Manila to Cebu Ferry Service
The ‘St Leo the Great’ ferry runs the 2GO ferry service between Manila and Cebu.
The trip normally takes 22 hours, and runs at various different schedules.
Cebu departures in June 2015 are scheduled as:
10:00 PM Wednesdays
01:30 PM Sundays
Manila departures in June 2015 are scheduled as:
07:30 PM Mondays
09:00 AM Fridays
Example of prices (in pesos) on this route are shown below:
June 2015
1,190 MEGA VALUE CLASS
1,307 TOURIST CLASS
1,431 CABIN FOR 4 (per person)
4,202 STATEROOM FOR 2
Prices may vary depending on the exact date.
for example, on another day:
1,605 MEGA VALUE CLASS
1,831 TOURIST CLASS
5,425 SUITEROOM FOR 2
St Leo the Great is the former SuperFerry 21
All staterooms are with private bathroom with bathtub, 2 twin beds, sitting area, and a front view of the ship
Actual Costs of a Trip on St Leo the Great in 2015
We booked a trip on the St Leo the Great Ferry after being told we could take 75kg of baggage each, included in the ticket cost.
We checked the price, and decided to take a suite room, as the price was cheaper than flying.
This was the quoted cost on the online booking system:
BUT… at the final payment stage, they requested an extra 794 pesos for the taxes for the second person. The original price quoted was for two people for the ticket, but only one person for the taxes… It was easier to pay than have the hassle of arguing their booking system.
These were the final two booking tickets (one for each passenger – with names etc removed):
.
So, up from 4,672 to 5,465 pesos. Not too bad still.
We arrived at the Ferry terminal in plenty of time, and began to book in. Porters were needed to take our bags in board. We didn’t pay the porters themselves, but had to pay this fee to the booking/checking in desk, with the Excess Baggage Fee!. The fixed charge for this porter fee was 520 pesos. (From check-in desk to the room).
The first three bags were included in the ticket charge, but the next three (six between two people) we had to pay an extra charge for. Another 450 pesos for Excess Baggage!! We were told we could have 75 kg each, and actually only had 60 kg each, but still had to pay, as we had too many bags !! This was not mentioned when booking, and I did email the office to check first.
So, now it is up from 4,672 to 5,915 pesos. (excluding porter fee) Not too happy now.
On departing, the porter fee for six bags was 600 pesos, but this time arranged and paid direct to the porter.
Total cost was now 7,035 pesos, (including porter fees) compared to the original idea of 4,672 pesos. Maybe Flying was cheaper after all.
However, the suite room did have much better legroom than the plane 🙂
The Official Photos above were probably taken when the ship was last refurbished. I will add some more recent ones soon.