Zipline advice

[sharke]

For those of you experienced zipliners, what can you tell me about the hand braking? We r looking forward to our first experience with this but trying to decide which to do. Is it difficult to get the hang of the braking? A friend actually cut her hand doing this but I'm not really sure what she did. :confused Also, are you mostly in a sitting position in the harness while you 'fly' through the air? Is there any stress on the lower back trying to stay upright? Any info you can give, I'd appreciate. Thanks

[2xtwins]

We just returned from our cruise on Carnival Dream. Although not our first cruise, it was our first time in Roatan. We had researched online ahead of time the different tours/companies offering ziplining. We decided on Pirates of the Caribbean based on other reviews. We originally thought that our group of 4 adults and 4 kids (14,12,8,8) would be doing half on the extreme zip and the other half on the extremely extreme zip. When our driver, Edder, picked us up and while driving explained to us the difference in the two set-ups, we decided all to do the extremely extreme zip. There are 8 lines total in the extremely extreme zip. You do not have to do any self hand-braking as the guides at each platform will stop you if necessary or bring you in if you fall short. We had three very friendly and helpful guides. My husband and our 8 year son and myself and our 8 year old daughter zipped together for the first three lines and then separated for the last five lines. There is a photographer there who will get great pictures if needed and they will put them all on a CD when finished. We had a blast and would 100% do it again.

 

***One word of caution*** When getting off the boat and walking down the street to wait for the bus, make sure you do not go with one of the 20-some people who WILL tell you they are with the company and will take you there. We had to wait for about 15 minutes and got a lot of them angry since we couldn't go. When Edder did pick us up he told us that they would've taken us but then they try and bargain a deal with the company but will stick you with the bill for the ride. As long as you get on the bus with the actual company there is no fee for that, it's inclusive of your ziplining rate. Just a side note!

[sharke]

Thanks for the input. Did you book this directly with the Pirates Company or through a tour company?