cave tubing:suggestions

[BLBB]

Hi everyone! My family and I are cruising to Belize and will be there on July 24th. We want to experience cave tubing. I am reluctant to book with the ship due to the larger crowds and have heard that it is a lot more fun to book your own excursion and be with a smaller group. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have read a lot about Major Tom but I understand he is becoming quite popular and has large groups also. Has anyone booked with Reggie or any other group? Has anyone had a problem getting back to the ship on time? that is another major concern of mine. HELP!!!! Any and all info would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all in advance!

[alfngf]

Hi everyone! My family and I are cruising to Belize and will be there on July 24th. We want to experience cave tubing. I am reluctant to book with the ship due to the larger crowds and have heard that it is a lot more fun to book your own excursion and be with a smaller group. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have read a lot about Major Tom but I understand he is becoming quite popular and has large groups also. Has anyone booked with Reggie or any other group? Has anyone had a problem getting back to the ship on time? that is another major concern of mine. HELP!!!! Any and all info would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all in advance!

 

We were just in Belize on June 19th and went with Major Tom. Our group was about 60 people total but we were all broken up into different guides. Our group had 11 total that we went thru the caves with and then we floated together with our guide. We ran into some of the other groups along the hike but nothing that was bad. Major Tom explained to us that he had never had a group missed the ship and wasn't about to have that happen. We got back to the port with an hour left before the last tender, it was plenty of time to check out some of the shops around the port.

 

The group size is probably going to depend on how many ships are in port at that time too. We were lucky enough to be the only ship that day.

[AK Wife]

BLBB - are you going on the Legend July 20? We are and will be in Belize on the 24th as well. We will be going with Yhony and cavetubing.com. We have 14 people in our group but he said to bring along more people if we want! $45 per person, cash, at the end! Beats the Carnival trip by over 50%! And we get 2 caves! Our teens are excited! 8 more days!

[Fraucruiser]

We were just there on July 2! We booked with Major Tom!!!! I can't say enough GREAT things about him and his team!

 

1st- Everyone uses the same river and caves- so it will be crowded...that being said I NEVER felt crowded!

 

2nd- We went after a BIG rain and the rivers were high and fast- Major Tom grouped us together in a group of 10 with a guide and we had an awesome time. It was VERY obvious that safety was very high on Tom's list! As a mother of two boys I REALLY appreciated this!

 

3rd- safety...Directions for what we needed to do and not do were reviewed several times. Before you hike you cross a river holding onto a rope-this was closely monitored! You are with your guide the whole time! Hiking through the rain forest is spectacular! Our guide warned us of slippery steps and so forth. He always checked on us to make sure we were ok. Like I said it rained pretty good the day before we arrived so the hike was slick. Other groups (.com) had some of their groups hustling to catch up with others. I was very nervous for some of the children in those groups. Some of them were having to run. Which is sad because the hike was slippery and steep in some spots and when you run you aren't able to soak in the beauty of the rain forest!

 

If we ever end up in Belize again I would most certainly book with Major Tom again!

BLBB- if you have any questions I would be happy to try and answer them. mortsareus@aol.com

[Rhore]

We went through Yhony at cavetubing.com on 3 Jul and had a blast!!:D All of Yhony's guides were great. One of them even sang all the way through both caves and kept us laughing! They are the only ones who do both caves!!! And they get you back with an hour to spare ( we even did the ATVing through the jungle). Yhony was on the bus with us for the drive up and back, he kept everything very lively and the entire bus was always laughing!!!! If you choose Yhony, which I highly encourage, let him know Nelson says HI..

[honest125]

Just got back from our cruise. The highlight of our vacation was cavetubing in Belize. Our group of 14 went with Yhony at cave-tubing.com since he had been recommended by some friends. WE WERE NOT DISAPPOINTED!

 

First of all, he is the funniest, most entertaining tour guide I have ever seen. Secondly, they take care of you like you were family. Thirdly, we went through 2 caves instead of one.

 

They were waiting for us at the pier. We were transported in an air-conditioned bus to the site. We were entertained the whole way and were even given samples of cashew wine (supposedly to help us deal with the water temperature). At the site, we were told to leave valuables in the bus with our security guard/driver, Sonny. We then hiked about 30 minutes through the rainforest. Yhony and his staff carried the tubes for our kids (6 and 9). They even carried the tubes for some of the ladies in our group.

 

While all the other groups were entering the river, Yhony told us to continue walking. We entered further upstream and got to experience 2 caves instead of one. One of the people in our group was claustrophobic. Yhony paid close attention to him and was able to get him to do the caves with no problem.

 

Inside the river, they kept us linked together. Yhony and his guides would stay ahead of us and actually paddle the whole way to keep us moving. They seemed to know the caves like the back of their hands, yelling "butts up!" at all the appropriate times. We passed alot of the cruise ship tour groups. Some were stranded, some crashed into walls, but we were guided the whole way. That's why I say they treated us like family.

 

After the river, we walked about 5 minutes back to the changing area. We boarded the bus for a short ride to a site that had food/drinks/shopping. We then were taken back to the pier with about 1hour and 20minutes left before our final tender. We then paid Yhony (no payment until after the tour!). We spent some time shopping at the pier and tendered back.

 

I WOULD ABSOLUTELY DO THIS AGAIN! I would NOT go cavetubing with anyone else. My wife, kids, and friends were all impressed with Yhony. They couldn't stop thanking me for booking this excursion. It is great to find a company that really takes pride in doing things with excellence. I can honestly say that everything was perfect. I whole-heartedly recommend Yhony and all the awesome people at cave-tubing.com.

 

I know this sounds like a commercial for Yhony; but, trust me, its not. I really left Belize feeling like I had made some good friends; and I really appreciate the way that these guys took care of me and my family.

 

Please, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

 

Pastor Abraham Rivera

abrahamrivera@comcast.net

[NewCruiser10]

After you are finished ATVing, where do you wind up? Are you near the caves or do you first have to hike through the rain forest. If so, how far?

[tdogcruiser]

I would like to also say that we enjoyed cave tubing with Yhony at cavetubing dot com. It was the highlight of our cruise and he was very informative as well about the area. I would highly recommend them!

[robbie500]

We returned from our 7/7/08 sailing on Enchantment of the Seas. We did the Cave Tubing with Major Tom along with the Zip Line tour.

We did this independently and in order to make the first tender out, you need your receipt from booking online! No need to get a tender ticket and all that...just show up and the people operating the line for the tender will make sure you get in the line.

Time wise we got back with about 20 minutes until the last tender. We had some folks from Carnival on our tour and I know it was close for them. Don't know if they made it or not!

Major Tom took our group on a nice air conditioned bus. I did see some old school buses with windows down and was glad we were not on one of those.

Great time was had by all!

[Onlycruisin13]

We just returned from cavetubing in Belize with Vitalino on July 16, 2008 while on a Carnival Glory cruise. He offers a truly infomational tour and points out many things while walking to the entry point in the river. We did two caves while cruise passengers on Carnival excursions did just one. Many of them were left to traverse the river and caves on their own while floating in disorganized tubes all over the place. Many were left alone or heading to parts of the river that left them stranded. Our group hooked up in chains by holding everyone's feet while being led and by our experienced guides. We had one whole cave to ourselves and we turned out the lights which was neat and thrilling. It really was an awesome experience and I would do it again. Vitalino is not one of the larger companies that herds you around like cattle. It is much more personal and informational tour. He really wants you to enjoy the experience as much as he does. We had a wonderful time after the tubing by enjoying a great lunch at Amigo's which was provided by Vitalino. My only grievance was waiting on the cruise passengers to show up for the tour. One group took an hour and they were truly annoying. Vitalino recommends trying to get off the boat on the first tender so you will have the most time in port with some time for shopping or looking around. The other passengers were so late that we did not have any time to look around because we needed to get back on the tender. Vitalino tries to encourage guests to get off the ship as quickly as possible, but he cannot help that some are inconsiderate of others. While we were a little late getting to the river, it may have been for the best. Because it was a crowded day, we were one of the later arrivals, so we got to do a cave by ourselves instead of with the crowds. MUCH BETTER! We even got a free cavetubing t-shirt. Go see VITALINO!! Plan on going to the lounge before 8am to get the first tender and you will be fine. The ship makes it seem like you shouldn't try to get on a tender until 10am because it is so busy. However, that wasn't the case. The lounge wasn't full and there was plenty of room for the tender.

[Dadams2763]

We agree that the cave tubing was a blast! We were very happy we went with Cave-tubing.com instead of with the ship excursion. Besides paying almost 1/2 of what the ship charged, we had small groups with several guides. They had great guides and we enjoyed going through 2 caves. The walk through the rainforest was a little longer than we expected, but they helped carry tubes for the women!

When the water got shallow, our guides pulled us through (butts up!) The other groups all got out of the water and walked around the bend to get past this area. The other groups were all over the place with little supervision. We were very happy we went with cave-tubing.com!

[keisha676]

My group of 22 thoroughly enjoyed our tour. Belize was one of the four ports of call on our 7 night Caribbean cruise. Everyone had a great time and our group ranged in age from 8 – 52. I booked the combo (ATV and cave tubing) tour online. Yhony promptly responded to my reservation request and alerted me that my cruise itinerary had changed. The Cruise line never notified me or posted any change on the website. But I called them after Yhony told me that he had my ship coming in on a different day they confirmed that Yhony was correct, the itinerary had been changed. Yhony was at the cruise terminal to greet us prior to and after our tour. He introduced us to our guides and we were led to our air conditioned bus.

Our guides Richard, Bernard and Rene were the absolute best, they made us feel safe and secure while keeping us thoroughly entertained. As we made our way to the tour site Richard pointed out places of interest along the way, told us about Belize culture, stats, etc and answered all of our questions. The ATV trail was very exciting and muddy. We were able to do two caves and still got back to the cruise terminal with enough time to do some shopping. We were divided into three groups with one of the three guides leading each group through the caves while still keeping us together enough to splash each other. We saw a couple of bats flying in one of the caves and one hanging from the cave. The cave tubing and eco tour through Carnival costs more than the combo tour we did and they only go through one cave and stop along the tubing trail to point out some plants. Our guides were even kind enough to help some of the people who were on the cruise tour when they got stuck. These guys really work hard to make their tour an unforgettable experience and it was. They far exceeded our expectations, my group is still talking about this tour saying it was the best excursion we did.

To answer the question about hike; it depends on how many caves you go through. We did 2 and my 8 year old niece and 52 year old mother were fine because like another poster said they carried the tubes for most of the women and children. Bernard had 5 tubes and was able to stay ahead of the whole group, running at times. When I offered to take one of the tubes from him he said that it was nothing, he can carry up to seven. I highly recommend cave-tubing.com.

[4cruizers]

Hi everyone! My family and I are cruising to Belize and will be there on July 24th. We want to experience cave tubing. I am reluctant to book with the ship due to the larger crowds and have heard that it is a lot more fun to book your own excursion and be with a smaller group. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have read a lot about Major Tom but I understand he is becoming quite popular and has large groups also. Has anyone booked with Reggie or any other group? Has anyone had a problem getting back to the ship on time? that is another major concern of mine. HELP!!!! Any and all info would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all in advance!

I booked with Reggie about two years ago. We loved his tour. He met us at the port. There were a total of 16 of us and he stayed with us the whole time. We actually got to go through one more cave than the groups through Carnival. His prices were great too. He was recommended to me by a fellow cruiser.

[Maryunit65]

I was in Belize in May and went with Major Tom. We had a blast! The guide was very informative and interesting. He made jokes, told us stories of the area and land. He educated us on the trees and plants of the area and kept us very entertained. So much so that you hardly even notice the walk to the river entrance. He explained and pointed out things in the caves and helped us all the way down the river. Some of the other tour guide companies were also on the river and inside the cave at the same time. They were very rude and bumping into our tubes and yelling. Not at us but they did have some remarks to say to our tour guide. I gather that it is a very compettive business, but some of the other guides acted as if they had sole rights to the river and caves. I must say if I were in our guides place I would have had something to say to these other guys but Major Toms guys remaind professional. I would HIGHLY recommend MT to anyone and would not have any reservations about it at all. If I could answer any other questions for anyone you can contact me at Lawrider1@aol.com and I would be happy to answer any questions. Have a Great Cruise and you can't go wrong in Belize with Major Tom and his crew!

Maryunit 65

:p :D

[imorrin]

Just got back from Beliz July 16th, 2008 and was VERY happy with cave-tubing.com

They kept us together, kept us away from the shore (saw one cruise boat guy have his tube popped!) and provided funny storis and description of Belize on the bus trip there.

Highly recommend cave-tubing.com they were great, affordable, and had a wonderful time.

[nodumblond]

We booked with Donald Ramirez's company last December, who hooked us up with a PHENOMENAL guide for a trip cavetubing and the Zoo -- just the four of us -- even after RCCL 'flipped' ports with a week's notice! I cannot recommend him more highly -- in fact, we've booked the same guide for a 'freestyle' tour around the jungle this coming December!

 

If you want contact info, send me an email privately, and I'll be more than happy to hook you up with him. :D

[wandlingon]

I am 6"3" tall and weigh about 325 lbs. I'm hearing issues of "Butt's up". Were there any large people on your trips? Are there any weight limits? I'am in pretty good shape so the hiking and activity won't be a problem. I just wonder about sitting lower in the water.

[4cruizers]

I am 6"3" tall and weigh about 325 lbs. I'm hearing issues of "Butt's up". Were there any large people on your trips? Are there any weight limits? I'am in pretty good shape so the hiking and activity won't be a problem. I just wonder about sitting lower in the water.

You will be fine. My husband is 6'4" and 300 pounds and had no problems. We had a great time.

[TheBigEarl]

I am 6"3" tall and weigh about 325 lbs. I'm hearing issues of "Butt's up". Were there any large people on your trips? Are there any weight limits? I'am in pretty good shape so the hiking and activity won't be a problem. I just wonder about sitting lower in the water.

 

You will be fine I think. I don't know how much weight it takes to sink a huge truck inner-tube, but its more than 325 pounds. I weigh about 250 and my tube was maybe half underwater, and saw people much larger than me going with no problems at all. Don't sweat it.

[micki7337]

Just got back from Beliz July 16th, 2008 and was VERY happy with cave-tubing.com

They kept us together, kept us away from the shore (saw one cruise boat guy have his tube popped!) and provided funny storis and description of Belize on the bus trip there.

Highly recommend cave-tubing.com they were great, affordable, and had a wonderful time.

 

We are looking for excursions for our upcoming trip. How 'challenging' is the hike to the entry point? I've been undergoing chemo for the past few months and am just getting some stamina back. I would hate to start off on the trail only to find it too difficult. I have read other reports that talk about 75 y/o grandparents doing it. It just makes me wonder if it's doable or are they just blessed with super power grandparents. I did just spend 6 hours tubing down a local river but the bus dropped us off right at the entry point.

 

Do you remember if the hike was on a steep elevation? Or was it just a leisurely hike that took 30 minutes?

 

Any information was be greatly appreciated!

[Shawnesville]

You should be fine. It was a long hike, but an easy one. Make sure you have bug repellent :D

[CrazytoCruise]

My family did the cave tubing excursion with the dot com company in late July. The hike to the river was not bad at all. Mostly flat terrain and some steps to and from the river. We had two 70+ year olds in our group (one with health and stability issues) and they did just fine and had a blast. The guides will offer to carry your tube, if needed, and do all they can to make the hike an easy one. The most challenging part to me was getting my butt in the tube! Entry into the river was from a concrete step. They place your tube in the water and you can either jump in and get in your tube, or hold onto a rope and lower yourself backwards into your tube. It wasn't bad at all. Nice float through two caves. To exit the river, you have to hop out of your tube in about two feet of water, hold onto a rope and wade to the side. A little tricky because you are working against the current, but still very doable, even for our older particpants. Again, lots of help from the guides if you need it. Bring insect repellant with Deet to keep the mosquitos away and don't worry about the hike. You'll be fine!

[mcdevitt83]

What time does cavetubing dot com pick you up and drop off:) We will be in port from 8 to 5.....

[mcdevitt83]

What time does cavetubing dot com pick you up and drop off:) We will be in port from 8 to 5.....

[NanaOfBKM]

I wanted to share information I received from cavetubingdotcom. I thought it may be helpful to some of you.

 

Thank you for contacting us for your cave tubing and ATV adventure.

 

Yes will have time to do both tours. We have been doing the cave tubing tour for the past 6 yrs and the ATV for the past 7 months and we have never miss the ship.

It is our responsibility to bring you back at least 1 - 1.5 hrs before the last tender.

 

It is 1 hour drive to the site

1 hour coming back

45 mins to 1 hour ATV

1.5 hrs at the cave tubing site

30 mins for changing room and refreshments.

 

We always make sure that the cruise ship cave tubing tours stay behind us.

 

If your ship changes itinerary, you don't need to worry we will automatically re-schedule your tour to the new day/date in Belize.

 

We do not require any deposits, payment is made by cash at the end of the tour, this is to ensure that we provide our best service.