Cave Tubing Comparison and a few questions...

[Iamkesha1]

Thank you for your review. .bz, should thank you too. I'm sure alot of ppl will book with them more so now because of the upgrades they are making.

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:

 

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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.

[nasha1229]

Did the cavetubing excursion with cavetubing.com. Also, did the ATV add-on. My son (25) and I found the guide immediately outside the terminal. We boarded a nice bus and were transported to their palapa for the ATV experience. We rode through the jungle for about 40 minutes...lots of mud and water. Lots of fun. After that we boarded another bus and whisked to join our cavetubing group. We had a brisk walk to catch up. Once the large group arrived at the caves, guides divided us into groups of eight. They did let a group of nine go together. Their rafts are nice with back rests and cup holders. They connect all the rafts together with clips and rope and then the guide leads you through all the caves. We did two sets of caves and then a little cruising down the river. It was awesome. After getting back on the bus and going to their large palapa, we were each given a chicken tamale wrapped in a banana leaf....delicious. They have beverages available for purchase. After lunch we were taken back to the cruise terminal. The guides were very knowledgeable. They seemed to genuinely like what they do and have a respect for the caves. Great trip. I would highly recommend Cavetubing.com. Prices were reasonable and they took great care of us.

[Kellie Poodle]

I have booked our cave tubing with .bz as they appear to have a good safety record, responded very quickly and politely to my inquiries and have now upgraded to linked tubes with back rests, etc.

 

My question is about tipping. Are there individual guides to tip? Does one tip the driver of the van?

 

I don't want to bring excess cash, so I thought I'd ask those of you who have done this excursion.

 

Thanks.

[jennycait]

Just back off the Carnival Magic. We did .bz cavetubing on Thurs, Dec. 20th. We had to walk down the road from the port a bit but just followed the directions they sent us and no problems. Our crew was lots of fun. Our driver was our guide and we did tip him. We also left a tip with the ladies who served us lunch at Vitalino's house. The rum punch flowed freely on the ride back to the port. I wish we would have had time to shop when we got back but had to catch one of the last tenders back to the ship.

 

Make sure you wear a shoes you can walk in on slippery rocks and in the water. Some wore tennis shoes, some wore water shoes and I saw several people with those toe shoes. The guides helped carry tubes for whoever needed it. Overall a great experience and I would certainly do it again.

[Kellie Poodle]

Just back off the Carnival Magic. We did .bz cavetubing on Thurs, Dec. 20th. We had to walk down the road from the port a bit but just followed the directions they sent us and no problems. Our crew was lots of fun. Our driver was our guide and we did tip him. We also left a tip with the ladies who served us lunch at Vitalino's house. The rum punch flowed freely on the ride back to the port. I wish we would have had time to shop when we got back but had to catch one of the last tenders back to the ship.

 

Make sure you wear a shoes you can walk in on slippery rocks and in the water. Some wore tennis shoes, some wore water shoes and I saw several people with those toe shoes. The guides helped carry tubes for whoever needed it. Overall a great experience and I would certainly do it again.

 

Thanks for the information.

 

What are "toe shoes" All that came to mind was ballerina slippers :)

 

I'm going to the discount store and pick up a pair of inexpensive canvass sneakers. DH has some old ones he can wear. I appreciate all the warnings about water shoes. I'm not going to bring them.

 

Merry Christmas

[mkaalong]

We followed the advice of other cruise passengers on the forums and booked a cave tubing experience with cave-tubing.com for December 11 and were not disappointed! It was great... at the beginning the bus was nice and air conditioned, the wait was minimal, and the directions were accurate. The drive there was fun and educational, and the guides were funny and provided all the information we needed for our cave tubing experience!

Safety and getting back to the ship on time were their number 1 priority, without a doubt!! Our guides were Speedy, Oscar, Shawn, Charlie and Roach...and were GREAT!! The walk there was a little rough (take good shoes!), but I feel that the info was put out there enough...so not unexpected. Our party liked the hike, it was beautiful and nice to get some exercise :) The cave tubing part was great also....Roach totally took care of us and worked very hard the whole way. We just sat back and relaxed...quite a long trip also. We started before the normal tubers did, and also ended after they did...quite a treat! And we were able to swim in the water if we wanted. The food afterwards was very festive and yummy! Our only regret was not taking our camera (we were afraid it would get wet) to document this fun experience :)

[NanciEA]

How long were you actually in total darkness in the caves? Ten minutes - thirty minutes? I am claustrophobic and am curious....

[Quilting Queen]

Toe shoes are not ballet slippers. They have a rubberized sole and are like gloves as they go over each toe individually. Usually they are used for exercise like yoga.

 

Norine

[SpinnerCOyyy]

Look up Vibrams. That will show you an actual toe shoe.

 

My son wore them on our cave tubing in Belize, zip lining in Roatan, and wore them to the top of Temple of the Owls at the Dzibanche ruins. Protects the foot better than say a water sandle. But my MIL just bought a cheap pair of keds sneakers that she could toss away after cave tubing.

[Kellie Poodle]

Look up Vibrams. That will show you an actual toe shoe.

 

My son wore them on our cave tubing in Belize, zip lining in Roatan, and wore them to the top of Temple of the Owls at the Dzibanche ruins. Protects the foot better than say a water sandle. But my MIL just bought a cheap pair of keds sneakers that she could toss away after cave tubing.

 

Thanks. I'll go for the cheap "Keds"

[1stTimeCruiser2008]

Columbia makes great water shoes. We bought some at an outlet store by our home. They feel just like tennis shoes! We wore them in every port on our last trip. They are great for walking, playing in the sand, swimming...much better than normal water shoes and lighter weight than tennis shoes. They also drain water really well!

[Athankfulheart]

We went with VIV this year and had a blast. Our driver Kareem was fun, safe and knowlegable. My husband and I sat in the front seat with Kareem and talked to him lots about Belize. The assistant guy sat in the back and did alot of talking with the rest of the passengers. Both of them were very friendly and happy to answer all of our questions. We chose VIV because at the time, they were the only company using links. I have to say that the headrests were not as big a deal as the mesh bottoms. We are bringing our children back in a year and we are choosing especially because of the mesh bottom tubes. I want my little kids to be able to relax and enjoy the float which they would not be able to do if they were working to stay in their tube.

 

I get claustrophobic and this activity never presented a challenge for me.

I understand that some offer lunch and drinks for the same price, but honestly we dont drink and we just ate a big breakfast and brought a couple boxes of dry cereal and a water bottle with us and we lasted the day just fine.

[lilmsmuffet]

I've started my review. You can find it here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1720035

 

 

I keep getting an invalid thread when I click your link..Is there another way to see your review??

[VAMAMA]

We've decided to go with VIV. My next question is, Are you required to swim? as I don't. Can you bring camera/videocamera and does it have to be waterproof? Do you encounter any spiders or was that tarantuala only coaxed out? real fear of spidey things.

[SpinnerCOyyy]

We went cave tubing in November with VIV and had a blast.

 

As for your questions..

 

No, you are not required to swim. When we went the water was honestly quite shallow and there were many butts up calls to all groups. There is a place where you have to cross the river. That area however has a rope that you can hold onto for balance, and the water never rose past mid shin.

 

As for the spiders, no one will be trying to talk you into holding a spider. Our group of 13 saw only termite mounds in the trees, a couple of caterpillars and teeny tiny bats that looked more like small flying gerbils. Except they never left their little cubby holes.

 

A water proof camera is best. They do sell some waterproof disposables there at the park. We purchased an inexpensive waterproof digital specifically for the cave tubing. We still ended up with some vapor clouds in several of the photos. But it was worth the $60 for the camera as otherwise you would miss a lot of fantastic photo-ops.

 

Have fun!

[readyforsomesun]

Does anyone know if it is possible to go to ATM (Actun Tunichil Muknal) cave while in Belize for a port stay? We are there from 0800 - 1700. I only found one tour that leaves at 030 so that won't work.

 

Thanks. we are cruising on the Norwegian Dawn on March 10, 2013

[jcpelly]

I read all these posts about .bz saying the rate was 40 dollars/pp but their website says 50/pp and an e-mail reply from them also said it was 50/pp. What's the deal with 2 different prices?

[Kellie Poodle]

I read all these posts about .bz saying the rate was 40 dollars/pp but their website says 50/pp and an e-mail reply from them also said it was 50/pp. What's the deal with 2 different prices?

 

 

Maybe they need their webmaster to update the site?

 

I'm paying $50 per person and going with .bz They were very responsive to my questions and have upgraded their equipment recently so I know it's in good shape. They have a good safety record, too.

 

I'm sure other companies are just as good, but they were the best responders, so that's why I booked with them...and the lunch sounded really good, too. :)

[bellabaloo]

We went with VIV this year and had a blast. Our driver Kareem was fun, safe and knowlegable. My husband and I sat in the front seat with Kareem and talked to him lots about Belize. The assistant guy sat in the back and did alot of talking with the rest of the passengers. Both of them were very friendly and happy to answer all of our questions. We chose VIV because at the time, they were the only company using links. I have to say that the headrests were not as big a deal as the mesh bottoms. We are bringing our children back in a year and we are choosing especially because of the mesh bottom tubes. I want my little kids to be able to relax and enjoy the float which they would not be able to do if they were working to stay in their tube.

 

I get claustrophobic and this activity never presented a challenge for me.

I understand that some offer lunch and drinks for the same price, but honestly we dont drink and we just ate a big breakfast and brought a couple boxes of dry cereal and a water bottle with us and we lasted the day just fine.

 

We went with VIV (although booked them through shoretripsDOTcom) and had Kareem in March. He was awesome. My 6 yr. old went with us and had a blast. We would use them again should we go back.

 

btw- The lunch that some of the others provide is there and available to anyone for about $6. My dh bought 1 and it was not good at all-but then again, i can be picky!

[cary1306]

going in january on carnival lengend and booking through cave tubing .bz ..hope i have a good time as i hear it is rainy season in january...and never been to belize:rolleyes:

[aloesch]

I read all these posts about .bz saying the rate was 40 dollars/pp but their website says 50/pp and an e-mail reply from them also said it was 50/pp. What's the deal with 2 different prices?

 

It used to be $40/person until they got the new tubes in. I booked it in October-ish for my Dec16 Star cruise and got it at the 40 rate but they got the new tubes in around the end of November so I still got to benefit from them. People in our group that booked the week before had to pay the 50/person rate. It's still a great value though!

[Sfdtiller]

going in january on carnival lengend and booking through cave tubing .bz ..hope i have a good time as i hear it is rainy season in january...and never been to belize:rolleyes:

 

We are also using them on this trip, used them last time we were there and it was great. Are you zip lining along with tubing? We are trying to figure out something else because I was not that impressed with zip lining in Belize....Costa Rica was the best I have done yet. See you on board....

[thegoodlife247]

For those of you that have cruised on carnival and booked cave tubing excursions with a company other than carnival can you comment on how early you can get off the ship? I know that FTF and those with carnival excursions get priority tendering. Just want to make sure we will have enough time to do the tour and maybe some quick shopping. Thanks

[Quilting Queen]

I would like an opinion about water shoes for the tubing.

 

I have a pair of water sandals like Teva, not sure the brand. Is it ok to wear sandals or should I wear closed water shoes?

 

Norine

[Sfdtiller]

We used cavetubing.bz last trip and I booked with them again. We had plenty of time to shop and explore. They were great at catering to our timeframe.