T Here’s good news. Two more international cruise ships are slated to dock here bringing more foreign visitors in the coming months this year for sight-seeing in Bohol’s tourist attractions, Regional Director Rowena Montecillo of the Department of Tourism said in an exclusive interview. This came following the arrival and docking of M/S Minerva of the Swan Hellenic cruises at the city tourist port early morning Friday. Montecillo’s good news to Bohol has been reinforced by a confirmation of provincial tourism officer Ms. Josephine Cabarrus. Both said that the cruise ships port of call here are slated sometime in April and October this year. They failed, however, to name what these cruise ships are. Asked what prompted the foreign visitors from far away to come here, Montecillo said that probably they Bohol very much. She said “Bohol is known for its attractive eco-tourism, and agri-tourism advantage,” where “Cebu is seen to leverage on this.” Montecillo and Cabarrus personally welcomed visiting guests who disembarked from M/S Minerva that arrived here at exactly 7:10 AM Friday at the city port from Indonesia.

Philippine Port Administration Manager Manuel Boholano and port station commander Norberto Alfaras; Rey Cuizon and Agripino Rosita of the Bureau of Immigration in Cebu and Manila; and Department of Health quarantine division with local counterpart officials welcomed the visitors aboard the M/S Minerva. According to one of the crew staff in an interview, more than a hundred Filipino out of about 168 crew members are manning the ship. Based on the manifest shown by Bureau of Immigration officer Rey Cuizon there are 120 Filipino crew in cruise ship. The ship is skippered by a Ukrainian with some 333 mostly old-aged passengers of different nationalities aboard on the cruise ship. Seven tourist buses with a sitting capacity of at least 45 each and two other coasters were tapped to ferry the visitors to Tagbilaran-Loboc-Carmen tourist circuit, where the usual Blood Compact Shrine, Baclayon old church, Loboc river cruise, Man-made forest in Bilar and Chocolate Hills in Carmen town are located. The cruise ship was expected to depart at about 6 in the evening after the day’s tour. It will head to Manila, then to Hong Kong, said a Filipino crew member.