Grenada-River Tubing

[Sparky'sFam]

We are cruising on the Crown Princess on March 31 and would like to know if anyone has any good feedback on the river tubing excursion. Thank you.:)

[LA_FadeAway]

I'm wondering the same thing. Can't seem to find very many reviews on this.

[lgarner]

so I'll do it here in answer to your question:

 

We just got back from Greneda and did the river tubing with Adventure Tours. I had e-mailed and had a response from Randall providing all the information about cost and pick-up. We were met in the cruise terminal by a young lady holding a sign with our name. She then turned us over to the head of the cab drivers association - at this time I was feeling like something was wrong we were supposed to be met by Randall. The man in charge of the cabs told us to shop for 15 or 20 minutes and then return which we did. He still wanted to delay us but finally we were put into a cab and I heard the man tell our cab driver to take our time - take a tour. I was upset at this point but I shouldn't have worried.

 

We finally told the driver we did not want a tour we wanted to go to the tubing excursion - I thought we would be going the same time the ships tour went. When we arrived, it was just a shed in the middle of a very muddy field. I really started to worry - I am the one in our group who makes all the arrangements and I was starting to think I had gotten us into a real fix - especially when two local men (who looked like thugs) walked up and started talking to our driver - these men said the tour had already left but that Randall would be back soon.

 

We asked the cab driver how much he would charge to take us back to the ship and he didn't know what to do since he was being paid by Adventure Tours.... so we waited a few minutes and then Randall showed up. He assured us that everything was fine, the other group had gone on ahead and just the 4 of us with our guides would go next. (I think this was because the the people who took the ships tour paid more than we did - I think they needed to keep us separate so that we didn't talk about costs, etc.)

 

It had just rained and the water was very muddy - considering we had passed an area where I saw a young boy urinating in the gutter, I started thinking about how clean the water would be. We really had doubts about whether we wanted to do the tour.

 

But - now I will tell you how it worked out. I reminded myself that since the river was near the top of the mountain it couldn't be very dirty - we were up stream... Randall assured us it would be safe - he did make us wear life vests and helmets but I'm glad he did. He had four young men go with us and we had a fabulous time!! We had done a river tubing excursion in Dominica so we knew what to expect. This tour was a little shorter then the one in Dominica but the rapid areas were faster. There are periods of slow floating and there are some rapids - of course it had just rained. The four boys were just as sweet as could be and were always waiting for us at the rocky areas to help out. My DH got dumped out of his tube by the water on the one rapid but was not hurt and said that being dumped was a blast!!

 

Randall met us at the end and so did our cab driver. We wished that the trip would go on forever! The cab driver then took us to the ship to freshen up and grab a sandwich and then on to Morne Rouge beach (we paid him for this part). He waited for us and took us back to the ship at the end of the day.

 

What a wonderful day it turned out to be - and I realized that I worried when I should have just enjoyed the day that God made for us!

 

I hope this helps but I'll be glad to answer any questions.

[LA_FadeAway]

Thanks so much for the review. Did you find the water to be real cold? What did you do with any belongings that you didn't want to get wet? Were you able to leave them in the car or something? I'd like to bring my camera for pictures on the way there and back, but I obviously can't take it in the river!Are the rapids pretty scary or just fun? I've never done any river rafting or tubing, so I'm a little bit chicken!

[AZPam]

Depends on what you think is chilly in regards to the water. Being from Phoenix, we are used to our pools being bath like temps, so don't think I would be good to answer that one, but it was only chilly when you first get in and then it's fine. We left our stuff in the taxi vans. There weren't any lockers or anything so don't take something you might have come up missing. I would recommend you get a cheap one-time use water camera. They take normal pics too and then you could take it on the river with you. Wish we would have done that! I have the biggest white streak down my back and I was fine. I didn't think the rapids were scary but we didn't get to do the entire trip since the water level got too high. It was more scary climbing up the banks of the river than anything. Go and have a great time!

[LA_FadeAway]

Hey Pam! Can you elaborate on this "climbing up the banks of the river" thing? I'm horrible when it comes to anything steep and slippery, with scars from a run-in with a waterfall in Belize to prove it, lol. What is the entry in and out of the river like?

[AZPam]

When you get into the river first starting the tubing trip, it was very easy, so no worries. Kind of like entering the beach. We had to stop our trip early due to rain and the river level getting too high and unsafe. They made us get out and climb up the bank of the river in the pouring rain with little rivers of water streaming down. Have you ever done Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica? Kind of like that. I think that was very unusual though, so don't worry about it. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

[LA_FadeAway]

Thanks again for the assurance! One more question... is there any type of a hike from the bus to the river entrance? If so, how is that? I'm a bit out of shape and clumbsy!

[AZPam]

No hike at all. If I remember correctly it was just a short walk to the entry of the river, think from your car into the grocery store type of thing.

[LA_FadeAway]

Sweet, that's much better than what I've read about the cave tubing in Belize (45 min hike through muddy jungle)! Okay, one more question... Did you have trouble with bumping into rocks or dragging your behind over any? I'd rather not come out bruised and battered looking, lol! Is the tube fairly easy to control?

[AZPam]

Well, keep in mind that the water was on the high side when we started and then we had to get out early too, so I didn't have any problems with dragging my hind end. Plus, if I remember correctly, they had some sort of bottom on the tube that protected the hiney. I think you should be fine. You really don't control the tube. Maybe a little kicking your feet or paddling, but you pretty much just go with the flow. They did have guides stationed all along the river that were there to push you in the right direction if you were going the wrong way, so don't worry.

 

When are you going? Be sure to come back and tell us all about it!

[LA_FadeAway]

Thanks again for all the assurance Pam! Can you tell I'm a bit of a worry wort?! Hubby really wants to do this and it sounds fun, so I'll give it a try. We'll be in Grenada on May 1, I believe.

[joyride]

We are doing the Tubing trip when we go on the Crown 4/14. So, I will post here and tell you all about it when we return.

 

I am not extremely athletic and I'm a little apprehensive too, but I usually get that way and then I'm really happy I did it. (Things like white water rafting, scuba diving, snuba, etc.)

 

This sounds so fun!

 

It would be great to hear from anyone else who has done this recently. I have it booked through Princess - and I guess it's pretty popular because it's already waitlist only...

[LA_FadeAway]

Hey Joyride, please do report back. I haven't seen any recent reviews of this excursion, although it does sound fun and exciting! We leave for PR on 4/21/07, so please post as soon as you can :)

[joyride]

I guess I better post from the ship after our day in Grenada, otherwise you won't see it before you leave for your trip. I will try to do that for you. I may try to do a "Live from the Crown" kind of thing on the Princess Board. I am in a Suite (for the first time) and I have free internet, so I should be able to post daily without it costing me anything!

[LA_FadeAway]

Joyride, that would be so awesome if you could do that!! I would really, really appreciate it. I bet your excited about that suite. I'm happy enough just to have a nice big balcony :)

[Fourfish]

I will be on the Crown that trip as well. I have ten in my group and would like to arrange the same trip if possible. The Princess excursion is sold out now. Anyone know how to book directly with adventure tours--I saw their website.

[LA_FadeAway]

It's my understanding that Princess has an exclusive contract with this operator, which means they won't take you if your on the ship and don't book through the ship. Given the short amount of time we are in port, I don't think I'd risk an excursion like this if it wasn't booked through the ship. Good luck to you. I hope you find something awesome for your group to do.

[joyride]

If I was your group, I would try to book the tubing and waitlist for it. Maybe the company will be able to accomodate more people, or some folks will cancel. It's worth a try and you can cancel usually up to 24 hrs. prior to the excurstion. Maybe book something else too and then see what happens...

[lotro]

I attempted to book an excursion with Adventure River Tubing and received the following email from them:

 

"We are sorry but we are contracted to sell our River tubing adventure tour

exclusively through the ship and as a consequence we would be unable to

accept a direct booking from you."

 

We were booked on Celebrity and according to Adventure River Tubing's website, Celebrity was not one of the cruiselines that they had a contract with. Does anyone know of a place that will book this excursion directly?

[joyride]

Hey Fourfish and LAFadeaway - our group of 3 decided to cancel our river tubing in Grenada. We didn't cancel for any negative reason, we just decided that we want a second port day to "do nothing" and decided that the Grenada day would be a good one.

 

So, sorry - I won't be able to report back on how it was...

[LA_FadeAway]

Hey Joyride, thank you for letting us know. Enjoy your cruise!

[jhetanna]

Just got back from a wonderful 10 night cruise! Sad to be back to reality.

 

In Grenada we took our kids on the river tubing adventure through Celebrity.

 

Here it is in a nut shell:

The drive to the river takes about 1 hour - with no stops for sightseeing. You are in the river no more than 30 minutes - closer to 20. The river is not dangerous. Only reason we got wet was from the men in the river splashing us. Then you have punch and drive back another hour or so.

 

I thought the river portion was too short for the money paid. Also, as a note, at the completion there are people who try to sell you things . . spices etc.

 

In my opinion, it was not worth the money.

 

Now if you are going to Barbados - check out the Silvermoon charter - fabulous!

[lotro]

We just got back from a 10 day cruise with Celebrity. Rather than book the tubing with the ship, I emailed Adventure River Tubing to see if we could book direct with them. They indicated they have an exclusive contract with Celebrity. I emailed Randall back (with Adventure River Tubing) and said I had read on the CC boards that other folks had booked independently. He said we could check with Justin at the Taxi Stand to see if he could arrange a tour. I wish we hadn't!! Through Celebrity, the cost would have been $67; Justin arranged the tour for $50 which was a good savings. We left at noon. It took about an hour to get to the river and an hour back; so two hours just in travel time. We were in the river for tubing about 45 minutes.

 

They give you a helmet and life jacket...that should have been my first clue of trouble to come!! The guides start off by slapping the water and getting everyone drenching wet. There is no way to avoid them. The water wasn't calm at all and in several spots was moving so fast it was churining into white water--like you see with white water rafting.

 

Well, I was propelled out of my tube and ended up going down a mini-waterfall on my back and hit numerous rocks on the way down. The guides kept yelling at me to stand up, but it was impossible to do so due to the force of the water. Also, the rocks were coated in a slippery moss and when I would attempt to stand, my foot would slip from under me and I would go under the water. Ultimately, one of the guides was able to grab my arm and pull me to the side of the river, but not before I went under the water several times. It was SCARY!

 

The guides would take the tube and spin it around so you would be going through the mini-falls backwards. If you ever wanted to know what it's like to be a pinball in a pinball machine, this excursion may be for you. There are big boulders/rocks placed all throughout the river. I heard numerous people saying they hit their arms, legs, etc. on the rocks. I ended up with multiple bruises from bouncing into the rocks.

 

After being propelled out of my tube the first time, I almost had another similar incident happen a second time a little later. My tube started taking on water and became unstable and I was scared that it was going to sink and send me out of the tube again. I was able to tilt the tube enough so the water exited to keep from tipping this time.

 

About half-way through, the guides put on a diving demonstration. At the conclusion of this, they sing a song and then continually throw water into your face. The water was on the cold side and I had so much water thrown on me that it took my breath away. At multiple points along the river, the guides will splash water into your face, pour water over your head, slap the water, etc...all in an effort to get you totally soaked. They succeded in this attempt.

 

I kept thinking, I'm actually paying for this??!! We had been tubing in Belize and were expecting a similar experience...a leisurely trip down a calm river. If that's what you have in mind, you will be sorely disappointed.

 

This was very HAZARDOUS and I can truly say I didn't enjoy this excursion in the least. This was our 10th cruise and we participate in an excursion of some sort on every island we visit...no more tubing in Grenada!!!

[LA_FadeAway]

Hmm, it sounds like the water levels must have been very different for each of you. Either way, neither of you are recommending this trip, which has me second guessing our plans now. Thank you for the feedback!