Cave Tubing only through Carnival??

[murphfam4]

Have read in some posts to book this through Carnival? Should I book through Carnival or is ok to book with cavetubing.com or someone else?

[dcikon2]

I booked a couple years ago with an independent tour operator and was glad that we did. We ended up going on a longer ride than what is given by the cruise tour. It was also less crowded.

[masch100]

DW and I just got back yesterday from the western Caribbean cruise on the Liberty (RCCL). We did the cave tubing and zipline tour with Nacho and Cynthia (ncqadventuretours dot com). We are both in our early 50s and had no problems with either activity. Nacho and Cynthia are absolutely the best. I highly recommend them. Read on for the why's.

 

When you go with them, they will ask that you get off of the ship on the first tender. They will be waiting for you at the port and off you go. By going out early, we were the first tour on the site. Ours was the only van in the parking lot when we arrived on a day where 800 people were expected, most of them from ship tours and the large local independent tours with big the big bus. Needless to say, being early made things go very smoothly. We had the ziplines all to ourselves with two guides (a catcher and a pusher) dedicated to us for the entire time. The ziplines included two short (less than 5 minutes) hikes from platform to platform but the guides would stop at several places along the way to point out interesting flora and fauna as well as answer our questions. Normally, with the big tours, there is a guide placed on each platform and you get passed from guide to guide with no guide on the short hikes through the forest. This part was very exhilarating and downright fun. There's something about flying through the rainforest 100 feet above the ground on a 600 foot cable that gets your blood flowing.

 

Following the zipline, it was off to cave tubing. We changed into our swimwear on site while Cynthia hooked us up with a local guide. Normally she does the tour herself, but she's had a back problem and her doctor has told her to not do it for six months. Anyway, the cave tubing requires a 30 minute hike through the forest to get to the river. Again, it was just DW and I along with our personal guide. It was a very informative hike over fairly easy terrain with lots of short stops along the way to look at plants and animals. There are some protruding roots, but they are easily missed if you are paying attention. You are hiking gently uphill for most of the way but it is not strenuous. You get a chance to walk through a grotto and see some of the cave formations before you get to the river. You are carrying the tube, a ski vest type life jacket, and a helmet. The tubes have handles so they are very easy to carry. About half way through the hike, the guide offered to carry DW's stuff in trade for her carrying his single smaller tube - an offer she couldn't refuse. Once we got to the river, mounting the tube was easy. We walked into the river which was cool but not cold. The guide held our tubes in place and we just sat down into them. After a couple of minutes you get accustomed to the water temperature as it is only your butt really in the water. The river was up a little bit so the guide tied our tubes together as a safety precaution. From there, all we did was ride and enjoy the scenery. The guide did all the work of paddling our tubes to the right places and getting us faced the right direction. The cave tubing was as relaxing as the zipline was exhilerating. We floated through a very large cave (about 45 minutes) and then on the open river back to the hike starting point. It was so relaxing, we didn't want to get out but the guide told that if we didn't, it would take about three days to float to Belize City.

 

Following the tour, we had a nice buffet lunch on site and then back to the city tour with Nacho and Cynthia. Here's an example of how far they will go to make your day enjoyable. When we got back to the port at the end of the tour, Nacho asked if we wanted to do any shopping as he could take us to a market with better prices than those inside the port. We mentioned that we were only interested in picking up some Belizean rum. He said no problem. He took us back into the city to a little market where he shops and had Cynthia go into the store to pick up the rum for us! She came out with a bottle of rum and some of the famous cashew wine and we were on our way.

 

If you want a really great tour with a lot of personalized service, Nacho and Cynthia are the way to go. No large groups, no big buses, and great service. What more could you want? Just google "nacho cynthia belize" and they pop up at the top of the list.

[ClCB0911]

I booked a couple years ago with an independent tour operator and was glad that we did. We ended up going on a longer ride than what is given by the cruise tour. It was also less crowded.

 

we just did the cave tubing with http://www.cavetubing.bz/

we just paid 1/2 price of the cruise ship price and Vitalino Reyes hes amazing and we had a nice lunch..too..this was the best tour ever thanks Vitalino Reyes you can contact him by e-mail...

[Otowncruiser]

We just got back and also booked through cavetubing.bz . I highly recommend them, and they make sure to get you back on time. You get to see so much more with them.

[loucherylkwi]

We went last year with two kids 7 and 11... We had a great experience!

They were 1/2 the price and they did a great job

[ClCB0911]

make sure its http://www.cavetubing.bz/

 

with Vitalino Reyes..hes the best and the best price!!!!