4th of April
MSU – IIT
Well, it all started here. The school is the meeting place. The shirts (what we're gonna use for St. Benilde) were handed out to us. Shirt sizes were quite larger than how they should be though. Anyway, we bought snacks, water and dinner in advance as instructed. Just waited for the bus and we were off.
Cagayan de Oro Harbor
Just the usual, ticket inspections, baggage inspections and all the other crap that the management do before we get on board the vessel. The line was long but fortunately, the pacing wasn’t that sluggish. After getting inside the terminal, we had our dinner and just hanged around ‘til we were called to go on board the ship. We rode a baby bus assisting us on getting by the craft. We then had this final ticket inspection and proceeded our way getting on board the ship.
SUPERFERRY 12
(The Flagship)
After heading up the ship and once on board, an escalator will help you on the way up to the lobby. Yes, an escalator(which sort of surprised me). I’ve rode ships tons of times before but that was the first time I got an encounter with an escalator inside one. Call me silly but that’s just how it is. Oh, another one thing you’ll notice immediately is this seemingly extra force you feel every time you walk though you could barely feel the vessel moving which may take time for you to get used to.
Immediately, right after finding our areas, we were called to have our welcome drinks then had our briefing, familiarization tour and workshops. The previous sentence should’ve ended with an exclamation point. We had our briefing, familiarization tour… and workshops! There, much better. Anyway, it was really late when everything we had to attend and do was over… really late. But I really enjoyed the tour though. I loved the sun deck! It was dark outside but you’ll still get to appreciate the cool breeze and the view of the ocean (as long as you don’t get to inhale the fumes coming right out of the chimney thingy of the boat). Imagine, you by the deck, the wind flowing through your hair, the cool breeze,
fumes… the sun deck is just awesome!
During the tour, I learned that all superferry vessels have similar salon, foudcourt, cafe and store names.
Salon – Trip and Trim
Convenience store – Quikmart
Island Fiesta – Food Court
Café - Horizon
Since we weren’t on land, prices were quite high, sometimes, really high. So it’s best to buy foods and other stuffs you may need aboard the ship beforehand.
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5th of April
Superferry 12 (still)
As briefed,
most of us we all woke up early for breakfast. Then we had a long orientation (damn it!) and also had an even better tour! We were authorized to go to the bridge! :D
What makes is better? Well, we were able to meet the captain and got to see the cockpit. What’s there are fancy equipments and... fancy equipments. Pretty much most of what’s there were things to operate the ship. What do you expect? A swimming pool? That’d be cool though. Speaking of swimming pools, the superferry 12 used to have a swimming pool but it was removed for some reason. It wasn’t that bad since I don’t think we’d have the time nor interest on using the pool.
We then had our lunch after the tour.
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After lunch, we had to hurry and get ready for our practical immersion. As for me, something went wrong with some of the stuffs in my baggage. Mom called for like 4 times and I had to go in and out of our room. In doing so, I lost the lock for my bag and its key. I was able to find it though… the next day.
Practical Immersion
(Island Fiesta)
Before we start doing things wrong, we were first briefed by the crew working at the Island Fiesta. After that, we then started doing what we should do. There weren’t much customers at first so all we ever did was neaten the place up.
What of the crew? They were great! They were really friendly and funny as well. They’re easy to get along with and you won’t feel too much pressure when you’re with them.
Videoke Contest
That night, Island Fiesta held a videoke contest and it was a BLAST! The crew were like stand-up comedians and they were really funny. I would even prefer watching them goofing about and telling jokes than listening to the contestants singing out of tune. The event lasted for hours but I tell you, there was not a boring minute! Some of us were lucky we were deployed at the Island Fiesta.
(at the Island Fiesta)
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6th of April
MANILA!
(Manila South Harbor)
All there is to do now is an early two hour duty at the Horizon Café. After that we had to hurry up again, pack our things, get ready and bid farewell to the vessel. By the port, we can already see the Manila Hotel and some other known hotels. But I was rather irritated by the heat so I didn’t bother looking around that much knowing we’ll get to have a look around the city later on. At that time, I just wished our service would hurry up and fetch us already.
Bayview Hotel
And yes… This is the place where we’ll be staying here in Manila for three days and two nights. It was rather small though, not what I imagined it would be. Kind of like the feeling you’ll experience when you meet me personally. I kid. Anyway, we weren’t there to relax. Well, at least not yet. We were there to leave our things and proceed to DLSU – College of Saint Benilde.
De La Salle University
College of Saint Benilde
(School of Hospitality and Restaurant Institution Management)
Outside you’ll see students in corporate attire. We were divided into two groups and were escorted to the elevator. Upon arriving to the designated floor, the scene was pretty much like of a hospital lobby… or maybe it was just me? Again, we were escorted to the room where we’re supposed to have our seminar and everything started there.
The overview, the video presentation, the discussion, everything… it had me thinking “what have I been doing all this time?” At that time, I was pretty sure I wasn’t just hungry going all serious about life and crap. I kid. I’m quite concerned about my future really. Right after the seminar, we had a little tour around the college. The whole place was PACKED!
(Bear with me... these are the only photos I found worth placing here)
There were students having their lab classes too... they weren't spared :D
Along with the tour was their entrepreneurial exposition which was one of the most unforgettable part of our visit for me. The whole place was so crowded and so lively! Students were selling their products but there were few though who’d hand out free samples. The energy there I swear was contagious!
Our little tour at St. Benilde ends at their Vatel Restaurant.
It's a neat place though we didn't get to dine there. I bet the food there's awesome!
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Magsaysay Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts
(Times Plaza)
Our next stop was the MIHCA or the Magsaysay Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts. We had a little tour around the place.
They have this gallery of room type displays that can be viewed through glass panels.
Aside from the gallery, they also have these room displays that aren’t limited from the outside.
Right after the tour, we again had another seminar.
and snack?
(wasn't that tasty... shhhhh)
I forgot to mention that some of their rooms were completely like of those in certain cruise ships. Perhaps their food were cruise ship inspired too? I know a certain vessel where they serve food which taste like air at times. Lalalala xD
... But their sandwich was great :D
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Back at the hotel, we decided to go to nearby malls and cafe to at least explore the city a little bit. Thanks to Kaye's aunt, we got to have our dinner at Cabalen's (Robinson's mall).
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7th of April
Manila Ocean Park and H20 Hotel
H20 Hotel
The H20 hotel is the hotel located within Manila Ocean Park. Its a cruise ship inspired hotel and is very unique in its own way. Guests may choose from four types of rooms. One is a room with a large aquarium in it, another one's a room which lets you see the Manila Bay, or a guest may choose a room having the view of the hotel's bar (cruise ship-ish view), and the last choice is the view of the place where ocean park does their animal show thingy. Enough of that, let's now go to the Ocean Park! I kid.
This is the aquarium wall.
Each of the room's aquarium is connected to one another.
In other words, the rooms which have the aquarium wall share only one very long aquarium.
Each room is equipped with this.
I believe I don't have to explain what it's for, just look at the picture.
(click the image to have a better look at it).
The view of the place where the Marine Life Show takes place.
The view of the White Moon.
There is no available photo for the fourth one.
Only three types of room were showed to us.
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The Manila Ocean Park is just paradise! You get to be in an awesome man-made habitat. Plus, you get to see tons of sea creatures and... more sea creatures. Don't complain, its ocean park... not Jurassic park... nor is it a zoo.
(Us, by the lobby... not a great pic but I love myself here so there)
Before ever getting to the aquariums, you get to pass by this man-made forest thingy :D
The view whenever looking up.
You'll also get to see creatures such as the Philippine Crocodile and the Giant Arowana.
I play metal gear and I could only wonder how they taste like.
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and finally...
FISHIES! XD
they're the only ones we're allowed to feed...
(sting ray)
(lion fish... no, they don't roar.)
after that he must've said, "wait! wait! I haven't got to smile at that one!"
(Sadly, I forgot what this fish is called but I'm pretty sure its not "garbage". He looks wasted.)
It'd take forever if I show you all the pics. I hope that'd be enough for that part :)
then its...
THE AQUARIUM TUNNEL THINGY!
(OCEANARIUM)
(and no, they don't do drugs)
the best caption for this pic is...
"This pic is uber cool but I hate it coz I'm not there!"
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One of the girls I...
stole pics from :D
teehee xD
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From that place is a long walk to another sector where you'll get to see bigger sharks and a chance to get an even closer look at them. That's right, you may actually dive into the shark infested pool... in a cage of course. It's called the Aquanaut Voyage but its evident that it costs a lot so might as well be a spectator and just enjoy watching (if there are any aquanauts). By the way , the Aquanaut Voyage ain't limited for the sharks only.
Up ahead are stalls selling cheap, not so cheap and so not cheap items. We bought a few stuffs and... end! XD end of the tour :)
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8th of April
Pan Pacific Manila
We started our day with a breakfast at Chowking by the Bayview Hotel. My group and I were late (again) so we really had to hurry up and go back to the hotel right after we ate. We then headed to the Pan Pacific Hotel, a five-star butler hotel. It was GRAND!
So? What's a butler hotel? Basically, a butler hotel is a hotel manned by butlers. Butlers handle the front desk, the housekeepers are butlers, the concierge is a butler... you know where this is going.
Our seminar there was from 9:00am to 4:00pm and well, yeah... The first thing that came into my mind was... "HOMAYGAD! This is gonna be soooo BBOOOOOORRRIIIIIINNNG!" But... It wasn't. The seminar turned out to be GREAT! We had an overview of the hotel, had some fancy discussion about food and beverage, were introduced to the opera system and were told about a story of this one specific butler they call the happiness guru. Sadly, I think it would be wrong if I share the story to you guys and I hope you'd respect my decision of not sharing it to the public.
I'll just tell you great stuffs about butlers instead. Some people might thought of butlers as servants. But they're not... okay, so maybe they are. But they do more than just serve their masters, they get to be close with them and at times, become even a part of the family of their masters. What amazes me the most about butlers are
the tips they receive their loyalty to their masters. Okay, so Imma go correct one thing I said earlier, butlers aren't really servants... they're more like a bestfriend (the most expensive type) whom you could always count on. Also, butlers are packed with all sorts of knowledge. They are very well-rounded and are very refined individiuals. Since I still have tons of things I should write about, I'm gonna end here. I'll just leave you guys a video that shows you what a butler's like, what they do and how their master means to them.
The butler, of course!
(you have to be signed in to facebook to watch the vid)
We had our lunch at the Pan Pacific hotel and here are what they served us:
(sorry if the pics aren't that good)
Red Beets Salad, Italian Sausage
Aromatic Greens
New Zealand Mussel Consomme'
Marsala Braised Chicken Breast, Rice Pilaf
Red Onion Confit, Plum Tomato Ragout
Chocolate Decadence
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Pipz whom I stole pics from:
Our little tour around the Pan Pacific Hotel
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After our visit at Pan Pacific hotel, we then went to Robinson's Mall to buy stuffs for our family, friends and ourselves. We had to buy our dinner there too in advance. After about two hours, we left the mall and made our way to the harbor.
Manila South Harbor
Another excruciating long line. Luckily, we don't have to wait at the terminal anymore for our ship to arrive. The vessel was already there. We were to go aboard directly right after all the inspections.
Super Ferry 5
It was really late already when we got aboard the ship. As far as I can remember it was about 9:30 or so. After finding our areas, we were called to have our briefing.
and after that...
Zzzzz...
9th of April
Super Ferry 5
Ahhhh...
This has got to be my favorite part of the whole blog post 'coz all I ever need to say is...
"WORKED ALL DAY"
I kid. I loved it when I worked at the Island Fiesta! During that time, me and the rest of the guys were busboys (since only girls are assigned to the counter). We were to handle guests which probably just reached a number of... say... two thousand? and we were just four guys. The superferry 5 can accomodate almost 2,400 passengers and over 90% of them dine at the Island fiesta. Looking at the line of guests going to the counter alone is a challenge. Its sad that I can't show you guys any photos of us during work though 'coz we're not allowed to bring cellphones or cameras. But I tell you, the line of guests seemed like a wall surrounding the whole place. I loved every minute of working there though! You get to develop new techniques on busing out and I don't know... to me, it just seemed so relaxing. Probably 'coz you get so busy doing work you don't have time to think of other things. I tell you, there won't be a moment were you'll just stand up and do nothing. Once you finish taking care of three to eight tables, you go back to the battlefield and see more tables to take care of! But I smile though whenever seeing I still have tons of tables I need to take care of. I don't know why. To me, it just seemed so relaxing. I even challenged myself to try and do more tables at once... doing more than my previous record if I may.
Another challenge is all the rants and complains you'd get to hear and take! It was breakfast that time and you could really notice that the people didn't like the food. They were like, "What's with the food? We're not prisoners!", "What's with the management? What is with this food?!", "We payed for this?"... All I could do was look at them, smile, stay silent, and resume work.
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After that I had to work at the front office. Luckily, the front desk doesn't offer that much pressure. All we had to do was to know basic information about the ship, know what is frequently asked, do what the front desk clerk instructs us to do and that's it.
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Before dinner time, I had to work at the Island Fiesta again. This time, we're two busboys short... that leaves me and one other busboy. I didn't mind. I love it when the going gets tough and the tough gets going! Stuffs on the tray I held became thrice to four times more than how it was during breakfast. It was heavy but also thrice to four times the fun! I could say I survived but then again that was a certainty. At the end, I developed new techniques and skills I'm supposed to learn. It was fun and again I loved every minute of working there! Thank you Superferry 5! :D
(by the way, their dinner was great... not one complained)
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10th of April
Super Ferry 5
(Graduation)
We started our day with a two-hour duty. After that, we had to pack our bags and prepare ourselves for our graduation. Sadly, it ended immediately when it was over. We still had tons of things to do 'coz at that time we were to leave the ship already. We have to resume packing our bags, prepare ourselves again... and finally, say buh-bye to superferry 5. I'm glad I got to be a part of the "Immersion". I learned so much... more than what I should just learn about HRM. What those are, is for me to keep. What I would want to say though is... from this day forward, I will work hard to be the best that I can be and to apply the lessons that I've learned to my daily life and I will not rest 'til I achieve what I want to achieve in life - SUCCESS!
