Mactan, Cebu to Bolusao, E. Samar

April 28th - April 29th, 2025

Summary

Purpose: Visit Bolusao for the first time since moving to the Philippines and visit with family.

Departure Date: April 28th, 2025 (Monday)

Departure Location: Tambuli Seaside Living, Mactan, Cebu

Arrival Date: April 29th, 2025 (Tuesday)

Arrival Location: Barangay Bolusao, Lawaan, E. Samar

Total Cost: ₱13,480.71

Map

Click on image to enlarge.

Narrative

We arrived in the Philippines on April 4th, 2025 and had been residing in the Tambuli Seaside Living Condominium. Our original departure date from Tambuli was scheduled to occur on May 4th, 2025. By April 23rd, we had completed all that we needed to do in Cebu. We were going a little stir crazy in the studio unit and we were getting tired of the daily one-hour drives from Lapu-Lapu to Cebu and back again. We were also looking forward to visting our home and family in Bolusao. We decided to cut our stay at Tambuli Seaside Living short and make the trek to E. Samar.

Our departure date will be April 28th.

April 24th, 2025

In order to make the trip to Bolusao, we needed to book passage on a ferry for our car and our stuff. We selected Roble as it was the one that showed up consistently as a good provider. On April 24th, we drove to the Roble ticketing office to purchase our tickets.

We purchased the tickets needed for Arlyn and I to ferry from Cebu City to Ormoc City, Leyte. We sprung for the VIP room. We also paid for our Fortuner to join us as freight. The ship we booked passage on was the M/V Immaculate Star.

Payee	Item	Cost	Form of Payment
Roble Shipping	Freight cost for Fortuner	₱8,484.00	Debit
Roble Shipping	VIP Room	₱3,030.00	Debit

Itinerary

Date/Time	Event
April 28th, 2025 10:00 PM	Depart Cebu Port Pier 4
April 29th, 2025 5:00 AM	Arrive at Ormoc City Pier

Normally, the Immaculate Star's VIP room costs ₱3,630.00. When a purchase is made to ship a vehicle, it includes a ₱600.00 credit for the driver to stay in Economy class for the Cebu City to Ormoc City run. Since we chose the VIP room, the ₱600.00 credit was applied to the ₱3,630.00 price, resulting in the ₱3,030.00 cost.

We were advised to be at the pier three hours prior to departure time.

Terminal and Wharfage Fees

While we were at the Roble ticketing office, we learned that we would need to pay for a terminal fee and wharfage fee. We were instructed to visit the Cebu City Pier 3 Terminal Building located at the corner of Quezon Blvd and V. Sotto Street (Google Plus Code: 7WX6+255 Cebu City, Cebu). These fees can be paid for days before the actual departure date.

A wharfage fee is a charge for using a port's wharf or dock to load or unload cargo from a vessel. This fee is levied by port authorities or terminal operators and is typically calculated based on the weight or volume of the cargo to cover the costs of maintaining and operating port infrastructure.

A port terminal fee is a charge paid by passengers for using port facilities. It is a fee for the passenger terminal.

We found a parking space on V. Sotto Street where some kids were assisting drivers with locating parking spaces.

Payee	Item	Cost	Form of Payment
Cebu Port Authority	Wharfage Fee	₱168.00	Cash
Cebu Port Authority	Terminal Fee	₱50.00	Cash
Kids	Parking	₱30.00	Cash

April 28th, 2025

We loaded our gear into the Fortuner at the Tambuli Seaside Living Condominiums at 6:30 PM. Once loaded, we drove to the Cebu City Pier 3 Terminal building, arriving at around 7:30 PM. At Pier 3, we were directed to drive to Pier 4 to acquire a stamp from the Philippine Coast guard (PCG).

You need a stamp from the Coast Guard when using a roll-on/roll-off, or Ro-Ro, vessel in the Philippines to verify that your vehicle's documents (i.e., Original Receipt and Certificate of Registration) are legitimate and that the journey is safe. This stamp is part of the process to ensure compliance with maritime laws and to get clearance for boarding, as the Coast Guard has the authority to enforce laws on the water and inspect vessels for safety and legal requirements.

The Coast Guard station building is located at 8W27+RHH Cebu City, Cebu near the Pier 4 Cebu City Port Authority building. Upon arriving at the Coast Guard station, Arlyn visited with the Coast Guard to receive the required stamp on our ticket. There was no charge for this stamp.

Now that we had the Coast Guard stamp, we drove through the Pier 4 gate. We were stopped by a K-9 unit that randomly selected our vehicle for an inspection. We complied with the instructions. We had plenty of time and we wanted to be cooperative. After about 10 minutes of having their dog check our vehicle and talking with their handlers, we were back in our car and driving towards the Immaculate Star.

The ship was docked a short distance from the gate. We were instructed by the ship's quartermaster to standby while the larger semi trucks were loaded. We waited in our car for about one hour. We were then given the all-clear to load the Fortuner onto the ferry.

We were told to back onto the ferry. This can be a little nerve wracking as I have never backed from a solid dock to a floating ship. Once on the ferry, there are attendants that assist the driver with locating a suitable parking place. Once we were parked, the attendants proceeded with choking the wheels. We grabbed our backpacks and small overnight suitcase. We climbed some very narrow, steep stairs to the appropriate deck. We were directed to the front of the ship in an air-conditioned section. We asked where our cabin was located. They escorted us to our cabin, the VIP cabin.

The cabin's key is provided to you when you surrender a piece of identification. I still had my California drivers license, so this worked just fine.

The cabin is large with a queen-size bed. There is a seperate air-conditioner that you can control. There is a padded bench, small table with chairs. The bed does have a light blanket with sheets. There are also pillows included. The cabin also has a private bathroom. The bathroom has a shower, comode and sink. There is a bidet, but no toilet paper, so bring your own. There is also a television in the room, but we did not use it.

The ship left the dock promptly at 10:00 PM.

There is a cafeteria onboard the ferry. The cafeteria's operating hours are from 7 PM to 12 AM. The cafeteria does not reopen again during the trip. The cafeteria is large and bright with several servers available to assist you. The food was freshly made and was adequate. There were also some premade desserts that were obviously prepared earlier. Chips, raman bowls, bottled water, Coke Zero and beer were all available.

The ferry does not have Wi-Fi. For those with cell phones, it is possible to get a weak signal from a cell tower on a passing island, but the connection is weak and unreliable.

Payee	Item	Cost	Form of Payment
Roble Cafeteria	Dining	₱335.00	Cash

We returned back to our cabin and settled in for the night.

It is at this point that I must mention that traveling on a ferry is not like sailing on a Norwegian cruise ship like the Encore. The VIP cabin is located on the starboard side of the ferry, very near the bow. Once we left Cebu, workers needed to perform various activities near at the bow that included adjusting the anchor chain. There is no insulation, so every metallic sound reverberated through the cabin. There was a constant clanking, banging sound that continued for the better part of an hour. It was difficult to sleep. Fortunately, the sounds subsided and I was able to fall asleep. Arlyn, with all her excitement and anticipation, was not able to get any sleep.

April 29th, 2025

At about 4:45 AM, I was awakened by the sound of a voice coming from a loudspeaker. I can only assume it was to announce our arrival to the Ormoc port. Arlyn and I turned on the cabin light, got dressed, visited the loo and brushed our teeth (with bottled water of course). We repacked our overnight bag and gathered up our gear. We headed out from the cabin, making sure we surrendered the cabin key and had my license returned to me. We found our car and reloaded our gear.

At around 5 AM, the air-conditioner was automatically shut off. I guess we had worn out our welcome and it was time to leave.

The chokes were already removed and we were on our way. We drove off the ferry and approached the pier security gate. The guard wanted to review our tickets before allowing us to leave the pier. It was 5:15 AM.

We found a gas station close to the Ormoc pier. We stopped and gassed up.

Payee	Item	Cost	Form of Payment
Petron	Gas	₱1,383.71	Cash

We drove from Ormoc to Tacloban in about 2 hours 10 minutes.

We drove from Tacloban to Bolusao, E. Samar in 1 hours 35 minutes. We arrived in Bolusao, E. Samar at 9:00 AM.