Levi Baron vs. Carnival's Dominica's Favorites??

[JackieD223]

I am torn between Levi's tour and the tour offered through Carnival. There is only a dollar difference so price has nothing to do with it. It seems as though Levi's tour goes to more places than Carnival. I read a review on Carnival's site that someone said most of that excursion was driving to get to the Emerald Pool so that seemed like a waste. I've heard great things about Levi but not much about Dominica's Favorites offered by Carnival. Any reccomendations? Perhaps I am only torn because I am a first time cruiser and think booking with Carnival will give me the peace of mind of not missing the boat.

[Megnolia]

I am sure you'll enjoy Carnival's tour, but I can tell you from experience, I began only booking Carnival tours, then after reading all the great reviews of bumpiing, I took a leap of faith and took the tour with Levi, my first private tour, and it was the best day I have had on any of my cruises, period. Levi has been working with Victory and Destiny guests for as long as the ships have been stopping in Dominica, and is absolutely reliable to get you back on time. Obviously nothing is 100% certain as you could have an accident or something else that lands you in hospital etc. which could also happen on a Carnival tour. Since, I have booked both privately and through Carnival, depending what catches my interest. I enjoy both types of tour, and as long as the private operators have lots of reviews here, I have always felt confident and not run into any problems.

 

After my experience with Levi last year, I booked another excursion with him when we return to Dominica next summer. You won't regret it if you choose to use bumpiing!

[thisnthat]

Hi - I can't tell you anything about Carnivals excursion, but I was just in Dominica last week (on Caribbean Princess), and booked a tour with Levi based on the reviews here. And let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed.

 

We met with Levi at 8:15am - and were put right in our bus and we were off. Levi was not actually our guide (Kelvin was - and he was fabulous), but he was there to meet us. He was taking another group and throughout the day we ran into him, and he always asked me if we were having a good time. Kelvin our guide was fantastic. He was sooo informative. We first drove up to the Titou Gorge. This is a MUST if you are in Dominica. We beat all the other tours to the gorge, and were one of the first in the water. And it was COOOLLD water - or 'refreshing' as Kelvin said :) We got to swim in the cave and all the way to the waterfall. We got to jump into the bottom of the waterfall and float back. It was amazing. It's so pretty in there. We then went to Traflargar (sp?) Falls. This is a tourist trap, and there were lots of people, but we made good time. He then showed us the natural hot springs and these were amazing as well. They were just like hot tubs. We spent a lot of time in there :) We were the only group that was actually in the hot springs. After this, we did a driving tour of the Gardens and then was dropped off right in front of the dock. Everyone with me loved this trip, and our guide. I would def book with Bumpiing Tours again. You can also do the champange reef snorkle, but did elected to walk around Dominica instead. I can confidently say that you will not regret booking with Levi. Have fun on your cruise!!! :)

[SmogMonster]

Absolutley without a doubt go with Levi Bumpiing. We did back on our cruise in September and it was the best ever.

 

It is much more personalized and he will do whatever he can to stay away from the crowds.

 

We did the wet tour which included Titou Gorge. SInce we were in a smaller group (he never takes more that 10-12) we were able to swim as long as we wanted etc. One of the Carnival tours arrived as we were getting ready to leave and we overheard their guide tell them they each could take about 10 minutes. This was because at the gorge, they only have a set number of life jackets. So a group of 10 went in while the others waited for them to return and give them their life jacket.

 

Levi and his guides are the best. (BTW, on most tours, he also provides plenty of soda or beer in coolers in each van that are included on the cost of the tour)

[SmogMonster]

Hi - I can't tell you anything about Carnivals excursion, but I was just in Dominica last week (on Caribbean Princess), and booked a tour with Levi based on the reviews here. And let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed.

 

We met with Levi at 8:15am - and were put right in our bus and we were off. Levi was not actually our guide (Kelvin was - and he was fabulous), but he was there to meet us. He was taking another group and throughout the day we ran into him, and he always asked me if we were having a good time. Kelvin our guide was fantastic. He was sooo informative. We first drove up to the Titou Gorge. This is a MUST if you are in Dominica. We beat all the other tours to the gorge, and were one of the first in the water. And it was COOOLLD water - or 'refreshing' as Kelvin said :) We got to swim in the cave and all the way to the waterfall. We got to jump into the bottom of the waterfall and float back. It was amazing. It's so pretty in there. We then went to Traflargar (sp?) Falls. This is a tourist trap, and there were lots of people, but we made good time. He then showed us the natural hot springs and these were amazing as well. They were just like hot tubs. We spent a lot of time in there :) We were the only group that was actually in the hot springs. After this, we did a driving tour of the Gardens and then was dropped off right in front of the dock. Everyone with me loved this trip, and our guide. I would def book with Bumpiing Tours again. You can also do the champange reef snorkle, but did elected to walk around Dominica instead. I can confidently say that you will not regret booking with Levi. Have fun on your cruise!!! :)

 

Let me second what thisnthat just said. I forgot to mention in my earlier post that our group with Levi was the only group that actually got into the hot springs at trafalgar falls. All the other tour buses from the ships just walked past us. I could see the look of envy as they watched me and my DW relaxing in the hot spring.

[thecruisers723]

How long are you in the van riding at a time?

[Sundae]

I agree with everyone's comments. We just came back on the Ruby Princess and we'd booked the Roseau Valley Wet Tour with Bumpiing Tours. Levi met us at the dock split every van with 13 people for comfort, he said. So the earlier you get there, the sooner you leave to beat the crowd. There were 3 Bumpiing Tour vans that day, our driver was Gary. Levi wasn't one of the drivers that day

 

Gary was informative, showed us the lemon grass and soap grass. Titou Gorge was our first stop and it took about an hour of winding, mountainous road to get there. It also rained on and off. Gary explained that they had a rain storm yesterday and the morning we got there so the waterfall was going to be strong. We were able to swim into the final gorge where the waterfall was so we looked at it, photographed it from the gorge right before it. The water was a brisk 56F. We were able to stay there quite awhile since we'd gotten there before the crowd. Even with the strong current from the waterfall, being a weak swimmer I was able to make it in there.

 

After another road trip on the windy roads, we went to Trafalgar Falls. Most of the cruise tours were here and it was a bit crowded. We scrambled to the bottom where the hot springs were and it really started to rain cats and dogs. After this part, the people who didn't want to do Champagne Reef were taken back to the ship. The same winding road down to sea level. We got a brief drive-by tour of the Botanical Gardens and then onto the Champagne Reef area. We stayed at the reef for about 45 minutes. I think we could've stayed longer but for some reason the members of our group got out of the water and were just standing around so Gary assumed everyone was ready to go. So about 4pm, we were on the way back to the ship.

 

There was a cooler on the van so sodas, water and beers were provided included in the price. I would say total driving time was about 1.5hrs. They'll get you back to the ship in time for all-aboard. They've been doing this a long time and have got it down to a "t".

[Steelers36]

Let me second what thisnthat just said. I forgot to mention in my earlier post that our group with Levi was the only group that actually got into the hot springs at trafalgar falls. All the other tour buses from the ships just walked past us. I could see the look of envy as they watched me and my DW relaxing in the hot spring.

 

 

And I will third that - although CC posters have been singing Levi's praises repeatedly. I cannot imagine why anyone would even consider a ship tour when you can choose Levi's company.

 

Levi does not run via the clock - he runs by making sure everyone has a good time and gets the full experience, even if it means waiting for other crowds to move on. BUT, don't worry - he knows when the ship leaves.

[Steelers36]

Dominica is a georgous island geographically and this is the place to do tours.