Hi all - getting very excited about our upcoming trip! We'll be ringing in the New Year at TTR, there from 12/27 - 01/03. (and we have already booked the 12/27 Boobs Cruise!) I do have quite a few questions, if anyone would be willing to share your best advice (and secrets) for maximizing the experience - Does anyone have recommendations on good tours, and how/where to book them? I may have just missed or not seen links for this. - What do you recommend for first-timers to Cancun (not to mention TTR), balancing resort time festivities, and going out on tours? I don't want to miss all the excitement, but I also know we have nowhere near the stamina for non-stop partying. - With all the stuff that goes on at the resort and Patty O's, is it kind of pointless/redundant to go out to the nearby bars? Or, is it something we should try to experience at least once? - Tipping! I've heard people talk about this, but not a lot about how much is adequate for various things, like "take care of your bartender, and he'll take care of you", and somesuch. - Kind of worried about what I've read about the beaches, such as jellyfish, sand lice and the like. Do people normally just ignore the beach, maybe except for sunning and walking? - Any other general advice/ideas you'd share for revelers with no prior experience is much appreciated! :icon_smile: Things like, "damn, I wish I knew/brought that before coming here!" Thanks much - see some of you in a few weeks! jeff/jjd
OK here you go: - We still need to book our airport transfer. On the "December 2014 Roll Call" thread, a few links were given, but the only one that seems to work is the one with the "Temptation" text, which goes here: Adult Only All Inclusive Cancun - Temptation Resort Airport Transfer question is, is this a good/competitive deal? Seems pricey! Now, we are coming on an RCI exchange, and it offers one leg free, but wondering if there are better deals out there. The absolute best transfer service is USA Transfers. If you get one leg free you can just use USA for the second part. $55 round trip and I think $30ish one way for 2 people. Quick, reliable, safe, and private which means that you do not get stuck going to other resorts to pick up and drop off people. The other plus is that you pay cash when you receive the service rather than tying up your money ahead of time. - Does anyone have recommendations on good tours, and how/where to book them? I may have just missed or not seen links for this. Sorry we don't leave the resort much anymore. Boobs Cruise is great and I've heard good things about the ruins tours but you may not want to "overbook" your vacation as there is so much happening at the resort. - What do you recommend for first-timers to Cancun (not to mention TTR), balancing resort time festivities, and going out on tours? I don't want to miss all the excitement, but I also know we have nowhere near the stamina for non-stop partying. The most I would preplan is 1 day of Boobs Cruise and 1 day of another tour for a 1 week vacation. If you get to the resort and want more you can always book a tour there. There is an agent by the towel hut, one in the main lobby, and a few over by the sports bar that would all book you on tours. - With all the stuff that goes on at the resort and Patty O's, is it kind of pointless/redundant to go out to the nearby bars? Or, is it something we should try to experience at least once? This depends on your "evening style". Alot of people stay at the resort because it is pretty fun. If you stay the first night or two and do not find yourself bored then you should skip leaving. If you want a show type experience Coco Bongos is a must see at least once but the other clubs that the resort goes to are all more like big dance clubs. - Tipping! I've heard people talk about this, but not a lot about how much is adequate for various things, like "take care of your bartender, and he'll take care of you", and somesuch. This is something you will just need to feel out for yourself. We usually give a bartender $10-20 in the day & evening, and then $1-5 daily for maid/breakfast/lunch/porter/buffet dinner and $10-20 for a sit down dinner. It varies based on our service and how well we know the employees. - Kind of worried about what I've read about the beaches, such as jellyfish, sand lice and the like. Do people normally just ignore the beach, maybe except for sunning and walking? Don't worry about the beach. You won't be in the water much at TTR and all the action happens at the pool. - Any other general advice/ideas you'd share for revelers with no prior experience is much appreciated! :icon_smile: Things like, "damn, I wish I knew/brought that before coming here!" Do not worry ahead of time. You will enjoy it. If the Sexy pool etc is not what you expected you can always hang out at the beach and the Quiet pool. Just relax and have a good time.
All of the above tips are great. we tried 2 tours XEL-HA and XPLOR one per trip. we really liked XPLOR better then XEL-HA. the ruins is a very long tour and pretty boring spend 3 hours looking at rocks and several hours traveling there on bus. you can book them directly at resort. we also Did a day tour of island Isla Mujeres rented golf carts and toured the island while drinking beer. was very fun we went with another couple from resort made it more fun. make Sure you make friends on your december &January roll calls before you get there. makes your trip more memorable we you meet them in Person. www.cancuncare.com/forum/temptation-resort-cancun/30779-december-2014-roll-call.html http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/temptation-resort-cancun/30969-january-2015-roll-call.html
Hey, thanks so much for the feedback, especially to b&g! I like your balancing recommendation, we do have a Boobs Cruise reserved for 12/29, and maybe we'll also do one ruins tour, but otherwise try to stay closer to our home-away-from-home. ;-) Maybe we'll save the big touring for when we're at a more mundane resort! In general, what can you expect the experience difference to be if you're a 'no-tipper'? I mean, it is all-inclusive, but is the difference really worth it? I've always given good tips for services already rendered, but I've never been one to give them in promise for good consideration. It just seems odd. Thanks much!
Temptation gives u good services no matter what u tip....and besides that u will get to participate in the games if u choose.....get naked if u choose....and go on the Boobs Cruise if u choose....If u don't want any of this, its ok, but if u go here, I think u will.......so enjoy
We tip but not as much as some others. We give $5 bucks a day to our maid and gift or $20 on last day she does an amazing job cleaning and makes special things out of towels. the bartenders get a big tip once a day especially when my favorite is there jacques and a dollar every so often. Dinner usually give between 5-10 depends on service. Sometimes tip security to leave us alone. lol
Agreed that service is still great regardless of what you tip. Everyone has a different idea of what tipping should be and how much or how often. I will say that tipping more will get you better service though, since you will often be served by the same people, and they will remember you. We like to stick to a few of our favorite servers at the restaurants, and focus our tips on them. We also tip our maid, butler, the spa guys and regular bartenders well since we see them on a daily basis during our stay. Is it worth it? I guess that's up to you - but we do feel special when our usual server greets us at the doors to the buffet every morning and has a table ready for us with our usual cappuccino and juices waiting... But this is the same anywhere you go in the world, and regulars who tip do get better service.
Transportation We have tried them all from the airport to TTR and Desire. Best Day is the worst but cheapest. They take you the long way to the hotel and are the last drop off point. Lately we have used All Do Tours. Private SUV, usually a Suburban or Tohoe and you are the only one. Direct to hotel and airport, very friendly service and on time. The cars are very clean and usually waiting for you when you arrive. Tours? We never leave the resort except for the Boob Cruise. But if you do take a tour, make sure you are in a group. Enjoy!! :usa1:
This is our first trip down and using an RCI exchange as well, so looks like we can learn together. We booked USA Transfers even though that first leg is free. The advise found in other threads was that the direct route, lack of other people, and the option to swing by Walmart for some supplies was well worth it. Aside from the cruise on the 29th the only other time away from the resort we are "planning" is a trip over to the island to explore by golf cart. I have heard that the $20 peso bill is plastic, which would make for easy tipping while in the pool, if this is the case I will be picking up a large stack of them for the bartenders.
As we are now heading back for trip #9 we are easily recognized by the staff but as a newbie you will not get that initial recognition. Here is what we did for tipping in the beginning. Day #1 at the pool we handed the one bartender a $5. We had amazing service all day long. The next day in the morning we went over and said "you were awesome yesterday so thank you" and gave him a $20. Since then we now do a big payout in the morning to that bartender and don't even visit the other ones. Yes I still wait for a drink if there is a crowd but he remembers my order and always gives me the Premier brands. Daytime and nighttime bartenders in my experience do remember who tips them and respond accordingly. As for the buffet & Margarita's I have never seen a big difference in service tip or no tip. I tried leaving a $10 one night at the buffet and had the exact same server the next day but still struggled to get a Diet Coke in a reasonable amount of time. You will not find a huge difference in service at the sit down restaurants but we have found that sometimes tables become available without a reservation based on the tips we have left in the past. We look at how much we tip for service at home and tip well in Mexico because the service is so much better at TTR than anywhere we go back home.
