.net or .com

[disneyaholicraquel]

Would like to book cave tubing for the end of August but, can't figure out which operator is better...please help :confused::confused::confused:

 

Cavetubing

 

.net

or

.com

[printingchick]

Take my vote with a grain of salt as I have not done either. However, I booked with .net for my upcoming cruise, based on recommendations I read both here and on Trip Advisor. I suspect most people will vote for whichever one they've done. You probably won't find a lot of folks who have done BOTH.

 

ENJOY!!!

[scon]

Just got back from the valor sailing 18-25. Did .net on thursday on the 22nd. This was my first time to belize so I have not used any other company. From what I could tell they all go to the same place to do the tubing. The .net guys were awesome. Major Tom meet us right as we walked off the tender. (tender ride was 15 to 20 min to shore) You do want to get to the 1st or 2nd tender. we were on the 2nd tender which left about 5min after the 1st. we were the first group to arrive. another group arrived on the 3rd tender. we waited about 15min, paid while we waited. Major Tom was still waiting for another group, Saw the next tender was still near the ship and sent the groups that were already there on the way. They walked us out to the bus. The vendors outside saw that we were with them and didn't really bother us. We all got on the bus a group of 11,10, and 2. At this point Major Tom leaves you with his guides. We had mogli, mike, and 1 other and picked up Mark on the way. There were also 2 woman guides but I cannot remember their names. (sorry). The bus stopped to gas up and get drinks for lunch. It was about 50min to an hour bus ride to the cave tubing site. Our group was tubing only the others were zipline and tubing. they took them off to the zipline and we started walking with tubes and life vests to the start. The river height was good only had to lift up alittle bit here and there. Our group was my family of 6 and a family of 5. Mark and one of the woman guides took my 6 she was at the front paddling we placed our feet under the armpits of the person in front of us and mark was at the end. The current was pretty good so we moved along pretty well. Mark did a great job moving us around, We wnt through 1 cave system for awhile then came out into the open river and floated down to where we started. Oh yeah it was about a 20 to 25 min walk to the start of the river and mark lead the way talking about the forrest and trees. You can try eating a termite if you like (kinda minty). At the end of the river its a 3min walk back to the van. We had ordered the lunch and changed and ate while we waited for the other group to get back. (the lunch was good belize chicken and red beans and rice), if you are a picky eater I would skip it some in our group who are picky didn't like it, but my daughter helped them out by eating their chicken. We met Minor Tom at the end of the tubing ride. While we waited for the other group he kept us informed of how long they would be, At 1 point he gave them another 10 min and said we would leave on the bus and he would drive them back in his van. However, They showed up and changed and we headed back. They eat on the bus. It was about the same time driving back to the pier, dropping mark off on the way. The other guys mostly just chill on the bus until we got back into belize city then they give you alittle history and such. They drop you off right where you leave from. We got dropped off at about 3:45 giving us about 1/2 hour to look around and shop and then hop on the tender. We were back on the ship about 4:20 with several tenders still behind us. All the guides were really cool and laid back but at the same time making sure you have a good time. I think thats about it if you have any other questions let me know and I will answer them the best I can.

[printingchick]

Thanks so much for posting this review of your experience. I'm booked with .net in February and I'm really looking forward to it.

 

THANKS!!

[scon]

No problem. Your welcome, Have a good time!

[disneyaholicraquel]

Just got back from the valor sailing 18-25. Did .net on thursday on the 22nd. This was my first time to belize so I have not used any other company. From what I could tell they all go to the same place to do the tubing. The .net guys were awesome. Major Tom meet us right as we walked off the tender. (tender ride was 15 to 20 min to shore) You do want to get to the 1st or 2nd tender. we were on the 2nd tender which left about 5min after the 1st. we were the first group to arrive. another group arrived on the 3rd tender. we waited about 15min, paid while we waited. Major Tom was still waiting for another group, Saw the next tender was still near the ship and sent the groups that were already there on the way. They walked us out to the bus. The vendors outside saw that we were with them and didn't really bother us. We all got on the bus a group of 11,10, and 2. At this point Major Tom leaves you with his guides. We had mogli, mike, and 1 other and picked up Mark on the way. There were also 2 woman guides but I cannot remember their names. (sorry). The bus stopped to gas up and get drinks for lunch. It was about 50min to an hour bus ride to the cave tubing site. Our group was tubing only the others were zipline and tubing. they took them off to the zipline and we started walking with tubes and life vests to the start. The river height was good only had to lift up alittle bit here and there. Our group was my family of 6 and a family of 5. Mark and one of the woman guides took my 6 she was at the front paddling we placed our feet under the armpits of the person in front of us and mark was at the end. The current was pretty good so we moved along pretty well. Mark did a great job moving us around, We wnt through 1 cave system for awhile then came out into the open river and floated down to where we started. Oh yeah it was about a 20 to 25 min walk to the start of the river and mark lead the way talking about the forrest and trees. You can try eating a termite if you like (kinda minty). At the end of the river its a 3min walk back to the van. We had ordered the lunch and changed and ate while we waited for the other group to get back. (the lunch was good belize chicken and red beans and rice), if you are a picky eater I would skip it some in our group who are picky didn't like it, but my daughter helped them out by eating their chicken. We met Minor Tom at the end of the tubing ride. While we waited for the other group he kept us informed of how long they would be, At 1 point he gave them another 10 min and said we would leave on the bus and he would drive them back in his van. However, They showed up and changed and we headed back. They eat on the bus. It was about the same time driving back to the pier, dropping mark off on the way. The other guys mostly just chill on the bus until we got back into belize city then they give you alittle history and such. They drop you off right where you leave from. We got dropped off at about 3:45 giving us about 1/2 hour to look around and shop and then hop on the tender. We were back on the ship about 4:20 with several tenders still behind us. All the guides were really cool and laid back but at the same time making sure you have a good time. I think thats about it if you have any other questions let me know and I will answer them the best I can.

 

Thanks, for the details....it really helped alot!!!

[Turtle Lover]

Although I have not taken a tour with .com, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed if you use .net. I have been to Belize twice, and both times I’ve taken a tour with Major Tom and his son, Minor Tom. I have no reason to try any other cave tubing tours, because I was very happy with my experience using Cave-tubing. net. Why mess with perfection? My positive experience with Major Tom three years ago was the reason I chose to go back to Belize.

I was very concerned about the safety of cave tubing before my first visit. I had two children that would be accompanying me, and I wanted to be sure that they would be safe in the caves. Major Tom was always prompt about getting back to me, usually by the next day (sometimes even the same day). He told me all of the safety measures that his company had in place, which reassured me. By the time I actually arrived in Belize, I felt that Major Tom and I had become good friends. We had emailed so often, since I had a ton of questions for him.

Once we got to the caves to begin our cave tubing on that first visit, I realized that Major Tom had many more safety precautions in place than many of the other tour operators. He had his guests linked together, to prevent anyone from getting lost in the caves. It also prevented some of the chaos that occurred when people were free floating and bumping into each other. Major Tom also had a smaller ratio of guides to guests. We had a line of five people linked together, while the ship tours had only a few guides for many guests. I noticed on my most recent trip that other tours are now taking the safety precautions that Major Tom was doing all along.

During this trip, my husband was feeling ill and wasn’t able to attend our tour with the Major. My husband insisted that we do the tour without him. Under any other circumstances, I would have cancelled the tour. I would not have wanted to be in an unfamiliar country without my husband. I knew that we would be in good hands with Major Tom, Minor Tom, and the rest of their team. I had no doubt that we would make it back to the ship without a problem. I also knew that if a problem did arise, Major Tom would make arrangements to get us back to the ship.

My second cave tubing adventure with . net was terrific. Minor Tom drove us to the caves (about an hour and fifteen minutes). Once we arrived, we were able to use the restrooms (much needed after the bumpy ride), and we were given life vests, head lamps, and inner tubes. There was another group with us that was going zip lining, so our guide, Arleen went with my daughters and me, and Minor Tom went with the zip liners. The plan was that we’d take our time walking through the rainforest, and we’d meet up with the zipliners at the river for cave tubing. At first I wasn’t sure how it would work out. I pictured us sitting by the river waiting, wasting time until the zipliner arrived. As it turned out, we had our own private tour (just my daughters and myself). Arleen showed us different plants, insects, and told us about the animals that could be found in the rainforest. We walked leisurely through the forest, taking our time to stop and take pictures. Once in awhile, another tour would pass us, but then all was quiet again and we were able to experience the serenity of the forest.

When we arrived at the river, Minor Tom still had not arrived. We waited a few minutes, and then Arleen decided that we’d begin our journey down the river and meet up with the zipliners at the end. I was glad that we didn’t have to sit and wait. Arleen was very attentive, and made sure that we stayed hooked together through the cave. The current (which wasn’t too strong) pulled us along gently through the cave. Major Tom floated by in his inner tube while we were in the caves. He was checking on us, making sure that we were all having a good time. He stayed with us until we got back to the building that housed the restrooms and changing rooms. After changing, we had some lunch (chicken, rice, and beans) and a cold drink. The zipliners had not yet returned, so instead of having us wait, Major Tom arranged for us to head back to the ship on a different bus (we had arrived in a smaller van). The bus held about 50 people, but it was only half full.

I can’t say enough good things about this tour. All I can say is that anyone thinking about cave tubing should check out **************** and hook up with the Major and his son.