Bust Loose Party Bus

If you suspect you're getting too old and tired for a pub crawl, you probably are. Welcome to my mid thirty-something world and why Bust Loose only gets a 3 star rating. My twenty-something self probably would have given it a 5.

I was invited to a ladies only birthday party pub crawl last weekend. The birthday girl recruited enough ladies to afford a Bust Loose party bus from Airdrie to Calgary and back, two Calgary club stops and a male Party Patrol Host to stoke the fire and handle club entry and exit. We had to sign waivers, wear wristbands and were handed a Bust Loose necklace, which I pocketed for the evening. The wristband (which I wore on my ankle instead) was about all I could tolerate without feeling like a tagged and branded cow.

The Host was a young guy who clearly enjoyed the attention, initiating party games on the bus and watching a few women get a little crazy. A variety of old and new party tunes are pumped through the speakers. Three poles in the aisle and handles above the windows are the obvious invitations for dancing and flailing about as the bus propels you into the evening's shenanigans. I don't know if you can choose your music but some of what was played was too cheesy for me to enjoy. I was sober so the bus ride was fun for the first 20min, and then I was over it. In that time I tried a bit of dancing around and singing to the music along with the others who were very excited to be there but really, it was 10pm on a Friday and I was ready for my pajamas.

The Host could have been a little more organized and in control, but I'm pretty sure that youth could not offer the skills he needed to handle so many women in a semi-professional fashion. Being knowledgeable, confident in what he was doing and firm with timelines would have made a big difference, though.

Bust Loose does the job in terms of adding some spice to your evening as well travel convenience, but considering I have mostly grown out of my spirited party persona, it's just not for me unless I can control the conditions. I'd want to choose my own music, rent the bus from 7-9:30pm on a Saturday and have it cart me and a handful of my closest friends from our houses to a downtown pub and back. This would not be worth the cash but honestly, a high-energy group of people who can truly appreciate the experience should rent a bus once.

Review 15 of Yelp's 30 Day Challenge - Nov 2012

We hired Bustloose for a stag and we were severely disappointed. We paid just shy of $800 for the services and the bus was 30 mins late picking up (no big deal), but then we were forgotten at shanks- when we called to see what was going on, they sent a different bus even though they had told us we could leave our belongings on our bus. SO we had to take a different bus without our stuff after being stranded without our belongings. The company was very sloppy and the whole night was just thrown together. The company sent a follow-up email asking how everything was, but after we responded, they ceased correspondence.
Very unprofessional- if you want what you're paying for, don't use BUSTLOOSE.

His name was Tony Cools and he let us know from the beginning that he was in charge of the party. If you've never been on one of these party buses, you gotta give it a try.
Although Tony had a little trouble with the gears pulling out, the rest of the ride was smooth. The buses are weird in a way; they have these long rows across the bus from the front to the back on both sides that jet in and out. They even have twisted stripper poles should your party bus break into a real party. The music is pumping and everyone seems to enjoy it.
I just wish they sold booze on these things and let you smoke. Then it would be a party. But it was still a good way to get from point A to point B. I think these things are mostly for pub crawls, but they say you can rent them out for anything. Might be a great way to liven up a funeral sometime....
The only negative, besides some bad music, was the general ambiance and cleanliness of the bus, which reminds one of a strip club. But what the hell?
Anyway, I grabbed a business card on my way off the bus. Underneath the Bust Loose logo, it simply stated: Tony Cools|Party Bus Driver. That is by far the coolest business card I've ever seen. And Tony was a great laugh. I think the Avril Lavigne he was blaring came from his private collection. Good times.....

Unless you're prepared to stay drunk for almost 3 nights, don't go. Stolen items are a common occurence, 19yr olds that can't handle their booze puking in the tiny bathroom, partying at the hotel until they can't see or remember anything. I honestly pitied anyone who booked a room on the same weekend as our group. Most unorganized trip I've ever been on. The bus driver had to tell everyone on the bus when we were leaving...the "tour hosts" were clueless and just happy to relive their frat boy days again and play drinking games with their just-legal-limit buddies.
I'm under 30 and this trip almost made me reconsider ever drinking in public again...EVER.
If this was actually an organized trip, I would have had a better rating. I had no idea where we were supposed to be and when. Some kids just can't handle their booze, and some tour hosts shouldn't be responsible for accounting for everyone on a trip like this. So glad my group were conscious enough to make sure we were all on the bus before departing.
Bustloose: Get organized on these trips and maybe they'll be worth the inflated price again.

I only wish I could give less than 1 star. My friend and I stupidly booked a pub crawl with this company, we paid $50 for our tickets yet at the very first venue we didn't get our drink tickets (it wasn't advertised, no one told us, we thought it was the coat check line). When we went to ask them about our drink coupon they told us we missed our chance and were incredibly condescending and rude. I was frustrated having paid what we did and tried to explain and the Bust Loose representative accused us of lying, despite having bartenders confirm our story. I found this to be extremely unprofessional and un-accommodating. In addition, we weren't alerted when our bus was moving to another location, we had to practically hunt them down to not be left behind. Never have I experienced such a lack of customer care with any business (including airlines!). Do yourselves a favour and book with another company. Cheap party favours were all I got out of this one