Anybody from the Miracle take the Nativeway Rum Point tour?

[Ellya]

We will be sailing on the Miracle and have reserved the Nativeway Rum Point Tour. The times in our confirmation are different from those posted on their website (the website states the tour concludes at 2:00, and the confirmation states 2:45). The Miracle Capers state last tender is at 3:00, but Nativeway claims it will be 3:30. 15 minutes is just way too close for our comfort, but 45 might be ok. Is there anyone out there who can either confirm that the tenders run until 3:30 Eastern Time or that they took this tour and what time they returned etc.? We really want to take the tour, but we are so worried.

[luv2cruise03]

I just booked the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour with them last night...I talked directly to them...She said that they have not updated their web page yet, and the tour leaves 8:30 Cayman time (9:30 ship time) and returns at 1:45 Cayman time(2:45 ship time).

 

That should be plenty of time to get back to the boat....

 

Can't wait...sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun....

[willowcreek1955]

I have the same concern. I am booked on that excursion as well. If the last tender is at 3:00pm, you are right it only leaves 15 min. I think your question is, when is the actual time for the last tender?:confused:

 

Luv, you will have to let us know how it went for you. I was hoping that we could start the excursion a bit earlier so we would have some breathing room.

[pshaze]

We took the Nativeway trip (Rays, Reef and Rum Point) in April from the Miracle. It was the first week after the time change. It was a wonderful day. Their tour guides were great. They were very conscious about the time and made sure we were back to the dock in time to catch the next to last tender. When we arrived back at the dock there were at least 100 other passengers waiting in a long line to get on a tender.

 

As they say “No Worries!”

 

Pam

[willowcreek1955]

We took the Nativeway trip (Rays, Reef and Rum Point) in April from the Miracle. It was the first week after the time change. It was a wonderful day. Their tour guides were great. They were very conscious about the time and made sure we were back to the dock in time to catch the next to last tender. When we arrived back at the dock there were at least 100 other passengers waiting in a long line to get on a tender.

 

As they say “No Worries!”

 

Pam

Thanks a lot Pam. What did you think of the excursion? I am looking forward to Rum Point the most. What do they offer for lunch?

[pshaze]

We were really surprised how good the food was there. The menu is mostly grill items, salads and soups. Everything we had was delicious. I had a Mahi-Mahi grilled sandwich, fries, and Seafood and Conch soup. They had grilled chicken sandwiches and burgers. There were things on the menu for kids like chicken fingers etc.

 

What was really nice was we had the place all to ourselves. There were only a few other tourist besides our boat. I grabbed a Foo-Foo drink and swung in a hammock. Very relaxing.

 

Pam

[Super89]

Hey Ellya, if my math is correct, we will be on the same cruise. :p Are you going August 21st? That excursion sounds fun, I think I will look into it too. We haven't booked any yet, but know we want to do the cave tubing in Belize.

Susan

[Ellya]

Yes, we are sailing on the 21st. Nativeway says there is already one other party from the Miracle on our tour. If that isn't you and you sign up maybe we can improve our odds of getting back in time by making it an "all Miracle" group! We are also doing the cave tubing, but are playing it safe and taking the ship's tour. Since the tour is so long and the destination so far from the ship and in a fairly undeveloped country, we just thought we'd be too nervous on a private tour no matter how wonderful.

[Super89]

Well that's great Ellya, nice to meet a fellow cruiser! I have to talk to the rest of the family and see what they want to do. My husband works with a woman that just came back from a cruise and went cave tubing in Belize with an outside group. She said they were great and they still had plenty of time to get back to their ship but it still makes me nervous. This is our first cruise so I don't really know much about it, but I am already having nightmares about not making it back on time. The website is www.regtour.com and they swore by it. Still dabating! Do you have a website for the Rum Point tour? How many people are in your group? I am going with my DH and two kids age 12 and 16. Counting down the days!:D Susan

[serene56]

We will be sailing on the Miracle and have reserved the Nativeway Rum Point Tour. The times in our confirmation are different from those posted on their website (the website states the tour concludes at 2:00, and the confirmation states 2:45). The Miracle Capers state last tender is at 3:00, but Nativeway claims it will be 3:30. 15 minutes is just way too close for our comfort, but 45 might be ok. Is there anyone out there who can either confirm that the tenders run until 3:30 Eastern Time or that they took this tour and what time they returned etc.? We really want to take the tour, but we are so worried.

 

 

Remember that Cayman time runs 1 hour behind the ships time. SO that 2:00 time they are telling you may be 3:00 the ships time. Send an email and ask them if the time listed for your excursion is ship time or local time? According to my capers the last tender was listed as 3:00. Nativeways is a good company. I doubt very much that you will miss the tender.

[Ellya]

We have used Nativeway before and were very pleased with the excursion we took. We have also looked at the time differences and we would get back at 2:45 ship's time for a "last tender" of 3:00, with sailing at 4:00. That seems to be cutting it close to me. I guess I wonder if the last tender really is a full hour before sailing or not? That seems to be part of the confusion. Nativeway seems to think the last tender won't be until 3:30. But, Carnival Capers say 3:00.

 

We have our "kids" coming too, but they are 19 and 21. We were too nervous to do a private tour in Belize in spite of all the glowing reports of more personalized service. I have read too many stories of people feeling really stressed out and nervous about missing the ship at that port. I don't think that would make for a very enjoyable day.

 

Nativeway's website is: http://www.nativewaywatersports.com

 

 

Thanks for all who have responded so far.

[mnsawyer]

We were not on the Miracle but sailed the Glory 4/9 and did a ship's tour in Belize. We too, were very concerned about going with an independent operator at this port. We did the Goff's Caye tour which departed at 8:00 a.m. right from the ship and back around 12:30. Gave us time to clean up, have lunch on the ship and then go into town. There is also an afternoon tour if you are not a morning person. Spoke with two ladies that were on our ship in Cozumel - they had a horrible time trying to get a tender since those with cruise ship excursions are allowed to go first. They went to Caye Caulker but didn't have much time there. Don't think they got off the ship until 10:30 or so. I have heard others say that they just showed their e-mail confirmation with an independent operator and were allowed to board the tender. For us, it just wasn't worth it. We enjoyed the Goff's Caye tour but if we went again next time would do the River Wallace and Al Tun? ruins tour through Carnival. It takes most of the day but since we have already seen the village area it's not an issue.

[kjunea]

We just got back from the Miracle and the last tender was at 3:15, not 3:00, so that gives you a little more time. If there are long lines, high surf, etc, it takes longer to tender and those times can extend. Just don't count on it.

 

June

[serene56]

June: was the 3:15 time stated on your capers?

[Nicole721]

June: was the 3:15 time stated on your capers?

 

Not June, but I was on the 5/22 sailing...

 

Yes, it says "Last tender returns to ship at 3:15- Miracle will set sail at 4:00pm" in the 5/24 Capers.

[Ellya]

The latest message from Sharon reports that they return at 2:45 Eastern time and that the "last tender" is at 3:30 Eastern. This is still a small discrepancy from Carnival's posted time so I am interested in any other reports of actual last tender departures. Thanks so much for those of you who have responded so far.

[ladyt]

I was on the Victory and our last tender was 3:15. We did Nativeway Ray, Reef, Rum Point and had a blast. I was getting a bit nervous towards the end of the excursion. I kept looking at my watch. They got us back to the dock with a few minutes to spare. The line to get a tender was very very very long. They promised they would get us back on time and they did. I will use them again, but I think that I would do the shorter excursion that way I would not be looking at my watch.

 

As I think about it...What would have happened if their van broke down? I guess we would have been in trouble.