What to do?

[blue_water]

From everything you excluded in your initial post, you basically booked a cruise with a stop that you have little intrest in.:confused:

 

Our next stop in Belize in April, we have decided to just stay on the ship, since we too are not intrested in Cave tubing, zip lining or Mayan Ruins.

 

Sorry but when I came across this I had to laugh :) I did omit some info but still it was too funny

Edited November 20, 2013 by blue_water

[meester_jamie]

We used cave tubing dot bz and had a GREAT DAY ! :) That said .. we loved it because we were somewhat prepared!

 

First off.. as been mentioned,, it is a long drive to the caves... so keep in mind you want to have fun on the bus! :p ask questions, get guides to tell you jokes, I found they will adjust to what the people want,, so if you want a long trip.. sit back and be quiet! .. we really enjoyed our bus ride for a couple reasons...

 

We got off the ship on the "first" tender! .. I think this is very important... find a way to tender as soon as you can! not to sound rushed.. but getting ahead of the crowd makes this event very relaxing! no line ups for stuff..

 

We had a bus load... and we all left on the same tender for the same bus so we were the very first vehicle to leave the port for the caves... the bus held about 12, so we had 2 guides..

 

some folks got to other buses .. and had to wait for others coming on later tenders... waiting isn't bad.. but it is more fun getting to the caves first!

 

The Lunch stop with dot BZ has washrooms... so if you can't make it to the cave facilities,, they can make a pit stop at their "restaurant" ... where you will come back to for lunch and rum punch!! Don't be shy! At lunch..if you want seconds,, they will give you more Punch! .. lol,, or the meat that "tastes like chicken" lol ... salad...etc.

 

while on our bus.. there was a lot of conversation about natural Belize, and the Mayan culture,, your guides are Mayan... this conversation made the trip go very fast!

 

at the caves,, there is facilities to shower, change , pee, here is where you get your tube, helmet, and vest,,, change into your bathing suit.. and grab your waterproof camera.. I used a GoPro with a chest mount.... worked great!

 

Now... you have to walk to the start.. carry the tube.. so you will pass the finish.. where you have to cross the river,, take a minute to swim and see the area! Look for wildlife... we saw huge spiders, and many ants... and birds..

 

on the trail , you go thru a dry cave , and can see the formations of rock !

 

walking on the trail is pretty easy,, but we had a lady who really wasn't as able as she thought,, and she had wrong shoes on ... the guides carried her tube, and helped your navigate the path...

overweight ? out of shape? .. test yourself at home... do a gentle 2km walk.. on gravel with water shoes...

 

What is the correct shoe??? well.. I dunno. I wore sandals that have full harness and a thick sole, so they work well walking on the sharp stones, and pretty good swimming with them on...

water shoes are avail when you arrive,, but I find they have thin soles, and you can feel the sharp stones. ... and I don't like renting something I already have.. so if you have your own water shoes.. or sandals.. take them with you.

 

you can leave all your stuff in your bus... so you fancy shoes, and dry clothes, and dry towel... camera,, money,, what ever you don't want to get wet...

 

watch your step... you don't want to stub a toe.. or twist an ankle ! have fun.. stay safe!

 

when you get to the dock to get in the tube,,, know if you want to be first in, or last in,, or beside your spouse... I chose first in.. with my wife behind me.. a friend was beside me . They clicked our tubes together 2 wide, 6 or 8 deep... as a raft of people!

 

it isn't a big rush .. but it works so well when people sort of know up front if they are fussy..where they want to sit. I don't think there is a better spot in the line.. maybe the middle is.. cause it is easy to talk to others ... up front is hard to turn around to talk .... but I liked it up front.. Call shotgun and see if you get the front row! lol Pictures from up front show people faces..

 

The caves are cool ! you have a headlight to see in the darkness... if you get in first, and up front... half way thru ..take a look back and just see how many headlights are behind you. !

 

The guides will tell you about formations ,, and where to look,,, so listen and get them to yell if need be... or they might move to the side of the raft... instead of the front or the rear... so more people can hear their descriptive narrative

 

Give your guide your camera to take some pictures of the whole group...

take some underwater movies, and pictures..

 

When you are done at the caves... the quicker you get rid of the tubes and gear,, the quicker you get dressed,, the quicker you get to the rum punch!! lol... don't rush! .. but keep that in mind..

 

the facilities to wash, dry, change into street clothes.. and the scenery around them... take time to take pictures,, and enjoy.!

 

You can do some swimming at the finish line again.. look around at the scenery..

 

We found the "restaurant" at lunch to be a bit understaffed! .. not a complaint.. I just wanted Rum Punch faster than they could cater to all the people........ but they were very receptive to folks helping ... so I became a waiter for a few minutes... cleaned up some plates,, poured some more punch .... as the guides where getting full plates from the kitchen!

 

they keep a keen eye on the time, so they make sure they get you back to the ship on time,, and will fill in with short tours of the city if you ask... if they have time...

 

I found cave tubing dot BZ to be GREAT ! and I have some experience with things going wrong on tours... ie..others health issues.. injuries... and some guides will give you lip service about training , and safety, and when it comes down to a situation.. they freeze.. don't react professionally.... I haven't seen cave tubing dot BZ in action personally... but my short conversations with them give me extreme confidence in their ability! ... check out their website,, they are proud of their training for injuries.. they understand that an injury is a big problem as they are not close to help... they are prepared to take care of the problem,, and practise ! That makes it second nature to understand how to prevent a situation.. and how to take care of it if it does happen..

 

every bit of their tour,, from booking up front... where they gave us a group discount as we used one member of our roll call to book ... to the friendly guides, that knew how to deal with traffic, and check points, the vehicles are comfy... the food, did I tell you about the Rum Punch! lol... I took a "to go" cup when we left the restaurant for the ride back :eek: didn't get caught! :D

[Lisa0719]

We used cave tubing dot bz and had a GREAT DAY ! :) That said .. we loved it because we were somewhat prepared!

 

First off.. as been mentioned,, it is a long drive to the caves... so keep in mind you want to have fun on the bus! :p ask questions, get guides to tell you jokes, I found they will adjust to what the people want,, so if you want a long trip.. sit back and be quiet! .. we really enjoyed our bus ride for a couple reasons...

 

We got off the ship on the "first" tender! .. I think this is very important... find a way to tender as soon as you can! not to sound rushed.. but getting ahead of the crowd makes this event very relaxing! no line ups for stuff..

 

We had a bus load... and we all left on the same tender for the same bus so we were the very first vehicle to leave the port for the caves... the bus held about 12, so we had 2 guides..

 

some folks got to other buses .. and had to wait for others coming on later tenders... waiting isn't bad.. but it is more fun getting to the caves first!

 

The Lunch stop with dot BZ has washrooms... so if you can't make it to the cave facilities,, they can make a pit stop at their "restaurant" ... where you will come back to for lunch and rum punch!! Don't be shy! At lunch..if you want seconds,, they will give you more Punch! .. lol,, or the meat that "tastes like chicken" lol ... salad...etc.

 

while on our bus.. there was a lot of conversation about natural Belize, and the Mayan culture,, your guides are Mayan... this conversation made the trip go very fast!

 

at the caves,, there is facilities to shower, change , pee, here is where you get your tube, helmet, and vest,,, change into your bathing suit.. and grab your waterproof camera.. I used a GoPro with a chest mount.... worked great!

 

Now... you have to walk to the start.. carry the tube.. so you will pass the finish.. where you have to cross the river,, take a minute to swim and see the area! Look for wildlife... we saw huge spiders, and many ants... and birds..

 

on the trail , you go thru a dry cave , and can see the formations of rock !

 

walking on the trail is pretty easy,, but we had a lady who really wasn't as able as she thought,, and she had wrong shoes on ... the guides carried her tube, and helped your navigate the path...

overweight ? out of shape? .. test yourself at home... do a gentle 2km walk.. on gravel with water shoes...

 

What is the correct shoe??? well.. I dunno. I wore sandals that have full harness and a thick sole, so they work well walking on the sharp stones, and pretty good swimming with them on...

water shoes are avail when you arrive,, but I find they have thin soles, and you can feel the sharp stones. ... and I don't like renting something I already have.. so if you have your own water shoes.. or sandals.. take them with you.

 

you can leave all your stuff in your bus... so you fancy shoes, and dry clothes, and dry towel... camera,, money,, what ever you don't want to get wet...

 

watch your step... you don't want to stub a toe.. or twist an ankle ! have fun.. stay safe!

 

when you get to the dock to get in the tube,,, know if you want to be first in, or last in,, or beside your spouse... I chose first in.. with my wife behind me.. a friend was beside me . They clicked our tubes together 2 wide, 6 or 8 deep... as a raft of people!

 

it isn't a big rush .. but it works so well when people sort of know up front if they are fussy..where they want to sit. I don't think there is a better spot in the line.. maybe the middle is.. cause it is easy to talk to others ... up front is hard to turn around to talk .... but I liked it up front.. Call shotgun and see if you get the front row! lol Pictures from up front show people faces..

 

The caves are cool ! you have a headlight to see in the darkness... if you get in first, and up front... half way thru ..take a look back and just see how many headlights are behind you. !

 

The guides will tell you about formations ,, and where to look,,, so listen and get them to yell if need be... or they might move to the side of the raft... instead of the front or the rear... so more people can hear their descriptive narrative

 

Give your guide your camera to take some pictures of the whole group...

take some underwater movies, and pictures..

 

When you are done at the caves... the quicker you get rid of the tubes and gear,, the quicker you get dressed,, the quicker you get to the rum punch!! lol... don't rush! .. but keep that in mind..

 

the facilities to wash, dry, change into street clothes.. and the scenery around them... take time to take pictures,, and enjoy.!

 

You can do some swimming at the finish line again.. look around at the scenery..

 

We found the "restaurant" at lunch to be a bit understaffed! .. not a complaint.. I just wanted Rum Punch faster than they could cater to all the people........ but they were very receptive to folks helping ... so I became a waiter for a few minutes... cleaned up some plates,, poured some more punch .... as the guides where getting full plates from the kitchen!

 

they keep a keen eye on the time, so they make sure they get you back to the ship on time,, and will fill in with short tours of the city if you ask... if they have time...

 

I found cave tubing dot BZ to be GREAT ! and I have some experience with things going wrong on tours... ie..others health issues.. injuries... and some guides will give you lip service about training , and safety, and when it comes down to a situation.. they freeze.. don't react professionally.... I haven't seen cave tubing dot BZ in action personally... but my short conversations with them give me extreme confidence in their ability! ... check out their website,, they are proud of their training for injuries.. they understand that an injury is a big problem as they are not close to help... they are prepared to take care of the problem,, and practise ! That makes it second nature to understand how to prevent a situation.. and how to take care of it if it does happen..

 

every bit of their tour,, from booking up front... where they gave us a group discount as we used one member of our roll call to book ... to the friendly guides, that knew how to deal with traffic, and check points, the vehicles are comfy... the food, did I tell you about the Rum Punch! lol... I took a "to go" cup when we left the restaurant for the ride back :eek: didn't get caught! :D

 

What a fabulous summary/review/input . . . I agree 100% . . . we have cave tubed twice in Belize and both times had a fabulous time.

 

The only thing I would add is to take time at the end to jump off the cliff if you are so inclined!!!!

[jules71]

Thank you, Meester Jamie, for this awesome information!

[meester_jamie]

The only thing I would add is to take time at the end to jump off the cliff if you are so inclined!!!!

 

W H A T ! ??? lol do you have pictures? what cliff.. seriously? I guess I have to go back and do that!

 

Jamie