X-Stream or CaveTubing.com

[luvncruisn]

It sounds like cave-tubing should be avoided in the spring! We went on April 1st and our whole group kept thinking the trip was an April Fool's joke! We went with cave-tubing.com on a bus with 47 people. And yes, ALL 47 people were dumped in the river at the same time with ONE guide!!! You think "butt's up" sucked with a guide pulling you?? Try it with NO guide! We called it the cave-walking tour! I did not see our guide from the time we got in the river with the masses until we met back at the bus.

 

I wish I had seen these reviews before I went. We had a great week and made the bst of every situation, but I have to say this day was a huge disappointment.

 

The people with cave-tubing.com knew when we got on the bus that they had 47 people, one guide, no life vests, not enough lights for everyone and low water. I would have had a lot more respect for them if they had told us what to expect up front and let us decide if we still wanted to go on an unguided walking tour of the river. They didn't and the entire bus raised respectable amount of disagreement on the way back. All the company was concerned about was that we all left "happy" and didn't write a negative review when we got home. They insisted this has never happened before and I was inclined to keep my mouth shut until I saw all these reviews with basically the same experience we had.

 

The entire bus shouted that NO ONE wanted to stop for lunch because we were afraid we would miss the ship. We made it back to the ship with 11 minutes to spare. Once I pointed out (loud enough for the entire bus to hear) that the sign at the park clearly stated that there was to be 1 guide per 8 people and we had 47 people!!! to one guide,I let it be known that they provided half the service and we would be paying half the fare. The guide was not too happy with me, but the rest of the bus was politely cheering so she knew there was no way everyone was going to pay the full amount. After that, she went to call Yhony who stated that anyone who wanted their money back could have it as long as we did not write a negative review. Like I said, I was willing to keep my mouth shut assuming this really was a fluke. I had read nothing but positive reviews so I just figured it was April Fool's day and we got punked. Clearly, this is how they do business and I would steer clear of them!!! I was with my family of four and we did not pay for the excursion but we did give her a $20 tip. It was not entirely her fault that her company dumped us all on her, but she was not willing to make the situation any better until I insisted and got the other 46 people to back me up. From what I could see, nearly everyone got their money back and left her a tip.

 

The excursion had the potential to be a nice day--the people on the yellow tubes looked like they had a great time. However, I do believe this company should not be in business. 47 people with one guide in low water was an inconvenience and made for a crappy day of walking.

God forbid they do this during the rainy season---someone is going to be killed!

[burm]

The excursion had the potential to be a nice day--the people on the yellow tubes looked like they had a great time.

 

 

What company has the yellow tubes????

[debster818]

Did you also zipline with this company?

 

We are doing Major/Minor Tom combo trip. I have heard alot of good and some bad and I am a bit concerned.

[GinDon]

Something seems to be happening with this particular company. They used to be very highly rated. Lately there have been lots of less than favorable reviews. Your experience sounds not only awful, but dangerous. If they don't want bad reviews, they need to get their act together. Sorry your day of cave-tubing was so lame. When all the conditions are right, it's a wonderful time.

[northernpike]

Luvincrusin,

 

Thanks for your post. What a nightmare, but people have to hear about this stuff. It may have been a one time deal, but when you are only in Belize for the day, it blows a once in a lifetime adventure. We were on the same river with you on April 1st, and could not have had a more different experience. Newer tubes with handles and one friendly, helpful, informative guide for the 6 of us (age 7 - 76). Combined with ziplining and a buffet lunch, we still had a leisurely drive back to the Valor in plenty of time. All thanks to NCQ Adventures. Smaller, controlled groups are beneficial on most excursions, but they are imparative in cave tubing. Find an operation you can trust! Unless you do multiple cruses a year, you don't get re-do's on excursions. For us, with some planning, NCQ made Belize the highlight of our cruise.

[conniejb]

So who had the yellow tubes???

[susanNjay]

I have used both cavetubing dot com and XStreme sports. Our most recent trip was in December and we had an awesome, safe, and fun day with cavetubing dot com. I am shocked to read of the negative reports as we have used the company more than once with awesome results.

 

With cave tubing dot com, we always had a guide for a group of maybe about eight or fewer people. Yhony also set up a zipline/cave tubing combination for us on our last visit. We had a guide for five people.

 

With XStreme, we "free" floated; there was no guide helping us through. This was a few years ago, and we used them because we had been cave tubing before and we wanted the combo with the zipline that XStreme offered, and I didn't even think to ask Yhony if he would do it...

 

Yhony has a nice restaurant where we ate after zipping and tubing in December and he spent a lot of time with us, talking about how his company has grown and how the country has been changing...we had a fabulous day!

 

--Susan

[CMM]

My kids still bring up what a bad experience we had with cave tubing . com. It was scarey, slippery, and a stressull Thanksgiving Day for us. The normal caves were closed for safety reasons so they took us to an alternate site they had NEVER been too. Complete darkness, not a 8-1 ratio and just no fun at all.

I had read great reviews myself. I guess you can take your chances at an awesome experience or terrible. And the tubes themselves have nothing to do with it in my opinon. Tubes are tubes. The real issue is the safety & trust with the folks you are dealing with in a country you have no experience in.

[CATJAMMIES]

X Stream? Charlies? Another?

 

Going cave tubing - but have girls & some of us are paranoid about dark/deep water - even in August.

 

I THINK linking would be preferable - right?

Which co.s link?

 

A couple co.s are throwing in lunch - that'd be great too----

 

WITH THIS, What Co do you rec?

[GinDon]

We did X-Stream a couple of years ago, and we free-floated. Not sure what their policy is now. We had a great time with X-Stream.