CEBU, Philippines – You can’t go wrong with advertising! What caught my attention was a bright orange billboard next to the Banilad-Mabolo flyover depicting a huge traditional banca. With this, I decided to contact Islands Banca Cruises via email and was very pleased in receiving such fast response from a trip specialist, Neil. Neil never failed to answer any of my questions and provided such an excellent itinerary for our day trip.
We took off from Scuba World (located in between Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa and Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa) in the morning and sailed to an island called Gilutungan where we enjoyed snorkeling, fish feeding and coral viewing at the Gilutungan Marine Sanctuary. It felt like being inside a massive aquarium! Just like it stated on the Islands Banca Cruises’ flyer, “Why stay on just one island”, so we sailed to Pandanon a little later. Pandanon is an exclusively all-natural island located close to Bohol where we jet-skied, sunbathed and relaxed on the sand under the sun. The sky was clear blue, the sun was shining and the sea so calm. Working on getting a tan was something we all achieved.
For our day trip, we hired the medium sized traditional pump-boat called the Butete, which could carry up to 12 passengers. The crew – Captain Boy, Paulo and Rico were very helpful and made us enjoy every moment at sea. I particularly liked the boat facilities such as the beanbags, towels, cold drinks, Ipod dock and Wifi. Safety isn’t neglected either as the boat has enough life jackets for everyone onboard. In advance, you may also request for other options such as kayaking, scuba diving, sunset dinners, chill-out cruises, etc – whatever suits your taste. The food is a choice of a BBQ, seafood, Japanese bento or a gourmet sandwich, which all come with a free drink. It was more than enough, I couldn’t have asked for more.
To secure a booking, Islands Banca Cruises would only ask for a 50 percent deposit, while the other half can be paid on the day before your travel. The convenient payment methods are to either deposit into the company account, to pickup payment from a business or residential address, via credit card at any Islands and More stores or payment by cheque. Once this has been done, a confirmation will be sent via email, and you’re all set! A day before the trip, an Islands Banca Cruises trip specialist will give you a call and inform you of your attendant’s name (Paulo) for the following day.
We took our friend, Mary from Milan, Italy (her first ever visit to The Philippines) and Islands Banca Cruises made the perfect introduction to her stay. Many thanks, Islands Banca Cruises! It was FANTASTICO! Will absolutely recommend your services. www.islandsbanca.com