ReviewOfBumpiingTours

We sailed on Celebrity Summit.

On Tuesday our port of call was Dominica.

We used Levi Baron of BumpiingTours.

We had used Levi six years during a previous cruise to Dominica.

His standards have only gotten better.

We had a great day with Bumpiing doing the Rousea valley Tour.

First we stopped at Champagne reef and snorkeled for over an hour,it was amazing.

Then we went to the river gorge & swam into the cave to the waterfall.

Then we went to rain forest/waterfall.

All along Levi had refreshments for everyone on the tour (11 of us).

Levi is very knowledgeable & runs a great excusion.

Highly recommend Levi Baron and Bumpiing Tour if you're in Dominica.

Had Levi several years ago and to date is the best tour guide we ever had!! He is so personal with you during the tour, always remembering your name and confirming you are having a good time. Book with Levi and you will not be disappointed.

We sailed on Celebrity Summit.

On Tuesday our port of call was Dominica.

We used Levi Baron of BumpiingTours.

We had used Levi six years during a previous cruise to Dominica.

His standards have only gotten better.

We had a great day with Bumpiing doing the Rousea valley Tour.

First we stopped at Champagne reef and snorkeled for over an hour,it was amazing.

Then we went to the river gorge & swam into the cave to the waterfall.

Then we went to rain forest/waterfall.

All along Levi had refreshments for everyone on the tour (11 of us).

Levi is very knowledgeable & runs a great excusion.

Highly recommend Levi Baron and Bumpiing Tour if you're in Dominica.

We are booked on this tour next month...sounds wonderful!! Did you stop anywhere for snacks or lunch? I know it's not included but I can't go that long without food, especially if I'm snorkeling/swimming so am hoping there's somewhere to purchase food.

Thanks!!

Barwick Cruiser,

Levi provided beer & soft drinks but no food.

Along the way there was a local fruit stand that he stopped at & for a donation, you can get local fruit.

Many on board brought light snacks off the cruise ship, you may want to consider doing that if you decide to book Bumpiing

richfromhaw

Barwick Cruiser,

Levi provided beer & soft drinks but no food.

Along the way there was a local fruit stand that he stopped at & for a donation, you can get local fruit.

Many on board brought light snacks off the cruise ship, you may want to consider doing that if you decide to book Bumpiing

richfromhaw

Thanks Rich....was planning to bring some protein bars just in case. What kind of snacks did others bring from the ship? I was under the impression that you couldn't bring food off the ship unless it was sealed like protein bars...

Barwick,

We each took a banana and apple from the breakfast buffet, put them in a bag then in our backpack, no one will challenge/question leaving boat, bag is not inspected leaving but getting back on board with food is a different story richfromhaw

Barwick,

We each took a banana and apple from the breakfast buffet, put them in a bag then in our backpack, no one will challenge/question leaving boat, bag is not inspected leaving but getting back on board with food is a different story richfromhaw

Suggestion and caution: don't bring fruit off the ship. Fruit is the worst thing you can take off, as it is one of the main carriers of insects and other invasives that they are trying to avoid carrying from country to country, island to island. Any fruit that has parts that are discarded can be a major problem. Prepared foods, snack bars, bagels,( with peanut butter or cream cheese if desired), bread, rolls, muffins, cereal boxes, etc, all are relatively harmless to a foreign environment

No, they don't inspect your bags on the way off. Can you imagine the displeasure of all those passengers trying to get off if they each had to have their bags inspected? :eek: But the above listed reasons are why they won't let you bring fruit back on.

Suggestion and caution: don't bring fruit off the ship. Fruit is the worst thing you can take off, as it is one of the main carriers of insects and other invasives that they are trying to avoid carrying from country to country, island to island. Any fruit that has parts that are discarded can be a major problem. Prepared foods, snack bars, bagels,( with peanut butter or cream cheese if desired), bread, rolls, muffins, cereal boxes, etc, all are relatively harmless to a foreign environment

 

No, they don't inspect your bags on the way off. Can you imagine the displeasure of all those passengers trying to get off if they each had to have their bags inspected? :eek: But the above listed reasons are why they won't let you bring fruit back on.

That's what I was thinking too. The muffin idea is good and we've got some Solo bars we'll bring from home for day trips. I wouldn't want to do cream cheese since we won't have any means of refrigeration. We should be just fine, we've never done a tour that was this length that included alcoholic beverages and no food! Thx for the ideas!

That's what I was thinking too. The muffin idea is good and we've got some Solo bars we'll bring from home for day trips. I wouldn't want to do cream cheese since we won't have any means of refrigeration. We should be just fine, we've never done a tour that was this length that included alcoholic beverages and no food! Thx for the ideas!

a thermal lunch bag and a baggie of ice will suffice for refrigeration. there used to be a snack bar at champagne. you could probably ask to stop at a snackette along the way or arrange for him to pick up something up in town as you pass through. just let him know ahead of time. curryed chicken and rice, roti or pelau is good.

Barwick Cruiser,

Levi provided beer & soft drinks but no food.

Along the way there was a local fruit stand that he stopped at & for a donation, you can get local fruit.

Many on board brought light snacks off the cruise ship, you may want to consider doing that if you decide to book Bumpiing

richfromhaw

We just used Levi Bumpiing last week. We had Kelvin as our tour guide and he was very good. We asked him if there was a place to stop for lunch and on the way to Trafalgar Falls we stopped at River Rock Café (name?). They lady took our orders and on the way back from the falls she had the food ready for us. Only 4 of us ordered something. I don't know if the other people were annoyed that they had to stop at the café for us (we would have taken it to go but Kelvin said no... we'll stop and you guys can eat). The food was good but I don't really think it was worth the price ($15-20 based on what you got - chicken, goat, fish, shrimp). It was a nice place to stop and eat tho!

We didn't stop at the fruit stand but maybe that's because there weren't many fruit options at the time of year because he said there was only tangerines right now).

We brought a sandwich from the buffet on the ship (made our own with the lunch meats and cheese and bread/rolls provided) to tide us over for lunch back on the ship.

debbie

We just used Levi Bumpiing last week. We had Kelvin as our tour guide and he was very good. We asked him if there was a place to stop for lunch and on the way to Trafalgar Falls we stopped at River Rock Café (name?). They lady took our orders and on the way back from the falls she had the food ready for us. Only 4 of us ordered something. I don't know if the other people were annoyed that they had to stop at the café for us (we would have taken it to go but Kelvin said no... we'll stop and you guys can eat). The food was good but I don't really think it was worth the price ($15-20 based on what you got - chicken, goat, fish, shrimp). It was a nice place to stop and eat tho!

 

We didn't stop at the fruit stand but maybe that's because there weren't many fruit options at the time of year because he said there was only tangerines right now).

 

We brought a sandwich from the buffet on the ship (made our own with the lunch meats and cheese and bread/rolls provided) to tide us over for lunch back on the ship.

 

debbie

Thanks Debbie. I think we'll be fine with muffins from the ship and our solo bars. I'm not a big eater but do need to eat frequently...we'll hit the buffet when we get back on the ship. Do you remember what time the tour finished? Levi says it's a 5-6 hour tour and starts at 9 so I'm assuming back to the ship by 2-3?

Cathy

Thanks Debbie. I think we'll be fine with muffins from the ship and our solo bars. I'm not a big eater but do need to eat frequently...we'll hit the buffet when we get back on the ship. Do you remember what time the tour finished? Levi says it's a 5-6 hour tour and starts at 9 so I'm assuming back to the ship by 2-3?

Cathy

Yes, that's what they told us, 5-6 hrs. I believe it was a full 6 hours because I remember returning about 3pm.

You'll have fun. The snorkeling at Champagne Reef was a little challenging getting in, but they have guides there that help you every step of the way, they were really nice people. I really liked the people of Dominica. Very friendly and not pushy at all.

debbie

Yes, that's what they told us, 5-6 hrs. I believe it was a full 6 hours because I remember returning about 3pm.

 

You'll have fun. The snorkeling at Champagne Reef was a little challenging getting in, but they have guides there that help you every step of the way, they were really nice people. I really liked the people of Dominica. Very friendly and not pushy at all.

 

debbie

That's all great to hear! Thx

Cathy

We did a tour just last week with Levi and I can't say enough positive things about him and Bumpiing Tours. I am not a good swimmer, but my DH was interested in the snorkeling/Titou Gorge/Trafalger Falls tour so we went. I chose to sit on the very rocky beach while the others snorkeled, but Levi "encouraged" me to swim through Titou Gorge. By "encourage" I mean he literally guided/pulled me through while I clung to a life preserver. Glad I did because it was beautiful. He could not have been nicer and everyone on our tour had a great time.

With regard to food, we brought a couple of snack bars from home and ate those. Six hours was the longest we had to go during the day without a meal for the entire week of the cruise, but we managed to survive :rolleyes:.

Sheila

We are an older couple, late 50's and sixtys, how rocky is the beach for snorkeling and how cold is the gorge? Is there a way to do the tour without going thru the gorge?

We are an older couple, late 50's and sixtys, how rocky is the beach for snorkeling and how cold is the gorge? Is there a way to do the tour without going thru the gorge?

Anyone?

We are an older couple, late 50's and sixtys, how rocky is the beach for snorkeling and how cold is the gorge? Is there a way to do the tour without going thru the gorge?

If you check elsewhere in the Dominica thread, you will find other reviews that may be more helpful with more details. From our experience, the water in Titou was too cold for me - i'm a chicken and get too chilled quickly, and not a great swimmer so my hubby stayed with me. He would have gone otherwise.) This is a 2 way experience - you come out where you went in. ANd yes, if you don't want to do the Gorge, you can wait at the edge where they enter until they come back. It's not that long a wait, I don't believe. We took a little hike while the rest were in the water, and came back after they were out, so I don't know exactly how long it took. That created a whole other problem, as our guide was not particularly concerned that we were missing from the group, and we didn't know where the rest went. Near panic ensued. From that point on, we decided to stick to the guide like white on rice. Those that went, however, said it was well worth the chill for the experience.

As to Champagne - it's a great, fascinating snorkel. We've done it twice. Entry was very tricky however. The rocks are rounded, 4' to 8" diameter, and there is no sand at all. I have tender feet, so I wore my water shoes into the water and put on fins when I got far enough out to float a bit, then heaved my shoes back onto the shore. Fortunately, they made it, otherwise I would have been had to go back to shore to retrieve them. If there is no surf, it's not bad. There are days when the waves are virtually non-existent, so entry isn't so hard. We had some small, 1 to 2' waves which pushed us back and forth making exit and entry quite challenging. We decided that if we ever went back, we would try to go via boat rather than land. But the experience is so unique that I would definitely try it. The first time we went, there was a separate guide for the snorkeling part, who was very knowledgeable and pointed out all sorts of things. There's alot there if you know what you're looking for. The second time we were on our own, and didn't see nearly as much, with nobody there to point things out. But the bubbles are cool.

If you check elsewhere in the Dominica thread, you will find other reviews that may be more helpful with more details. From our experience, the water in Titou was too cold for me - i'm a chicken and get too chilled quickly, and not a great swimmer so my hubby stayed with me. He would have gone otherwise.) This is a 2 way experience - you come out where you went in. ANd yes, if you don't want to do the Gorge, you can wait at the edge where they enter until they come back. It's not that long a wait, I don't believe. We took a little hike while the rest were in the water, and came back after they were out, so I don't know exactly how long it took. That created a whole other problem, as our guide was not particularly concerned that we were missing from the group, and we didn't know where the rest went. Near panic ensued. From that point on, we decided to stick to the guide like white on rice. Those that went, however, said it was well worth the chill for the experience.

 

 

As to Champagne - it's a great, fascinating snorkel. We've done it twice. Entry was very tricky however. The rocks are rounded, 4' to 8" diameter, and there is no sand at all. I have tender feet, so I wore my water shoes into the water and put on fins when I got far enough out to float a bit, then heaved my shoes back onto the shore. Fortunately, they made it, otherwise I would have been had to go back to shore to retrieve them. If there is no surf, it's not bad. There are days when the waves are virtually non-existent, so entry isn't so hard. We had some small, 1 to 2' waves which pushed us back and forth making exit and entry quite challenging. We decided that if we ever went back, we would try to go via boat rather than land. But the experience is so unique that I would definitely try it. The first time we went, there was a separate guide for the snorkeling part, who was very knowledgeable and pointed out all sorts of things. There's alot there if you know what you're looking for. The second time we were on our own, and didn't see nearly as much, with nobody there to point things out. But the bubbles are cool.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond, i appreciate your feedback. I was leaning against this just for the reasons you mentioned and this pretty much tells me to find something else to do while there. I'll keep looking...thank you again!