Weekends after 9:00 Hong Kong gets very busy, very crowded. Like you can't find a seat and you can barely move through the club. Generally a better selection of girls. I have found Chicago club to be a better option on weekends but with Adelitas closed there are reports of it getting busier. That said, I have also found Hong Kong can go from being crazy crowded to feeling half empty in a matter of 30 minutes, it just depends. Hong Kong has also added new 3rd, 4th, and 5th levels in the back that are usually less crowded. I personally prefer Sunday - Tuesdays
Arriba cost doesn't matter if you have your own room or not, but you will have a little more time as the hotel staff aren't clock watchers if you have your own room. There are reports of hotel staff knocking on the door after an hour and demanding you buy a bucket of beers or something similar if your lady is still there.
Can't comment on the $23 dance cards, last time I was there you could either get a $10 ficha which may or may not include a lap dance, or pay $30 for a "wine drink' which usually included a lap dance. I try to avoid the $30 dances at all cost.
Do the girls do GFE/intimate type of stuff? - it depends, and it is hard to find out. Your best bet is to get some feeling during the ficha. I have found that things like nibbling on your ear or light kisses on the neck will mean a more intimate experience upstairs. I usually ask if they will kiss arriba 'beso' but honestly you don't know until you get in the room with them. I would say I get what I consider a really good GFE about 50% of the time. That said, $100 to have a non GFE fuck with a hot Latina is still a good time.
At least at Cascadas, there are safes in the room. I think you can trust them. Sometimes you might need hotel staff to help you set it up. Other than that I usually try to keep my money hidden in places like my shorts pockets or something like that.
Taking any kind of baggage over the border just adds a brief bag scan both going in and coming back across. Less evasive than what you get at the airport. When going into Mexico, it adds about 5 minutes because there is a line as Mexican's go to the US to shop and bring back lots of bags, entering the US it adds no time. Viagra should not cause any issues.
Mesero's will ask if you want a drink frequently but just tell them no and they will move along. You can also buy bottle water for I think $4. If you tip them well when you buy a Ficha they will be just fine. Mesero's get a bad wrap here but for the most part I have found them to be very helpful.
Search for articles about Tijuana in the articles area, there are several of them. Other than that this forum has a lot of good information, it just takes a while to filter through.