There is an old joke that’s been around forever. I’m living that joke as I type this into my PC. As I said in my article yesterday, I am traveling to Cebu this week. Well, I am trying to anyway. As of right now (it’s Saturday as I type this), I am not sure that it is possible to get to Cebu from Davao!
A month ago or so, when my American friend asked me if I would go to Cebu to take care of some things for him, he asked me how much it would cost me for the airfare. I looked it up online, and looked like I could travel round trip for $125 or so. There would be some other costs involved, and the fares might change by the time I went, so I told me friend $200 just to be safe, and I was quite sure that the trip wouldn’t cost any more than that. So, now that I am ready to go, I went online to check ticket prices. Wow! A few weeks ago I could make the round trip for $125. Now, I am getting prices of $150 to $200 each direction, so up to $400 round trip! Oops! This won’t work, because my friend didn’t give me this much for the trip! Hmm…
Well, next step was that I decided I would take the ferry from Cagayan de Oro to Cebu. I could ride the bus from Davao to Cagayan de Oro. I thought that this would be a fun way to travel, and a kind of interesting experience to ride the bus and the boat. The round trip this way would cost me only about $75 or so, well within budget. The boat schedule is only on certain days, though, and it didn’t work out perfect, but I could live with it. The bus ride to Cagayan de Oro is about 7 hours (I can drive it in 5), so it’s a major trip to get to CdO. The boat is scheduled for Sunday night on the Cebu Ferries website. But, if I am going to take a 7 hour bus ride, I want to make sure that the ferry is running on the same schedule that the website says (I mean, when was the last time they updated the site?). So, they have a “Contact Us” link on the site, so I sent them an inquiry, asking if the boat is still on the same schedule published on the site. That was at 8am this morning. At like 8:05am, I got an e-mail from the Ferry company (auto reply) saying that they would contact me within 24 hours with a response. OK, that was acceptable to me. Some 3 hours later, I got another e-mail from the Ferry company. This one said that the lady who would respond to me would be out of the office for about a week, but don’t worry, she will reply to me when she gets back! But… I wanted to ride the ferry about 36 hours from now! Well, obviously this won’t work out for me. Scratch the ferry ride.
I went back to the Cebu Pacific Website to check it further. I found that if I flied mid-week, I could indeed get a much better fare, back down to about $100 for the round trip. OK, I should have checked this earlier. Feyma offered to go to the Cebu Pacific Office and buy my tickets for me. However, when she went to the office, the price was about double of the price they listed on the Internet. Hmm… I told her that I would book it online, and she just waited at the office in case there were any problems. I went through the whole booking, and the price was just under $100. I know that there are often problems using a US credit card on the Cebu Pacific site, so I pulled out a Philippine bank debit card instead. Went through the whole process. My card was declined. I have well over ten times the money that I was trying to charge to the card in the account. I don’t know if the bank declined the charge, or if Cebu Pacific somehow messed up the process, but all I know is that I could not pay online for the tickets. The site also did not give me any option to just reserve the seats and pay at the office either.
Well, Feyma went back to the Cebu Pacific Office and although she had to wait for an hour or so for her turn in line, she was able to get the fare that I was quoted online, so that is good news. However, there is also a downside. When Feyma told the people at the Cebu Pacific Office that my card was declined online, they advised her to go to the bank and tell them not to allow any charges to be put on the card (she paid cash for the ticket) because Cebu Pacific might still put through the charges against the card, even though they declined it! And, if the charges are applied to the card, Cebu Pacific said that they will not refund it, even though it has also been paid in cash now! Oh my… as Feyma just told me on the phone… “Welcome to the Philippines.”
Well, as we all know, this whole process of booking airline tickets, e-mailing tourism related companies, etc. is not an easy process in the Philippines. I am just wondering, though, is it possible to get to Cebu from Davao? Hmm… I enjoy swimming!
Well, at least I have my tickets in hand now, hopefully I won’t have to pay twice for them! Unless any unexpected hitches come up, I should be in Cebu before the time that you read this article. Wish me luck!
OK, good luck!
Hi Bob. This relates directly to the Tourism articles posted recently. The lack of coordination between bus, ferry and airline companies is just embarrasing. Is there a roll on roll off ferry so you can just drive there? "Welcome to the Philippines" just ain,t good enough. It,s cheap enough to get a pilots licence here, maybe you should just buy your own plane!
Thank you, jonaky.
Hi Daryl – Yes, it's a crazy system, no doubt. My own plane? My goodness, I certainly don't have that kind of money! RoRo service to Cebu could probably be done, but you would have to take several different boats, and go way out of your way.
Hi Bob,
FYI
Here's the RORO services that are operational for several years now.
From Davao you have to drive to Surigao (Lipata) or to Balingoan (Misamis Oriental).
I think in your case the Surigao route is probably the best. From previous articles I read that Feyma wants to go to Bohol. So this will be an ideal route:
Travelers from northeastern Mindanao bound for Cebu or Bacolod have the option of taking the Lipata-Liloan RO-RO route and then proceed by land to Maasin for the next RO-RO links (Maasin, Southern Leyte – Ubay, Bohol and Getafe, Bohol – Cebu)
or,
Misamis Oriental (Balingoan) – Camiguin – Bohol – Cebu route.
(I had taken the Lipata-Lilo-an route. It's like the RORO/ferry service in the Puget's Sound Islands… perhaps even better).
Ayaw kalimti pagpalit sa Otap ug Barquellos… Ampaw ug Chicharon gikan sa Carcar.
Hi Bob,
Interesting and frustrating i bet.
How much proof do they need, that they will never attract mass tourism with this kind of infrastructure.
If Thailand can get it right most of the time,why not PI.
regards Chas.
Hi Bob – Thank goodness you're not a tourist – maybe you wouldn't come back! 😆
I had the same problem with Cebu Pacific. The first time I came to visit I was able to get the tickets using a USA card and ordering tickets in the USA. My second visit I could not get tickets while in the USA, Credit card declined. I also got a difference in price quotation from online and in person prices at their CDO office while I was there in CDO. I used Philippines AIr for the Manila to CDO part of my journey on the second visit instead.
I used to go through the same frustrations when I would fly to Davao from either Cebu to Manila. I would always watch the air fares and my credit or debit card was declined. Then I would call a Cebu office in Cebu tell them that I was in Manila and I wanted to book a ticket-I would pay with the same card and I was ok. I never could figure it out. I think the lesson that I learned was to figure out a work around as you did and it can get done. When your in Cebu Bob there is a fantastic Indian restaurant about a block south of the Cebu Midtown Hotel. If you have the opportunity it is so well worth the visit. I was so impressed with the taste of the food, the cleanliness, the service and the price. I think it was called "Maharaja". I know your a foody so you have my recommendation on this one. Have fun.
Sir Robert what can we say as much as i love Phil and her people.this is typical of what you can expect in phil.last year while in Singapore i went to the main Singapore ailines office to change a flight. It was bussiness class mine you.While my ticket was
being altered i was taken to a lounge given a nice breakfast. After breakfast as i left the lounge my altered ticket was walting for me at the reception counter. That Bob is the standard of competion Philippines has to compete with in this region. Sorry my friend untill there is a major culture change as regards tourism by the Philippines in general towards tourism. THis is a battle the Philippines will never win.
Maybe i should send you some water wings Bob it might be quicker then plane or boat ..Hope you are having fun with all this craziness,, Kick back an laugh at it Bob.. I do hee hee ,Like you said " can't get there form here " Ive never heard of such a awkward place like the Philippines.. just to do something as trivial as getting a plane ticket ..OH WELL ..no matter how long you've been there Bob it's always is changing for the weirder … hee hee Just have a good time OK …Phil n Jess
Hi Bob,
Sounds like you had a frustrating experience for awhile. After reading this and the responses posted so far I wonder if it wouldn't be better to just carry the cash you need and pay as you go? In other words make every reservation that is possible before you leave Davao with cash. This reminds me of the statement I read somewhere where it says cash is king in the Philippines.
This story is just another reminder for me about needing patience, staying calm, and keeping a good attitude to be in the Philippines.
Be Careful,
Dale
Bob, I could identify with your experience booking airline tickets on line versus buying tickets in person. Zest Air, the only airline flying the Manila-Marinduque route also offers promo fares for as low as $20 round trip. The regular fare is about $100. If you go to the Zest Air website if you see the promo fare better book it right away, because if you hesitate, the next few minutes it is gone. I could not use my credit card from US, so I have to ask my sister-in-law to charge it in her credit card from PI and just reimbursed her for the tickets. It is very cumbersome. But the trick is to book your tickets may be 3 to 6 months ahead of schedule, if you know the dates of your travel already.
Indeed, that is life in the Philippines. You need the patience of JOB to get a good bargain! Happy trip!
Hi Bob, I've read in newpapers online and heard from friends about Cebu Pacific's bad reviews & they just don't have good customer service. You could have just booked thru PAL or Air Philippines…why give Cebu Pacific the business. Good luck in your trip, the hassle better be worth it.
Peachy
Does somebody know for sure which Philippine debet card works with Cebu Pacific?
Hi Dr. Long – Yeah, I am very familiar with that route, but what I said is that there is not a direct RoRo route to Cebu, you have to make some "side trips" as you say. It's great for a vacation, but if you are serious about getting to Cebu from Davao, that's just not the way to go.
Hi Paul – No doubt! They don't make it easy!
Hi Ron – It sure is strange about the credit cards situation with Cebu Pacific. I was talking with a lady here in Cebu today, and she related the same experience to me also. Thanks for the tip on the Indian restaurant, but I don't like Indian Food! 😆
Hi frank – No doubt, unfortunately.
Hi Phil – Hey, water wings, that would work! It might be slow, though!
Hi Dale – It was very frustrating, and Feyma did the work for me! I can't imagine if I had done it myself. Carrying the cash is OK if you want to go there, I wanted to buy the ticket online from the comfort of my home. Hard to use cash on that!
Hi David – I am planning to try out Zest the next time I fly. We will see how it is from Davao.
Hi Peachy – Fortunately, the flight was great on Cebu Pacific. Good looking flight attendants too! 😆 Buying the tickets was not easy, though. PAL is very expensive compared to CEB.
Hi Luc – I think that it just depends on when you try it! Sometimes they work, most of the time they don't!