Bolusao, E. Samar to Mandaue City, Cebu

May 31st - June 1st, 2025

Summary

Purpose: Return to Cebu.

Departure Date: May 31st, 2025 (Saturday)

Departure Location: Barangay Bolusao, Lawaan, E. Samar

Arrival Date: June 1st, 2025 (Sunday)

Arrival Location: Mandaue City, Cebu

Total Cost: ₱18,361.91

Narrative

As of May 31st, Arlyn and I had been at our Bolusao home for 33 days. It was time to return to Cebu City to continue our setup activities.

May 31st, 2025

We loaded up the Fortuner and left Bolusao at around 10:00 AM. We needed to drive from Bolusao, E. Samar to Ormoc City, Leyte, via Tacloban.

We arrived in Tacloban at around 12 noon and decided to stop for lunch. We headed over to the Robinson North Tacloban Mall and visited Mang Inasal. Arlyn found a couple of dresses from a local vendor. After gasing up, we hit the road for Ormoc City.

We arrived at Roble ticketing office at 3:00 PM.

We made the right decision to proceed to the ticketing office before checking into our hotel. If we would visited our hotel first, we would have missed our opportunity to purchase our tickets.

We purchased the tickets needed for Arlyn and me to ferry from Ormoc City, Leyte to Cebu City. The VIP room was not available. However, the Unique Room was, so we booked that room. We also paid to have our Fortuner to join us as freight. The ship we booked passage on was the M/V Immaculate Star.

According to the old deck plans for this ship, the Unique Room used to be the ship's hospital.

Itinerary

Date/Time	Event
June 1st, 2025 11:00 AM	Depart Ormoc Port
June 1st, 2025 6:00 PM	Arrive at Cebu Pier 4

We were informed by the Roble personnel that terminal and wharfage fees would need to be paid prior to boarding the ferry. In addition, a coast guard inspection sticker was required. These items cannot be purchased ahead of time. They must be obtained on the day of the travel. In other words, they must be procured just prior to departure.

After completing our business with Roble Shipping, it was time to head to our hotel. I had made reservations to stay for one night at the Copenhagen Hotel on May 15th, 2025. It looked like a good hotel based on the pictures and reviews. It had free parking and the price included breakfast.

After checking into the hotel, we found a Jollibee located next door. This was to be our dinner.

We returned to the Copenhagen to settle in for the night. The room was very clean and professional. The two air conditioning units were very responsive and the bathroom had a hot water heater. There was also a kitchen sink and a refrigerator. The Internet wi-fi signal was solid and easy to connect. There was a limited supply of toilet paper and no washrags. If you plan to visit this hotel, be sure to bring extra toilet paper and washrags. We sacrificed a hotel-provided hand towel to meet our need for a washrag.

Payee	Item	Cost	Form of Payment
Mang Inasal	Lunch	₱268.00	Cash
Robinsons Supermarket	Water	₱38.50	Cash
Petron	Gas	₱1,536.16	Cash
Roble Shipping	Freight cost for Fortuner	₱8,484.00	Debit
Roble Shipping	Unique Room	₱3,030.00	Debit
Jolibee	Dinner	₱333.00	Cash
Rose Pharmacy	Coke Zero	₱113.25	Cash
Total		₱13,802.91

June 1st, 2025

Arlyn and I headed down to the hotel's dining area. We were provided with menus to order from. The breakfasts were filling and satisfying. The wait staff were very professional and prompt. After breakfast, we returned to our room, packed our gear and checked out from the Copenhagen.

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. These would need to be paid on the day of travel.

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

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.

After paying the two fees, a visit to the Coast Guard station is required. 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 following map of Ormoc port outlines the steps that we followed to fulfill the requirements. They are:

1. Park the car in the dedicated port terminal area.
2. Pay Arlyn's terminal fee.
3. Move the car to the inside of the first pier gate.
4. Pay wharfage fee
5. Walk to Coast Guard station to acquire stamp.
6. Return to car and drive onto the dock.

Click on image to enlarge.

With all the terminal fees paid and the coast guard stamp's ink drying, we drove through the second Ormoc Port security gate and drove to the loading area for the Immaculate Star. Once we were there, the ship's loadmaster reviewed our documentation. He then cleared us for immediate loading. Once parked and chocked, we exited our vehicle and headed to the Unique Room.

The Unique Room is much smaller than the VIP room. There is a double bed there with a dedicated air conditioner. There is also a bathroom.

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 ship left the dock promptly at 11:00 AM.

We visited the ship's dining area and grabbed some snacks for the trip.

We arrived at the Cebu Port Pier 3 at around 5:00 PM. We gathered up our gear, returned the room key (and retreived my drivers license), and returned to our car. Most of the other vehicles were already gone. We placed our stuff in the car and headed off to our new accomodations.

Payee	Item	Cost	Form of Payment
Copenhagen	Lodging with Breakfast	₱3,980.00	Debit
Ormoc Port Authority	Wharfage Fee	₱129.00	Cash
Ormoc Port Authority	Terminal Fee	₱30.00	Cash
Roble Cafeteria	Dining	₱420.00	Cash
Total		₱4,559.00

The Strawberry Incident

Back on April 18, 2025, I booked the lodging for our next stay in Cebu. I found a place called the Strawberry Residences. This property was more centrally located. We would not be spending an excessive amount of time in taxis and traffic. It also had dedicated parking. This reservation was made through Airbnb. I booked the residence for two months (June 1, 2025 to July 31, 2025) and prepaid the first month. The owner's name is Mary (not her real name).

The following picture was provided by Airbnb. As it is noted in the picture, the room number is '202'.

When Arlyn and I arrived at the Strawberry Residence, we immediately got a bad vibe from the place. We decided to not unload our gear immediately. We wanted to wait until we get our key and check the place out. When we found the registration desk, our first red flag was raised. The person working the desk had no reservation for us. He spent at least 15 minutes talking with owner to get the information needed. Finally, after some tense glances, we received our key. It was to room 401. We took the small, claustrophic elevator to the fourth floor and located our room. The key slipped loosely into the door and the room opened up. This was not the same room as was pictured. The furniture looked like the same, but the room was much older and lived in...used. It was very dirty, the beds were used, the air conditioners barely worked. It was then when I realized the rooms were switched. The Airbnb picture was of room 202. We were in room 401.

This was not going to work for us. We did not feel safe. I called the owner and expressed my anger and dismay with the room and deception. To her credit, she immediately offered up to cancel the reservation and refund ALL of the money I had already paid. I eagerly took the offer. She also offered for us to stay in the residence for one night at no charge. I declined.

We needed to find suitable lodging and we needed to find it quickly. We were tired and hungry. I remembered there was a Marriott Fairfield Inn in Mandaue City. Arlyn and I stayed there briefly in 2024. I hopped on their app and was able to quickly book a couple of nights at their property.

We locked up the room, returned to the office and gladly surrendered the key and returned to our car. I plugged the Fairfield Inn address in the navigation system and we were on our way. We checked in 15 minutes later. Shortly thereafter, we were in the hotel's dining facility having dinner.

Mary fulfilled her promise and returned the full amount within a couple of days. There was no discussion after that.

Arlyn and I refer to this event as the Strawberry Incident.