Review of Wet&Wild Cave Tubing 11/8/05

[cruisequeen8661]

Last Wednesday our Ship Legend of the Seas came into port in Belize. Our tour was to meet at 8:45 but we were able to tender in at about 8:00 or so and were early. We met with Marvin's representative and arranged to meet in 30 minutes. After a late start cause we were waiting for some other folks off of another ship, we got on a bus and Charlie Chan our guide took off for an hour long trip of 43 miles to the park where we were to tube.

 

Charlie did a FABULOUS job of giving us a historical and cultural travelogue as we went through the countryside. He pointed out different types of fruit trees and crops as we made the drive on a fairly modern and well maintained highway. The last 7 miles of the trip was on an unpaved road. I laughed to my husband that the bumps and ruts almost made it feel like you were getting a massage. :). Once there the skies opened up and rained on us but that was ok. After all you're in a rainforest which is beautiful. The park is maintained so that there are markers that point out different varieties of trees. Charlie showed us a termite hive??? which was cool and explained why the termites had a symbiotic relationship with the trees in the forest. ( they don't attack living trees but rather breakdown dead wood.)

 

Most of us jumped from the rock into the river and because the water was so high it was a bit of an effort to keep from getting caught up in the current but we managed it. I want to say that Charlie did an outstanding job of keeping us together. He showed us how to daisychain ourselves so we stayed in one group. I think a few of us didn't realize how important this was till later on when the current got even faster and we saw how easy it was to get pushed ahead or get caught up by the walls of the caves. I had my DS (11 yo) and DD 12.5yo with us. My son ended up getting separated from us and I went after him once and Charlie managed to get us hooked back into our group again. He worked really hard making sure we stayed together as much as possible. This was a big difference between us and some of the other groups we saw out on the river. Many of the folks with them were all over the place and some even joined our group because we were seem to be managing the water better.

 

The river was high, which was not a surprise given that we came in at the end of the rainy season but the tour was spectacular. Very cool formations that Charlie pointed out. After we got out of the river, we had a great meal in the restaurant and then we got back in the van and went back to Belize City. We made it back in plenty of time to do some shopping and get back on the tenders.

 

Many thanks to Charlie for taking such good care of my kids and the rest of the group. Thanks to Marvin for running such a great operation.

[mirthmaiden]

Last Wednesday our Ship Legend of the Seas came into port in Belize. Our tour was to meet at 8:45 but we were able to tender in at about 8:00 or so and were early. We met with Marvin's representative and arranged to meet in 30 minutes. After a late start cause we were waiting for some other folks off of another ship, we got on a bus and Charlie Chan our guide took off for an hour long trip of 43 miles to the park where we were to tube.

 

Charlie did a FABULOUS job of giving us a historical and cultural travelogue as we went through the countryside. He pointed out different types of fruit trees and crops as we made the drive on a fairly modern and well maintained highway. The last 7 miles of the trip was on an unpaved road. I laughed to my husband that the bumps and ruts almost made it feel like you were getting a massage. :). Once there the skies opened up and rained on us but that was ok. After all you're in a rainforest which is beautiful. The park is maintained so that there are markers that point out different varieties of trees. Charlie showed us a termite hive??? which was cool and explained why the termites had a symbiotic relationship with the trees in the forest. ( they don't attack living trees but rather breakdown dead wood.)

 

Most of us jumped from the rock into the river and because the water was so high it was a bit of an effort to keep from getting caught up in the current but we managed it. I want to say that Charlie did an outstanding job of keeping us together. He showed us how to daisychain ourselves so we stayed in one group. I think a few of us didn't realize how important this was till later on when the current got even faster and we saw how easy it was to get pushed ahead or get caught up by the walls of the caves. I had my DS (11 yo) and DD 12.5yo with us. My son ended up getting separated from us and I went after him once and Charlie managed to get us hooked back into our group again. He worked really hard making sure we stayed together as much as possible. This was a big difference between us and some of the other groups we saw out on the river. Many of the folks with them were all over the place and some even joined our group because we were seem to be managing the water better.

 

The river was high, which was not a surprise given that we came in at the end of the rainy season but the tour was spectacular. Very cool formations that Charlie pointed out. After we got out of the river, we had a great meal in the restaurant and then we got back in the van and went back to Belize City. We made it back in plenty of time to do some shopping and get back on the tenders.

 

Many thanks to Charlie for taking such good care of my kids and the rest of the group. Thanks to Marvin for running such a great operation.

 

Thanks for the great review. We are leaving tomorrow and we are doing this excursion with cavetubing.com. I have a question for you. I have asked this before and the response was "don't worry about it" They obviously don't know me very well, do they? :rolleyes:

 

With all the recent rain from tropical storms in the area, I'm expecting the river will also be high when we are there. We have two kids (ages 11 and 10) who are good swimmers, so I'm not worried about their safety. But I know they would freak out about being separated from our group, and so would I. I was thinking of bringing along a long piece of nylon rope (marine type) to secure our tubes together. We would have to be laced together closely, otherwise I could see the rope catching on things and us getting tangled.

 

This may be completely unrealistic, but what do you think now that you've been there? Would it work and be worth the hassle? Would we have a few minutes to get situated once we arrive at the river? Or should I just go with the foot-hooking and hope for the best?

 

I'm headed out for last minute shopping today, so anybody with relevant input - please respond. Thanks :)

[cruisequeen8661]

It's not a bad idea and to make it work make sure you do one thing...Make sure you or your husband get in the water FIRST and then your kids. Give yourself enough time to get situated and make sure you're secure in the tube and can hold on. Tell your kids to head straight to you and that the current will be swift . Tell them to wait to get in the tubes until they're with you...that water is shallower at the edge. That way you'll be able to tie them on once they're in the tube. Don't take a very long piece of rope....take two pieces about 8 ft long at the most. Hope this helps.

[stacybbb]

Hey there....

We go on Legend on 12/31....travelling with my 3 kids 8,11 and 14. Any tips for kids, Legend, and or excursions? Is the current that strong? I was afraid of snakes...now the current!

 

IN Costa Maya, I'd like to do the Dune Buggy...have you heard about it? I heard it's fun, but I cannot drive stick shift......did you see any automatic transmission?

 

Any advice would be great.

Thanks