Questions about Major Tom Tour

[Irish708]

Booked Major Tom for next year. Very impressed, received an eloquent email from him.

 

Do you stop for shopping anywhere on his tour before or after the caves ? Do you stop for lunch ? How many are usually on your tour ? Can you leave your things in his vehicle if needed ?

 

Thanks so much!:D

[april f]

There were 9 in our group (4 adults and 5 kids 10-15)just off the Legend. Tom was waiting for us at the pier. We also at 2 other couples that were cave tubing only. Mike and Chris(?) were our guides.

 

We stopped on the way out of Belize city to get gas and water. It's a good 45 minute drive to the caves/zip line. The we dropped of the cavetubers and headed to the zipline site. (you could walk between the two if you wanted)We met our zipine guides-sorry I can't remember their names and off we went. FYI-bring bug spray! Also, somehow get your camera to the first person ziplining so they can get pictures. There is also a photographer there ($10 each).There are 6 lines, with two 200+feet long. FUN! Wish we could have gone again! The scariest part was rapelling down the last stand.

 

Next, cavetubing.It's a good hike. I suggest water shoes. We ended up renting because we didn't want our tennis shoes to get wet.The water wasn't too bad. We formed a chain, kids in front adults in back. Chris our guide had his hands full! He did a great job. We went through one cave, I didn't realize how long we'd be in there.

 

We then met up with the other 2 couples and stopped at Amigos for lunch.Rice, beans and chicken for us. The kids ordered off the menu.

 

If you do the combo, no time for shopping, that's my only regret. We got back to the pier with 15 minutes to spare. You could skip lunch and get back about 45 minutes earlier.

 

Enjoy!

[april f]

My husband wasted his time in the morning and went down to the lounge to get tender tickets.

 

We ended up going back down to the firebird lounge and when they called the cavetubing group we just went along. We were on the second tender. It's a long tour so get on a tender as soon as you can.

[mallard69]

Hi,

 

we just came back (Carnival Miracle) and did the cave tubing tour through Major Tom. Our guide was little Tom (this is how he wants to be called !). He's the son of Major Tom.

 

We were disappointed that we were not able to do any shopping/eating on that day. However, it is not Major Tom's fault but rather due to the very short day we had in port. The first tender out was at 7:30 AM and we had to be back on the last tender at 3:15 PM.

 

We went to the pursers desk the night before and asked how we could get on the first tender out as we knew this was going to be a short day. They first said that the first tenders were for cruise ship tours only and all other passengers could go on the 9:00 AM tender. By insisting a bit more, they told us to show up at the lounge at 7:30 the next morning and that they were most probably going to be giving stickers to private tour passengers also. We showed up at 7:20 and got a sticker to get on the first tender. We were on the dock in Belize at around 8:00.

 

Now, here's the problem... 12 people had booked through Major Tom that day and by 8:30, 4 were still missing. We ended up waiting for these 4 people until about 9:15. When they got off the tender, they explained that they didn't know you could get on an earlier tender even if you booked a private tour... The hour + we waited for them on the dock eliminated all chances of shopping/eating in Belize... We got back about 30 minutes before the last tender and did some speed shopping.

 

So, to answer your question, I think that you should have time to shop/eat depending on how long the ship is in port. Also, if you want to have time AND you want to be appreciated by your fellow cave tubing explorers, GET ON THE FIRST TENDER(S) !!!!

 

Again, this is not at all Major Tom's fault. The tour was great, they took very good acre of us and we had an excellent adventure doing the cave tubing. You will not regret your decision... Based on this experience, Major Tom did mention he was going to emphasize the importance on getting on the first tender in his future emails to clients.

 

This should all be history in 2009 when ships will be able to dock in Belize...

 

Hope this helps.

 

Mike

 

P.S. By the way, they did ask for proof that we had a private tour booked before giving the tender sticker, so make sure you bring that email with you !

[april f]

We had our paperwork ready in case someone asked. It probably depends on the ship since my husband never showed it when he went down to get stickers. Tendering off the Legend was pretty chaotic.

 

We also had to wait for a couple from another ship. Glad it wasn't too long, or we definitely would have missed the boat!

[Sky616]

Were in Belize on 11/28 and did the cavetub ing with Major Tom with a group of us of 9. Stopped at a little grocery store where Tom's son got us all a bottled water. On the way back to town only 2 out of us 9 wanted lunch and they stopped at this little place and the 2 ate it on the bus. Wish I would have gotten it also it smelled so good.

[moochiejy]

Was in Belize last week. I did the combo tour. Our group was about 11. My friends and I had gotten on the first tender from our ship but we still ended up waiting for the others who came later from other ships. So we waited about 2 hours before we headed out. So I did most of my shopping during this time. We didn't have time to stop by for lunch since people wanted to shop, so Michael asked if anyone wanted lunch and if so, he would place an order ahead of time and then we could eat on the bus. The lunch was about $5, rice, beans, chicken and cole slaw. On the way back to the port, he dropped us off at this street that had some small shops, said that it was cheaper than inside the port. Didn't really take a look at what they were selling. By the time we got back, we definitely had an hour before the last tender.

[bestestboss]

just got back last week from a stop in belize on rccl jewel of the seas

if you are hesitant about doing cave tubing-DONT!!!!!!

we had a group of 9 and it was amazing.even a 6 year old boy who was great.

excellant service and had an hour an a half to shop before last tender.

got back to the boat to find out 310 who booked on the boat were cancelled due to the heavy rains days earlier. not us!!!!!

dont worry about booking directly online- save a few bucks to use later in the casino. thanks so much major tom and george of the jungle and majot tom son - you are the absolute best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[carolmacey]

just got back last week from a stop in belize on rccl jewel of the seas

if you are hesitant about doing cave tubing-DONT!!!!!!

we had a group of 9 and it was amazing.even a 6 year old boy who was great.

excellant service and had an hour an a half to shop before last tender.

got back to the boat to find out 310 who booked on the boat were cancelled due to the heavy rains days earlier. not us!!!!!

dont worry about booking directly online- save a few bucks to use later in the casino. thanks so much major tom and george of the jungle and majot tom son - you are the absolute best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have tried 3-4 times to get a reply from Major Tom and haven't heard anything. Can you suggest something.

carol macey at comcast dot net

Thanks,

Carol

[sashapoo]

We just got in 12/16 and we did the cave tubing with Major Tom and had a blast. We too had the short time in port but had more than enough time to do the tour, eat and go shopping for hours. I would reccomend him any day!

 

Teri

[2CoolCanucks]

I have tried 3-4 times to get a reply from Major Tom and haven't heard anything. Can you suggest something.

carol macey at comcast dot net

Thanks,

Carol

Hi Carol,

We just got back from our cruise and had a wonderful time with Major Tom and the team. You could try getting a hold of Major Tom at info@cave-tubing {dot} net . He has always been very quick to respond to us (within the day) when ever we had a question prior to our trip.

It was a fabulous experience. Mike was our guide and the day went extremely well. I took lots of pictures with our waterproof camera and I'm trying to figure out how to post some on here for you.:)

I highly recommend this tour.

[famplan28]

Our group of 10 went with Major Tom cave tubing on December 18 from the GOS and it was a blast! He had someone waiting for us at the dock and we only waited a short time before leaving. The tour through Belize City and to the caves was very interesting and our guide Manuel was able to answer our many questions and then some. We stoped at a little store on the way to the caves and were able to buy snacks and water. I honestly do not know how long the drive took because we were so entertained along the way. Many of our group rented water shoes there and were happy with them. No problem leaving your stuff in the van. The walk to the river might be slightly strenuous for some, but again, I forgot the time because it was such a beautiful walk. The water temp was not that cold, but I am used to really cold lakes in Michigan. We were well taken care of on the river and through the caves. They are amazing...it was so much fun!! On the way back we stoped at P & L's for lunch. We had rice and beans, potato salad and some had chicken, some meatballs. The food was good and lots of fun to stop and see some of Belize outside the port area. We were very glad that we decided to do lunch with the tour. We did have some time to shop after we got back to port. I never worried about getting back to the ship on time. Payment was easy (and very reasonable) and Major Tom always gets back with me (cave-tubing { dot } net) very quickly. I give top ratings to cave tubing with Major Tom. It was our favorite excursion on this cruise.

[Ellina]

I would like to share our experience(me 30 and my boyfriend 35). Major Tom e-mailed me to take the earliest tender, he would be waiting for us from 8:30 till 9:00. We we not able to take the first tender, we did our best to take the second tender. It was 10:00 o'clock when we arrived. We sere so worried that he would not wait for us. When we came out of the tender he was waitng for us with our names. I was so relieved and happy that he waited for us. He told me that he had the two of us and another couple that signed up for that day. It was raining that day. He told us to wait another twenty minutes for others. We took a five minute walk and then came back, we waited another 10 minutes. The other couple did not show up yet. Major Tom told us that his son will be taking all of us on the tour. Tom Junior took us on a city tour, and told us that for now he will show us the city and then pick up the other couple when they show up. He took us on a city tour, he did not go back, I guess the others did not show up. So we started driving the the cave tubing cite. We did stop by the store, Tom Junior brought us two bottles of water, he said it was included in the tour. I have to say Tom Junior gave us so much information about Belize and so much more. He is very knowligeble young man. When we got to the cite Tom Jr. told us that the river water is higher then usual. He told us that if we wanted to he could take us to do another excirtion like zip lining, or we could do the cave tubing. The reason why he said that is because it would be tougher to do cave tubing under these conditions. He said he would be able to take us, that for him it was not a problem. I had a feeling we were in a very good hands. So we disided to go for it. We passed the river holding on a rope, then we hiked for 25 minutes, without any problems at all. It was still raining, at times it was a little slippery. Through out the hike Tom Jr. gave us so much info. about the rainforest, we even ate a turmite that tasted like mint. When we got to the cave opening we walked in the water and sat in out tubes. My boyfriend was first, I was behind him and put my legs under his arms. That was done so that we could stay together for safety reason. and tom Junior tied his tube to mine. We got into a cave and I have to say it was so beautiful and pieceful. Tom junior was pointing his flaslight to differnt rock formations in the cave and the bats on top. The caves were very relaxing. We went thought 3 caves. After the caves we flouted thought the river. After the cave tubing we stoped by the pLace called Pearls to eat real Belize food, it was only 5 dollars and in included a choise of chicken or beef, with beans and rice and potato salad with a homemade orange juice. Everything was delicious. I have to say I was so happy with Tom Junior, he was friendly, very knowlidgeble, and very safe concious. He took a very good care of us, I forgot to mention that we both are non swimmers. But he made us feel very safe in the water. When Ill be in Belize again I will definetly take a tour with them. This is their website cave-tubing (dot) net.