⌛ The Bus From Dumaguete to Cebu

I know we're getting way off topic now (the original post was about a bus , but I wondered about your views on the recent vigilante activity. I agree that Dumaguete has the infrastructure and the educated workforce to go far, but the recent crime wave (and the gloomy outlook regarding illegal drug activity) can certainly go a long way in derailing any progress that has been made. I've read blogs from those native to the area and it's easy to see their love for Dumaguete, as well as their inability to grasp what may or may not become of their city.

Topic for another post perhaps

 

Ocean Jet are crap

 

We haven't experience boarding this ocean jet when we were there.What about it then,I mean this crap thingy? Just curious for some insights.

 

Oh hello, sorry to be so negative but they are crap! lol

I used them once last year....the vessels are banged up and very rough, they insist one opening your international luggage before boarding at Cebu, even though it has undergone numerous airport scans, SIGH! then when you get to bohol they have mixed up the tagbilaren luggage with DGTE, hence take it all off and find peoples stuff, some idiot put some womans prawns on top of my suitcase...result blood/ guts etc running down the side of my suitcase, the stain never comes out!

End of the day they get you there....although at Dgte I was the last one off, as my family went first, as did all the other passengers, who are so stupid they push and shove to get off as if the bloody boat is going anywhere!
I had to offload all of our baggage myself up on the dock. luckily for me I work in a port and can look after myself, but still you would think the crew who WERE there stayed to finish the job! the supercat is better.. so they stopped it! Although I have used the supercat before i always get fed up with screams at the top of every wave, passengers are like children, even my 8yr old does not do that! if you get there a decent time of day take the air con ceres from cebu its a bit longer but as some have said the drive is nice, it depends how long a flight you have had, maybe stay in cebu overnight then the bus/land trip is best. last time i stayed at the Marriott cebu and the drive to Ocean jet pier takes an eternity! you have to get there very early in the morning 7am I think. to get to Dgte by mid day..ish

I think its a stitch up, to try and sideline dgte and cebu, they are trying to get people to fly into manila, to Dgte, who wants to fly into manila!! bloody chaos!

 

THE DANE,
We are so lucky, you've put up this very informative site and not only that, we meet people thru this forum and inject us knowledge we dont know about Dumaguete City. We are more excited now, not just buying the land with magnificient view, but because, we will be living in a well developed city and loads and loads of beach resorts, places to eat and enjoy music. we are already loving Dumaguete City.
A very big thank you The DANE.

 

you can also take a pumpboat from sibulan to liloan and a v-hire to cebu city

ez ride to sibulan (from the market) 10 peso
pumpboat to liloan (every 30 min to 1 hr) 45 peso
v-hire to cebu city 100 peso

a nicer trip if you dont have lots of luggage although I pay an extra 100 peso for the front seat and extra space as they pack the vans full

 

PhilT...any experiences with Weesam Express? When I was in Dumaguete the SuperCat still ran and provided wonderful service and a smooth ride from Cebu to Dgte (and back). If the Ocean Jet is not a good alternative, that leaves Weesam and the slow ferries, as far as water routes go (and I don't really want to take a slow ferry).

I did not try the pump boat/land trip, but perhaps that will be the only good option left. I assume it provides some nice views along the eastern coast of Cebu...and is much cheaper than the 800-900 pesos we paid for a one-way SuperCat ride.

Too bad about the SuperCat, though. It was clean...it was fast...and I didn't have any trouble with luggage or passengers being pushy. Not sure how it could go out of business as it seemed to be quite packed during our trips.

 

Kuya, No do not know about Weesam Express, never heard of it, might do some checking see what vessels they have. the Supercat has not gone, I think they just changed their routes for more lucrative ones, last time I left Dgte we thought of using one of the V hire vans, but what the heck! they use the same route / ferry as the ceres, and we thought for the difference in fare price, it would not be worth it, also we thought the Driver on the Ceres has a time schedule to keep up, the V hire guy may want to stop for a snack or something, once you are in his van he is in control! The Air con Ceres is just okay, the last time we left at 4am from Bethel! from about 9pm I was with my brother in laws drinking all night till 2 am got a bit of sleep, I was fine on the bus until the Maayo ferry floated gently off the ramp...my stomach was a bit queezy then! a bag of chippy sorted it out! once at the Cebu terminal the ticket guy in the bus got a taxi as with the kids and all the luggage you need some help, always get help in those places, I cannot fault these guys they are very helpful. More efficient than Ocean jet!

Ocean jet will get you there, do not get me wrong, but it seems the staff / crew are very barrio-fied!

 

Weesam looks to have much smaller boats than SuperCat. Noticed a Dumaguete-Cebu route on the schedule, so that's good...perhaps.

Regarding hotel experiences in the Philippines...

I stayed at South Seas and was unable to pay when I checked out. Apparently, if your bill is over 10,000 PHP they must verify your identity with your bank...or something like that. Well, considering the 12-hour time difference, my bank will NEVER be open during the hotel's normal business hours. No exception this particular day. The lady at the front desk was on the phone with a lady in Manila who was trying to contact my bank and authorize my payment. It was midnight on a Sunday back here, so they weren't going to get through. I was trying to pay with the debit card from my bank (which, of course, acts very similarly to a credit card), but the lady wouldn't release the payment.

Then, something happened that would NEVER happen in the U.S. The South Seas staff ALLOWED ME TO GO WITHOUT PAYING, with the understanding that I would send payment once I got back to the U.S. The bill covered two rooms for 9 nights ($60 per night), along with all of the meals I had charged to my tab ($100 or so), so it wasn't a small amount. Needless to say, I sent a MoneyGram to Marilyn when I returned home, and she hand delivered the money a week later to South Seas. Apparently, the woman at the front desk was quite appreciative that I had kept my word. There was no, "Yeah, you better pay us!", but rather a sincere thank you. This was a huge amount by U.S. standards...enormous by Philippines standards. Yet, they simply trusted me.

Here in the U.S., a hotel would get bent out of shape over $50...which is worth a LOT less here than it is in the Philippines.

 

Kuya thats a funny story, but yes I think in general they would trust a foreigner to his word, in your case it was pay up when you get back. Crazy that you WANT to pay but they will not allow until they indentify you?? HOW! you have the card and the card is good so whats the person holding the card got to do with it!? lol!

South Seas is nice i have not stayed there ever but have been there a few times and it looks a bit loose on security, eg last time I was there some people cam up from the beach and came in and were selling jewellery,( my daughter bought some! ) ok no harm but they should not be able top do that, also rooms are spread out over the grounds and at night I think I would be looking over my shoulder. As piapi area does have problems, many druggies are lurking those side roads and if on a bike you could get "jumped" at night heading for the Hotel. Just me, being me! I certainly would not be walking there at night the route to the hotel is lonely and dark. one thing I do like was the room / suite the ones with the clam shell sink units!! bit expensive to stay there though!