Has Anyone just come back and are they accepting USD

[frito58]

They are all in arms on the RCI board about Cozumel not accepting the US dollar now. I can live without stuff there but when we visit Majahual and go to the beach I want to know if they are going to sell me my buckets of beer:D or do I need to have some Pesos. Has anyone been to Costa Maya in the past week or so.

[seansky]

They are all in arms on the RCI board about Cozumel not accepting the US dollar now. I can live without stuff there but when we visit Majahual and go to the beach I want to know if they are going to sell me my buckets of beer:D or do I need to have some Pesos. Has anyone been to Costa Maya in the past week or so.[/quote

 

I just booked a return beach excursion with Maya Palms Resort which is all inclusive. Not wanting to stand in another line at the port to collect pesos's for souveniers at Maya Palms, I asked Doug if they still accept US Dollars. He said yes they do because they are US owned.

[crewsweeper]

They are all in arms on the RCI board about Cozumel not accepting the US dollar now. I can live without stuff there but when we visit Majahual and go to the beach I want to know if they are going to sell me my buckets of beer:D or do I need to have some Pesos. Has anyone been to Costa Maya in the past week or so.

Not sure the "real" story behind all the ruckus on the RCL board, but there's no mention of this on the Cozumel board and on the Carnival board, crusiers in Coz or MR last week had no issues and Host Mach got an email from Nachi Cocum saying US$ were still much accepted by them.

 

 

There is an ATM machine at the pier area (exchange rates vary, but ATMs in Coz last week were paying 13P for $1US) and your ship's guest services will exchange $ for pesos if you're worried.

[bug18]

I was in Costa Maya last week and US dollars were accepted with no problem.

[frito58]

Thanks guys not really worried I have a few months to go but just wanted to hear from people getting back. This is my favorite port of call. Just didnt want a lot of hassle.

 

They were saying RCI wasnt exchanging on the ship:confused: thats what i read

[gaviota]

Most of the places will still take US$ - at this point. However, it has become more difficult for the local business to deposit or exchange the US$ to local MN peso.

 

The reason:

 

Secretary of Finance Ernesto Cordero and banking commission chairman Guillermo Babatz announced restrictions on deposits of cash dollars to curb money laundering from drug trafficking. “The Mexican banking system is receiving a large quantity of cash dollars, far beyond what could be explained by economic activity. There exists the presumption … that many of these dollars have an illicit origin,” Cordero said. Individuals will be limited to making dollar cash deposits of US$4,000 per month (if they have a bank account) or US$1,500 per month (if not). Companies that operate in tourist regions and the border region will be limited to US$7,000 per month in cash deposits. The regulations will also “reinforce measures against money laundering, including the knowledge, identification, and monitoring of [bank] customers, non-customer users of the banks, and their exchange transactions.” The new regulations do not affect dollar sales by financial institutions, or non-cash transactions; they go into effect on June 21 for individuals and in 90 days for companies. http://mexicopolitics.wordpress.com/tag/ernesto-cordero

[olwagner]

The new regulations do not affect [...] non-cash transactions

 

Does that mean that travelers cheques will become more welcome?

[gaviota]

I know that traveler's checks have been a problem for many of the local business. My understand is the Mexican banks are not very small business friendly -sound familiar? Big banks like Banamex (which is partly if not majority owned by Citibank). I know some shops had to send their traveler checks back with friends or guests to cash them in the states.

 

All of the shops and bars are small local owned. And right now the nearest bank is a 1 and 1/2 drive from Mahahual.

 

I think most business will continue to accept dollars - just to survive. There are a growing number of ATM - some are private (which means higher transaction fee).

 

My advise is not to worry and use your dollars - still the best option for cruisers. Seems like too much of a problem to worry about exchange or ATM.

[cruise candy]

Just got off the Solstice yesterday. They happily took my US Dollars in Cozumel and Costa Maya and even got US dollars back in change.

 

This was a nice change from previous travel in Mexico where I always ended up being stuck with unused pesos, etc.

[frito58]

Thats good to hear for everyone.

[dna1990]

Just returned from Coz and Progreso, not even a hint of Peso usage. All USD$ and change in USD$ too.

 

All the threads about this in the Coz section and some in CCL are deleted. As mentioned, somebody was likley trying to get folks all excited.

[ssca]

We just got back and were at Tapas on the beach. They do not accept credit cards,I had to go to an exchange booth to get cash off my creditcard and they accepted the cash.