The last time I spent more than a night on a boat was before my family moved to Thailand. Those were days when we traveled from Manila to General Santos City and vice versa. During my college days, I had my fair share of boat rides, but this was mainly between Dumaguete and Cebu and was less than 12 hours.
However, I have been watching Solo Traveling Japan’s videos on YouTube for over a year now and wish to relive that experience of spending at least two nights on a ship.
When I found out that 2Go would be relaunching its Davao-Manila route, I knew I had to book a trip one of these days. When the Philippine Coffee Expo was scheduled for June 7 to 9, I said I would ride a ship to attend.
BOOKING THE TRIP
I booked my ticket on their website (https://travel.2go.com.ph). For this trip, I booked a Business Class. Since a room for two was available, I booked that one.
I paid using my credit card, spending P3,295.98 after VAT and other surcharges. The net fare was P2,517.12. I recommend booking in advance because it is cheaper. My ticket already includes meals.
THE SHIP
One of 2GO’s newest ships, MV Maligaya, serves the route. It was a huge ship. It was bigger than most ships I have ridden in the past.
The passenger area of the ship is on the fifth to seventh deck.
All passengers will enter the fifth deck, which contains the main lobby. The reception desk is just near the stairs to the sixth deck. Near the reception are the housekeeping services, where you can rent linens, blankets, and pillowcases.
On the fifth deck are cabins for tourist and mega-value classes and some business class cabins.
You can also find the souvenir stores here—Kultura and Miniso. There is a convenience store on this floor where you can buy snacks, toiletries, water, and even skincare products. For those who want some pampering, there is also a salon. A clinic and KTV room are also near the salon.
Meanwhile, a charging station for tourists and mega-value classes is located on this floor, too.
On the sixth deck, you will find the Island Fiesta and Sea Breeze, a lounge area with a karaoke machine for guests. Besides Sea Breeze is the 2Go Cafe, where I had most of my snacks while on the ship. The Island Fiesta is the vessel’s main dining area. Meal service for tourists and mega-value passengers is served at the Island Fiesta. Inside the Island Fiesta is the Horizon Cafe, where meal service is for business class and stateroom passengers.
You can also find most business class cabins on this deck and access to the sun deck.
Lastly, the seventh deck is where you can find the staterooms.
BUSINESS CLASS CABIN
The business class cabin I booked was for two. Since 2Go has no solo rooms on this ship, I will be sharing my room with another paying passenger.
There are two business class cabins for two—one with two separate single beds and one with a bunk bed. I got the bunk bed.
The room was similar to a regular-sized room, with ample storage space and room to move around. It also has a sink and a small television. There is also a desk area where you can put things to work if needed.
If you booked a business class cabin, your room already has bed linens. You only need to rent a blanket at the housekeeping services on the fifth deck. There are also no towels. Bring a towel with you if you ever ride the ship.
The comfort room and shower room for business class passengers are shared but were kept clean during my stay. While the toilets were kept clean, my biggest issue was that there were no tissues, and the bidet did not work. So, I had to buy wipes and a tissue roll at the convenience store.
Another issue I found was that our room was near the entrance of the business class area. And for the whole trip, the entrance was kept open. So, when somebody is singing at the top of their lungs at the karaoke station at Sea Breeze or when there is a live band after dinner, I can hear it from my room.
The room also has a speaker system where they give public service announcements like disembarkation and meal service.
One odd thing about the business class service is that you must leave your ID at the front desk if you want the key to your room.
Therefore, if you share a room with someone you do not know, you will not find yourself locking your room door when everyone is out. I had to rely on faith for the whole trip because my room was never locked. But also thanks to the well-placed CCTVs along the business class hallway that help ensure security in the area.
Despite some issues, the overall comfort of the business class cabin for two was worth the price I paid for around two and a half days on the ship. One of the good things about booking this room is the privacy. Another is the multiple power ports. There were six power sockets in my room, more than enough for my roommate and me. Throughout the trip, I could fully charge my gaming console, laptop, and phone.
THE FOOD
Your meals, except snacks, are covered for the whole duration of your trip. In my case, I had two breakfasts, two lunches, and three dinners.
Since I was in business class, we were served at the Horizon Cafe together with stateroom passengers. While you will still line up during meal service, what I love about dining in business class is that you have guaranteed seats. The service crew will only let you in once seats are available.
At Horizon Cafe, guests will be served on the table. You will not have to line up for your food here. Once seated, you will be asked to choose from two main course options. While you wait for your food, they will serve you the soup, drink, and dessert. Dessert was only served for lunch and dinner. You are served vegetables on the side of your main course for lunch and dinner.
Here are the meals served to me during my trip:
Breakfast:
- Chicken Longganisa and eggs
- Chicken Sausages and eggs
Lunch:
- Fish fillet with ampalaya
- Chicken lumpia with buttered corn, carrots, and peas
Dinner
- Soy garlic beef with pinakbet
- Chicken patties with sayote
- Soy garlic beef with tuna casserole
Desserts were varying flavors of gelatin with sweet milk or mais con yelo (which was weird because it was just corn and sweet milk). Soup rotated between cream of mushroom, pumpkin, and egg soup.
The food was generally good. It was good enough for the price I paid and the service I got. The food was tasty and filling at best.
For snacks, I usually found myself trying out what 2Go Cafe has to offer. Their pastries are from Goldilocks. So, I knew what I wanted to get each time I went there — Brazo de Mercedes or Egg Pie. As for the coffee, I kept my expectations low because I knew it was just mid-coffee. But it was better than any 39-ners. The flavored lattes were very sweet but I did like my cafe latte.
I also tried the Captain’s Choice, which included different flavors of pizza: the Cheese Supreme, Ham and Cheese, and Cheesy Chorizo. I liked the Ham and Cheese and Cheesy Chorizo.
KEEPING MYSELF ENTERTAINED
The ship left Davao City at 2 p.m. on Monday and arrived in Manila at 1 a.m. on Thursday. That’s around two and a half days. That’s a lot of time on a boat. Hence, it can be boring, especially when, around 70% of the time, you have no signal.
If you are traveling alone, like I was, it can get very boring fast. I knew this would happen. Therefore, I made preparations for the trip.
I made sure I had enough games to play on my gaming console. I also brought two books along with me. These two alone kept me entertained for most of the trip.
Whenever there is a signal, I use that time to update family and friends or download videos to watch during the trip.
I find myself sleeping most of the morning, but I am most active in the afternoon. I can barely sleep in the afternoon because the karaoke at Sea Breeze does not seem to end.
CONCLUSION and OTHER THOUGHTS
I enjoyed this trip. Thankfully, the whole trip from Davao to Manila was smooth, and the sea was calm the whole time.
I also loved my room and the comfort I received. If you will be traveling this long, I recommend booking business class.
The service was generally good. It was not five-star service, but the staff was accommodating and hospitable. I also appreciate that you can find someone to help you at any given time.
However, I wish they could be more transparent to business class passengers about what they will be getting. For example, there should be notice that there are no towels on the ship. I think small things like this can help improve passengers’ traveling experience.
They should also inform passengers that cash is only accepted onboard the ship because there is no signal at sea for you to pay using an e-wallet. I anticipated this and ensured I had enough money for the trip.
I believe this information should be provided upfront, like a notice when booking a ticket, because not many people are familiar with what goes into traveling on a ship.
I should also note that 2Go has ticketing problems. For example, boarding can be a bit chaotic because people who booked tickets together were assigned separate rooms. Thus, there was confusion with room assignments when we arrived in General Santos. The staff would let passengers resolve among themselves when it comes to these issues based on what I observed. I believe, the inhouse hotel manage should be given the task of resolving room assignment issues of passengers who are supposed to be traveling together.
Disembarkation was as chaotic as I remember when we traveled on Super Ferry decades ago. I was expecting that now that it is 2024, there should be a better system for this. I had to wait an hour before disembarking when we arrived in Manila because it was very crowded.
Outside the ship experience, the port of Manila was also problematic. Unless you have somebody to pick you up, you have to get a taxi or book a cab outside the port gates. It can be overwhelming.
Meanwhile, mobile data is for the most part not available. I am only able to connect to the internet when the ship is docked at the port or near an island where there is a strong mobile signal.
Nonetheless, I was happy with this trip. I was able to relax for the most part, and it was a comfortable ride on the MV Maligaya. I highly recommend that you give this a try, especially if you are not in a hurry.