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Just off the Glory today...

bcs819

By bcs819,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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murphy4

murphy4

Posted
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will be posting long review with pics tomorrow, including details on our private excursions at Nachi Cocom, Fins and Flipper, and cave-tubing.com

 

will be happy to answer questions in the meantime....

 

I can't wait to read your review! I am counting down the days til April for our first family cruise. Hope all went well on your trip and the weather was good. I am very interested in how your cave tubing went.

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bcs819

bcs819

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I can't wait to read your review! I am counting down the days til April for our first family cruise. Hope all went well on your trip and the weather was good. I am very interested in how your cave tubing went.

 

The weather was beautiful. We have no complaints about cave-tubing.com, and I will detail my experience, including the rescue attempts on the passenger that drowned that day. Only one complaint about any of our excursions, we were not prepared for the ocean at Fins and Flippers to be so yucky. I do not remember reading anywhere that there was so much seaweed you couldn't really enter the water.

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Chigirlcruzin

Chigirlcruzin

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what is Fins & Flippers? were you on the Eastern or Western Itinerary?

 

Fins and Flippers is a hidden little gem of a resort in Roatan. $20 for the day plus $8 for snorkle equipment rental. The grounds are gorgeous, and the snorkeling is AMAZING. There's a great gift shop, restaurant/bar with reasonable prices, pool, hottubs, and a beach. The only drawback is the water off the beach. I did notice there was a lot of seaweed in the water right off the beach, but I never went in the water through the beach, so it didn't bother me - I was out snorkeling.

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gail811

gail811

Posted
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will be posting long review with pics tomorrow, including details on our private excursions at Nachi Cocom, Fins and Flipper, and cave-tubing.com

 

will be happy to answer questions in the meantime....

 

I am anxious to hear what you have to say about cave tubing. My friend in Belize called me today; he does private tours and was ahead of the group where the woman drowned. He was adamant that the tour company hired by Carnival did NOT have enough guides working and that the accident should never have happened. Since you were in the water that day, what is your opinion? When we went ( 2 1/2 years ago) I commented as I watched the Carnival tour enter the water that I was glad we only had 5 in our group and 2 guides! A horrible tragedy!

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bcs819

bcs819

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I posted this on another post already, but it should answer your question:

 

I was in the river at this time, with cave-tubing.com and witnessed the CPR efforts from about 10 feet away. I am a poor swimmer, and am afraid of the water, but researched thoroughly this excursion as I am fascinated by caves and decided it was time to push myself.

 

That being said, I never felt unsafe or in danger at any time. Cave-tubing.com and the group with Major Tom were thoroughly attended to and SUPERVISED at all times. My decision to go with cave-tubing.com was based on their #1 rank on TripAdvisor, and because we wanted to do the ATVs. I know people that were on Major Tom's excursion as well, they chose him because they wanted to do the ziplining.

 

The ship excursion and some other tours we witnessed ( "River Rats" and "Sweet Rose") were total chaos with guides either yelling or pointing and leaving the tubers to just do their own thing.

 

The loss of this passenger could have been avoided 100% - many of the folks on the ship tour were turned loose in the river, and the photo gallery on board was proof that many of them took their vests off, or wore them as hats, or strapped them to the tube, or were not on properly.

 

I am beyond angry that someone died this way, when it would have so easily been avoided.

 

Our group was 38 people, with 7 guides who were in the water with us, and never left us. I estimate the ship tour to be about 50 people, with 2 guides, who did NOT get in the water. The "River Rats" tour was also quite large, and their guide was obnoxious, telling their group not to let anyone pass them on the trails. I did not see him in the water, but may have missed him.

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lovethewater1214

lovethewater1214

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I too was on the river that day! Do not go with a large group that does not provide enough guides. We had one guide per 4 guests, and our guides were in total control of us at all times. We stayed together, and the guides kept us safe. We found out at the time we entered the water that someone from the ship had died that day. At first I did not even believe it. I had family memebers on the ship's shore excursion and was totally freaked out by the news. The current was very strong in some places, our guides however did keep us safe. The ships are too money hungry to provide adequate staff, or cancel when it might not be safe!!!

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Hurricane Girl

Hurricane Girl

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The ships are too money hungry to provide adequate staff, or cancel when it might not be safe!!!

 

I have to disagree with this statement!!! As BND said, "Carnival doesn't provide the staff for excursions. They contract with locals." I blame this accident on the locals that HAD the contract with Carnival.

 

We were on this sailing also.

We were not on the river that day, thought about it but did not go. We did have several friends who did go, using two seperate, private tour groups. My thoughts and prayers are with this family!!!

 

I do think Carnival was VERY professional about the situation. (I guess as professional as one could be in a situation like this)

Later that evening we had a letter in our stateroom that was sent down from Gerry Cahill. The letter states: what happened and he extended heartfelt condolences to the family. It also states: a memeber of Carnival's Care Team staff remained in Belize with the family to provide any and all assistance.

 

We know that some of you also participated in this excursion and we are sorry that you experienced what some of you have described as rough conditions. The safety and well being of our guests is our paramount concern. We understand that this experience must have been disturbing for those of you who participated in the excursion. Our Meidcal Center staff is available to provide complimentary assistance to anyone who may require attention. Additionally, we are making arrangements to have a team of psychologists board the ship on Friday in Freeport to offer their services to those who may want to speak to a professional counselor.

 

We want to assure you that we are very concerned over the reports we recieved and are conducting a full investigation of the events. Additionally, we have suspended the tour pending the results of the investigation. We would apprecitate any information you may have that will assist us in our investigation.

 

Lastly, please join us in keeping this family in our thoughts and prayers.

 

Also, during the disembarkation talk the Captain spoke a little about the accident and then he asked for a moment of silence. (I did not go to the talk but did watch it on the TV) If you listened and watched the Captains facial expressions you could tell this was heartfelt and not just a job to him.

 

Again: My thoughts and prayers are with this family!!!

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bcs819

bcs819

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do you by any chance have any pictures of the cave-tubing? I haven't seen any pictures other than the advertising on line.

 

Id o, but it will take a few days as I used a disposable water proof camera and have to get them developed the old fashioned way, and then scan them in.

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arroyogal

arroyogal

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I am anxious to hear what you have to say about cave tubing. My friend in Belize called me today; he does private tours and was ahead of the group where the woman drowned. He was adamant that the tour company hired by Carnival did NOT have enough guides working and that the accident should never have happened. Since you were in the water that day, what is your opinion? When we went ( 2 1/2 years ago) I commented as I watched the Carnival tour enter the water that I was glad we only had 5 in our group and 2 guides! A horrible tragedy!

We were one of the first groups also--11 with Dennis. There was a group of 5 that followed us, could have been you? We also had 2 guides and my BIL helped paddle in the back. We hooked side by side with 6/5 and latched legs on in front of the other. At first I wanted to just float but when you saw how fast we got to moving inside the caves with it being so dark it changed my mind. Dennis said the water was very deep and he couldn't touch in some areas-reason why we didn't go thru other routes. He kept a sharp eye on it all. An excellent guide. Our condolences to the family.

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