Government hit over ‘cruise chaos’

MANILA, Philippines — A netizen criticized the Philippine government for allegedly mismanaging the disembarkation of passengers of a cruise ship that docked in Manila.

In a Facebook post dated Dec. 9, Nelson Terible described his experience and that of his fellow passengers, composed of 2,500 Filipino-American retirees and foreigners, as “cruise chaos.”

They were on the cruise ship Norwegian Jewel that docked at Pier 15 in Manila on Nov. 30 to conclude its 10-day Southeast Asia tour, he said.

Among his complaints were the lack of port personnel to assist in carrying the luggage of the passengers, mostly elderly, and being left in the open parking area at noon when the sun was at its peak.

Terible also ranted about port employees collecting declaration forms despite the passengers saying the documents had already been collected at their port of entry in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

The passengers also passed through a “two-meter walkway that was broken and uneven, making it incredibly challenging to pull or push our luggage,” Terible said.

 Also included in the two-hour “sad, pitiful and traumatic” ordeal, Terible narrated, were “unscrupulous individuals trying to make a deal with some foreigners.”

“We disembarked at seven ports – Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Puerto Princesa, Boracay – and we all had a very pleasant experience,” he said.

Terible’s Facebook post garnered around 3,000 reactions as well as over 600 comments blaming the government for the incident.

In response, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) blamed Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) and Ben Line Agencies Inc. for failing to deploy personnel for traffic management and providing only 20 civilian porters to assist 2,353 disembarking passengers and 2,505 embarking passengers.

The PPA said it assisted by issuing 1,150 temporary vehicle passes and ensuring that the Malasakit help desk provided assistance. 

The PPA has demanded explanations from ATI and Ben Line Agencies Inc., which they have yet to submit as of Thursday.

The Department of Tourism said it “was not included in the pre-arrival coordination meetings” of the PPA with concerned parties.