Sea travel: The SuperFerry experience

Finally, you decided to go on a vacation. Your cruise onboard the WG&A SuperFerry 1 has been booked for months. You’ve spent those months anticipating this cruise, perhaps like no other vacaton before it. When your tickets arrive at home, you read every word over and over, until you ask yourself, “What can I expect from this trip?’’

Ship ahoy!

To begin with, as you approach the WG&A terminal you can expect to see masses of excited people handing their luggage to porters, who help load them onto the ship. Upon entering the terminal building, security personnel will inspect your bags and once you’ve been cleared, you’re ready for boarding the ship.

Walking onboard is like going inside a five-star hotel where a cruise line personnel greets you at the entrance. After presenting your cruise documents, you’ll be given your cabin keys. If you need help locating your cabin, attendants are ready to assist you.

The SuperFerry 1 has long been considered a “floating hotel’’ with a variety of accommodations to choose from, ranging from the exclusive suite rooms, classy cabins and comfortable Mega Value and Super Value decks. As you look around you’re likely to find that these accommodations are comfortable and complete. But before your mind becomes cruisecrazy, we should take care of a few details now. And these are important matters: They involve eating!

Food Trip

By now you’ve received your dining assignment. It will either be noted on your ticket or the maitre d’ or restaurant manager will inform you where to go. It is recommended that you visit your assigned dining room first. For one thing, it’s a treat seeing the dining room for the first time, more importantly, it’s good to know how to get there. After all, who wants to miss a meal?

Inside the SuperFerry 1, the dining room and specially restaurants, won’t be serving meals until dinner. These are the Bistro Txanton, Club Mabuhay and the La Cafeteria dining room. Upon entering, indulge yourself to a full buffet set up in a casual atmosphere. There is no shortage of plates, cutlery or even food, so there’s no need to push anyone over on your way by. The food served are fresh and of good quality that won’t lead you to disappointment.

While you’re eating, you will likely find there is no shortage of drinking stations either. There are normally drink stations of some sort in or around the buffet area, where coffee, tea, iced tea and juices are offered. Alcoholic beverages are certainly not your only option. The cruise lines also offer soft drinks.

All hands on deck

So now that you’ve quenched your need for food and drink, it’s time to explore the ship. I normally tear a deck plan out of a brochure and bring it along with me. Even though there are miniature deck plans around the ship, bring along a friend so that you won’t get lost alone.

Walking through all the public rooms is one of my cruise rituals. I believe it’s important to become familiar with my new surroundings. It also saves me from spending the rest of the cruise walking down the wrong hallways, and even putting my cabin key in the wrong doors. By the end of the stroll I’ve normally picked out one or two favorite spots I will be visiting regularly.

Now it’s time for the sail away, so get up on the deck for the sail away party, or crack that bottle of champagne on your private balcony for you and your loved ones. It’s a real treat watching the ship pull away from the pier.

So now, you’re off to the dining room for the first full dinner of your cruise. This would mean meeting your tablemates and waiters with whom you’d be spending your dinners with for the rest of the cruise. Good food, excellent service and new friends – a combination that makes for a wonderful dining experience.

When you leave the dining room, you’ll normally find a variety of activities to choose from aboard the SuperFerry 1: New Wave Salon to pamper yourself; shop-till-you-drop at the Souvenir Shop or Shop Ahoy; sing-along bars where you can sing your heart out; and the Salu-Salo discos for the late-night crowd.

There’s nothing quite as romantic as a stroll on the promenade deck, watching the glistening stars and moon with your loved one by your side. After an evening of fun in lounges or discos, you return to your cabin each evening, where the bed is turned down, and you lie down dreaming of what awaits you tomorrow.

A vacation like no other

Traveling aboard the SuperFerry can certainly exceed any traveler’s expectations. With 22 ports of call and a flexible schedule, you can choose where and when you want to go. What’s more, WG&A is the first and only Filipino shipping company to have its entire fleet certified by the International Safety Management (ISM) Code standard, thereby guaranteeing your absolute safety and security aboard the ship. Talk about getting great value for your vacation money.

Sea travel is like no other vacation on earth, especially aboard the WG&A SuperFerrry 1. In my view, that applies to all SuperFerry vessels, and couldn’t be more true.