Cave Tubing Warning

[Amy_girl]

Hello Everybody! I went cave tubing last week with X-Stream. We had a wonderful time. Randy was our guide. He was very friendly and full of information about his country. It took about an hour to drive to the location, then we had a 40 minute walk through the rainforest to get to the river entrance. (Walking through the rainforest was one of my favorite parts of the excursion.) When we got to the location where we were to enter the river, we had the option of jumping off a rock that was about 10 feet above the river, or you could just enter the river from the bank. Now, here is where I want to warn anyone who is going to be cave tubing during the rainy season of Belize. Because it was the rainy season, the water was higher and it flowed a lot faster. I was under the impression that this excursion would be relaxing and moved at a "gentle" pace. Was I wrong!! The current was VERY strong. Our guide was very helpful at instructing us where we needed to paddle our tubes so that we didn't get swepted into the current. A lot of the time, the current pulled you to the caves walls or to big boulders in the river. This is very scary because the current is moving fast, and I was scared that I was going to be rammed into the wall of the cave. However, I am young I didn't really have that hard of a time. But, there were two kids on our tour that were under 10 years old. They were not strong enough to paddle themselves around the river. At one point, the little girl got in the current and couldn't paddle herself out of it as it was taking her to the side of the cave. She was crying and screaming, but our guide swam to her and got her before she hit the wall. At another point, an elderly man got stuck in a whirlpool. He couldn't paddle his way out, so the guide had to swim to get him out. Don't get me wrong, we had a WONDERFUL time! This excursion was a highlight of our trip. But, it was not what I expected. If anybody is planning to take their kids on this excursion during the rainy season, beware. The current is very fast, and you have to be somewhat physically fit to navigate your way around the river. I definetly recommend X-Stream. They were wonderful! ~Jamie

[tv77]

What is considered the rainy season?

 

Thanks!

[TheHammer]

We have a group of 6 or more going on the Jan 28, 2006 Grand Princess sailing out of Galveston. We all want to try Cave Tubing, but have been reading so many posts by people saying that the Grand Princess seems to almost always get to port late. With that, plus a short stay (6:30AM to 1 PM like Amy said, I believe), we are extremely nervous about booking this outside the cruise line. Should we be concerned? We don't like cutting it close, and I've been on excursions where the unexpected (car breakdowns) happened several times. One breakdown and we could miss our ship! Is it better to just pay the $100 to book it through Princess?

[smrtypnts]

In your case, I wouldn't even consider it any other way. Think about it.....You get off the ship at 7am, you're finally all piled in the van at 7:30, you drive 40 minutes. It's now 8:15, you change and start your trek. You walk 45 minutes. It's now 9am. Every single minute you're going to be watching the clock and calculating backwards to see if you're running out of time........You won't be having fun, but rather you'll always be worrying whether or not you're going to make it back in time. That would totally ruin the savings and the good time. Better to book through the ship, spend the extra money, and know you'll have a good time and not have to worry about being late. It MAY not be as good a time as you would have had on an independent excursion, but considering the time constraints, you'll probably have a better time with the ship's excursion under these circumstances.

[brodie]

We went with cavetubing.com last week and felt it was quite safe. Yhony has you group up in a chain link fashion with a guide at the front. On several occassions he jumped off to steer us clear of any possible issues. On several occassions he yelled "butts up" and guess what, we lifted our butts. So, if you want to have a great time, can follow basic directions, you should have no problem using Yhony with cavetubing.com. People, do not take this post seriously. It is entirely low key and you would have to try hard to get hurt. The most unsafe thing I saw at the whole area was the slippery tile outside the bathroom. My wife hit it in her water shoes and busted her ass pretty good.

[Bonnie J.]

We tubed last week with Reggie, regtour.com, 1/2 price of ship's tour, max. of 14. We were all linked together for the most part. He is very aware of the time and has never had anyone miss the tender. He has a boat to take you to ship if you do. But for Princess, I'd say go with the ship. With an independent tour you may be squeezed for time. The ship only waits for the ship's tours. Can highly recomend Reggies's tour!!!!

[luckyking]

We are booked with Reggie for cave tubing on Dec. 13 coming off the Grand Princess. We have that bizarre port time (6:30 - 1:00) but I'm not the least bit worried about time. Reggie has assured me that they have NEVER had a group miss the boat. In fact, they usually return well before the ships tours do.

Plus the cost savings! Reggie is only $45/person compared to the $99/person Princess wants!

[KCTeach]

We are on the Grand Princess December 17th. I had the same concerns about time but several people in our group had trouble paying the 99 dollars for the ships excursion. I e-mailed Yhony from cave-tubing.com and asked the question about time. He assured me that they will have us back on time. They did ask that we get off the ship as soon as possible. They also said it is their practice to get people back 1 hour before the ship leaves.

Hope this helps

Karen

[jkrislc]

In your case, I wouldn't even consider it any other way.

 

I have to agree. One of the reasons we booked the Legend (RCI) was the fact that the time in port with Princess is so short. Princess was actually cheaper for us both in cabin price and airfare, but we wanted a full day in Belize. Anytime you have a short port day, your best option is to go through the ship. On longer stays, there is more flexibility for catch-up.