THE LABADEE ZIP LINE - Everything You Always Wanted To Know

[pmfan]

[quote name='ontheopenseas']I weigh about 1/2 of the top weight requirement. I read that the more you weigh, the faster you go. Is this true? If so, does it take away from the ride at all if you weigh less?[/quote]
If you want a faster ride ... why not wear a weight belt.:eek:

[itninja]

Yes, however my concern is that I've read that they sometimes lower the weight requirement from 250 to 200. Is that a normal thing, or is it once and in a blue moon?

I booked this and intend to go on it in two weeks, but I'm concerned they won't let me. I weigh 210.

[lephysteria]

Unfortunately itninja, you will have to pray for favorable for zipline weather conditions. Marcia's husband, who weighed 203, was not able to participate. But he did get to have the money he spent for the excursion refunded at the shore excursions desk.
Hope this helps :)

[itninja]

How long ago was he denied using the line?

[lephysteria]

We sailed over labor day weekend, Sept 2007.

[quiltingmom]

We did the zipline in Labadee on March 21. They lowered the weight limit to 160 that day! My daughter and I were under the limit, but my husband was out of luck. They gave him an $80 refund on his ship account. It was mostly women and children as a result, 'cause many men were over the limit and they did have a scale right there to weigh people. There were 10 people in our group at the 2:30 slot. It takes 2 hours total from start to finish, with the assignment of a sling to each person, the instructions on the ground, the practice run on the small zipline, the ride up to the top and then waiting your turn at the top. There were only 4 lines open out of 5, and they send 3 or 4 people down at a time, a little staggered. The view is incredible! We brought a camera and took photos at the top, but you have to put it in a pocket while on the line, they don't want it swinging around. They recommend that you make a "starfish" with your arms and legs to slow down the ride, otherwise it's way too fast. At the very bottom when you hit the brake, there's a huge jerking of your body, a violent feeling for those with a healthy back, I wouldn't recommend it if you have any back trouble at all, I was surprised, it's like hitting a wall and your legs fly up high in the air, like on a kid's swing! It's an awesome ride down, great fun! We had to get back to the tenders right away when it ended at 4:30!

[itninja]

I'm really a bit disappointed that RCI doesn't better advertise the fact that if your over 200, there is a good chance your not going on this.

I wonder what it is they use to figure out the load limit....

[lets get away]

just did the zipline last week...loved it. It was very windy that day and they did impose a weight limit. Every one did go down in the end. If you have the chance do it!

[itninja]

Hey thanks for the info, do you know what the weight limit was offhand?

[Redheada]

My mom just recently did the Zipline in St Maarten (Loterie Farm). She loved it so much she decided to go back and do it again and bring me. The very first line she was unable to hand break and she broke her ankle (very badly) hitting the tree at a fast speed.

There was no big accident, no warning, just an unfortunate hard hit. Please keep in mind that you can get injured on something like this and it can ruin the rest of a vacation. After we got back I investigated and ankle injuries are VERY common.

This is especially hard if you are traveling by boat (if you cant walk). None of us were nervous to do this - in fact I think we all would still do it again. But with that in mind, it did ruin the rest of my mom's trip and now she is scheduled for surgery and a 6-12 month recovery which is heartbreaking because she is such a healthy active person.

[itninja]

I hate to say it but there are inherent risk with everything. You seem to elude to this when you say you would do it again.

[itninja]

For anyone watching this thread, just got off FOS today. Went to Labadee and no weight limit on the zip line. I weigh 215, and I actually didn't make it completely to the end, as I went with my hands out for too long. ( I was a bit nervous) (They tell you what position you should be using and for how long of a distance down the zip line)

Overall a great experience. A strong recommendation to anyone...

[clearwaters]

[quote name='Trainman-2']Continuing on with the story...

When you get to the top of the hill, you have to climb up the stairs to the top of the tower. [photo source unknown]

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/Cruising/5430lrs.jpg[/IMG]

And two nice views looking down from the top (source unknown)

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/Cruising/Zipline1.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/Trainman-2/Cruising/4qpssk6.jpg[/IMG]


To be continued...[/quote]


Thank you, thank you so much for the wonderful pics! Labadee is sooo beautiful and we had so much fun. Your pics are perfect.

[burnstracey]

Thanks for taking time out to share that with us! I was there last Sept., and I totally agree to book early if you want to do this.
In addition to perhaps being sold out, there is the weight & wind factor. Somehow they compensate both of them and will not allow people over (x) lbs. We were there for a long while watching these people fly down in amazement! They started with some "larger" folks, and by the time we left, they were down to a 190 pound weight limit due to the high wind.
I don't know if I could ever do it! But for those that can, have a blast!

[voyager22]

i've planning on doing this, but after reading about the weight/being stranded 1/2 way issues, i wanted to get ur opinions.
i weigh 110lbs (i'm 22, tall and slender lol) - would this ride hurt me, esp the jerking at the end?? Also, since i'm lightweight, would this ride be slow or fast?
TIA

[NYCRUISR]

[quote name='itninja']For anyone watching this thread, just got off FOS today. Went to Labadee and no weight limit on the zip line. I weigh 215, and I actually didn't make it completely to the end, as I went with my hands out for too long. ( I was a bit nervous) (They tell you what position you should be using and for how long of a distance down the zip line)

Overall a great experience. A strong recommendation to anyone...[/quote]


[B][FONT=Arial Black]So what happens if you don't make it completely to the end?[/FONT][/B]

[voyager22]

[quote name='NYCRUISR'][B][FONT=Arial Black]So what happens if you don't make it completely to the end?[/FONT][/B][/quote]

Someone posted earlier saying her husband got stuck above the water. The crew had to swim out and toss him some rope or something to drag him to the dock.
It takes away from the ride tho, i'd think, if you don't get to finish it..
Although i think he saved himself from that bad jerking motion everyone's talkin about..

[Seppi]

[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]Hi I went on the zip line November 2009, the only thing I advise people to do is to keep an eye on the scales. When I was there we had the tail end of a hurricane so they reduced the weight limit to 220 lbs, when I got onto the scales they showed 230 lbs so I was told I couldn't go on. My wife then noticed that the scales where reading 20lbs with nobody on them, when we pointed this out they adjusted them to zero and I was allowed on. So my advice is WATCH THE SCALES.[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana] [/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]Oh by the way it was great and well worth the money.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[maitaiguy]

[quote name='jazzyman']Yes
Thats my concern if they control the speed and since this is own by RC they don't want any type of injury from a high speed decent
I also had a number of lines(10) in costa rica
So is the cost justified?

Jazzyman[/QUOTE]

Yes, for me the cost is probably too high. However, for stockholders, I'm sure they want the cruise line to charge as much as possible. This 'ride' has a very low capacity and as one of the posters stated, it was sold out by midday.

As with everything for sale, sell it for as much as you can get!

[Mademypoint]

It looks far more imposing than it actually is.... I went a lot slower than I wanted and the impact is a lot less than on the shorter test run.

If you are light you need to lean all the way back, cross your arms in front of you and your legs. They will tell you to "torpedo" half way down. You want to go quite a bit further than half way because you slow up a lot quicker than you think. I found myself laying back down again because I was afraid I would not get to the end.

If you don't make it all the way down I guess they come and throw you a rope and pull you in. That's what they did for the people who never sat up and hit the end with full force. It's a bit of a jolt when you hit and it's worse on the test run.

Don't let the height get to you, it is really a great trip down.

[Mr. Bungle]

Would I correct in guessing that you can only book this through RCL??? No chance in doing the walk off the ship and book it for less with the locals since it's RCL's private island?

 

$85/pp is a weeee-bit steep since it's only a one time ride.

[birdylady]

Would I correct in guessing that you can only book this through RCL??? No chance in doing the walk off the ship and book it for less with the locals since it's RCL's private island?

 

$85/pp is a weeee-bit steep since it's only a one time ride.

You are correct. This is a private RCCL compound and they are the only ones you can book this through.

 

Erika