Cave tubing death

[Gypsea]

I have spoken with guides in other ports of call that have been asked by cruise lines to contract with them. In this case the operator had declined. The lines take the lions share of the profit so it is not a beneficial arrangement in many cases. Yes, the operators are going to be very busy BUT service and quality suffer by the high numbers on each excursion. They lose their independence and possibly have to work a greater number of hours for the same bottom line. The way he explained it the security of the contract was not worth giving up his integrity and the business he created and his rates would be higher than operated individually.

 

I began booking independently to spread the wealth and make sure the people working and living in these ports get their full, fair share (at least from me)and cut out the corporate middleman. After I met this man I mentioned I was glad I did. The cruiselines get lots of our money in enough other ways while we are on board.

[vbsnyder]

I agree that supporting th locals not only affords us a less expensive alternative, it supports the hardworking people who strive to assure that our vacations are memories made to last! I am also very, very thankful to CC for creating a forum so that others can share thier experinces. I have found many tour guides through CC and highly educated cruisers. I found Major Tom this way. I have become a pen pal of sorts with Major Tom and every time I get an email I feel as if I am still part of his wonderful country. I have found tours in Dominica, Aruba, Roatan and many more ports of call with CC and friends. Thanks CC!!!

[SunFunCruiser]

All this talk about Major Tom. Are there any other reliable companies out there?

I know I used Coral Breeze in teh past and plan on using them again. Has anyone used them recently?

[nealstuber]

SAFETY REGULATIONS FOR CAVE TUBING TOURS INTRODUCED

 

October 03, 2008

 

The Ministry of Tourism, BTB, and NICH have enforced safety regulations for Cave Tubing Tours. At a meeting in early September certain measures were agreed upon to govern the safety practices of tour guides and tour operators. This included a clear outline of who is responsible for making sure policies for use of caves are adhered to. Kenneth Williams is the Product Development Officer at the Belize Tourism Board.

Kenneth Williams, Product Development Officer

 

“The law is being enforced for safety of the guests, but it is not only for cave tubing it is for all high risk and water based activity. If they are in a national park that is governed by NICH then institute of Archaeology has that jurisdiction. If they are on in open river then it is at their own risk because no one has real jurisdiction over that. If they are at a national park NICH/Institute of Archaeology has the last say as to whether or not anyone can conduct any tours at that park. Mostly it is for safety that is number one.”

 

This meeting was followed by another meeting on Wednesday and the regulations were enforced yesterday. In addition to the measures, the Institute of Archaeology and the Belize Tourism Board will be providing all tour guides mandatory training before taking tours in the cave system. This includes a 2 to 3 day course on Caves and the ancients Maya, Cave Safety, Cave Ethics, Cave Geography and Regulations for operating in caves and a 5 day course on Swift Water Rescue, Advanced First Aid and Cave Rescue. The training will include penalties for not adhering to the newly enforced policies.

 

 

The story is alos poste on CC.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2865

 

I thought the ATV adventure we with cave-tubing.com on the way back from the caves had way more potneital to turn into disaster.

 

Wear helmets in the water - but go buzzing through the jungle helmet free.

 

Go figure.

[vbsnyder]

Having been to Belize and having done cave tubing twice, I learned a bit about this beautiful system in Belize. So I was a little confused by a recent post that stated that the operator of their cave tubing expedition took them through 4 caves not just 2 like other guides. I wondered why not us? So I e-mailed the authorities who manage the cave system in Belize, hoping to gain more knowledge, I got this response:

"The Sibun Caves Branch system, used by most operators, especially those carrying cruise guests as well as guests from the overnight industry, use either Cave 4, which then leads to Caves 3, 2, and 1, and then the exit, or, due to time constraints, use Caves 3, 2 and 1, which are joined together. Guests are either taken to Cave 4, or Cave 3. There is single no entry to caves 2 and 1, as they are part of a single system. There is no way to do Cave 2 - entry is possible only from Cave 3. Guests therefore either do Cave 4, or Caves 3, 2 and 1.”

I learned that most operators also avoid the use of the limited area marking Cave 4 (a very short system), as this only presents guests with an additional 10 minute walk, and lends itself to a few more minutes of river time, in a very low ceilinged cave area (nothing more than a tunnel), with difficult entry through a single hole in the Karst formation and then the need to drop a few feet into the river, (which is somewhat shallow) there seems there is little gained by using Cave 4.

Additionally I was told, and can attest to this first hand, people exiting this cave slow the entry of guests arriving to enter Cave 3. Again delaying tour time. The very cavernous Cave 3, which leads through to 2 and then 1, has a riverbank which allows easy, quick, entry into the river, and a lot of space on the riverbank to prepare everyone for entry and then the float; this area is extremely popular because it is far safer. After that, everyone floats downriver in the open, under rainforest canopy, back to the start point."

I think this explanation proves that there are many unknowns when booking tours (online or through a cruise line. The point is that there are several experienced and safety conscious providers. I feel the death of this cruise guest was not in vain. Her death opened my eyes and I for one will be much more careful in the future. Before booking any excursion that has any degree of risk, I will be taking more time to contact government agencies, whether in Belize, Mexico or the Virgin Islands, to check on both past complaints and referral information.

Furthermore, I know nothing of the guide used by this poster but I am disturbed that there is some degree of exploitation of a guest’s death, that is that while the poster rightfully ID’s the death as a tragedy there is an obvious promotion of the guides, “extra services”.

[CruiseFan24]

I just want to add that I did the cave tubing in Belize just last week with Yonnie at Cave-tubing.com. I was very nervous because of the tragedy just two weeks prior to our cruise and when I e-mailed Yonnie expressing my concerns he assured me that we could cancel if we got to the river and felt unsafe. We went on the tour and we felt safe the entire time. Our guides explained to us that the cruise line tours did not follow the rules. They had way too many people and too few guides (I think it was like 60 people with 2 guides or something crazy like that). Plus, they did not make people wear their life jackets. Anyway, all of the independents are losing business because of this tragedy. They almost lost ours but I'm glad we went through with it. It was one of the highlights of our trip. My husband and i were traveling with just the 2 of us and there were about 20 people on our tour. We were grouped with 1 other couple and had a tour guide for just the 4 of us. We were all linked up by our legs on each others tubes. He steared us down the river, "put on the brakes" when necessary, told us when to put "butts up!" in shallow water, etc. They were very, very cautious and kept us safe the entire time.

 

There were children as young as 4 in our group. The youngest sat in her father's lap while the other kids all had their own tube. Although i felt safe and would highly recommend cave-tubing dot com I'm not sure I would take children. It's an amazing experience but with the unpredictable river I'm not sure it's right for young children.

 

So, please do not let a tragedy caused by people who did not follow the rules keep you from doing this tour. Do your research and make your own decision and book with a reputable company such as cave-tubing.com.

 

I almost forgot to mention - on our bus ride back we were surprised with a stop for FREE Tomales! If you like Mexican food you will love them!

 

Ok, I do have to mention that you also must be a nature lover to enjoy this tour. You have to hike through the rain forest for about 30 - 45 minutes. I was starting to wonder why I doing this at this point but once I went through the caves it was worth it!

[airhead22]

We just used Coral Breeze last week and it was once again great. Ivar is still with the company and knows so much about the river, and his country and shares his knowledge on the trip to the caves. He took us 3 years ago and again last Thursday and is an outstanding tour guide.

[SunFunCruiser]

We just used Coral Breeze last week and it was once again great. Ivar is still with the company and knows so much about the river, and his country and shares his knowledge on the trip to the caves. He took us 3 years ago and again last Thursday and is an outstanding tour guide.

 

That is great news. Thanks for the update Patti. We had Ivan on our last tour. Is Davide still there too? Did he mention the accident?

[RVman]

You would think that a Carnival excursion would be the safest. I might need to rethink all my excursions now.

[PurrSusan]

We went with Vitalino at cavetubingdotbz. We felt very safe with our wonderful guide, Luis (sp?). All of his guides are well trained & he takes great pride in his company. We had a fantastic time :)