International cruise ship to visit Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - Over 300 tourists from all over the country aboard the Swan Hellenic Cruise are expected to arrive in Cebu January next year for a tour of Cebu’s various historical sites.

Swan Hellenic Cruise has included Cebu in their Ports of Call in their Asian destinations.

They will dock in Cebu Port on January 26 for a Shore Excursion within Cebu and Mactan areas, particularly in Plaza Sugbo where the Magellan’s Cross is found, the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño, Fort San Pedro, Yap-San Diego Ancestral House, Casa Gorordo, Museo Sugbu and Taoist Temple.

They will leave at 11 in the evening on the same day.

To ensure safety of tourists, Blue Horizon Travel and Tours, appointed by Swan Hellenic Cruises as their ground handler in Cebu, requested the city council for police visibility on the said day at their various stops.

Blue Horizon also requested sanitation along the roads and areas that will be visited.

Councilor Margarita Osmeña, chairperson of the committee on tourism, referred their request to the City Traffic Operations and Management and the Parks and Playground Commission for appropriate action.

Swan Hellenic is a British company that has been operating for more than 50 years already bringing those who love to travel to must-see sites around the world.

The Cruise Ship, Minerva, a small ship that can accommodate 320 passengers and is furnished in a country-house style has all the comforts that passengers may experience in at least 15-day travel around a specific region.

Minerva is 133 meters long with six passenger decks and 160 crew members who are mostly Filipino and Ukrainian.

Its facilities include restaurants, lounge, bars, a cinema, a library, swimming pool, boutique and gift shops, gymnasium, sauna and spa services, medical center, and personal safe in every cabin.

Swan Hellenic also brags of its long-established and renowned guest speakers who “illuminates days at sea and provides enlightening and stimulating talks that uncover the past and explain the present,” according to Swan brochure. (FREEMAN)