Cave tubing with Carnival excursion

[MaiTaiMary]

We are going on a Western Carib cruise and still trying to decide what to do in Belize. Everybody says "cave tubing", but I think my biggest turn-off with this is having people feet in your face! :( Seriously, that part of it just looks so unappealing. Strangers feet or my DH's feet.... I don't want anybody's feet near my face! LOL

 

I thought I read somewhere here that they no longer attached people to each other this way and are doing something else. Can anybody confirm this? I can't find where I read this. The actual cave tubing experience looks pretty cool. Just wondering if we should entertain this option or not.

 

Thanks! :D

[love my grandkids]

Would suggest go to port of call for more info or post your question there.

 

Did it with feet hooked into next tube not exactly in your face

[cutiepiefred]

we did this in 2010 and we indeed had to put our feet under the arms of the person in front of you. It was an awesome tour though, you can always make sure your the last one in the group so no ones feet are on you.

[guxu]

I was actually debating if I want to do this excursion. My concern was I need a water-proof camera. But now these feet! How about the feet with skin diseases, like athlete's foot?:eek:

[No Penelope]

We were back to back facing outward, two tubes across. No one's feet were in anybody's face.

[stargate fan]

We are going on a Western Carib cruise and still trying to decide what to do in Belize. Everybody says "cave tubing", but I think my biggest turn-off with this is having people feet in your face! :( Seriously, that part of it just looks so unappealing. Strangers feet or my DH's feet.... I don't want anybody's feet near my face! LOL

 

I thought I read somewhere here that they no longer attached people to each other this way and are doing something else. Can anybody confirm this? I can't find where I read this. The actual cave tubing experience looks pretty cool. Just wondering if we should entertain this option or not.

 

Thanks! :D

 

I was actually debating if I want to do this excursion. My concern was I need a water-proof camera. But now these feet! How about the feet with skin diseases, like athlete's foot?:eek:

 

THIS is why we booked cave tubing with VIV in Belize. (vivtours dot bz) The tubes were tethered using carabiners and ropes. Our feet dangled in the cool water. The tubes themselves were nice-webbing in the hole and headrests for our heads.

 

The tour was fabulous! Our guide was knowledgeable and personable. As we floated along, we got to a point where all the Carnival people got out of the water, but we continued on for at least 25 more minutes through a beautiful jungle. (Yes, we were still in the water.) Oh, what they missed.

 

You can also check them out on TripAdvisor.

Edited July 6, 2015 by stargate fan

[LCTXcruiser]

We did it and really it wasn't a big deal! Believe me, the water's so cold and it's so beautiful that the last thing you are thinking about are stranger's feet :)

[stargate fan]

We did it and really it wasn't a big deal! Believe me, the water's so cold and it's so beautiful that the last thing you are thinking about are stranger's feet :)

 

Not me. That would gross me out the entire trip and I would not enjoy myself at all.

[IPlayWithString]

If you end up going cave tubing DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT whatever you do choose the one listed as using Dark Night Cave Tubing.

 

We made the mistake back in June of choosing them (there were several and most of them were sold out by the time we chose our excursion) for our excursion and it was a total nightmare.

 

On the day we arrived in Belize, most of the cave tubing excursions had been cancelled due to weather conditions making it unsafe (it had rained, water had risen, thus it was unsafe to go in the caves). We were told on the ship that our excursion was not cancelled. We were told on the pier after our 30 min tenderboat ride over our excursion was not cancelled. We were reassured by Dark Night personnell several times on the hour and a half bus ride to the cave system that our excursion would go on as planned.

 

When we arrived at the cave system, THEN we were informed, "Nope..can't do it. Too unsafe." We were given the choice to either sit in the bus with the driver for an unspecified amount of time with nothing to do or go on a jungle hike with a possible detour into part of the cave system that was still safe to go into which would take an unspecified amount of time. So naturally, we chose to go on the hike because really, what else could we do?

 

We'd been told when we booked the excursion to not bring bottled water because there would be no place to store it (there was, actually..some questionable looking lockers for rent) and to wear water shoes...which we did. These were totally the wrong shoes for what ended up being a three and a half hour arduous jungle hike. Several times myself and other members of our party nearly fell and my son (who is 11 and autistic) ended up with some pretty nasty blisters.

 

During this entire trek, we were told "DO NOT TAKE OFF YOUR HELMETS!". We'd been given helmets at the start, after we got off the bus, just in case we ended up doing some tubing down a river or something. It was hot and my son wanted to take his helmet off because his head was itching (he has sensory issues and it turns out later that he contracted head lice somewhere along the way) but we were told not to take them off.

 

There was very little water given to us and it was very, very hot. Part of the reason we'd booked the excursion was because the description said lunch was included. We weren't given any food..nor the opportunity to purchase any..until almost 4 pm that afternoon. We hadn't eaten since around 7:30 that morning. My son was flagging and starting to have a serious meltdown because of it. I knew he was really hungry because when we were finally taken to the place where they were going to serve us, he ate the chicken the gave us when he normally doesn't touch chicken unless it's in nugget form.

 

We did get to go tubing...except that part didn't go well either. By the time we got to the area where we could do the river tubing (NOT in a cave), they had given up on tying people's tubes together and we were forced to hold onto each other's tubes. Forty five minutes of trying to sit in an uncomfortable position because I had to hold onto my son's tube on one side and some other person's tube on the other side left me even more than exhausted than I had been before, my arms and hands were sore and my back was aching.

[dmdiver]

We used cave tubing dot bz with vitalino reyes, not the CCL excursion. It was about half the price. You don't have to carry your tubes on the hike to the cave, lunch is provided after the tour. Yes, the tubes are linked together. No, no one's feet were anywhere near my face. I used a waterproof camera, but probably didn't have to. Our tubes had bottoms in them as well as backrests. I tried to upload a pic, but it wouldn't upload for me. You can go to my page listed below to see 2015 Carnival Freedom album. I think the pics are public, but if they aren't, send me a friend request & msg that you are from cruise critic. The pics aren't terrific, as I used a $10 camera.

[TXGalAJ]

We used cave tubing dot bz with vitalino reyes, not the CCL excursion. It was about half the price. You don't have to carry your tubes on the hike to the cave, lunch is provided after the tour. Yes, the tubes are linked together. No, no one's feet were anywhere near my face. I used a waterproof camera, but probably didn't have to. Our tubes had bottoms in them as well as backrests. I tried to upload a pic, but it wouldn't upload for me. You can go to my page listed below to see 2015 Carnival Freedom album. I think the pics are public, but if they aren't, send me a friend request & msg that you are from cruise critic. The pics aren't terrific, as I used a $10 camera.

 

Would also highly recommend this company! I've done the tubing through the cruise lines too and the experience with cavetubing dot bz was by far the best.

[LoriSan]

I used cavetubing dot bz also. The cavetubing part was awesome (and no, no strangers feet in your face). Just be warned that the jungle hike to get to the caves is no joke. Most of the people on the tour with us seemed to be ok, but it was quite a challenge for this fat girl with bad knees.

[MaiTaiMary]

Thank you!

This is the excursion I was considering. I really want to do the zipping, too.

 

http://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/belize/jaguar-cave-zipline-and-tubing-combo-with-lunch-509087

[dmdiver]

Then definitely check out cave tubing dot bz - they do both tubing and zipping.

[skittl1321]

It was $65 cheaper per person to do the cavetubing/ziplining through .bz than Carnival. It comes with lunch too.

 

What I also liked is that they have a spot where we can wait if we aren't ziplining, and people only have to pay for the parts they do. So while most of the group is doing the $65 zip/cave combo, those who don't want/can't do the zip are only paying $45.

[MaiTaiMary]

It was $65 cheaper per person to do the cavetubing/ziplining through .bz than Carnival. It comes with lunch too.

 

What I also liked is that they have a spot where we can wait if we aren't ziplining, and people only have to pay for the parts they do. So while most of the group is doing the $65 zip/cave combo, those who don't want/can't do the zip are only paying $45.

 

I've e-mailed this company several times and am having a difficult time getting a quote and what all it includes. I'm getting responses quickly, but they just seemed to be pre-made e-mails with very general info ("thank you for supporting local a local business"... telling me how fun it is and how safe, etc. etc. )

 

I would really like to hear directly from them how much is costs and what it includes (time frames, food, etc.)

 

:confused:

[MaiTaiMary]

We usually go the "easy way" and book excursions with the cruise line. How does this company find you in Belize? How do you know the time to meet? This is a tender port, correct? Just wondering how this works if you don't have FTTF and it takes a long time to get off of the ship.

[dmdiver]

We had no priority tendering & had no problem getting to our excursion. We booked online & received an e-mail that told us where to meet the group. They have t-shirts with the company name on them, so they were easy to find.

 

This is the e-mail they sent us after booking online.

 

Thank you for your confirmation. You have been added to our list of bookings for May 20th. If you meet others on the ship you can bring them along for the tour and you will get a FREE Cavetubing.BZ T-shirt.

 

 

 

Kindly provide a contact information just in case I need to call you concerning the tour.

 

 

 

If you have any delays when you arrive Belize, feel free to call or send me a text message at (501) 602-8975 or email me.

 

 

 

Please take the earliest possible tender to mainland. Don’t be tricked by our competitors who offer you cheaper prices. They offer poor service and poor quality. We at CAVETUBING.BZ use new 2014 and 2015 vans, new customized equipment (tubes with headrest, cup holder, handles and chain links, life jackets and helmet from the world’s most prestigious brand PETZL. All is for your safe and comfort and the priorities are Safety and time management!

 

 

 

VERY IMPORTANT: Meet us OUTSIDE TERMINAL 1. Look for guides wearing yellow polo shirts and a sign: CAVETUBING.BZ or ask for Vitalino Sr. Be sure to be with yellow polo T-shirt guides and no one else. As you are coming in the tender from the ship to the port, you will see a light house and there is where you can find us!

 

Please note I will not leave you until we meet OUTSIDE TERMINAL 1 – Yellow Polo T-Shirts. See you soon!!! CAVETUBING.BZ

 

 

Thank you very much for choosing and supporting my family own and run business. Looking forward to seeing you here in my beautiful country Belize.

 

Sincerely,

 

Vitalino Reyes

Owner/Manager

Vital Nature and Mayan Tours

Cave Tubing Pioneers

http://www.cavetubing.bz

011-501-602-8975/832-2640

Edited July 10, 2015 by dmdiver

[aricardo]

Definitely book with cavetubing.bz. Meeting them is very easy. They run a very professional operation. We have tubed with them twice and would definitely use them again. We much prefer the personal service offered to the ship's cattle call excursions. Better service for half the price-it's a no brainer!

Edited July 19, 2015 by aricardo