Cruising to Ilo-Ilo and Bacolod via 2GO Travel (Part01)

I usually take the plane when I travel,

but experiencing dining,

Partying ….

and staying in this hotel-like place definitely convinced me that it is possible for a relaxing vacation to start even when I’m in transit.

This is how my adventure from Manila to Ilo-ilo and Bacolod started the moment I stepped on 2Go’s travel ship.

My Journey Starts here …  

My adventure starts at the Hub at Km 0 (Rizal Park). The Hub is an establishment owned by 2GO travel where in VIP passengers are being accommodated in a luxurious dining and relaxing lounge. Passenger can even book their tickets at this area or even organize and held events in the place.

Our call time was at 10 in the morning, I arrived on the dot. The brand of 2GO travel is very prevalent in the place. It’s a very cozy place to stay in. It may be a bit hidden but the magenta colors make it easier to be found inside the greenery park.

I had a chance to meet personally one of the VP of 2GO travel, Mr. Stephen Rey Tagud. He was excited to meet and to let the bloggers be on board and try out the modern way of travelling via sea here in the Philippines. According to Mr. Stephen, what they did was they refurbish some of their vessels to make it more fun, modern just like how the hub is designed. Fun things are waiting for the passengers on board specially if you will be travelling with friends, family and love ones.

Mr. Stephen’s word makes me more excited to ride the vessel. Being a first timer to travel via sea (and I don’t know how to swim!), I myself have these ahmmm … connotations on how sailing looks like, but I hope this trip will definitely will make and break what I have in mind. I’m excited!

After our lunch and short orientation from the organizer of the trip, the 2go Magenta Shuttle bus is now waiting outside to fetch the bloggers. We were brought at the world class North Port Passenger Terminal at the Manila Pier 4. This is one of the newest international maritime ports in manila that has a fully air-conditioned passenger terminal building.

Meet St Michael The Archangel, this vessel is one of the largest ships owned by 2Go travel. 2GO Travel, is the new brand name of the country’s leading passenger ships Negros Navigation, Superferry, Cebu Ferries, and Supercat. Well it’s just the combination of the leading navigations in the country, so I guess we should expect something good from that one.

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I was amaze at the size of this ship. This is my first time riding in a very big vessel and everybody was so excited to board in. We were actually the last group of people to board in the ship. On board, bloggers were grouped into four and were assigned to our rooms.

But before heading to our rooms and before departing from Manila shore, Bloggers were first introduce to the ship and did a short tour to learn more about what this vessel could actually offer to each of the passenger.

On our way inside, the 2GO travel crew and trainees on board greeted everbody with a warm welcome.

 St. Michael the Archangel was the former flagship vessel of Negros Navigation and now the biggest passenger vessel of 2GO travel. It was refurbish to the next level in making your sea travel more exciting, fun and memorable through different amenities one can experience while travelling.

We first visited the different accommodations one can avail inside the ship. The vessel have 5 different types of accomodations starting with the Super Value, Mega Value, Tourist, Cabin and State Room (VIP), there is also this so called airline seats which only cost just less than a thousand pesos, this area also sometimes can be used as a function room.

State Class consists of luxury air-conditioned rooms with a one family bed or two full-sized beds. While the cabin class (Which I have tried) have air-conditioned rooms with single beds, double beds and four bed bunks both types of accommodation have private bathroom and two-channel television.

The ship also has a big dining area where all the passengers can dine-in while VIP passengers have the privileged to dine and try their sumptuous cuisine at Horizon Café. 

If one passenger gets to have some minor injuries or sickness, don’t you worry because the ship has a 24×7 operational clinic with a doctor and nurses on board, But if and ever there where emergencies the clinic cant handle, according to them they are willing to turn the will and go back to manila but will also depend on their distance from each location – either they go back or move forward. But rest assured that the priority would always be the health and safety of each of the passengers. 

 If you like to be pampered or maybe feel to have some snacks, the vessel does have a small spa, salon and a mini grocery store. Every night performances are also on board inside the Karaoke Bar and restaurant located at the events hall.

One of the freebies of being a blogger is that you can go to places that are sometimes prohibited to the public, just like what we did in visiting the Captain’s Deck.

Bloggers met the captain of the ship. He has been working with 2Go travel for the past 35 years, and has been to many places using this ship. The Captain is in charge in making our journey safe and sound.

After the meet and greet, we were accompanied to view the area at the deck, there were actually less than a thousand passengers on board, some of them were also at the viewing decks taking advantage of the great view outside the ship. It was windy and hot outside while it was super cold inside the ship one should wear a jacket.

After the whole day tour, having our first lunch at the sea, finally we get to see our very own cabin, its time to relax and take some rest from the short ship tour.

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Dinner had just arrived and everybody is ready for the Magenta Party, all the bloggers were invited wearing their best magenta outfit for the night.

The rest of the night were all spent with fun and laughter, listening to the live music on board, bonding with new friends, and listening to the funny antics of stand-up comedian named Maui Pacquioa SupSup. There were also some games enjoyed by both bloggers and passenger guest who joined throughout the night.

The organizers also held a Videoke Challenge wherein winners will win a trip to Cebu. Unluckily, my performance didn’t win the challenge. But I guess I did made a good challenge to the Videoke challenge winner Paul (PaulthePRGuy.blogspot.com) that did made a “birit” song. Nice one Paul!

The Magenta Bloggers Night wouldn’t be complete without announcing the winners for the Best Dress for the Night (Both Male & Female), which was won by Anne Purificacion a.k.a Barbie Girl and Paul Chuapoco. It was a very enjoyable night!

Check out what happen on our trip to Ilo-Ilo and Bacolod on 2nd part of this post. 

Until our next trip in the City!

またね Mata ne!