So I couldn't really find answers to these few questions, so I'm hoping some folks can help us out to make things smoother come March. 1) I guess, how does USA Transfers work? If we book USA Transfers round trip, they state that the cost is $55 US. Not a problem, and the best deal I've seen. That said, do you pay them all at once when they pick you up, or does it split $27.50 / ride (yay for mental math)? Just trying to make sure that I keep cash around if I need it for the ride back to the hotel. Do they also book your return trip when you come in? 2) What's the deal with reservations at the restaurant? I know that you have to make them (or slip the guy some generosity) but how does that work? Are there set times when we'd have to call or go to the front desk or whatever? 3) Are reservations necessary for the Boobs Cruise, or could we just show up and fork over cash if we're not entirely incapacitated the morning it sets sail? 4) I really thought I had one for this spot, but I must have imagined it. Sorry about that.
USA Transfers is just that. You pay your first driver $55. You tip him. They know when to pick you up. Then when they pick you up all you do is tip that driver. You are already paid (roundtrip.) Dinner reservations you can try and make from the phone in your room. You can only book a few nights ahead. Sometimes if you go early and they are not busy, they will take you. (Tips help) Boobs Cruise reservations will usually open up one month before the date of sale. Requires a deposit at that time. Then you pay the rest the day of the cruise + a tip at the end for the crew. If the cruise is not sold out, you can go to Patty O's in the morning and try and get on. Last words are advice. Save some money for your next deposit because you are going to want to book another trip back right away.
1. USA Transfers you pay all at once and DEFINITELY use them. They are excellent. 2. Dinner reservations. They will give you a card and it will say you can START making reservations at I believe 10 am. We called one morning at 10:30 to make a reservation at the Asian restaurant and they said they did not have any spots left. I did find that tipping (not $5) gets you a reservation when you want. 3. Exactly one month before date you want to cruise, the reservations open. You go online through the link and pay deposit for each person. Then pay cash for balance at Patty Os day of cruise. Do not rely on being able to simply go, often sold out and no room for add-ons.
Just to add for USA Transfers - when you book on their website you put all your flight information in...they automatically schedule your return ride to the airport (picking you up 3 hours before your flight is scheduled to depart). Couldn't really be any easier...
Thanks for the info everyone. I'm going to book USA Transfers tonight, has anyone paid for a round trip in advance (which seems to be an option)? I'm also going to see if they'll pick us up 3 hours before, since I'm wildly paranoid about missing flights. And I remembered #4: Any tips on changing USD to pesos? We haven't traveled internationally much, and when we visited Costa Rica for our honeymoon, we figured that the ATM / exchange place at the airport would be fine, but we ran into issues, so I'm wondering if there are places to change money before getting there, since I would prefer tipping in pesos vs usd.
3 hours before is their SOP - you don't even have to ask. Regarding changing USD to pesos for our last trip we talked to our bank about it and they said with about a week's notice they can exchange whatever we want (in whatever denominations we want)...basically they place an order for the currency based on whatever you want.
Pesos exchange: If you do not do it at home before you leave, hotel desk can do it (bad rate), there are exchange booths at the shopping malls (better rate) and there are a few exchange places along the road from hotel to Carlos and Charlies/Coco Bongo area. You really only need pesos for cab drivers or if you want to buy souvenirs. Otherwise, we just use our credit card. The exchange rate was about the same on our card we found after we got back.
USA Transfers I would pay Cash (US Dollars) to the driver that picks you up at the airport. You don't have a lot of recourse if they lose your reservation you made with a Credit Card in advance and leave you standing at the airport (no matter what company). We used USA Transfers and would highly recommend. There will be someone with your name on a sign OUTSIDE the airport doors. DO NOT talk to anyone inside the airport after customs. The people between the customs doors and the outside doors are time share sharks looking for fresh meat. After getting through customs (green light / Red Light) Keep your head down and keep walking til you see sky. Go directly to the Bar on the right, get a drink, then find your guy with your name on a USA Transfers sign. You pay your driver and arrange your pickup time with him. Tip the drivers on both trips. Pesos, It is a personal choice, but we haven't changed money in at least the last 3 trips down to Mexico. US Dollars are accepted everywhere. If you are planning to make larger purchases like Diving packages, wedding stuff or something over $100 it might be worth your time to do so. The hotel front desk is usually the most convenient. If you don't exchange and just use dollars, most places will give you a reasonable exchange rate (they will get out a calculator or have a digital cash register) some places will just go with the ol 10 pesos to 1 dollar rule of thumb. With it now being almost 15 pesos to a dollar, you might need to do the math for them and let them know it isnt 10 to 1 anymore. I can't think of anything you would need pesos for at Temptation. About the most expensive items are gift shop bikinis and sunscreen. Bring your own sunscreen. I think its around 350 pesos in the gift shop. Just curious why you want to tip in Pesos? I just hate having 40 dollars worth of monopoly money setting in my sock drawer waiting for me to forget to take it next time. Your mileage may vary. I brought too many 5's and not enough 1's for tipping on our first trip. The level of service did not seem to differ between the two tip amounts, but I was not keeping a spreadsheet. We never made reservations. We did however get invited to dinner by two other gracious couples who had the forethought to make them for 4 instead of 2. I would suggest this plan also. It would be a great way to meet new friends if you have 2 extra chairs for dinner at the Italian place. As mentioned a lot on here, as with most places, money talks. Make sure to take some fun sexy outfits for the wife to wear to dinner and something even more fun to wear to Paty-O's for dancing and drinks. And lastly the number one rule to make sure you have a good time - Talk to people. Try to remember 20 new names a day
