M/S Minerva arrives Bohol: 2 more cruise ships set to come this year—DOT7 Ric V. Obedencio

TAGBILARAN CITY , Philippines – A total of 333 tourists, mostly pensioners of different nationalities, and 160 crewmembers, more than a hundred of them Filipinos, arrived in this city last Friday (Jan. 18) on board the M/S Minerva cruise ship that docked here for brief tours to some famous sites in Bohol province.

Seven tourist buses with a sitting capacity of at least 45 each and two other coasters were tapped to ferry the visitors to Tagbilaran-Loboc-Carmen tourist circuit where the Blood Compact Shrine, the Baclayon old church, Loboc River cruise, Man-made forest in Bilar and Chocolate Hills in Carmen are located.

Department of Tourism-Region 7 director Rowena Montecillo and provincial tourism officer Josephine Cabarrus welcomed the tourists upon disembarking from M/S Minerva, of the Swan Hellenic cruises, after docking here at exactly 7:10 a.m. from Penang, Malaysia.

Philippine Ports Administration manager Manuel Boholano, port station commander Norberto Alfaras, Rey Cuizon and Agripino Rosita of the Bureau of Immigration in Cebu and Manila; and Department of Health quarantine division with local counterpart officials were also present to greet the visitors of M/S Minerva, steered by a Ukrainian captain. 

After the sight-seeing of the visitors, the cruise ship left at about 6 p.m., and according to a Filipino crewmember, it was headed for Manila and then HongKong.

Montecillo told The Freeman of another good news: Two more international cruise ships are slated to dock in this capital city, bringing in more foreign visitors in the coming months this year also for sight-seeing of Bohol’s tourist attractions.

Cabarrus confirmed Montecillo’s news and both of them said the cruise ships’ arrivals are slated sometime in April and October this year. They did not reveal however what these cruise ships are. (FREEMAN)