Canopy Tour Age Limit

Does anyone know how old do you have to be to do the Canopy tour? The ship says 18, but the websites I have seen indicated younger. Is 12 too young?

Thanks!

Lisa :confused:

I take it this is on the RCCL website? I wonder if they are talking about the age limit to take the excursion on your own. I am trying to find out information for my upcoming Carnival cruise. So far, I've only seen a weight limit. My boys are 15 and 17, so I hope we'll be able to take this tour. Maybe you can call RCCL and speak to an excursion representative to get this straightened out. You wouldn't want to buy the tickets and then not be able to go. Good luck. Please post when you find out more information.

My daughter who's 15 is very interested in this tour. I called RCCL and the rep told me that the actual age limit is 12 - there is a price on the top of the shore ex page of $89 adult and $89 child. It really looks fun.

We also noticed that the age limit on the canopy tour in Belize is 8, but it only has 5 traverses, and this one seems to have nine. (The shore ex page for the Montego Bay Canopy tour also says 18.)

Hope the rep is right because we would really like to take this tour - they should update the web site. Has anyone who has done this tour know for sure?

We're booked through Los Veranos, and my 8-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son are both going. If you book through RCCL, it not only costs more, but the minimum age is 18. (The funny thing is that their operator's minimum age is actually 8 as well, so it is RCCL mandating the 18-year age limit).

Unfortunately, we found that most of the excursions we were interested in through RCCL had a very high minimum age, so we went ahead and booked everything on our own. Our kids are both fearless (unlike their mother:eek:) and they want some adventure in their vacation.

I have read that it is very safe. I wouldn't let them go otherwise.

Hadleys9538 -

How did you find Los Veranos? Other posts have said that you can't book this tour independently, only through the cruise ship. Do you have a web site or e-mail for them - I would really appreciate it. We are worried about the difference in age between the shore ex page and what the rep said. Thanks for your help.

I contacted the canopy tour operator through their website and asked about the age limit. I received the following response:

Thanks for choosing The Original Canopy Tour.

We talked to the cruise lines and they are in the process of revising the age limit policy, but it is going to take about a month. In the mean time we are victims of our own success… The tour has been so successful, the cruise lines buy out the day in advance so we are closed to local traffic on cruise days…so unfortunately the only way to take The Original Canopy Tour when your cruise ship is in port is to buy it from them.

Passengers are very important to the cruise lines and I’m sure they would be motivated to fix this faster given the proper motivation… but our bread is buttered on that side …so suggestions on how to affect such a move must rest with your own imagination.

We are expanding rapidly… everywhere it seems, If you ever find yourselves in an area where one of our tours is… please give us the chance to make this up to you. There are a number of ways we can do this … all of them good ;)

Let us know your cruise date and cruise line and we’ll let you know if there is any change before you get there.

Best regards,

Internet Reservations

The Original Canopy Tour

So, we have bought tickets through cruise personalizer on the Princess website and will hope for the best for our teens 13, 14, and 16. We will try the "Don't ask, don't tell" philosophy and see what happens.

We were just on the RCCL Mariner and our table mates had four boys 11-14. They were able to book the Canopy tour by signing a waiver form. I had already booked horseback riding and the Falls and River, so we will do the canopy in Belize or Kauai.

Have fun!

Lisa

We're booked through Los Veranos, and my 8-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son are both going. If you book through RCCL, it not only costs more, but the minimum age is 18. (The funny thing is that their operator's minimum age is actually 8 as well, so it is RCCL mandating the 18-year age limit).

 

Unfortunately, we found that most of the excursions we were interested in through RCCL had a very high minimum age, so we went ahead and booked everything on our own. Our kids are both fearless (unlike their mother:eek:) and they want some adventure in their vacation.

 

I have read that it is very safe. I wouldn't let them go otherwise.

How did you contact Los Veranos? We went on the Canopy Tour last April with my kids 12 & 15 and we LOVED it. It was the greatest tour we have ever taken and it IS very safe. We not once felt unsafe. We will be there next April on RCCL and since they have the 18 age restriction we can't go again. Why the change....go figure????

I contacted RCI about the age limit and the email response was that once the age limit isposted there are NO waivers that may be signed to allowyounger passengers to participate. They also stated that the age/height/weight restrictions are imposed by the tour groups themselves and not RCI--HA! I find that very interesting because everyone knows the canopy tour group doesn't have an age limit of 18! RCI is not very bright in this area. Other cruiselines allow younger passengers to do this tour and as we all know--every time you take a tour you sign a waiver of some sort so what is the big deal?

As I mentioned above, our tablesmates on the RCCL Mariner on the 5/8/05 sailing who were ages 11, 12, and 14 did the Canopy tour in Ocho Rios. Their mother signed a waiver at the excursion desk on the ship. Perhaps once on the ship the rules are different?

Lisa

We just returned from Montego Bay on the Western Caribbean route of the Caribbean Princess. We booked the canopy tour for our teens ages 12, 14, and 16 over the internet prior to our cruise--even though the tour book we received listed a minimum age of 18 for this tour. The tour was sold out prior to sailing, so if we had waited to ask and book on the ship, our kids and their Dads would have missed this opportunity. The tickets have 10 years of age as the minimum age for this excursion on Princess--so all worked out well!

By the way, they all loved the tour.

Pat

We talked to the cruise lines and they are in the process of revising the age limit policy, but it is going to take about a month. In the mean time we are victims of our own success… The tour has been so successful, the cruise lines buy out the day in advance so we are closed to local traffic on cruise days…so unfortunately the only way to take The Original Canopy Tour when your cruise ship is in port is to buy it from them.

 

Passengers are very important to the cruise lines and I’m sure they would be motivated to fix this faster given the proper motivation… but our bread is buttered on that side …so suggestions on how to affect such a move must rest with your own imagination.

Does anyone know if there have been any changes in this policy. Is this still restircted to the ship's shore excursion? We're going on RCL in December. What is the web site for this tour operator if someone has it handy. Otherwise I guess I can get it on Google. Thanks.

Hello Lisa and others,

Speaking from the perspective of the first US based company to install canopy / zip line tours in the US, the age limit is driven by a couple of factors.

1. In most cases the person can be a minor if their parent or guardian is present with them on the trip and can sign the minors waiver form.

2. The minor (in most cases) is at least 80 pounds.

3. Has a level of maturity that would allow them to handle instructions and be at height off the ground.

4. Has a fair to good level of focus. There will be times of rest and relaxation on the tours while at height. During this time, information can be gained about the local area and interaction with other tour participants.

5. Able to reach the various safety clip in points. All most all the time the zip line / canopy tour guides will do the attachment points but it helps in the participant is able to climb around and reach hand holds and cables during the tour.

6. Type of harness. Not all harnesses are designed for smaller children. The harnesses we use will usually fit sizes from 60 pounds up to 260 pounds and are rated to 7,000 pounds. Smaller or larger sizes are available.

The zip lines themselves can be very long and designed to operate within a minimum and maximum weight range. The lightest weight range course that I am aware of is about 54 pounds. This is the Just Live (www.justlive.org) Canopy Tour on the island of Kauai Hawaii.

Our company, Experience Based Learning (EBL) (www.ebl.org) has installed the first 5 tours on US soil and consulted on all 7 currently operational on US soil. My personal favorites are the Just Live tour and another in Ketchikan, Alaska, Southeast Exposure (www.southeastexposure.com)

Both programs are family friendly, offer tours for the cruise ship industry, and have their staff professionally trained each year by EBL instructors.

We will soon have our newest tour operational in Juneau Alaska by mid April of 2006; Alaska Zipline Adventures (www.alaskazip.com)

Lastly, keep in mind that not all zip line tours are the same. You will have canopy / tree top tours and you will have what we coined the phrase for of "zero elevation" tours. While a canopy zip line tour is just that, in the trees amongst the canopy, zero elevation tours start and finish at ground level. These tours are designed to zip you over natural features, off cliffs, and/or down stream beds.

Some Safety Tips!

Ladies, braid and tuck your hair inside your helmet or shirt. While EBL installed courses have now seen over 100,000 zippers and we are not aware of anyone getting their hair caught in the pulley, it is a machine with rolling wheels. Any piece of hair, clothing, necklace, jacket hood draw string, or other items should be secured and kept away from the pulley.

Don’t' grab the cable! On the US tours we have installed, the systems use a passive breaking system. This means that you don't have to manage your own speed and are safer by the design of the tour. Thus, your trained guides will attach you to the pulley at just about an arm's reach away form the cable. One could still reach the cable, but you have no need, so just keep your hands off the cable.

Stay upright! Hanging up side down creates safety concerns for the tour guides. One, it puts your feet over your head and you run the risk of passing out. It also puts your shoes and shoelaces up by the pulley and they could get caught in the pulley wheels. think about hanging up side down from your feet for about 10 minutes while a guide comes out to assist you down. Also, outside of a full body harness, no manufacture that we are aware of endorses a seat harness to be used while up side down. Over all, it is just considered poor practice and should be avoided.

Eat and Drinks! You should eat and drink something about two hours before the tour but allow yourself 30 minutes without food or water just before the tour. You don't want to show up to a 2-3 hour tour and get hungry along the way. It is also hard to zip around with a loose water bottle in your hands. Good tours will have water station breaks incorporated within the tour itself. If you have a big meal just minutes before the tour, you may feel bloated and uncomfortable as you digest your most recent meal. If you have low blood sugar, pack a candy or energy bar for some fast energy during your trip.

Cameras! Everyone wants to remember their trip. If you bring a camera, also bring the protect case and a means to secure it to your person while you have your hands busy holding onto your safety tethers. Dropping you $300 digital camera is never fun and often, you may not be in a position to recover it. If you do bring a digital camera, download all the other pictures from your trip to your laptop or Internet source before your tour. That way if you loose your camera, you don't also loose all your other vacation photos as well

If we can be of any further help, please feel free to contact our office. If you would like to view samples of our work or see tours that EBL has installed or consulted with, please visit our zip line canopy tour samples page at: http://www.zipdesigns.org/sample.html

Happy zipping!

:)

We sailed on the Voyager of the Seas in December 2005. We were worried about the age requirement also. Tried everything to book this tour elsewhere. Every day I went to the shore excursion booking site and tried to book. Our names came up and had an age restriction sign next to both boys (13 & 15) One day, the age restriction vanished and I booked (thinking maybe they changed the age limit...they hadn't). When our tickets came to our room on the ship, they had "No one under 18". I went to the shore excursion desk, they confirmed the kids could NOT go. Asked a few more questions, like do RCCL people accompany the group, check ID's, etc. Decided to take our chances and show up on the dock. There were no questions asked and when we combined with the group from the Carnival ship, there were kids as young as 10. If you can book this and get off the ship with the tickets in your hand, you should be OK since the tour companys age limit is not 18. Worse case, we would have lost our money if we couldn't go. I felt it was worth it since we wanted to do this so bad. They did have different size harnesses for kids. They would have to, because some women are small enough to fit in the kids size.