The MS Spirit of Adventure brought 265 British and 45 French tourists into the different islands of the Philippines. (Photo by PINGGOT ZULUETA)

A number of British and French tourists recently enjoyed the charms of the Philippine islands with the arrival of the cruise ship MS Spirit of Adventure. With its theme “Charm of the Exotic East Voyage” the British and French tourists got a chance to see the beauty of Cebu, Manila and San Fernando while the ship's Filipino crew members got a chance to visit their homeland.

“It’s great to start the year with big numbers of tourists coming in via cruise ship and chartered flights. The tour will be a good opportunity to dispel the negative impact of the Maguindanao tragedy in the tourism industry,” said Ace Durano, Department of Tourism Secretary.

“The Philippines is just fabulous, it’s much cleaner than the other places that we visited and seem more advanced.  Another thing I enjoyed about the country is the people. The Filipinos are very warm and speak very good English. Seeing Spanish architecture and other heritage sites were very memorable,” expressed Catherine Kendall from Gold Coast, Australia, one of the passengers of MS Spirit of Adventure.

The cruise initially docked in Kota Kinabalu from the United Kingdom and visited other countries such as Sarawak, Brunei, Borneo and Hong Kong. After a year of absence, The MS Spirit of Adventure made up for lost time as the Philippines was the longest component of the cruise for this year.

Each time the Cruise Ship docked in different islands of the country, they were welcomed with a cultural presentation and a band which delighted the passengers. But the arrival of MS Spirit of Adventure did not only bring in tourists as it also brought home its Filipino crew. Majority of the Ship’s crew were Filipinos who were also happy to be back in their beloved country.

“Since most of the crew are Filipinos, it feels like coming home. It was the best reception we ever had in all places that we visited, and it’s just mind blowing. The crew loved it as well as the passengers,” said Frank Alloca, Ship Captain of the MS Spirit of Adventure.

A total number of 157 Filipino crew members were all welcomed by their families during the ship’s arrival on different piers in the country.

“The passengers love our (Filipino) crew members; they are one of the major reasons our clients choose our cruise ship over other cruising vessels. They are warm people, great performers, and speak very good English,” added Alloca.