Having done web check-in didn't seem to make any difference to the actual airport check-in for our Cebu Air flight. We still had to join the same queue for what was essentially just a bag drop. However I have to commend their boarding process - within 20 minutes of opening the boarding gate everyone was on board, the door closed and we had started taxiing away from the terminal. I guess the fact that we boarded from the tarmac and they had stairs at both ends of the plane helped.
Due to depart at 3:30pm we were in the air at 3:25pm. Due to arrive in Cebu at 4:45pm we were on the ground at 4:25pm. However, the problem with being so early was that our gate had not yet been vacated and we had to wait for 10 minutes before we could taxi to it. However this was offset by the fact that our bag was the very first one onto the baggage carousel! :-)
The information desk confirmed that we needed to get to Pier 1 for the express boats to Bohol and that there was one at 6:40pm (not @ 6:00pm and 6:20pm as an online schedule I found had suggested) so that even with a taxi trip of up to an hour in peak hour we should still make it. There was initially some confusion about the yellow metered taxis, the white flat-rate taxis and the white metered taxis but we eventually managed to get the correct directions to the latter which were at least half the price of the other two. What we found there was an enormous queue though I have to admit that by getting there via the stairs and not the ramp we effectively pushed in somewhat.
The taxi certainly did hit some traffic and the driver ended up dropping us about 50 metres short of the Pier because of the gridlock - which was hardly a problem since we still had plenty of time. Once we'd purchased our tickets from the Ticket Office we joined the throng streaming into the Pier 1 terminal building - and if you are familiar with the concept of a rugby ruck you would have some idea of what it was like. We managed to bypass the Terminal Fee collection counter unchallenged (maybe we looked like senior citizens, who are exempt?) and after visiting the Seat Allocation counter were at our designated departure gate with 40 minutes to spare.
Sadly, just after 6:30pm they advised that our boat was delayed and boarding had been put back until 7:30pm. Even worse, less than 10 minutes later they announced that due to "technical reasons" the service had been cancelled!! With no other scheduled services tonight this was clearly of some concern to us, since we had accommodation booked in Bohol and no idea of where to find something suitable here in Cebu City. Back at the Seat Allocation counter we were initially told to just go back out to the Booking Office to re-book for tomorrow. This particularly did not sit well with Laura who insisted that they advise on alternatives. Eventually they offered to transfer us onto a "slow boat" due out at 10:00pm that would take four hours to get to Bohol, but that would only help if our hotel there had 24 hour check-in. One man went off with our tickets to get them changed while another man went to make some calls to sort out things with our hotel. They were gone a long time. We were beginning to wonder if they were even coming back.
However, come back they did - and with better news than we had expected. Turned out our hotel in Bohol did not have 24 hour check-in so they had arranged for us to stay overnight at the nearby Mariners Court Hotel at their expense. In addition, since the boat that had "technical difficulties" was not likely to be in service for their first scheduled trip in the morning they would re-book us on another ferry line in the morning. The two men escorted us to the hotel in a little shuttle van, took care of the check-in and took our bags up to our room before wishing us good night with the news that they would get word to us in the morning about our departure time once booking offices were open. What amazing service!
I have to admit that our room was the smallest "deluxe" I have ever seen, and I had to use the wi-fi in the lobby since the one on our floor wasn't working properly, but we were certainly not complaining as we were way better off than things had looked an hour before. We later ventured into the gym on our floor, but only to admire the lights of the city from the large windows. We also ventured onto the roof - where it appeared that a new enclosed space was under construction, with one of the workmen sound asleep at the floor at top of the stairs - where we could see a game of beach volley ball going on in the park behind the hotel.
True to our fixers word we received a call in the morning (@ 6:25am!) that we would be picked up at 7:00am for an 8:00am departure. This gave us time to sample the complimentary breakfast (which was rice & scrambled eggs so not exactly our favourite). Although the pick up didn't actually happen until nearly 7:20am we were still at our departure gate by 7:30am and boarding within five minutes of that - which didn't even give us much time to listen to the band of blind musicians who were providing the entertainment. We set sail (motor?) on time to the accompanying crows of a bagged rooster at the back of the boat, wondering if it would become "rooster overboard" if it kept it up much longer.
And thus ended our unexpected stop-over on Cebu City - the oldest city in the Philippines.
Due to depart at 3:30pm we were in the air at 3:25pm. Due to arrive in Cebu at 4:45pm we were on the ground at 4:25pm. However, the problem with being so early was that our gate had not yet been vacated and we had to wait for 10 minutes before we could taxi to it. However this was offset by the fact that our bag was the very first one onto the baggage carousel! :-)
The information desk confirmed that we needed to get to Pier 1 for the express boats to Bohol and that there was one at 6:40pm (not @ 6:00pm and 6:20pm as an online schedule I found had suggested) so that even with a taxi trip of up to an hour in peak hour we should still make it. There was initially some confusion about the yellow metered taxis, the white flat-rate taxis and the white metered taxis but we eventually managed to get the correct directions to the latter which were at least half the price of the other two. What we found there was an enormous queue though I have to admit that by getting there via the stairs and not the ramp we effectively pushed in somewhat.
The taxi certainly did hit some traffic and the driver ended up dropping us about 50 metres short of the Pier because of the gridlock - which was hardly a problem since we still had plenty of time. Once we'd purchased our tickets from the Ticket Office we joined the throng streaming into the Pier 1 terminal building - and if you are familiar with the concept of a rugby ruck you would have some idea of what it was like. We managed to bypass the Terminal Fee collection counter unchallenged (maybe we looked like senior citizens, who are exempt?) and after visiting the Seat Allocation counter were at our designated departure gate with 40 minutes to spare.
Sadly, just after 6:30pm they advised that our boat was delayed and boarding had been put back until 7:30pm. Even worse, less than 10 minutes later they announced that due to "technical reasons" the service had been cancelled!! With no other scheduled services tonight this was clearly of some concern to us, since we had accommodation booked in Bohol and no idea of where to find something suitable here in Cebu City. Back at the Seat Allocation counter we were initially told to just go back out to the Booking Office to re-book for tomorrow. This particularly did not sit well with Laura who insisted that they advise on alternatives. Eventually they offered to transfer us onto a "slow boat" due out at 10:00pm that would take four hours to get to Bohol, but that would only help if our hotel there had 24 hour check-in. One man went off with our tickets to get them changed while another man went to make some calls to sort out things with our hotel. They were gone a long time. We were beginning to wonder if they were even coming back.
However, come back they did - and with better news than we had expected. Turned out our hotel in Bohol did not have 24 hour check-in so they had arranged for us to stay overnight at the nearby Mariners Court Hotel at their expense. In addition, since the boat that had "technical difficulties" was not likely to be in service for their first scheduled trip in the morning they would re-book us on another ferry line in the morning. The two men escorted us to the hotel in a little shuttle van, took care of the check-in and took our bags up to our room before wishing us good night with the news that they would get word to us in the morning about our departure time once booking offices were open. What amazing service!
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| The foyer of the Mariners Court |
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| The blind musicians in Pier 1. |
And thus ended our unexpected stop-over on Cebu City - the oldest city in the Philippines.
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