Cave Tubing?

[UK_GoBigBlue]

I've read a bunch of the review threads for cave tubing in Belize City. I haven't heard any reviews here about Cave Tubing R Us. That one popped up on a TripAdvisor search when I started looking at excursions, and had good reviews. I'm reading mostly about the .BZ and .COM companies on this board, and noticing a few differences (mainly the pictures of CTrU look like black inner tubes, while both the others companies have headrests and look newer). Also, I'm unsure if CTrU includes a meal or not, while the others do.

 

I'm wondering if anybody would recommend switching to one of the other companies or if folks here have gone with CTrU and can tell me anything about your experience with it.

 

Thanks in advance! I sail August 24 on the Navigator of the Seas.

 

ETA: One person wrote that they didn't have time to do anything but the cave tubing, and another said they got back to port with something like 2 hours to shop. My mom and I are interested in visiting the MOHO Chocolate Factory - is that something that we should have time to do after a cave tubing expedition?

Edited August 5, 2014 by UK_GoBigBlue

[crewsweeper]

My DW and SIL used CTrU on their cruise this past spring along with others on their roll call, who had used the service in the past. I thought they had the better tubes, but I don't have access to the pictures at the moment. Maybe a recent CTrU user can chime in. They did pay extra for a meal. But since cavetubing was all they did and their group was somewhat small (less than 10 people), they were back at the port in plenty of time.DW and I have been cavetubing with other companies in the past and we had the black tubes. Nothing wrong with those per se.

 

Pick the company you think has the best tour (length of time on the river, distance to launch point, distance you can go past first pull out point, linking via feet or rope, other activities/stops, etc.) based on your desires

 

Re the chocolate factory. It's right at the pier. The tour doesn't take that long. And you don't have to take the tour to buy or enjoy the chocolates.

[dz63]

I've read a bunch of the review threads for cave tubing in Belize City. I haven't heard any reviews here about Cave Tubing R Us. That one popped up on a TripAdvisor search when I started looking at excursions, and had good reviews. I'm reading mostly about the .BZ and .COM companies on this board, and noticing a few differences (mainly the pictures of CTrU look like black inner tubes, while both the others companies have headrests and look newer). Also, I'm unsure if CTrU includes a meal or not, while the others do.

 

I'm wondering if anybody would recommend switching to one of the other companies or if folks here have gone with CTrU and can tell me anything about your experience with it.

 

Thanks in advance! I sail August 24 on the Navigator of the Seas.

 

ETA: One person wrote that they didn't have time to do anything but the cave tubing, and another said they got back to port with something like 2 hours to shop. My mom and I are interested in visiting the MOHO Chocolate Factory - is that something that we should have time to do after a cave tubing expedition?

 

 

We used Cave Tubing R Us for our river tubing excursion back in 2011. One of the main reasons we choose this company was because they had wonderful reviews on Trip Advisor and because they offered the luxury inner tubes that tied together...so there was no hanging on by feet and armpit required. Although we did enjoy the luxury inner tubes, we ended up walking away disappointed with our experience. Our guides rushed us through the rainforest with no narration and did not point out interesting sites along the way (we were not even shown a tarantula nor a termite mound which you hear so much about from other reviews). We knew lunch was not included in the rate, but they normally stop at a local restaurant which we were looking forward to experiencing as well. When we asked if we could also stop there, we were told there wasn't enough time--yet we were given 45 minutes to spend at the park at the end of the cave tubing. We were not able to go through all three caves and bottled water was only offered during the last 20 minutes on the drive back. Our cave tubing experience from start to finish was 5.5 hours, yet we felt we did not get to experience this excursion to the fullest the way others had.

 

I have written a review on Trip Advisor as well as posted a review with photos on Cruise Critics and put together a YouTube video of our experience, which you can check out for more details.

 

Trip Advisor

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g291967-d1761615-r141609717-Cave_Tubing_R_us-Belize_District.html#UR141609717

 

Cruise Critics, post #87-#93

http://50.57.1.63/showthread.php?t=1704270&page=5

 

YouTube

[YOUTUBE]ua8XttdbhFk[/YOUTUBE]

 

If we had the chance to do this excursion again, we would likely book with a different cave tubing company. bz now offers the luxurious inner tubes as well and the cost of their excursion is less than Cave Tubing R Us and includes lunch, water, soda and rum punch.

 

If you have any more questions about our experience with Cave Tubing R Us or require any further clarification, just ask!