Carnival Glory /Cave-Tubing.com

[repdog]

Just back from vacation and the best part of the cruise was cave tubing in Belize. We cruised on the Carnival Glory and that part of the trip was alright, but surpassed by our day trips in each port. We (myself, wife, kids 9&11) did not take any of the Carnival tours. We did each port on our own. DO NOT let the ship staff scare you out of doing your own thing. Just make sure you are always on ships-time, and know how much time you have.

 

Key West - we didn't have much time so we took the Old Town Trolley tour. If was fun & informative (Louie was the best out of the 3 drivers), and allowed us to hop off & on without missing the ship. We booked tickets on-line at their website.

 

Belize - Cave tubing with Cave-tubing.com Yonny met in front of the pier and sent us off with his guide Gillie. Gillie gave us a tour of the city on our way to the rain forest, and explained much about life in Belize. Once at the park and changed, he lead us along the path explaining the plants and animals of the area, local legends, and how everything in the forest is inter-related. There were only the 4 of us in the group and it was like $50.00 each before Gillie's well earned tip. We started in the cave system above the ship tour and ended ahead of them. They just floated through the caves, where Gillie was pionting out formations, streams and unique outcroppings. Well worth the trip!! :) Oh, yeah - no bugs & no snakes.

 

Cozumel - Because we were not sure how much snorkeling my youngest would do we skipped the trips and went to Dzul Ha reef. We were there at about 7:00am their time so nothing was open yet, but we snorkeled off the beach (a little tough entry at first) for a couple of hours. The reef starts at the beach and you see fish as soon as you enter the water. We ended up at PalMar beach club. We bought a beer & nachos and used their bathroom, pool, shower, and beach cahirs. Juan was the only employee we encountered and he was great -- even helped us map out the rest of our day. We did the afternoon tour of down town (too much tequila!) and hit the ship.

 

Progresso - we took a taxi ($50) to the (forgive me) Dzbeltuine ruins -- about 25 min. drive. The driver waited for us as we took a private tour from one of the giudes there ($25). We ended at the tour by swimming in the cenote with a bunch of local school kids -- verry polite and super fun!! The driver met us at the cenote and brought us back to the beach. We drand a few $1.oo beers on the way back to the flea market where the shuttle bus to the ship is.

 

I am suprised how much my young children got out of this trip, and am now plannning a trip to Mexico with out a ship. This message board was super helpful in planning our trip and the time spent here researching each port paid off in great times!!:D:D

 

Best!

[repdog]

One thing I forgot to mention!

 

Go right down and get on a tender. Do not wait for the ship tours to load first. Just walk down and say you are going cave tubing if they ask.

 

We walked right by with a crowd of people on a Carnival tour, but the woman behind us made the mistake of asking permission. They told her that she had to wait because her tour was probably on local time anyway. She hesitated long enough to check some information she had printed and then muscled her way through.

[terryde]

Thanks, repdog, for all of the information - very helpful! We, too, will do Dzul Hal and Palmar Beach club in Coz and plan to visit the same ruins near Progreso. We hope to get a cab to take us to the ruins and also Merida, hear it is beautiful. But one question about tenders in Belize- off what deck? Where did you find them? What time did they start?