Dragon’s Breath or Dragon's Fire Flight Line in Labadee & Timing for Excursions

[Amberle3]

9 hours ago, crusintime123 said:

Was curious if you have to do the practice zip line if doing the Fire Flight?  Also if others in your party are doing the normal sit down Zip line can you still do it with them?  Was also wondering if the superman zip is comfortable?   

 

We did the Fire zipline a few days ago.  We did not have to do the practice zipline first.  I don't think it would be possible to do it at the same time others in your party are doing the regular one as a) the groups are separated and taken separately up to the zipline and b) they lines are physically separated.  The Fire line starts about 200ft back from the Breath lines.

 

I found the Fire one very comfortable.  I had NEVER done a zipline before, and I'm afraid of heights.  I chose to do the fire because I thought I'd feel more supported and therefore more secure, and for the most part I was right.  The harness they have you in covers your torso from about underarm to mid thigh. There was one point where I had a slight moment of panic and felt like I was slipping forward in the harness during the flight and had to remind myself that it had straps over my shoulders and I was fine.

[rasmonkey]

On 2/7/2019 at 10:54 PM, jennadanielle said:

Upon further reflection, I'm leaning heavily towards the traditional option, with my family. My sister reminded me that I can get pretty anxious lol, and the last thing I want is to freak out at the top of the Fire and be all by myself! 😊

 

I was the original poster of this thread, so here was my decision making process and thoughts on the comparison after having rode the Fire...

 

I ultimately decided to do the Fire (superman) over the Breath because it seemed like a much more unique experience.  You can zip line all over the world now, but there are very few places where you can "fly like Superman" and that just really set it apart from the Breath.  What made the decision easier for us was that we also booked an excursion in Jamaica that was treetop zip lining (Chukka Tours) and that was all traditional zip lining, so it was just another reason to choose the Fire which was something different.  I'm sure the Breath is just as much fun, but IMO the Fire provided that something extra that makes it truly unique.  As an FYI, I was originally concerned that I wouldn't be able to "take in the sights" laying on your belly going head first instead of sitting in an upright position which would make it easier to swivel your head.  But I was still able to turn my head from side to side and I had an action cam mounted to a wrist strap to record everything.  While I do think the Breath would have provided a slightly better/easier way to view the scenery as you flew down the zip line, I don't feel I lost much, if anything, in terms of seeing everything whooshing past you.  It's also worth mentioning that the Fire line is actually 200 feet longer than the Breath, so that probably adds another 5 seconds to the ride! LOL.  Saturday I'll going to post a longer review with photos.

[rasmonkey]

15 hours ago, crusintime123 said:

Was curious if you have to do the practice zip line if doing the Fire Flight?  Also if others in your party are doing the normal sit down Zip line can you still do it with them?  Was also wondering if the superman zip is comfortable?   

 

5 hours ago, Amberle3 said:

 

We did the Fire zipline a few days ago.  We did not have to do the practice zipline first.  I don't think it would be possible to do it at the same time others in your party are doing the regular one as a) the groups are separated and taken separately up to the zipline and b) they lines are physically separated.  The Fire line starts about 200ft back from the Breath lines.

 

I found the Fire one very comfortable.  I had NEVER done a zipline before, and I'm afraid of heights.  I chose to do the fire because I thought I'd feel more supported and therefore more secure, and for the most part I was right.  The harness they have you in covers your torso from about underarm to mid thigh. There was one point where I had a slight moment of panic and felt like I was slipping forward in the harness during the flight and had to remind myself that it had straps over my shoulders and I was fine.

 

Amberle3 - Bravo doing either one of these, much less the more daunting Fire, being afraid of heights and having never zip lined before!  I personally wouldn't recommend doing it if you're afraid of heights because I would think that would be too much for someone that has that fear - but you proved that isn't always the case!

 

To answer crusintime123 I agree with everything Amberle3 said.  The platforms for the Fire and Breath are totally separate so a Fire group wouldn't be with a Breath group.  The Fire was very comfortable, it really just felt like you were floating on a cloud.

 

Here was my decision making process and thoughts on the comparison after having rode the Fire...

 

I ultimately decided to do the Fire (superman) over the Breath because it seemed like a much more unique experience.  You can zip line all over the world now, but there are very few places where you can "fly like Superman" and that just really set it apart from the Breath.  What made the decision easier for us was that we also booked an excursion in Jamaica that was treetop zip lining (Chukka Tours) and that was all traditional zip lining, so it was just another reason to choose the Fire which was something different.  I'm sure the Breath is just as much fun, but IMO the Fire provided that something extra that makes it truly unique.  As an FYI, I was originally concerned that I wouldn't be able to "take in the sights" laying on your belly going head first instead of sitting in an upright position which would make it easier to swivel your head.  But I was still able to turn my head from side to side and I had an action cam mounted to a wrist strap to record everything.  While I do think the Breath would have provided a slightly better/easier way to view the scenery as you flew down the zip line, I don't feel I lost much, if anything, in terms of seeing everything whooshing past you.  It's also worth mentioning that the Fire line is actually 200 feet longer than the Breath, so that probably adds another 5 seconds to the ride! LOL.  Saturday I'm going to post a longer review with photos.

[jennadanielle]

Thanks Rasmonkey! As it turns out I have a little more time to make my decision, as I was on the Navigator cruise that was cancelled! We're now rebooked on Independence in April, which also goes to Labadee 😊. 

[rasmonkey]

57 minutes ago, jennadanielle said:

Thanks Rasmonkey! As it turns out I have a little more time to make my decision, as I was on the Navigator cruise that was cancelled! We're now rebooked on Independence in April, which also goes to Labadee 😊. 

 

Curious, why was it cancelled?

[The Fun Researcher]

2 hours ago, rasmonkey said:

 

Curious, why was it cancelled?

 

 I am guessing this was the cruise that was canceled because the drydock and refurbishment of the navigator ran over in time and the first cruise after drydock was canceled.  

 

Dan

[jennadanielle]

9 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

 

 I am guessing this was the cruise that was canceled because the drydock and refurbishment of the navigator ran over in time and the first cruise after drydock was canceled.  

 

Dan

Yup, that was our luck! Didn't even know they were doing a reno on Navigator when we booked. We're on Independence in April now. 

[crusintime123]

Thanks for all the feedback.  Looking forward to your detailed review Rasmonkey.

[rasmonkey]

Hi all, I was the original poster of this thread.  Here is my review of the Dragon's Fire Flight Line zip line excursion, as well as everything else we did at Labadee on our stop while on the Harmony of the Seas this February.

 

I originally couldn't decide between the Fire and Breath Flight Lines.  I ultimately decided to do the Fire (superman) over the Breath because it seemed like a much more unique experience.  You can zip line all over the world now, but there are very few places where you can "fly like Superman" and that just really set it apart from the Breath.  What made the decision easier for us was that we also booked an excursion in Jamaica that was treetop zip lining (Chukka Tours) and that was all traditional zip lining, so it was just another reason to choose the Fire which was something different.  I'm sure the Breath is just as much fun, but IMO the Fire provided that something extra that makes it truly unique.  As an FYI, I was originally concerned that I wouldn't be able to "take in the sights" while laying on your belly going head first instead of sitting in an upright position on the Breath which would make it easier to swivel your head.  But I was still able to turn my head from side to side and I had an action cam mounted to a wrist strap to record everything.  While I do think the Breath would have provided a slightly better/easier way to view the scenery as you flew down the zip line, I don't feel I lost much, if anything, in terms of seeing everything whooshing past you.  It's also worth mentioning that the Fire line is actually 200 feet longer than the Breath, so that probably adds another 5 seconds to the ride! LOL.

 

We had a 9:30am time slot for the Fire which said to be there at 9am.  It was our first excursion of the cruise and every cruise I always forget the fact that part of the time in excursions is waiting for everyone to show up so it doesn't really start until 9:30.  I bring this up because due to time and wanting to be there at 9am we ended up skipping the professional photo ops right off the ship that would have been nice photos to have since we bought the full photo package.  It did take a good 10-15 minutes off the ship to walk down the dock and through the pavilions to find where we needed to be.  You sign a waiver at the desk, have your weight recorded on your wristband, and then nervously wait in the shade hoping you made a good decision for this crazy zip line.  The tram shows up and takes your group to the end of the RCI property at the end of the last beach.

 

FYI, if you were doing the Dragon's Breath zip line, before taking the tram you'd go on the mini zip line for practice which is right by the check-in location.  Some people comparing the two zip lines, Fire vs Breath, like to add extra value to the Breath excursion because you get the extra mini zip line.  The real reason for the extra line is that they want you to practice the landing so you know how to put yourself in the proper position so that you don't hurt yourself.  I haven't done the Breath, but from what I've read and watched it's easier to make a hard stop and flip your legs over your head if you don't get into proper position of bending your knees and pulling your legs up.  I guess enough people have done it wrong and hurt themselves so they felt it necessary to have this practice run.  There is no practice run for the Fire line.  To some that cuts down the value, but it also cuts down the total time of the excursion so you can go onto the next thing and/or relax on the beach.  Another way to look at it, however, is that the practice line might actually make you feel more at ease if you've never done a zip line before. I have done a zip line before so it didn't phase me not having the practice run, but I can definitely see how the practice line would help calm my nerves if I were very nervous about doing this without any previous experience.  Having said that - if you've never done a zip-line and are on an Oasis class ship that has a zip-line, I HIGHLY recommend making sure to do that activity ASAP/before your stop at Labadee, as it can really put yourself at ease having experienced doing a zip-line before doing the longest one over water in the world!!!  On the flip-side, you could also realize this activity is definitely not for you, and hopefully cancel and get your money back before it's too late and/or you chicken out at the top of the platform in Labadee!

 

After you get off the few minute tram ride you board an an open-air safari vehicle and actually leave the fenced-in compound that is Labadee.  Seeing the security fence that is apparently separating you from the rest of Haiti and then actually leaving the secure area was a bit disconcerting, but I guess that is the only way to get up the mountain which is just outside of the security fence.  On a more comical note, due to the large reinforced gate and fencing and tropical setting, it honestly looked like we were in a scene in a Jurassic Park movie!  I wouldn't have been surprised if a T-Rex showed up and tore us limb from limb.  😜

 

We traveled 3 minutes up a narrow, winding road around the small mountain and you can see the beach and ocean through the brush at each turn.  If you've ever been on a safari tour at a wildlife park the vehicle is very similar.  At the summit there are two structures, the nearer one is the platform for the Fire lines and the further one is the platform for the Breath lines.  Once we unload we get a short safety/instruction lesson, about who, how and what will happen under a shaded canopy.  The guides get us all get strapped into our harnesses and helmets and make sure everything is tight, etc. Two at a time people go up the stairs of the Fire platform and get hooked into the zip lines.  My daughter and I chose to be last so we could stay up there longer and soak in the amazing view.  Yeah, it added to our nervousness, but we were strangely calm about it.  My soon to be 13 year old daughter was grinning from ear to ear with confident excitement, so I think that actually put me more at ease.

 

After about about 15 minutes waiting for everyone else it was finally our turn.  Once you get up to the platform you realize sh*t is about to get real!  For better or worse there isn't much time to get overly nervous once you're up there.  Having said that, the scariest part of the whole experience happens before they send you off, and they warn you about this in the briefing at the summit to make sure you won't freak out, and they tell you that you just have to "trust them."  Let me explain.... Once you get to the Fire platform you get hooked onto a line until right before you get sent down. This is a safety line that is standard at any zip lining operation and you get hooked in and out of it as you go to the various spots on a zip line course.  On the Fire harness that is the middle of the three hooks on your back and this safety line gets released as the last step before they send you down. The other two hooks are above and below that, and are spaced out to share the weight of the front and back of your body once you are horizontal.  Once you get to the top of the narrow platform they connect the top hook by you getting on your tippy toes so they can reach the top hook on your back.  At this point you are at the edge of the platform where your descent will begin - if you look down you're looking down the hill of the small mountain you're on.  So now to connect the bottom/3rd hook you have to get horizontal, and the way to do that is to literally lean forward and lift your feet off the ground, and then they cantilever your body so you're horizontal and parallel to the earth with your head now hanging over the platform!  Remember this is at the edge of the platform you're about to fly off of, and leaning forward and lifting up both feet at the same time at the edge is the most unnerving feeling as every instinct is asking your brain ***** are you doing?!  But remember that you're still hooked in by two of the three connections, so you're not going anywhere and two seconds later they have the third hook connected.  Now my daughter and I are hanging next to each other 500 feet in the air for the brief minute while they check all the connections.  I said, "Ready, Keira?" with some nervous laughter, and then they unhooked the safety lines and with a light push off we went!

 

Once I was going I let out a goofy, "up, up and away!"  I had an action camera ready to go strapped to my wrist and was able to capture the whole ride, and even got the beginning of my daughter's descent until she disappeared into the distance.  We passed over the trees as we cleared the mountain, and then the beaches of Labadee were in view.  The cabanas on the beach come into focus and to the left you can see the pavilions and the rest of the beach.  FYI, the beach that we swam at, Nellies Beach, is on the other side of the land split on the left. That is also where you can see our cruise ship, the Harmony of the Seas, docked at port.  Further to the left you can see the mountainscape of Haiti, and to the right is the Caribbean Sea.  The five Breath lines are also directly to the right of you.  Once you can see the guides at the platform at the end they signal for you to get into landing mode, which means you have to cross your arms and tuck your chin to your chest.  The landing was amazingly smooth and not jerky at all, something I was slightly worried about since I don't exactly have the best back.  That's also why it's important to follow their landing method so you don't get jerked up at the end.

 

The warm air whooshing past you as you fly like Superman as you gently glide down the picturesque tropical scene, flying just barely over the crashing waves on the beach is truly something to behold.  The actual flight time is just 40-60 seconds, depending on the speed/weight, but it is 60 seconds of your life that will be etched into your brain for as long you live.  I'm not a daredevil, not even an extreme roller coaster person, and this was a serene, peaceful and not scary at all ride.  My daughter is a daredevil, however, and has rode every type of crazy roller coaster there is, and she said the experience of the Fire ride was better than all of them.

 

Tip: if you're riding with someone and only one of you has an action camera, make sure the person without the camera is closer to the beach (on the left) and the person with the camera is closer to the ocean (on the right).  That way you'll be able to video the other person as well as the scenery.  

 

Other comments about Labadee since some were brought up in this thread...

 

FYI, we did the wave runners after lunch and my girls, almost 13 and just turned 10, absolutely loved it.  If we hadn't done an amazing dolphin excursion the wave runners would have been their favorite excursion.  Based on comments here and my intuition I decided not to try to pack in kayaking as well, and I'm glad we didn't.  This way my daughters had time to swim on the beach before and after the wave runners.

 

While my older daughter and I did the Fire line my wife took our younger daughter on the Dragon Coaster.  When you buy one adult pass you can have a child ride with you for free (or maybe also an adult? I don't remember).  There is an "All-day" pass you can purchase but they only sell a certain number per day and it was sold out before our cruise started, which is a shame because it's only $10 more for the unlimited pass.  However, at the coaster they do offer to upgrade to a single re-ride pass for only $10 extra, and that enabled my wife to take my older daughter on the coaster when we got off the Fire line.  My youngest isn't a thrill seeker so the coaster was bit much for her, especially because of the height, so my wife had to ride the brake a lot with my youngest.  But when she took my oldest they let it fly and my 12 year old daughter really enjoyed it.  The apex of the coaster is actually adjacent to the Fire line platform, and as you're waiting for your turn on the Fire you see each car as it reaches the apex!

 

A tip for lunch at Labadee:  The BBQ buffet is from 11:30-2 I believe.  Do not wait past 12pm to get in line or you will be waiting with a hungry belly for much longer than you would desire.  We got there around 11:45/11:50 and by going to the line farther away were able to walk right up.  Once we were seated with our food the line was pretty crazy and I did not envy the people in line!  The ribs were great and the rest was grilled chicken, burgers, hot dogs, fries, rices, breads, potatoes, etc.  There was ample fruit and dessert options too.  Water and lemonade was free and you could get sodas/alcohol at the bar if you had the soda/beverage plan.

 

I feel like our itinerary was a good mix of activities with a bit of relaxing:

Ship docked at 8am.

Dragon's Fire Flight Line for two of us 9:30am (meet at 9)

Dragon's Coaster for two of us 10am (meet at 9:45) Before heading to the coaster my wife went to Nellies beach first to get two shaded chairs and drop our stuff and was able to get a nice location under a tree with a nice view.

2nd Dragon's Coaster ride

Swimming at Nellie's Beach   

Lunch at 11:45am

Wave runners at 1:30 (meet at 1)

Swimming at Nellie's Beach

Board ship before 5

 

Another tip:  Take the tram to get to the further beaches instead of walking and same thing for coming back to the ship or going to excursions located closer to the ship if you're at a further beach.

 

One last thing, I had read this and we experienced this as well.  At least at Nellies (I don't know about the other beaches) several people, including my daughter, had varying skin reactions to the water.  My youngest has very sensitive skin and she was all broken out.  We're used to that so we had Benadryl on hand and that cleared it up.  But we saw some other people that were quite shocked at the blotchy red rash they got.  Not everyone gets it, so it must be if you're sensitive to whatever it is in the water.  We weren't concerned though because just about any ocean water makes her break out.

 

I hope you enjoyed this review and found it useful, and be sure to check out the photos.  I have a video of our Fire flight that I will post soon.

[rasmonkey]

On 2/25/2019 at 7:06 AM, crusintime123 said:

Thanks for all the feedback.  Looking forward to your detailed review Rasmonkey.

Just posted it! 🙂

[crusintime123]

Great review!  Thanks for all the details.  How many people do they have in the zip line groups with you?  

[fletch1027]

Here’s the video I made of the original sit down one from a year ago...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuHYNQ_tdpU

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited February 27, 2019 by fletch1027
fix link

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, fletch1027 said:

Here’s the video I made of the original sit down one from a year ago...

ZuHYNQ_tdpU
 

 

Don't see any video.

[fletch1027]

Just now, Host Clarea said:

 

Don't see any video.

Just fixed it 🙂

[rasmonkey]

1 hour ago, crusintime123 said:

Great review!  Thanks for all the details.  How many people do they have in the zip line groups with you?  

Thanks! Our group for the Fire had about 8-10 people in it.  The groups for the Breath might be larger since there are 5 lines for the Breath and only 2 lines on the Fire.

Edited February 27, 2019 by rasmonkey

[Amberle3]

Awesome photos!  Do you mind if I borrow a few of them to put into the pics I show people (with the note that they're your photos)?  I didn't take my camera up with me and would love to be able to show the view to people.

[rasmonkey]

2 hours ago, Amberle3 said:

Awesome photos!  Do you mind if I borrow a few of them to put into the pics I show people (with the note that they're your photos)?  I didn't take my camera up with me and would love to be able to show the view to people.

Thanks! And sure, no problem.  I bought a cheap action camera and accessories 2 days before we left just to record this, and I'm so glad that I did.

[jennadanielle]

On 2/26/2019 at 4:47 PM, rasmonkey said:

Just posted it! 🙂

WOW!  thank you so much for the detailed review!!  Did you end up posting the video? I didn't see it and would love to!

[Elfa]

We are due to do the dragon fire line on Monday 15th April. Could somebody tell me whether there are any go-pro fixings on the helmets they provide you with ? 

Thanks in adavnce for any answers given.

[rasmonkey]

16 minutes ago, Elfa said:

We are due to do the dragon fire line on Monday 15th April. Could somebody tell me whether there are any go-pro fixings on the helmets they provide you with ? 

Thanks in adavnce for any answers given.

 

There was nothing on their helmets. Even if there was, I recommend using a wrist strap attachment instead.  If it's on the helmet you can't be reaching over your head to change the viewing angle so then you would only get a head-on view and not get to video the coast to the left which is really amazing.  If it's on your wrist you can move your arm back and forth from side to front of your body to get more perspectives. See my review above for more info.