Anyone used Jaguar Paw for cave tubing???

[VaTraveler]

I can't imagine booking a cruise excursion with a company that would not refund your money if the ship didn't make it to port. That is the first thing I always check, and it is usually a given. There are many companies doing these excursions. There does seem to be a discrepancy in prices for whatever reason. We went with Major Tom, and his prices are the same as Jaguar Paw charges. There are a couple of others with the same rates as he has.

[southern cruising couple]

 

2) They require a 50% deposit (no problem with that). But I was told via email the deposit is non-refundable, even if your ship misses the port, if you do not call 24 hours in advance to cancel. Well I have been on a few cruises and you don't always know if you will miss a port 24 hours in advance. Also every other independent tour I have booked did not have this stipulation.

 

I am still considering this tour but I would sure like more honest reviews.

 

 

They told me that too and that sent up red flags because we have no control over the ships itinerary and also if it rains very very hard, I will not be doing it either...so a no refund policy is not going to work for me. Back to researching again....

 

I want a group that takes the tubers and zipliners separately!

[scteacher31]

Southern Cruising Couple.... I feel exactly the way you do. I just want to do the cave tubing and do NOT want to feel rushed at all. I will keep researching as well, and I would love to know what decision you make.

 

When are you sailing?

[weloverunning]

Any cancellation must be made 24 hours prior to arrival for full refund less 3% bank fee

.

 

 

This is directly from Jaguar Paw website. You would know 24 hours in advance if the ship was not stopping in Belize. We are leaving in three weeks and will be at Jaguaw Paw on April 1st for cave tubiing and jungle tumble. There is ten in our group. I will leave a review when we get back.

[travelntreats]

.

 

 

This is directly from Jaguar Paw website. You would know 24 hours in advance if the ship was not stopping in Belize. We are leaving in three weeks and will be at Jaguaw Paw on April 1st for cave tubiing and jungle tumble. There is ten in our group. I will leave a review when we get back.

Not necessarily would you know if unable to stop at that port 24 hours in advance and then there is the concern of how to get in touch with them while on the ship. If you email them (at your expense using those hefty cruiseline internet fee's), they can claim they never got the email.. if you call, well that could get pricey to say the least !

 

In my eyes, any tour operator that is going to make their guests deposit non refundable w/out giving a 24 hour notice is CRAZY, when the guest has no control over what may or may not occur and possibly be unable to reach that port of call. I see know reason why Jaguar Paw could not monitor the ships arrival and accordingly not refund for no shows, but their current policy is ridicuolous and that less 3% fee is also ridiculous... thats part of doing business despite what fees they incur for processing a c.card !

 

Go ahead and defend them, but I certainly will not do business with someone following their business practices.

[VaTraveler]

Amen to everything you said, TravelnTreats. I guess it's beyond me why anyone would book with them when they are no less expensive than most of the other tour groups, and the other groups do refund the full amount if the ship doesn't make it into port. On the cruises I've been on where we missed ports, we did not know it until we woke up the morning of the day we were supposed to dock. In each case, we had an unexpected day at sea. If a tour I had booked refused to refund my money, I would have been most upset to say the least. Even if we had known it, I take care of everything before we leave so I don't have to worry about it while I'm at sea.

[jlmza2350]

After careful consideration we are not going to book with Jaguar Paw. The deposit refund stipulation is not worth it to us.

 

I want to enjoy the cruise and not have to worry about the ship not being able to tender. :)

 

Although my teenagers really wanted to try the Jungle Tumble, we will figure out a new plan and I am sure we will find something we all will want to do.

[weloverunning]

I guess I'm the eternal optomist. After 12 or so cruises, we have never had to miss a port and was never ripped off from a tour operator. I also have the concession of disputing the charge on my credit card if it ever becomes an issue. We always buy an internet package while on a ship so we can check home on our dogs. In the past, we have reconfirmed our tours the day before arrival. Maybe Jaguar Paw will change their policy some day.

 

I guess it's beyond me why anyone would book with them when they are no less expensive than most of the other tour groups, and the other groups do refund the full amount if the ship

because no one else offers JUNGLE TUMBLE:D

[travelntreats]

Let us know how the tour goes when you return.... :D

[ckrcjr]

We just returned Saturday from our cruise and we had booked Major Tom for our group of 21 on 3/3/09 - a few in our group were going to do zip lining but everyone was doing the cave tubing. Major Tom and his fun team were wonderful...they were at the pier waiting for us and entertained us on the ride to the caves. The entire group did the cave tubing first and then those who were doing the zip lining, did that after cave tubing. The first bus left to head back and we stopped and had lunch - fantastic - and were back in port with plenty of time to shop - although there is not much shopping in Belize. The second group of zip liners followed later and still had time to make the last tender to the ship without a problem. The actual river is only a 2 minute walk from the parking lot, however, that is not where you get in to go through the caves. The walk is not difficult nor very long. The caves are incredible and Major Tom makes sure everyone is comfortable and stresses safety. Our entire group had a wonderful time and would highly recommend Major Tom to anyone considering cave tubing and/or zip lining. He was professional, courteous and fun.

[jdpavlik]

I have read on these boards that the zipline at Jaguar Paw was closed in December due to legal reasons. Does anyone know if this problem has been corrected. I want to do the cave tubing and zip line there. Thanks.

[Sandy Sails]

The zip-line reopened in January - all is well. I'll be doing this in 23 days! Whoo hoo!

[jdpavlik]

The zip-line reopened in January - all is well. I'll be doing this in 23 days! Whoo hoo!

 

If you are doing the cave tubing and zipline package, send me your thoughts after you get home. Have a great trip. My wife and I will be there at the end of April.

[Sandy Sails]

I originally was going to do the zip-lining and cave tubing with Major Tom, but after reading more about it on these boards, I decided I had no desire to go cave tubing. So we changed our reservations to zip-lining only with Jacguar Paw. The chances of us not getting to Belize in early April are very slim so I have no worries about having to cancel at the last minute and not getting our deposit back.

[DaRocketeer]

Myself and 3 friends just returned from Jaguar Paw and it was simply amazing. We were picked up at the Raddison in Belize City by Miguel. It actually wasn't a van that he had but rather an 06-07 Toyota SUV, very comfortable and surprising. Miguel drove us the hour to Jaguar Paw and all along the way told us fun facts about Belize and answered any questions we had.

 

The zip-lining and cave tubing in Belize is all done at the same two locations. Because we were picked up and driven directly to the zip-lining there were no lines that we had to wait in and actually we had 3 guides for the zip-lining that went along with us the whole time. After the zip-lining we made the 20 minute walk to the cave tubing area. Miguel was our guide for this, he was also at the zip-lining but waited for us at start/end area. We left our belongings in his car the whole day, which he locked every time we left it.

 

Lunch was great at the resort. Miguel dropped us off right at the port in plenty of time to get a tender back to the ship. I fully reccommend booking directly through Jaguar Paw. If there are any questions I would be happy to ansewer them.

[charotarguy]

Myself and 3 friends just returned from Jaguar Paw and it was simply amazing. We were picked up at the Raddison in Belize City by Miguel. It actually wasn't a van that he had but rather an 06-07 Toyota SUV, very comfortable and surprising. Miguel drove us the hour to Jaguar Paw and all along the way told us fun facts about Belize and answered any questions we had.

 

The zip-lining and cave tubing in Belize is all done at the same two locations. Because we were picked up and driven directly to the zip-lining there were no lines that we had to wait in and actually we had 3 guides for the zip-lining that went along with us the whole time. After the zip-lining we made the 20 minute walk to the cave tubing area. Miguel was our guide for this, he was also at the zip-lining but waited for us at start/end area. We left our belongings in his car the whole day, which he locked every time we left it.

 

Lunch was great at the resort. Miguel dropped us off right at the port in plenty of time to get a tender back to the ship. I fully reccommend booking directly through Jaguar Paw. If there are any questions I would be happy to ansewer them.

 

DaRocketeer,

 

Good to know that you enjoyed your outing in Belize, I want to know how much time did the whole thing take, if you do not mind? We are also booked with Jaguar Paw, but after reading some of the post earlier I was very nervous. Good to read a positive one. I am going to do cave tubing, jungle tumble and zipling. I am assured by them that there should be enough time to get back on this ship.

 

Thank you in advance for the answer

 

Charotarguy

[DaRocketeer]

We were back with over an hour to walk around and shop at the port and that was even with a stop we made at a store to try some local beer. Getting back in time never even crossed my mind and we did all three activities that your going to do.

 

Have fun. We did.

[charotarguy]

We were back with over an hour to walk around and shop at the port and that was even with a stop we made at a store to try some local beer. Getting back in time never even crossed my mind and we did all three activities that your going to do.

 

Have fun. We did.

 

Thank you for your quick response.

 

Charotarguy

[bwkw]

I have been researching ALOT and at first Major Tom really has the number spot but then as I keep reading MANY of them mention the "rushed" feeling and "cutting it close" at the end. Feeling rushed stresses me out WAY TOO MUCH...call me paranoid but that's me. Plus many people say that lunch often gets skipped because of the time constraint, instead it seems like you are lucky if you get to stop for lunch.

 

I enjoy seeing unique areas and having extra time after cave tubing may be more of my kind of tour...and since I am a bit detail anal I can handle the last minute double checking our reservation. The email correspondence has been nice and they offerred to show me the hotel rooms since I am a travel agent. Plus the one on one attention appeals to me as well...I am gonna give myself another week of reading all the pros and cons of both then decide

 

My family and I just returned Sunday March 15th. We had booked a trio combo with Jaguar Paw after much time spent on this site looking at reviews. I would say that possibly any operator could make you feel rushed depending on the circumstances. Everything started well. We had 19 people on our AC comfortable bus. Long ride but worth it. of the 19 people 3 were only doing a Jungle Walk. 2 were only doing tubing, 8 were doing Zip Line and Tubing and the 6 in our group were doing Zip Line, Jungle Tumble and Cave tubing. Zipping was great, Jungle Tumble was awesome. We then were escorted to lunch by our driver and that is when the rushing began. We were rushed thru lunch, walked to Jaguar PAw Resort where the guides acted as if they did not want to take us. The driver went in and talked with Stephanie at desk. She went out and got the guide. While waiting the 5 people that only did one thing were ready to go to ship. The driver said they would need to wait a while. We were then rushed to river with our guide and he really stressed that we had to hurry. He did state that we had 1 mile less to walk then the other tubers from the Govt Park entrance. less than 5 minutes to the river where the last cave ends. We crossed river and walked a while. We only went through one cave took all of about 45 minutes total time including the walk on both ends. Went back to JP changed and got on bus. The 5 people that came out with us had already left. I did not think to ask the other 8 how long they had waited or how long they tubed.

 

My advice is two fold. Don't book more than 2 experiences and if you are only booking one make sure you do not wait for the "ALL Day " people.

[weloverunning]

Thanks BKBW for the info. Please tell me if the water was VERY cold when you went cave tubing. Should I sneak a wetsuit in my suitcase?

[bwkw]

Thanks BKBW for the info. Please tell me if the water was VERY cold when you went cave tubing. Should I sneak a wetsuit in my suitcase?

 

We found the water to be very refreshing. Cool but not real cold. We did not tube until about 1 PM. After all of the days activities it was very pleasant to us. It was "Butts Up" a lot of the time because it has been somewhat dry. But we only got hung up once.

[charotarguy]

We found the water to be very refreshing. Cool but not real cold. We did not tube until about 1 PM. After all of the days activities it was very pleasant to us. It was "Butts Up" a lot of the time because it has been somewhat dry. But we only got hung up once.

 

Good information regarding this particular excursion through Jaguar Paw. Thank you very much. I do have a question, were you able to take pictures through camera on any activities, I do not know if I should take my camera out there and risk dropping it or breaking it.

Thank you again.

 

Charotarguy

[bwkw]

We were able to take some pictures cave tubing but not as many as we would have like. We had bought waterproof disposable for this tour so we were not afraid if we dropped it. My daughter did not take her digital on the river even though we had a dry bag for it. I am not sure why she changed her mind. We were linked together our whole trip so that made picture taking harder. I believe I mentioned that we were hurried during this part of our tour which also reduced ability to photograph. WE SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT THE POSTCARDS AT THE Resort.

[GatorsRule1]

I'm amazed at how many people take the time to respond to questions here. I don't know how we ever took vacations before the internet!!!:D

 

I'm cruising to Belize on the 31st and have been googling and twittering friends for info on cave tubing. Everyone who's been on this trip says cave tubing is a must and zip lining is too. Royal Caribbean does offers the trip, but I found it on the Internet for much cheaper and I'm not buying the "you'll miss the boat" argument they keep pushing on me. I've been reading all of your posts and nobody has complained about being left behind, not once.

 

I haven't read any really bad reviews for Major Tom or cavetubing.com, or Jaguar Paw but I did compare the web sites for all three and have come to the following conclusions:

 

1. They all promise you won't miss your boat. (check)

2. All three charge roughly the same for cave tubing, which is half the price of buying on the ship. (check)

3. Only Major Tom and Jaguar Paw offer the zip line. cavetubing.com has ATV rides but that won't work for us because we're traveling with children. (check)

4. Jaguar Paw is closer to the caves. Everyone else uses the government park (check)

5. All three have confusing policies on refunds. This is more of an annoyance than a deal breaker for me since I'm used to being extorted by the airlines when I travel. Compared to a $150 rebooking fee, 3% for a refund sounds like a deal.

 

I checked the FAQs at http://www.rivercavetubing.com and found Jaguar Paw charges a 3% refund fee, but in another part of the same site, they say they don't charge any fee for refunds. Fire the webmaster! So I called their 800 number and talked to a fellow who I guess was in Belize and he said the policy was confusing because there is a 3% refund fee for hotel guests who cancel *rooms*, but not for cruise passengers:confused:. Confusing, but good enough for me.

 

I would have called Major Tom and cavetuinbing.com, but neither have an 800 number and my verizon plan apparently doesn't include international calls to Belize:mad: No I can't hear you now!

 

In the end, I chose Jaguar Paw because some of you said that they were much closer to the caves and less of a walk. I love hiking and I live in the mountains, but if I'm on a ship with 2,000 people and 500 are going cave tubing, then I want to get as far ahead of them as I can so I can get to the caves first. I hate waiting in lines and if I can take a shortcut to get in front of the masses, then I'd even be willing to pay a little more;)

 

Our ship leaves next Sunday and it may be too late for some of you, but I'll post my first hand opinion of Jaguar Paw as soon as I get to a computer.

 

Cheers, and Go Gators!:)

Doug

[GatorsRule1]

I saw those posts and wondered about them...

 

I have not finalized my plans with Jaguar Park because of a few reasons.

 

1) I can't book my reservation on their website. I called and they directed me to another website. :confused:

 

I had the same problem so I called them. They told me cruise passengers should use http://www.rivercavetubing.com and http://www.jaguarpaw.com for hotel reservations.

 

2) They require a 50% deposit (no problem with that). But I was told via email the deposit is non-refundable, even if your ship misses the port, if you do not call 24 hours in advance to cancel. Well I have been on a few cruises and you don't always know if you will miss a port 24 hours in advance. Also every other independent tour I have booked did not have this stipulation.

 

I found this on their FAQs page:

 

Q: What if in the unlikely event our ship changes course or weather causes a cancellation and I can't reach you 24 hours in advance?

 

A: Don't worry, we'll still give you a refund.

 

3) There are just are not many reviews on this board. Positive or negative. With a tour company that offers so much and their costs appear so good I would expect a lot of feedback.

 

I had some of the same concerns since we'll be in Belize on the 31st so I called Jaguar Paw. They told me that they did all of the tours for all of the cruise ships except carnival and were not allowed to compete against the cruise lines until this year when they quit doing business with this cruise lines.

 

It seemed a little fishy so I googled Jaguar Paw and found the news story about Jaguar Paw being owed hundreds of thousands for cruise tours.

 

HTH!!!