Cave Tubing with Carnival

[Ellya]

Before we went our our recent cruise, I read many of the posts here regarding the cave tubing excursions. While many of the local tours sounded appealing, in the end I decided to go with the ship's tour in the interest of peace of mind. Since this was my husband's first cruise, I didn't want him to be nervous about getting back to the ship in time. There are very few posts from folks who took the ship's tour, so it was hard for me to know if that was going to be awful. So, now that we're back I wanted to share our experience for those that are considering the ship's tour. We were on Carnival, so I am not sure if our experience would be the same with other lines.

 

We were gathered in the largest ship's lounge with several other early tours for tendering and after a short wait escorted to the tenders. We did encounter a few other people lurking around trying to slip in with the Carnival tour to get the early tender. Nobody was checking very carefully, but we all did have stickers to get on the tender. One thing you might want to be careful of if you decide to tag along is that you are getting on the right tender. Some were going on other tours and might not even go to the pier.

 

The tender was large and open in the rear so it was not too hot. We arrived at the pier in short order and walked directly through the shopping area to tour busses. The busses were very comfortable and air conditioned, although not super cold. A local tour guide gave us a narrative tour as we drove through the city of local sights and current events. After we left the city, we drove for about an hour through the countryside which was pretty interesting to see. As we approached the tour area, a second local guide took over the narrative and began to explain how the tour would work and answer any questions people might have. He then walked throughout the bus and asked every person individually if they had any questions or concerns. I thought this was handled very well!

 

We stopped at a nearby restaurant, Cheers, to use the restroom and changing facilities. People who needed to rent water shoes could do that as well. We then proceeded to the beginning of the tour. Our guide was very informative the entire way. We picked up our headlamps and inner tubes and headed off into the semi-jungle. Although there may be hundreds of people from your ship going on this tour, once you get on the bus, that group of about 40 people becomes your "group". Crossing the river was not difficult, for us the water was thigh deep and chilly, but not really too cold.

 

We hiked together for about 30 minutes. The hike was not hard or particularly long, but people should take into account the heat and humidity as well. We walked pretty briskly with no stops. I was fine with it, but I can see that anyone who might have trouble with a brisk walk in the heat might not enjoy that part. Although our guide was not near us, he did stop and make sure that all could hear certain announcements as needed. Although we did not get a tour of the local flora, it should be noted that many of the plants and trees along the trail are clearly marked with signs for those that are interested. We did really enjoy walking through the jungle like area and hearing all the tropical birds calling.

 

When we reached the river, another group was still departing, so our guide told us just to enjoy the river and some people did some swimming and jumping off low rocks into the river. After a few minutes, we loaded onto our tubes and took off down the river. You enter a cave almost immediately and it is quite dark the entire way. There are very few openings for light to come through and your headlamp does little to illuminate the area. In fact, practically the only use for the headlamp is to see the other tubers bobbing along in front of you to mark your way. The guide stayed amongst us and warned us which way to go and of any rocks or hazards. I was surprised how long the dark ride through the cave was. Near the exit to the cave I pointed my headlamp up into the crevices of the cave roof and was able to spot some bats (who did not really appreciate my effort).

 

We then left the cave and floated down the open part of the river. There are park employees located at dangerous points in the river who steer you away from rocks or sticks and our guide continued to keep watch over us. Toward the end of the float, we did see a snake on the rocks near the river's edge. It was dead, thankfully, because it was (according to the guide) a Fer de Lance. There are also folks stationed at the rope crossing to assist you in getting out of your tube at the appropriate spot.

 

After the river trip, we bussed back to the Cheers restaurant for a lunch of chicken, rice, beans, potato salad and orange juice (included). Belikan beer and pop was available for purchase. For those that desired, there is a great diving spot right next to the restaurant and many of the more daring took turns jumping off and diving into the river many times.

 

We then headed back on the bus and arrived back at the pier in time for only about 20 minutes of shopping before it was time to get in line for the tender.

 

So, although I have never taken the private tour, the things I liked about the ship's tour were:

 

- I knew I would get back to the ship

- The transportation was comfortable and reliable

- The guides were very professional and kept track of everyone (I don't know how they did it!)

- I was glad there were many people in the river because we all kind of helped each other when we needed it...safety in numbers I guess.

 

So, if you are worried that a ship's tour won't be fun and you are not ready for a private tour, go ahead and go! I am glad we did. Although we did only tour one cave, it is very long and I really didn't think I would see much different in more caves. I would probably have enjoyed more time on the open river, but I don't know if the private tours offer that.

[weakerthan]

Thank you for this review. I'm so glad the cruise line's excursion sounds like a good time. My husband and I plan on doing Carnival's cave tubing excursion in December. We'll be on the Valor. We want to get off the boat easily and we want to be secure in the knowledge that we'll return to the boat on time. I figure vacations are supposed to be stress-free.

 

Anybody else have Carnival cave tubing reviews?

[DEL67]

We had planned to go cave tubing with a private vendor while on the Elation in August but went with Carnival instead because my daughter won a cave tubing excursion for 2. We enjoyed ourselves, but felt that we would have preferred going with the private vendor because there would have been fewer people and we could have gone through an additional cave. We also felt that we spent a lot of time waiting for the other bus passengers. In addition, our guides gave us more time tahn some other buses at the restaurant (which we did not need) so we were the last bus to leave which left us with little time for shopping before the last tender.

[Ellya]

We did spend a bit of time at the restaurant as well. I can see if you didn't go down to the river, it could be too long. We went down to the diving area at the river. My son loved the diving and we enjoyed watching all the young and brave hearted doing their fanciest dives into the river. There was only a short time to shop though.

 

I do think it's an individual decision. In our case, the stress of worrying about a private tour, no matter how remote the chances of mishap, were too much for us. This is a pretty adventurous excursion no matter who you go with, so I am still glad we did the ship's tour.

[BgRoFan]

This may sound like a silly question, but was it easy to get out of the river when it was over? Were there steps, ladder or just rocks?

 

Thanks!

 

Sheryl

[Ellya]

I'm sure it depends a bit on how deep the water is, but it wasn't too hard. The water is, of course, shallower near the edge, so try to paddle over there. There are guides standing at the exit point to grab you if you float too far. There aren't any stairs or anything in the actual water since the bank is not steep at the very edge. There are stairs though to climb the small hillside next to the river once you are already out of the water.

[DiveCruiser]

Thank you for this review. I'm so glad the cruise line's excursion sounds like a good time. My husband and I plan on doing Carnival's cave tubing excursion in December. We'll be on the Valor. We want to get off the boat easily and we want to be secure in the knowledge that we'll return to the boat on time. I figure vacations are supposed to be stress-free.

 

Anybody else have Carnival cave tubing reviews?

 

Use Coralbreeze, it is the same excusion at half the price. We were there the first of Oct and we got back before the ships excusion.

 

Bob