Another Coral Breeze Review !!!!!

[taillon]

There have been so many questions about Belize and cave tubing that I thought I would post my own separate review on the board.

 

We sailed on the Elation on 7/31/05 and were in Belize on August 4th. We were told by the purser to go with Carnival's cave tubing to get on the tenders so we were on our tender by 8:45 am and in the Tourism Village just a few minutes later. Our tender dropped us off in sight of the Wet Lizard bar and Monique and Ivar were standing right there waiting for us!! We had to wait awhile for the other family because they didn't get a tender until later. There were only the 10 of us on the tour!!! Yippee!!:D

 

When we were all together, Ivar loaded us into a van just outside the Tourism Village gate. His dad, Raoul, was the driver. The next hour and fifteen minutets, Ivar told us all about Belize! He had an answer for all our questions. The last few miles to the river consist of a dirt/rock road...we took it slow and it was not that rough.

 

When we got to the drop off place, we took a potty break and left our belongings in the van with Raoul. We didn't need much of anything. You don't need your sunglasses (you are in a cave or under the canopy) and sunscreen is optional for the same reason. You can rent water shoes for $3 if you forgot yours. Ivar and Raoul got our equipment which consisted of a large tube, head lamp, and life jacket that is strapped onto the tube.

 

We then headed down the trail. Ivar was a wealth of information again!:) He pointed out plants and told of their medicinal value and such, showed us a couple of species of lizards and bats and really just kept us entertained the whole way. When we crossed the river to the trail, Ivar had us drop our tubes off and take a little refreshing dip! We walked into a cave on the way too! The path to the cave is flat most of the time with just a few small steps here and there.

 

When we arrived at the river, we had the option of jumping in or backing down a small rope into the tubes. We all opted for the jump (it was only about 10 ft)! It was so beautiful there!!! We all hooked together before heading into the first cave. I had thought that you would always be able to see light at the end of the tunnel but there actually are spots that if you all turn out your head lamps---you cannot see your hand in front of your face!!! It was cool!

 

Anyway, we did two caves and floated for awhile in between the two and after the second cave. Water was slow moving inside the caves but they do have what they call rapids outside but don't worry---I would not consider them rapids really. The water just gets a little quicker and you just keep your legs going down the river first and if you happen to get close to a rock you can just push off with your feet easily. We had a young girl on our tour and Ivar was very quick to watch out for her, even getting out of his tube and jogging to the next little "rapids" to assist her! Not one part was scary...only beautiful and relaxing!!

 

When we came to the end, we grabbed out tubes and did a short walk to a little open air cafe. Coral Breeze already had tables reserved for us, and we were served very quickly. The food was great!! BBQ chicken, rice, a couple of salads, and the best bread!!! Then we were given a choice of dessert...YUMMY! It came with a really good punch but you could also order (for extra) from the bar. Hubby had a couple of Belikans and I had a rum drink that was delicious!

 

We loaded back into the van for the ride back. It was quieter on the way, I sat and talked to another woman that was with us. Everyone had full tummies and was a little worn out (in a good way though). Ivar told us more about Belize and the people and we had a little informative tour of Belize City on our way back.

 

We were back at tourism village with about an hour to spare!!

 

I am glad that we choose Coral Breeze, there were so many people on the ship tours. I liked how personal our tour was and how much we learned from our guide! I don't have one bad thing to say about Coral Breeze or Ivar and Raoul. It was an awesome experience, I would do it again in a heartbeat! Feel free to ask me any questions!:D

[Susky]

When we crossed the river to the trail, Ivar had us drop our tubes off and take a little refreshing dip!

 

LOL...MANDATORY DIP! :D

[didan]

Taillon,

Thanks for your review. Sounds great. We are going in November and this is one excursion I'm interested in doing.

Did you have to pay upfront or after the tour? Was a deposit required?

How was the water - was it cold? Clear?

Doesn't sound like it was too strenous - more relaxing.

[taillon]

LOL, yes Susky, mandatory dip!!:D It was a hot day though, so very refreshing!

 

Didan,

We paid a deposit online with a credit card and the rest was due in cash when we got there. Make sure you have cash with you...they cannot take credit cards there. The other family had missed that point and had to scramble for cash.

The water is crystal clear...in the second cave, Ivar told us to drink the water coming from the water fall since it has been purified by all the limestone!! Ivar said the water is not cold.....it is refreshing! LOL Actually I thought it was a nice cool temperature. When you get near that little water fall the water gets a bit cold but that does not last long! By the way, it is not a waterfall that you go over or anything!

It was not strenous at all. All of the cave tubing sites warn you of the physical activity but my husband and I (39 and 41 and of average physique) had no trouble, neither did our two teen boys. The walk takes awhile but that is because you stop a lot while your guide is telling you about the different trees, flowers, and plants. It is fairly level and wide trail with steps just every once in awhile...I never was beathing hard at anytime. Since the water is slow, your guide might ask you to paddle through the caves but that doesn't really take that much effort either.

I will be the first to tell you that booking an excursion on my own did make me nervous. At one point when I handed Monique all my cash and then walked away to the shops, I thought..."Oh my gosh, what if that was not really Coral Breeze and now they are walking away with all my money!!" I went back and she was still there...they had on coral colored polo shirts with the name embroidered on them. Anyway, I would not hesitate to do it again! I know you will love it!

[didan]

Thanks so much. You made me feel much better - sounds like something we can handle. There are so many good reviews about this company, I'm leaning towards going with them.

[Kipp-n-Aika]

Thanks for the review, that sounds like sometime my husband and I would really enjoy. We'll have to look into it!

[DEL67]

Brett and Tanya:

 

You said that you went with on the tender wiith the Carnival cave tubing group. How did you do that - just mingle in?

[taillon]

Del67

 

We actually asked the purser about how we are supposed to get a tender if we are not with carnival but have an excursion booked. We were told to go with Carnival's group so we did just that. On the Elation, cave tubers with carnival were supposed to meet at 8 am in the Mikado lounge so we went there a few minutes til and picked up a sticker that said cave tubing on it from staff. Then a staff member announced something about tickets so I decided to go up and ask them specifically about our situations. I was told that it was okay to just go when we were called. They released us in two groups about 10 minutes in between. We were never asked anything else about it. :D So just get your sticker (if your ship is giving them out) and blend in. I don't think anyone really cares! lol

[tweety0227]

we are going on the glory on sept. 24, and would like to go cave tubing. One of my concerns is jumping into the river. I have shoulder and knee issues. How strenuous is the actual jump? also, I am having trouble with coral breezes website. It just goes back to the home page when I click to book the tour. Anybody have trouble with that?

 

Has anyone booked any of the other tubing companies...xtreme, Regies, wet n wild?

[Susky]

Yeah, there is a path that leads right to the water. You go past it to get to the jump-in rock.

[tweety0227]

There is some some web trouble sometimes in Belize. Just keep trying. Another company at the tourism village that's getting rave revues on cave tubing is www.***** which does a "cosmological tour" (shows how the Maya used the caves for religious purposes) - complete with stalagtites and stalgmites which look like real people and creatures !!! Good fun - and they take on children of all ages and do it very safely.

 

By the way, you don't have to jump into the river - that's only an invitation. You can just wade in - it's super easy.

 

 

Thanks so much. I feel so much better!!!:)

[tweety0227]

Yeah, there is a path that leads right to the water. You go past it to get to the jump-in rock.

 

 

Thank you so much. I feel so much better. I can't wait for my cave tubing adventure

[grannynanny]

We are going on the Enchantment in November, can you tall me how to get in touch with Coral Breeze?

Thanks, Nancy

[tweety0227]

Nancy,

 

We just booked Coral Breeze for our cave tubing adventure. We leave on the Glory on Sept. 24, and will be in Belize on the 27th.

www.coralbreezelimited.com

 

Paul is the person to speak to. He's been great in email, answering all of my questions (I'm a worrywart) He made me feel completely confident in them,and didn't make me feel stupid for asking all my silly questions.

 

His email is paul@www.coralbreezelimited.com

[sessa]

thanks for the private tour places in Belize.

[tweety0227]

We just got back from a cruise on Carnival Glory. We had booked the Cave Tubing through Coral Breezes. We got on the 1st tender after the ship's tour groups. Coral Breezes was waiting for us just where they said they would be. Unfortunately, we couldn't go on the tour, as it had been raining all night, and the caves were flooded. :( We were so disappointed. However, our refund check was waiting for us in the mail when we got home, just as they promised it would be.

 

I can't wait to take another cruise to Belize, and would definitely book a cave tubing experience with Coral Breezes!!

[shirleygr]

Just an fyi, you can pay your entire excursion by credit card, up front if you want. Just email Paul and let him know you'd like to do this and he'll send you the link to use. I did this for our upcoming November cruise on the Enchantment. Can't wait to check this out for myself.

 

tweety, just curious if you were offered an alternate excursion by the Coral Breeze folks, as the snorkel trip they have is just fab. DH and I did it a couple of years ago and wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

[MI-DI]

Just back today,,used Coral Breeze..only 6 of us on tour..In one word...GREAT!!!!!

[tweety0227]

Just an fyi, you can pay your entire excursion by credit card, up front if you want. Just email Paul and let him know you'd like to do this and he'll send you the link to use. I did this for our upcoming November cruise on the Enchantment. Can't wait to check this out for myself.

 

tweety, just curious if you were offered an alternate excursion by the Coral Breeze folks, as the snorkel trip they have is just fab. DH and I did it a couple of years ago and wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

we were offered another tour, but chose just to hire a cab and look around Belize. One thing I want to say, is that the ship wasn't keen at all about us going on the tender with the tour excursion. We had to wait until the first general tender. it was ok because our tour wasn't leaving until 8:30, which was 10:30 ship's time, but I was disappointed because everyone else had said that you could get right off with the ship's tour groups.

[pfd104]

I have to agree with the comments here. We went with Coral Breeze this year (booked online) and had a great time!!! Stopped fro lunch at small resturant alongside the road.

 

One suggestion.....take a waterproof camera, I managed to take some graet shots while we were on the river.

[GaTechCruiser]

We just took a tour on the 11th with Coral Breezes and everything was great. We took a general tender from the ship and that worked out fine. We were even tender number 4 and had plenty of time to meet the tour and even grab some bottled water before we left.

[shirleygr]

Happy to hear they did offer you another excursion option.

 

As for tendering, when we went to Belize a few years ago, I stopped at the excursion desk and spoke with the manager concerning getting on an early tender. After briefly trying to talk us into a ship excursion he was very accommodating and we were on the first tender from the ship. I would suggest talking to the excursion staff on any future cruises where tendering is required and you have booked an independent excursion.