3. PUBLIC SPACES
These are areas dedicated to passengers usage. The public
areas in cruise ships are similar with those of land-based
hotels. The following are the areas that comprise the
public area section of cruise ships.
Reception Area
Similar to a hotel lobby, the reception area in cruise ships
has several offices. These offices have direct contact with
guests.
Dining Room
This is where the guests meals are served. Similar to the
food and beverage outlets typical in land-based hotels, the
size of the dining area usually depends on the carrying
capacity of the vessel.
Showroom
This serves as the ships venue for entertainment
and business functions, such as conventions,
conferences, and meetings.
Pool Area
One of the many recreation centers in cruise
ships, this area also has food and beverage
outlets and relaxation areas for the passengers.
Gym, Spa, and Sports Facilities
Just like in land based hotels and resorts, cruise
ships provide complete gym services, like
aerobics programs, yoga, and weight machines.
Childrens Area
This area offers babysitting services to a wide
range of age groups. As compared with land-
based hotels, this service may only be availed in
top land based as part of their highly
personalized services.
Gift shop
The gift shop sells both souvenir items and sundries
Bigger vessels may even have dresses and jewelries
by designer labels.
Clinic
Maritime law requires any vessel that carries more
than 100 passengers to have a physician on board,
often assisted by one or more nurses.
Internet Center
This is similar to business centers in land-based
hotels and is an important feature of cruise ships
since communication is hard to get by at sea.
Casino Operations
Casino operations are usually legal on ships; most
cruise vessels boast of casinos where clients can play
a wide selection of card games, slot machines, and
others.
Philippines ferry and passenger ferries are
the life blood for traveling in and among
the Philippine Islands.With 7,107 islands
to explore, it is almost impossible not to
experience a trip or two in one of the
many forms that a ferry can take.
Whether you need to travel short
distances or extremely long distances
there is a Philippines ferry to suit you and
your budget.
For short distances the most common Philippine
passenger ferry is the banca and can be found just
about on or near to every beach in the Philippines. You
will be able to negotiate a fare with the captain prior to
your voyage. Have a look here for more information
on banca boats.
All the major cities can be reached by a Philippines
ferry of some description. The major ports are Manila,
Cebu, Zamboanga and Davao, from these ports you can
get to just about any island in the Philippines. The
Philippine ferries that ply this particular route are some
of the super ferries and can take up to 46 hours or
more, depending on weather conditions.
The Philippines ferry services has really opened up the
opportunity to discover the many islands in the Visayas,
which helps local businesses and communities by
bringing in tourist money that was not available prior to
the Philippines ferries.
Traveling by Philippines ferries is an economical way for
budget conscious travelers to get around.
It is also a fantastic way to see areas of the country that
would be impossible to see by air or land travel. You have
the chance to also mingle with the extremely friendly
Filipino people. A ferry trip is all part of your adventure,
treat it as one an you will have risked nothing. Having said
that long trips on boats may not be every ones ideal way
for getting from a to b.
Philippines passenger ferries have not had a great safety
record in the past, so it is always a good idea to have an
idea about what the weather is up to between your port of
disembarking and destination is, if it looks like it may be a
bit rough and stormy, particularly in the monsoon season
then postpone or take an airplane.
From Manila the major ports or islands you
can travel to by Philippines passenger ferry
are Bohol, Catanduanes, Cebu, Leyte,
Lubang, Marinduque, Masbate, Mindanao,
Mindoro, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Romblon
and Samar. This is not an exhaustive list but
does cover the major ports.
From these major ports or islands you can
take other Philippine ferries to smaller or
lesser known islands and so forth.
Some of the leading ferries in the Philippines
include the following:
1. Cebu Ferries a sister company of the
Super Cat and Super Ferry, which are all
subsidiaries of the Aboitiz group.
2. Montenegro Shipping Lines
3. Negros Navigation- Considered the oldest
shipping line in the Philippines. It was
established on July 26, 1932
4. Super Ferry- the second largest shipping
company in the Philippines. It is one of the
major subsidiaries of the Aboitiz group of
companies.
The cruise line industry offers
various carrer paths in the tourism
industry. Cruise ships have land-
based and sea-based operations
from which a person can choose
his/her career.
The sea-based operations may be
divided into bridge and hotel
operations.
The captain has the final authority on the
ship
The deputy captain is the second-in-
command and is in charge in absence of
the captain.
The chief engineer oversees all the
mechanical equipment, such as the
engines, electrical systems, lightning,
plumbing, waste management, on-board
climate control, and the maintenance or
repair of the ship itself.
The chief medical officer, or
doctor, tends to the health of
the passengers and the crew.
The chief radio or
communications officer oversees
in-room satellite TV
programming, ship-to-shore
phone calls, Interner service,
and all other shipboard
communication systems.
The hotel manager ensures that all hotel
operations on the ship are properly
implemented.
As with the front desk personnel of a hotel,
the purser is in charge in all phases of guest
stay, like welcoming the guest, assisting the
guest, transacting financial matters, and
processing immigration and customs
requirements.
The shore excursion manager/concierge
orchestrates the operation and booking of
port-based packages.
The cruise director provides the guests with on-
board activities and entertainment.
The executive chef manages the French kitchen
brigade on the ship.
The head housekeeper of chief steward manages
the sanitation of all staterooms, public spaces,
and private spaces.
The food and beverage manager oversees the
dining team, which is composed of the maitre, d
hotel, table captains, waiters/waitresses,
busboys, bartenders, drink servers, and wine
stewards.
The chief radio or communications officer
oversees in-room satellite TV programming, ship-
to-shore phone calls, Internet service, and all
other shipboard communication systems.