Private tour company and missing the ship.

[Nana257]

Has anyone ever used VIV tours for cave tubing in Belize and missed the ship? That is my biggest fear. It sounds like the excursion itself would be alot of fun and I hear nothing but good about VIV tours. I am just worried about having a great time only to return to the port and see the ship steaming away. :eek:

[crewsweeper]

First, let me reassure you that most reputable vendors try their darnedest to get their customers back to the tender peir in time to catch the last tender, if not before. But there are no guarantees; things can and do happen. So it really depends on how much time your ship has in port (till the last tender, not sailaway), where you want to go or what you want to do and how far away from the tender pier these things are (clue is advertised length of tour time). For one rule of thumb, any excursion over 4 hours starting at later than 2 hours after arrival time could be at risk. Certainly any excursion listed as 5-6 hours is doable via private excursion,if you canget started as early as possible, but better peace of mind would come from a ship sponsored excursion.

[Oviedo32765]

Here's a thread that discussed the subject. Might be interesting:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1560478&highlight=miss+ship

[Nana257]

Thank you both for you encouraging responses. We are excited about the cave tubing as we have never done anything like it before. I believe we will go with our plans to use an outside vendor. Can't wait!! :D

[crewsweeper]

Thank you both for you encouraging responses. We are excited about the cave tubing as we have never done anything like it before. I believe we will go with our plans to use an outside vendor. Can't wait!! :D

Tip: show up at the Follies Lounge 5-10 minutes earlier than the stated times for non-Carnival ship excursion folks to line up for tenders, so you can get a low number and be off in the first tender they fill. DW and SIL did this in February and were at the tender pier before 9AM ship time. Only 2 ships in Belize the day you're scheduled so tendering should be relatively quick.