Cave Tubing Comparison and a few questions...

[Colsen0924]

What type of life jacket does each company use?

[HLWCruze]

We are using .com in January. I just bought an expensive underwater camera to take with me so I'll be sure to take lots of pics and report back here when we get home!

 

 

Yes, please do!!! Our cruise is not until April and I would love to know how you liked cave-tubing.com and cave tubing in general!

[texascruiseaddict]

Do any of the tubes have bottoms?

[androideyes91]

Just came back from a 7 day western on the Liberty this morning. We booked with cave-tubing.com and I was very pleased. The guides were very down to Earth and seemed like great guys to sit down and have Belikin beers with. We did the atv and cave tubing tour and found the atv tour to be exhilarating and the cave tubing relaxing.

 

During the cave tubing we saw the other mentioned tour groups like Major Tom and Viv Tours. Viv tours had the swankiest equipment. Their tubes had headrests and they wore helmets as well. Everyone else had the standard tubes with headlights. Major Tom walked up to us at the port and we had a small chat with him. I honestly don't think you could go wrong with either three.

[Grumpy9117]

Do any of the tubes have bottoms?

 

Yes, VIV have bottoms in their tubes.

[Biza]

Just got back from our cruise on the Legend this morning :( I so want to be back on the ship!! This thread helped me choose a company to book our cave tubing tour with so I thought I'd come back and share my experience. I booked this tour last minute, literally the day before we left, because we had nothing planned for Belize and I knew we needed to book something. We went with .bz mainly because of the price ($105 total for me, my husband, and 8 year old daughter) and because of the free lunch/rum punch. I was concerned about linking feet/armpits, but decided to deal with it. I AM SO GLAD I CHOSE THIS COMPANY!!

 

First of all, they break you into small groups and you only link with your own family members. You don't have anyone else's feet or armpits anywhere near you. For us, they paired us up with another family (2 adults, 2 kids), we were side by side with them and our separate lines were tied together with one guide in the front, talking to us, swimming, pulling us along. Our guides were amazing and kept us very entertained. The hike through the rainforest (in the pouring rain) was amazing. We swam in the river before the hike which was fun. During the hike, it seemed like all of the tours and guides stopped at the same things, had their groups try the same fruits/nuts/look at same trees. We did hike further than the vast majority of other tours, not too much further, but we went in the water further up the river and went through an additional cave. We then stayed in the water when most other groups got out and floated down the open river to where we originally crossed the river before the hike. They said they sometimes see howler monkeys during this part, but we didn't see any.

 

Lunch was extremely good, as was the rum punch. They make you feel very welcome and go around offering everyone seconds on whatever they want, including a container of rum punch to drink on the way back to the boat. The kids drank bottles of soda (Coke or Sprite), my daughter thought the glass Sprite bottles were very cool. They had cashew wine for you to try if you wanted to as well. Overall, we all agree this was the best day of the cruise. I am not doubting we would have had a wonderful experience with the other tour groups either, but I am glad we chose the one we did.

 

*edit: I also really liked the fact that they greet you after the 30 minute tender from the ship with very cold bottles of water. This was a nice touch and very appreciated!!

[sanger727]

Thanks for the review... that sounds great! How were their vehicles? Did they use vans or charter buses? Did everything appear in good condition and did the A/C work well? Also, what time did they pick up and what time did they drop off?

[SlimandSara]

Nacho and Cynthia is definitely not in contention for us. I don't think there's anything they can possibly provide to make it worth $75 for essentially the same trip that the other companies offer for $40.

We have gone with Nacho and Cynthia every time we have been in Belize. They are well worth it! Instead of being crammed in like cattle on some of the tours, they provide personal service. I have always felt more like we are visiting family then some giant company that doesn't care. Looking forward to seeing them again when we do the Dream on Sept. 1st. Just my opinion of course but we wouldn't do anything in Belize without them.

[burm]

Actually, Nacho & Cynthia charge $65 for cave tubing and lunch. We just got back from the Dream (7/7-7/14) and they were one of the highlights of our trip! There were only the 6 of us in our group that day. They told us about Belize and how the people live. At the cave tubing site they introduced us to Ric, our guide for cave tubing. We had the "luxury" tubes and were tied together. I did see another group linking by feet/armpit. I did not want to do this, and asked Nacho when he called me to set up the reservation, and he assured me he did not do that. The tubing was a wonderful experience. Afterward, Nacho and Cynthia took us back to the city while entertaining our group (including my 9 and 5 year olds) with riddles and stories. In the city, he took us to a wonderful Belizian restaurant to have a traditional lunch and to try local beer and treats. We truly felt like family by the end of our tour. I personally feel that it was worth much more than what they are charging!

 

We went with Cynthia and Nacho (both of them together) and had a wonderful day. There was no one else in the caves with us! As we left after our lunch, a large group of perhaps 40 arrived. Glad we weren't with them.

[Biza]

Thanks for the review... that sounds great! How were their vehicles? Did they use vans or charter buses? Did everything appear in good condition and did the A/C work well? Also, what time did they pick up and what time did they drop off?

 

 

They used vans. I have seen others complain that the a/c didn't work well, but we didn't have this issue. The van we were in was very comfortable. Our group left around 9:45 and were back around 3:30 (ship time). We had plenty of time relaxing and eating lunch after the cave tubing and were back in plenty of time. Carnival said the last tender would be at 4:00, but the last tender we saw come back to the ship was at 4:55.

[kenrod]

Thank you all for your input on cave tubing in Belize. I was having one heck of a time choosing which one is best for us. I am still undecided, but have narrowed it down to three:

 

viv

.bz

.com

 

Now it is just a matter of which one of those.

Thanks for your help folks!

[dolphinlover22]

I contacted all 3 companies because we are going in November. We ended up booking with bz . They are ordering new tubes with headrests and he said they will be in soon - about 20 days and they will link together so no more foot to armpit linking. Just wanted to share in case this influences anyone's decision.

[mara93]

Would you mind coming back & posting about your trip once you're back?

[1stTimeCruiser2008]

I contacted all 3 companies because we are going in November. We ended up booking with bz . They are ordering new tubes with headrests and he said they will be in soon - about 20 days and they will link together so no more foot to armpit linking. Just wanted to share in case this influences anyone's decision.

 

That sounds great...where did you get that info?

[FanofCruising&Colts]

I contacted all 3 companies because we are going in November. We ended up booking with bz . They are ordering new tubes with headrests and he said they will be in soon - about 20 days and they will link together so no more foot to armpit linking. Just wanted to share in case this influences anyone's decision.

 

would you please post pictures and a review on your return

[Love2CruiseMore]

For those of you have done the cave tubing...Did you run into any snakes in the jungle??? I'm fine with spiders, but those snakes!!! :eek:

 

Thank you to everyone who has posted on this thread!!!

[ray98]

I contacted all 3 companies because we are going in November. We ended up booking with bz . They are ordering new tubes with headrests and he said they will be in soon - about 20 days and they will link together so no more foot to armpit linking. Just wanted to share in case this influences anyone's decision.

 

 

Well that is good news....I am still trying to make my decision and that was the biggest drawback for me with .bz. Hopefully we will get a conformation review in the future.

[madeth313]

I booked with .bz this past week for our cruise the week of Sept. 23. Before I booked, I emailed about the tubes. This is the response I received:

 

**********

 

It is a great pleasure for me to book you with CAVETUBING.BZ. I'll make sure that you have a lot of fun with us in Belize! Please Print the instructions on how to meet us once you get to Belize. http://cavetubing.bz/instructions/cruise. Just let me know when you have done it as that will confirm the tour with us.

 

No deposit needed, you pay the day of the tour with cash or Travelers check. US cash is accepted. The price per person for cave tubing is $40US so your total price is $80US. Prices include transportation in A/C vans, entrance fee, licensed tour guide and updated equipment (life jackets, Petzl helmets, L.E.D. lights and yellow tubes with handles). We give you FREE lunch, water, sodas and rum punch. For lunch we serve a local dish of rice and beans with stew chicken and coleslaw prepared by my sisters from my grandmother's recipe. This delicious meal is served at my place which is not a public restaurant, it is only for my guests.

 

In October we will be getting new customized tubes that have chain links so you don't have to use your feet and armpit. They might come earlier but I cannot promise that they will arrive before the 26th of September. We use ropes to connect the tubes for people who really don't want to use their feet and armpit. Let me know if you would like to book.

 

Thanks for choosing a local family own and run business. Looking forward in seeing you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Vitalino Reyes

Owner/Manager

Vital Nature and Mayan Tours

cavetubing pioneer

www.cavetubing.bz

011-501-602-8975

 

***************

I ended up booking with the company even though there is no guarantee that the new tubes would be coming in prior to our visit to Belize. When my friend and I book excursions, we look not only at the excursion itself but what else is offered. We are very interested in the lifestyle and the culture of the countries we are visiting. With lunch at his house, I feel we will be immersed in the Belizian lifestyle more so than some of the other excursions.

 

Don't get me wrong...all three groups had many positives, in the end, I chose the one that I though we would get the most out of.

 

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the three companies. Have a great trip.

[rockbock]

Wow, this thread really took off! I was the OP, but I haven't spent much time on CC for the past month and a half. Lots of great info here now. We'll be cruising in 3 weeks and we're booked with cave-tubing.com. I'll provide a detailed review once we return.

[mara93]

Yes, please do!

[luvdilly]

Would anyone be able to answer a question for me? How rough is the water inside the caves? I was all ready to commit to a cave tubing excursion and then watched a Youtube clip in one of the caves and it was very chaotic and noisy, water was very fast moving and there were groups of two tubes all over bumping into each other - not the line of 6 or 8 hooked together calmly floating along. It did not look fun or relaxing to me at all - makes me very nervous to think that it could be like that in the dark. Thank you so much!

[Grumpy9117]

We went in January of this year and the water wasn't rough at all. There's a couple of places where the current flows a little faster but I won't even call it rapids. We went with BIZ so all our tubes were hooked together and our guide just steered the whole group of tubes.

[burm]

We were on a private tour with Cynthia and Nacho, and had the caves entirely to ourselves- and by ourselves I mean just the two of us and the guide. It was all very slow and relaxing. As we headed to the buffet, we saw a HUGE group arrive.

[utlady]

Do you have a website for Cynthia & Nacho?

[burm]

Do you have a website for Cynthia & Nacho?

 

 

http://ncqadventuretours.com/index.html