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Cruise ship drops anchor at Boracay Island

SAN JOSE de BUENAVISTA, Antique, Sept. 24 (PNA) - - Legend of the Seas, a luxury cruise ship carrying around 2,700 passengers and crew dropped anchor at the Boracay jetty port at about 7 a.m. on on Saturday and expected to depart for its next destination in the next 10 hours.

The luxury ship was built in France and operated by Thomson Cruises but it was registered in Malta. On this trip, its passengers are Chinese and they chose Boracay as their destination because of its “beauty and safety and where all nationalities are given a warm welcome.”

Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 6 Director Helen Catalbas said that this visit was very significant to Philippine tourism industry in the sense that it added up to number of tourist arrivals, not just in Boracay but in the whole of Western Visayas.

According to Catalbas, other cruise ships that will visit Western Visayas in the near future, particularly on Nov. 9, of this year, is Pacific Venus and on Nov. 22, Celebrity Millenium, will likewise drop anchor. The director did not specify Boracay Island though, as to the point of entries of these cruise ships, but these might drop anchor at any Western Visayas port and tourist destination.

These cruise ships, which brought with it lots of tourists and should be considered as having economic significance in terms of tourist spending and must be counted as a positive factor realized during the visit, added Catalbas.

Catalbas also disclosed that there were around 200 Filipinos who worked as cabin boys, chefs and crew in this cruise ship, and "that is something we should be proud of."

Boracay is visited by an average of 9 cruise ships every year from the US, Europe, China, Singapore and Hongkong, furthered Catalbas. And these visits played a big role in terms of tourist arrivals.

As of middle of this year, Western Visayas registered a total of 4.6 million arrivals, with Boracay having 1.5 million visitors, said Catalbas.

The luxurious Legend of the Seas , the first Vision-class Royal Carribean ship was launched in 1995 and is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. In spring of 2017, it will be transferred to the UK cruise line and will have its final sailing for the US Company on March 13, 2017. (PNA)
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