A proud moment on the river Scheldt

It was a cold, windy and gray day as our motorcoach drove up the dock along the river Scheldt in the city of Antwerp in Belgium. Suddenly, something stole our attention, the way a 40-carat diamond from Antwerp captures a hundred glances in an instant.

A handsome river cruise ship was swaying gently on the Scheldt, a 350-km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands. And on its deck, standing out against the pale blue sky were the vibrant colors of the Philippine flag — red, white, blue. Standing up gracefully, forcefully, on the ship’s deck to the strong gusts of wind of the late Belgian winter, the Philippine tricolor unfurling was symbolic of how the Philippines would be standing out in the next few days.

You see, our multi-racial delegation of media and travel agents were attending the christening of Avalon Waterway’s newest luxury ship, the Artistry II. And a ship never sails without a godmother.

Chosen to be godmother in the christening of the all-suite luxury vessel, Avalon’s fourth Panorama (a fifth one will be christened this month) is a Filipina, Baron Travel Corp. president and CEO Marilen Sandejas-Yaptangco. So, flying majestically with the Belgian flag and the Avalon colors, a thousand miles away from home, was our very own flag.

It brought a catch to my throat.

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The following day, in the charming port of historic Middelburg in the Netherlands, the actual christening was to take place. A former major base of the Dutch East India Company, Middleburg was going to be the site of the Artistry II’s christening. The ship was festooned with blue and white balloons and the deck spruced up with orange (the color of the Netherlands) tulips.

And the cynosure of all eyes, after the ship, was its lovely godmother, Marilen. After about five tries, aided by Avalon managing director Patrick Clark and Captain Milos Laskovich, Marilen successfully swung a warmed bottle of Moët and Chandon from the dockside to the side of the ship’s bow, till the bottle burst in a myriad of diamond colored bubbles.

The 64-cabin Avalon Artistry II thus made its debut.

“In Europe, the rivers are the pulse of the continent, carrying ships and their passengers on journeys of both work and pleasure,” Marilen, former president of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association, said. “May all who sail on these rivers in this beautiful vessel enjoy their voyage and take home the joy and friendship of a shared journey.”

Avalon’s Clark explained the importance of the christening ritual.

“It is a 4,000-year-old tradition that is pagan in origin, with incantations from high priests,” Clark shared. “The Greeks used to water the ship and the crew to ‘purify’ them. Later, they filled a golden goblet with wine then slushed its contents on the side of the ship.” Then they threw the golden goblet to the sea but gave up the practice when most of the spectators dove into the water after the goblet.

In the 19th century, male members of the British monarchy were asked to be godfathers every time a ship was christened. But in the last century, the honor was given to women and the golden goblet was replaced with a champagne bottle. And instead of incantations, the godmother delivers a speech!

Each of Avalon’s Suite Ships has two decks of all-suite accommodation, with 30 percent more cabin space than the average competitor. They feature wall-to-wall panoramic windows that slide back to turn the entire cabin into an open-air balcony, allowing passengers to enjoy the outdoors without compromising space. 

Marilen is the first Asian to be godmother of an Avalon ship. Asked how it felt to christen a ship, Marilen simply said, “Exhilarating!”

“I feel more proud for the Philippines than for myself,” she added.

Marilen believes the honor bestowed on her comes not just from her impressive credentials (and head-turning good looks) but also because of the market she represents.

“Of course, they want the godmother to be from (our) part of the world because they are targeting this market to fill up the ship. And for the godmother to come from Asia, especially from the Philippines, they’re sending a clear message to the market,” Marilen says.

And the message is?

 â€œThey said that Asia is the rising tiger in anything. Economies in Asia are best suited to grow,” she points out. “Why a Filipina, in particular, as godmother? Because the Philippines has the largest outbound market for Globus, which is part of the Avalon group. We have been awarded by Globus as the general sales agent of the year, for three consecutive years. It’s such an honor.”

***

A river cruise is like being in a cushioned cradle, with the wind singing you a lullaby. The ship, just about the size of a yacht and outfitted like an elegant boutique hotel (with marble sinks and L’Occitane amenities), sails through Europe’s smaller arteries and canals, taking you to picturesque and old cities and towns. Our short cruise through Belgium and The Netherlands began in Antwerp, and took us to Veere, Bruges, Keukenhof (the amazing tulip gardens where you can click your camera toward any direction and get a postcard-pretty shot) , Kinderjink, Utrecht, and finally Amsterdam.

Other Avalon cruises take you from Paris to Normandy’s beaches; Burgundy and Provence; the Côte d’Azur; the romantic Rhine River; the Danube, from Budapest to Vienna; Vienna to Munich; Bucharest, and many more quaint European destinations accessible through a waterway.

The bed in the Panorama Suite faces the balcony, so you wake up to a view and dream with a view as well. You can open wide the balcony doors, and there are guard rails where you can lean against if you want to kiss the wind or simply soak in the scenery al fresco.

All this on a ship that sailed on its maiden voyage with the Philippine tricolor proclaiming to the world that the Philippines, in more ways than one (with investment-grade ratings from two prestigious credit-ratings agencies), had already arrived even before the ship set sail.

(For more information about the Artistry II, please contact your preferred travel agency or call Baron Travel Corporation, the general sales agent in the Philippines of Globus & Cosmos Motorcoach Tours and Avalon Waterways, at 817-4926 or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected]. Visit www.avalonwaterways.com.)

(You may e-mail me at [email protected].)