Discover The World Via Holiday Cruise

Have you ever been on a cruise? If you haven’t, good to know that the sailing itself plus the boat’s amenities are what make the experience exciting! It’s a great way of rewarding yourself for completing a year or two of hard labor. If you’re going by your lonesome, fine, coz it means less expense. 

However, if you’re going in a group or as a family then, that would entail perhaps, those extra cash incentives, bonuses, overtime pays, all for the sake of loved ones. Be aware though, going on a cruise holiday is no simple joke.

Planning Is A Must

I must say, three months of thorough planning is good before you actually take the plunge.

• Where would you like to go and why?
• How long will you be gone and with whom?
• How much can you afford, given the length, destinations and number of company involved in your cruise?
• Do you already have the necessary documentations required of this voyage?

These and many more are the kind of questions to ask yourself to guide you through.

Making A Reservation

Where before you might find it tedious to make a reservation via telephone call or actually paying your favorite travel agency a visit, today, it’s pretty fast and simple. 

If you are technology-literate, a click of the button will bring you to numerous websites offering reasonably-priced cruise deals. Yes, you just have to assess which one of those offers suit you best in terms of budget, time frame and destinations. The best packages most often come inclusive of so many perks like discounts on gadgets, food, drinks, and more.

On site, you’ll find whether a ship is a new or old. You’ll likewise see photos of their bar, dance floor, cabins, the pool as well as the roof deck area. 

And check out the menu beforehand including the dining area if these as well, suit your taste. There are cruises that have special offers like ocean view films for the showbiz fanatic.

On top of those matters, you still have to consider the shore and land excursions, the port shopping where you would need to carry a substantial amount of cash, just in case. 

Whatever your choice,  make sure that your holiday should be worth every cent. Finally, have somebody you can trust to watch your over home while you’re holidaying. 

Bon Voyage!!!
Happy Cruising!!!

The Bliss That Travelling Brings

What makes travelling so fascinating? Why do most people love to travel? Well, first of all, there’s a change of scenery or environment whenever you get to a certain place new to you.

Second, no matter how timid you are, you will always have the opportunity to meet a new friend or two even if you don’t remember their names.

And third, ahhh the memories backed up by selfies and groupies! Years may pass but never the exciting memories etched in your mind forever or in social media, perhaps!

The Wanderlust In Me

I’ve been to a lot of places in the Philippines, some awesome while others are just so-so. My first trip outside of my hometown of Davao was when I was 13 years old.

My father (may he rest in peace), used to bring us siblings to summer vacations to where his ship went. You see, he was a ship purser. We’ve been to GenSan, Zambo, Cebu, Iloilo, Manila, back in the 70s.

During my college days in Cebu, my boardmates used to go home to their respective hometowns during the sem break and more often than not, I used to be alone in the boarding house during breaks. So, I thought maybe, it would be kind of fun if I went with them to their areas. So, vacation times saw me travelling to Oslob, Sibonga and Tabuelan, Lapu-lapu City, all in Cebu, plus Cagayan de Oro and Surigao, all in Mindanao.

Then again, my job after college as a social development worker also brought me to different places – Bacolod, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Manila, plus different municipalities of Cebu. Of course, since the internet wasn’t popularly-used and no smartphones yet in those times, the memories were left between the pages of the photo albums!

In my lifetime, I have switched careers that likewise made me travel, this time to places where there were Muslims and Indigenous Peoples, mostly in Davao, Cotabato, Marawi, Iligan, Zamboanga, Ipil, Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro.

Then, as a freelance community development worker, my involvement with Plan International, World Vision and Save The Children again had me travelling to their respective areas of coverage such as Sarangani, Cotabato and Davao Oriental.

My family holidays as well entailed travelling to Surigao, Lake Sebu, and Mati, Davao Oriental.

My Foreign Travels

I had my first crack at seeing other lands outside of my own country Philippines, in the summer of 2017, courtesy of my kid sister and niece. They sponsored my very first leisure trip to Hongkong and Macau, China. And since the happiness and enjoyment cannot be contained anymore, I had to blog about them and shared the excitement I felt to the whole wide world.  Here are the links:

https://marinorgonzaga.blogspot.com/2017/10/welcome-to-macau-in-this-blog-im-going.html

https://marinorgonzaga.blogspot.com/2017/10/h-ello-travel-fanatic-friends-all-over.html

https://marinorgonzaga.blogspot.com/2017/06/hong-kong-disneyland-6-hours-of-fun.html

https://marinorgonzaga.blogspot.com/2017/05/hong-kong-my-first-experience-was-like.html

Now that I’m nearing retirement, I am looking forward to travelling again, whether domestically or globally. Who knows where my itchy feet will bring me next?

Well-liked Travel Quotes

Just curious, what is really the substance of travel? To borrow from some popular writers, below are terrific quotes personally hand-picked to best describe the very heart of travel:

“If we were meant to stay in one place, then, we’d have roots instead of feet.”

“It’s better to see some place once than to hear about it a thousand times.”

 “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.”

“Travelling isn’t something you’re good at. It’s something you do – like breathing.”

And so on, and so forth.

So, there you are. No more words are needed to understand why travelling is a very significant thing to do in life. 

How about you – do you have an interesting travel quote to share?

My Happiness

General Santos City

Mt. Apo, Kapatagan, Davao Sur

Taoist Temple, Cebu

Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur

Cordova, Cebu

Tsim Sha Tsui (TST), Hong Kong

Lake Sebu, South Cotabato

Disneyland, Hong Kong

Macau, China