol4am]

We did the cave tubing with cave-tubing.com last week when we were in Belize. It was one of the best excursions we have taken since we started crusing. The trip to the site was very nice and informative. We tried some cashew wine and then stopped to drop off the ones who were doing the atv's. Did not take long and we were ont he road to the tubing area. The guides w us were awesome. We never at anytime were left alone and they guided the entire time. They pointed out rock formations and other things of interest. The stop for lunch was at VERY NICE hut and we had a nice meal and changing area to prepare for trip back. We saw the buses from carnival enter the same time we did. They were a large group and they were linked just the same as we were. The park also now has their officers on watch at the cave sites. I would say the only difference between the two at this point is the extras you get with the private companies and smaller groups. Oh and also half the cost. We had a great time as well as did a couple we ate with at dinnner who tubed thru carnival. Have a great time!

[Carnival Platinum Cruiser]

Hello...

 

We are going on the Carnival Valor at end of March, and are considering our options for cave tubing. I see that Carnival is now offering the Cave Tubing as an excursion....it states :

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Jump onto your tube, feel the excitement as you float into mysterious limestone archways beckoning you into the mouth of centuries old caves, holding untold stories of Maya rituals.

 

• Explore the many awesome formations that decorate these amazing caves and learn about the trees and jungle that surround them.
  
• Feel the rush of cool water as you meander down small rapids, letting the currents guide you.
  
• Board a comfortable air-conditioned motor coach at the pier and begin your journey to the jungle playground that is “Jaguar Jungle Camp”.
  
• Marvel at the diversity of the city and the expanse of the country as you travel past mangroves, savannah and small villages.
  
• Fun and informative local guides will impart local information and when you turn off the highway onto a rugged country road you know you are nearing the caves!
  
• At Jaguar Jungle Camp the river guides will greet you and outfit you for your river and cave adventure, a short safety briefing and it’s off to the clear cool waters of Caves branch River.
  
• Just relax and lay back in your tube, listen to the sound of falling water and let your imagination take over as your guide leads you through the currents that continue to carve and shape these natural wonders.
  
• Exhilarated from your adventure, you make your way out of the river and up to the “Bush-camp Café” where you can purchase a snack and drink and reflect on the marvelous expedition you have just completed with friends and family, before heading back to the pier.
  

Note: Recommend to take a beach towel, change of clothes. Snacks, souvenirs and mosquito repellant are available for purchase. This tour is not suitable for persons with disabilities, heart conditions, back or leg problems. All guests must be in good physical condition and able to walk on a jungle trail for approximately 35 min. Guest will be linked together when the river has a higher volume of water and when going through the caves. Helmets, lights and life jackets are provided and are mandatory. Minimum age, 8. Minimum height, 48 inches. Pregnant women are not permited on this excursion.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

I know that Carnival had an incident a few years ago where someone had died from drowing in the caves becuase it was so crowded. I am thinking that since they have decided to offer this again, that they must have changed operators...and it appears that they will have the tubers link together when necessary for safety etc...to avoid another potential situation?? I know that this was always the topic on the forums....about the difference between the private operators & the cruiselines. Maybe this has changed recently?

 

Also from the above description I cannot tell if this is the same cave tubing area, that the private operators go from also...or is there more than one cave entry?

 

So, my question is this....we would prefer an cruise excursion only becuase of no risk to getting back to the ship. I have heard great things about the private tubing companies, but I am wondering if anyone has actually done the excursion through Carnival lately...to compare whether it's just as good now...as far as the caves & the safety etc..

 

I dont know if the cruiseline excursion offers 2 caves like the private ones seem to offer...so just wondering what option is the best. We just want to make the best decision and we're not sure what that is...

 

Please advise if you have any info . We are 2 families of 4, for total of 8. 2 kids age 11, 2 kids age 14, and 4 adults.

 

Thank you :)

 

Do yourself a favor and choose cavetubing.com with Yonni. Very fun excursion, 2 caves not 1, free lunch afterwards and very safe (8-10 tubes linked together with a guide). Price was $45, what does CCL charge?

[caribbean dreams]

Your claim in not true, we did cave tubing in Belize through Carnival and we were ALWAYS LINKED together with the tour guide the ENTIRE time....and it was way before the unfortunate accident occurred. By the way, they had us divided into rather small groups 10-12 each with our own tour guides leading each group....so YES, there were enough tour guides just like Yhnony. Rather unfair claim, especially if you did not do Carnival's tour.

 

Maybe your both right!!!'

 

When i went, I did not go with carnival, i went private, no one on the Carnival excursion was linked, we spent 1/2 our time rescuing standed Carnival excursion people who had been left behind! one woman was stuck in some brush behind a rock crying, we just happened to see her as we came out of a cave, our guide untangled her & she road the rest of the way down the river with us, her carnival group had already left the river by the time we arrived & were loading the buses.

Don't know if it has anything to do with different guides do different things but this was my personal experience & this was before the accident!

 

The private excursion i was on, gave us the option on linking or free floating.

[bobar]

have done it several times with a company named xtreme..im sure if you look at the ports of call message boards you will find a link to them..they were fantastic and do a whole extra cave system as well as the one the cruise ships take you too..we were in airconditioned vans...felt very safe and they provided everything we needed...one of my favorite excursions ever....:cool:we even got to dive in from a cliff into the river to start our tubing if you wanted to.

[auggie43054]

We did the cave tubing the week after the tragic accident. We went with Major Tom. He told us about what happened and said if anyone decided that they did not want to continue, he would refund their money. He told us that the company the cruiseline used was very inexperienced and that no one should have been on the river that day due to the water being too high and fast because of the previous day's rain. Major Tom always sends guides to the river in the morning to assess the conditions before taking a group to do the cave tubing. If he feels it is not safe, he will cancel. Some of the posts from people who were on the excursion when the lady died said that she flipped out of her tube and was sucked under by the current and couldn't get out of it. It doesn't sound like they were linked together either. And from what I understand, the Carnival excursion had way too many people in their groups whereas for our excursion, Major Tom would only link 8 people together per guide. Personally, I don't see any reason to go with Carnival's excursion when there are other reputable tour operators that also cost less. You'll find many recommendations on the Belize board.

[debster818]

I like that "security" of the cruise excursion if I have never been to a port before to get a sense of the area before I would want to do things on my own, but due to all the great reviews about their professionalism we are doing Major Tom for cave tubing when we go in April and we signed up for the cave tubing AND ziplining package. Dunno if the combo would interest your family more than just cave tubing, but I wanted to do both and Carnival doesn't have a combo package like the independent vendors do. Best of luck... :)

 

 

We are also doing this in April. The 22nd is our day. Does anyone know if you tube first or zip line? Also, need advice on what to wear on the bus, tubing and ziping. What should we pack in our bag? Thanks.

[TinaandBob]

We are just off the Valor yesterday. We cave tubbed directly through Jaguar Paws and had an awesome time. There were several groups. Some linked some not. They also have tons of staff thru out the caves to help. It was by far my favorite tour so far. Its absolutely beautiful. I was never at any point fearful. We didn't encounter any bugs. We zip linned before hand and the tour provided us with a very nice meal. We were really close on time but our guide was great on getting us back on time. We free floated for a bit then linked up so our guide could tell us about the caves. We definitely will be going back!!!

[Tiffany1203]

We did the cave tubing with cave-tubing.com last week when we were in Belize. It was one of the best excursions we have taken since we started crusing. The trip to the site was very nice and informative. We tried some cashew wine and then stopped to drop off the ones who were doing the atv's. Did not take long and we were ont he road to the tubing area. The guides w us were awesome. We never at anytime were left alone and they guided the entire time. They pointed out rock formations and other things of interest. The stop for lunch was at VERY NICE hut and we had a nice meal and changing area to prepare for trip back. We saw the buses from carnival enter the same time we did. They were a large group and they were linked just the same as we were. The park also now has their officers on watch at the cave sites. I would say the only difference between the two at this point is the extras you get with the private companies and smaller groups. Oh and also half the cost. We had a great time as well as did a couple we ate with at dinnner who tubed thru carnival. Have a great time!

 

How was the water temperature?

[T&Dcruisers]

We did the ATV adventure/cave tubing through cave-tubing.com last March off the Glory. Hands down, the best excursion of the cruise! This group of guys know the land and river inside and out and make sure each and every guest is safe and comfortable on the excursion. After tubing, we took the bus back to their outside palapa/bar (this is NOT a "tent" on the side of the road!), where we were able to purchase lunch (fabulous!), belizean beer and t-shirts, plus use the facilities to hose off and freshen up before heading back to the ship. Yhonni personally guarantees that each and every passenger will get back to the ship on time, or he will get the passenger to the next destination at his cost (outlined on his website). I haven't used any other tour group so I can't speak to which other ones may or may not be goos, BUT there were several passengers that went floating by us, unlinked, on other tours.

[meatball77]

We're going with Major Tom in April.

 

From reading reviews it looked like the Cavetubing.com group had a more "adult" tour with the cashew wine in the van and that they were more rowdy. We're bringing a six year old and there were some very good reviews from families with young children who used Major Tom.

[Disneycruisers]

We did the ATV adventure/cave tubing through cave-tubing.com last March off the Glory. Hands down, the best excursion of the cruise! This group of guys know the land and river inside and out and make sure each and every guest is safe and comfortable on the excursion. After tubing, we took the bus back to their outside palapa/bar (this is NOT a "tent" on the side of the road!), where we were able to purchase lunch (fabulous!), belizean beer and t-shirts, plus use the facilities to hose off and freshen up before heading back to the ship. Yhonni personally guarantees that each and every passenger will get back to the ship on time, or he will get the passenger to the next destination at his cost (outlined on his website). I haven't used any other tour group so I can't speak to which other ones may or may not be goos, BUT there were several passengers that went floating by us, unlinked, on other tours.

 

 

great info..we will be doing this excursion 2 weeks from now.

[debster818]

We're going with Major Tom in April.

 

From reading reviews it looked like the Cavetubing.com group had a more "adult" tour with the cashew wine in the van and that they were more rowdy. We're bringing a six year old and there were some very good reviews from families with young children who used Major Tom.

 

I think I read somewhere that Major Tom stops at a store and you can get some of that wine, snacks or other beverages.

[maxamuus]

We're going with Major Tom in April.

 

From reading reviews it looked like the Cavetubing.com group had a more "adult" tour with the cashew wine in the van and that they were more rowdy. We're bringing a six year old and there were some very good reviews from families with young children who used Major Tom.

 

I would hardly call a sample of Cashew wine that was half the size of shotglass a "adult" tour.

[toolgrl919]

I have a couple questions for the people that have done the cave tubing.

I see a lot of companies offer double excursions like, cave tubing & zip lining or atv. If you are only booking the cave tubing, what do you do while the rest are doing the other excursion?

Also what kind of footwear did you wear? I have a pair of old crocs I was thinking of wearing, but was also thinking of picking up some water shoes for myself & boyfriend.

[oregon3373]

We did the combo zip line and cave tubing excursion with cave-tubing.com in March of 08. Everything went very smooth. The nice thing about this was there was only the four of us on the entire tour. We did zip line first as we beat the cruise line buses there and there was no line at the zip line. Then we did the cave tubing. We were not attached.... the nice thing was when you saw the 100 or so people from the cruise line all stuck together it did not look as fun. Going in a smaller group was great, very personalized etc. I would use cave tubing.com again without any worries. Another plus was the price compared with what carnival was offering.

[budbo]

My husband & I booked the excursion with Major Tom last February(?). We were really impressed with his operation. Very professional, safe and fun. He was there to greet us at the pott, and then sent us off with a driver and a guide. The guide was wonderful and left such a great impression that we'd love to go back to Belize.

We were linked the whole time we were in the caves. At some points the water was so shallow that our butts were dragging on the bottom, and they have these tiny little fish that kind of tickle your legs. According to the guides, they particularly like to nibble on the hair on your legs.....

 

Have fun!