Raiders of the Lost Mayan Cave

[Cooper333]

I was all excited until I saw Zip Lining. Yep, did it in Mexico and won't do it again! Oh welll... maybe something else is for me!

[harry0]

Still waiting for more reviews-

We will be there in Dec. and this is right up our alley.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

I was all excited until I saw Zip Lining. Yep, did it in Mexico and won't do it again! Oh welll... maybe something else is for me!

 

Really?

 

I saw people doing it on our hiking tour in St. Martten a few years back, looked fun, and safe... but it was a different place, so maybe... the highest up they were was maybe 10 feet. Mexico may have been different.

[inSANEmom]

The good news (I guess) is that, as promised, I have returned to give you details about this tour.

 

The bad news...

 

Our excursion was cancelled due to weather so we didn't get to go. We were SOOOOO bummed out!

 

We ended up doing a zip line and loved it. All the equipment was in perfect shape. Very nice and professional guides. Not once did I feel the slightest bit unsafe.

 

I went 2 years ago on the "Lost Canopy" tour through Carnival. This time we booked it ourselves through the guys on the dock. I highly recommend them both. As for wondering if 100 pound people are too small... we had a 7 year old girl on our zip line trip. No issues whatsoever!

 

A suggestion for everyone... whether you do this excursion or another in Belize... bring bug spray! Lots of skeeters!

 

I hope someone will be able to do this excursion soon and report back!

[harry0]

Anyone else back yet from this tour.......................please share.

[harry0]

Amy thanks for getting back to us anyway. Maybe someone else who actually made it to this mysterious tour can share.

[jina]

I'm also still curious about this excusion although we've tentatively requested the Lamanai Ruins excursion instead - not too adventurous but should be fun. I saw a show about the Maya and got really grossed out learning about all the horrible rituals that were performed in the caves so I'm less inclined to crawl around down there. For anyone who went, do the guides talk about all the rituals/sacrifices the Maya used to do to try to end the draught?

[BlueMermaid]

Dear COPPERSKI,

After recent zip-linning death in Roatan, and this tour being relatively new I have some questions to ask you:

1. Did you notice does zip-line have two cables or just one?

2. How did you feel about safety issues overall.

3. Do you think zip-linning and rappelling part will be kind of scary for the person who is afraid of height and high speed. I try to use this tour not only for fun but to overcome my fear.;) If somebody else knows answers I'll appreciate your reply as well.

[inSANEmom]

BlueMermaid...

 

I can't speak specifically to the ziplines in Roatan as both my zip line trips were in Belize. But as for the "getting over your fear" of heights and such, this would be a GREAT way to do it!

 

The speed is not very fast... faster than you can run but slower than a roller coaster certainly. Never once did I feel out of control.

 

We had one guy on my last trip who was afraid of heights who did very well. He screamed like a girl the first line and then had fun the rest of the time. The last part was an open rappel and that freaked him out. He had tears welling up in his eyes. But he did it and speaking with him afterwards was great. I walked up to him and said, "You know what? Now you can do ANYTHING!" He was so proud of himself and said he felt so empowered. I highly encourage you to give something like this a try. You might find, like this guy did, that it is life changing.

[Nanina]

My boyfriend and I went on this excursion Dec 11, 08 through Carnival Valor and had a great time! We paid the Carnival rate of $125.00, booking directly with the tour company didn't work with the ship's schedule. Be prepared for a long ride to and from the cave site in a school bus. We did not find it physically demanding (but we also workout), you have to walk uphill on a trail through the jungle to get to the cave but not bad. You do not see wildlife, only bats, most of the excursion is walking through a cave. We did not use bug spray and didn't have a problem with mosquitoes, we both had on jeans and long sleeved shirts. We did not get muddy or have to wade through water but our tour guide told us one chamber can fill up with water about waist high during the rainy season and they will still conduct the tour. There was one 25 foot rappel (to get to a lower section of the cave), two zip lines through the jungle (one line took you you from a cave exit to another cave entrance, the other line took you out of the cave to the hiking trail), and two rope bridges (that went over valleys in the cave). I felt very safe the entire time, the tour guides were professional and fun. There were a few areas where they hooked you to a safety line as you walked along a ledge. If you want to take pictures make sure your camera has a neck strap, you will need use of both hands. Yes its pricey, but aren't all excursions? Glad we did it.

[FuNSiZeDiSaStEr]

:D:D

Looking forward to doing this next month...NCL Pearl Jan 18!!!...Will definitely be sure to report afterwards!

 

On a side note, would the time of year determine the amount of bug spray you'll need? We're going in January so I would think they wouldn't be *AS* bad!

[dolphinkisses]

we are booked for this excursion next month (Jan 11th sailing of the Pearl)...it sounds like alot of fun....but a little scary too....we have to walk on a ledge???!!! (GULP!)

I will report when we return.

:cool:

[Anyislandwilldo]

We also did this excursion off the Valor on 12/11. My friend and I are 51 years old and did not have any problems keeping up with the group. The hardest part of all was getting all geared up. Upon arrival you are outfitted with your own harness along with all the necessary hooks needed to keep you safe on your journey. The guides will take breaks if you feel you need one. The weather that day was overcast so it was cooler inside the rainforest. We wore our bug repellant and had no problem with mosquitos while I heard others complaining of being bit. While we got a little dirty, we did not get wet on this trip. The long bus ride is quite bumpy. The first thirty minutes you are on paved roads and then travel on a dirt road to Big Hill Station for a short break. Then another 15 minutes on the dirt road again. After the excursion is over, you go back to Big Hill Station and there you can purchase a CD with pictures of yourself that a photographer took while inside the cave and on the zip line. The CD cost $25 and there were 17 pictures on the disk. This was definately an all day event. Due to Belize being a tendered port, we sat inside the ship waiting for the captain to clear disembarking. All the water excursions were canceled that day due to rough seas. After a 40 minute delay we were allowed to go ashore. That put us behind right from the beginning. Once the excursion was over we came back to port and had to board the ship right away because of the time constraint. There was no time for souveneir shopping. All in all the excursion was a great time. Overpriced in my opinion but well worth the time.

[momandherson]

Thanks to those of you who have reviewed this excursion. Since it's relatively new, it's nice to get a better understanding of what's involved.

Anyone else back from a recent trip who did this?

Is there a place to store your personal items?

By the way, when is the rainy season in Belize? We will be there in early April.

 

Thanks!

[lovetheislands]

We got back from a land trip to Belize last night - rainy season is supposed to run from summer through November 30th. Unfortunately, it rained almost the entire time we were there.:( We were scheduled to do ATM cave but were cancelled due to unsafe high water conditions. We then scheduled this tour through the operator. Unfortunately, it also was cancelled so I can't give a report - very disappointed!

 

The good news is that it should be much drier in April - you should be fine. Belize is a beautiful country - we have zip-lined in St. Maarten which is very arid. With all of the rain forest, this will be a beautiful place for you to do it!

[momandherson]

lovetheislands,

Thanks for the reply, and sorry about all the rain during your vacation!

[seafun]

I'm still leaning toward doing this, in spite of the "price enhancement" that Carnival adds on.

Anyone else that's done this recently? I'll be going in November...

Thanks for your input!

[momandherson]

Just bumping this up to see if there are any others who have recently done this excursion? We are scheduled for early April...thanks!

[MrOCT31]

Be sure to post how it is in early April as I'm on the verge of committing to a trip on either the Glory or Valor for April 2010(as soon as our friends give us the ) and would love to hear how it was that time of year!

[surroundedbyboys]

We just did this tour, March 24th. We were on a land based trip, not a cruise although we did talk to some cruisers who were leaving as we got there.

It's a 2 and a half hour trip both from the resort we stayed at and from the cruise terminal. The roads there are TERRIBLE. If you are prone to car sickness, take something for it- and take along some water and snacks for the ride.

The excursion itself is awesome! It's a pretty easy hike to the mouth of the cave. You do have to do some hunkering, and some crawling to get through the caves. The zip lining and rappelling are both very fun and fairly easy. The guides are fun and knowledgeable. If you go during rainy season you will have to wade through some water.

[cookie75]

My boyfriend and I just did this on March 25 through NCL. $104 was what we paid each. You get on an old Bluebird school bus (it has A/C) and you drive for an hour and 20 minutes, mostly on a "highway" (2 lane paved road), but the last 15-20 is on an extremely bumpy dirt road, and the bus driver FLIES. Then you come to a sort of pavillion in the middle of nowhere where you can go to the restroom and they give you a lunch. If you're vegetarian, bring your own food with you, because the lunch is some seasoned meat and peppers on skewers, with some tortillas. It's not bad, but it might not be everyone's cup of tea.

 

Then you get back on the bus and drive 10-15 more minutes to another little pavillion where you meat up with a group of instructors who fit you with helmets (with headlamps), harnesses, and gloves. They really seem like they know what they are doing. They divided us into 2 groups of 14, and each group had at least 2 instructors. We hiked up a trail through the woods for about 10 minutes. Not too challenging at all. No bugs or snakes that I noticed.

 

Then you get to the caves, which are pretty cool. First thing you do is climb down a "via ferretta" which is a ladder made of iron handles installed into the rock. As you climb down, you are hooked onto a safety rope in case you fall. It's not scary. You walk through some caves. Some of the passageways are pretty narrow, but my boyfriend is very tall, and not eveyrone on the tour was thin & fit, and no one had issues. Only rarely are you on your hands and knees, for short periods. There was no water or anything, but this is during the dry season as I understand it.

 

You then do a rappel, from a height of about 20 feet. It's a little scary but not too bad. The guy is at the bottom holding the rope, and he will bring you down as fast or slow as you want.

 

Then there are a couple different zip lines. Again, fun, not really scary. The rope suspension bridges are fun, and you have a safety rope on in case you slip.

 

I think everyone had a great time. On the way back they stop again at the pavillion and let you look at the photos they took of you on computers. You can purchase a CD - I think I heard it was $25 for all pictures, but I'm not positive. You are also free to bring your own camera... You'll need to put it on your belt or in a cargo pocket, because you have to have both hands free at all times.

 

The guides are very competent and I never felt we were in any danger. I think the equipment is top of the line, but what do I know.

 

Definitely would recommend it. The bus ride is long, that's my only real complaint.

[SraLiz]

For those of you who have completed this trip, should we wear long pants and a long sleeve shirt?

I have read that closed toed shoes are a must and some have suggested long pants, lots of bug spray and long sleeved shirts.

What do you thinK?

[blivid316]

I am like 10 lbs above weight limit (thought it might be 20 by the time we get to this port after all the food I am going to eat!). How do these tour groups go about making sure you are around the limit..?

[rockmegently]

My familly of 4 (2 teenagers) completed this excursion in April travelling via Carnival Legend.

 

We had a great time and did not find the tour overly strenuous. Due to the distance travelled this is a good one to book through the ship as our return lined up with the last tender; although, I don't think you really have any other options as far as private bookings go.

 

Wandering through unspoiled Mayan natural caves is a neat experience and the tour gives you a bit of everything with the ziplining, wandering through the jungle, rapelling, and crossing the suspension bridges. Everyone in my family enjoyed it.

 

We found the guides extremely friendly and helpful.

 

One poster asked about clothing. I think the long pants is a good idea as I found myself crawling on my knees in a couple of spots; however, tee shirts are fine for the upper half. I think their website even shows someone with a tee shirt on. I didn't notice any bugs but we had bug spray on. We also arrived during the "dry" season so we didn't have to walk or wade through any water.

 

It was pricy but Carnival had their upcharge built in.

[SraLiz]

I appreciate the replies of those of you who have tired this adventure. Our family of 5 is really looking forward to it.

One more question; did anyone take a camera or video cam with them and could you use it?

 

Thanks!