We arrived in Manila 3 hours late due to technical problems with the ship last night. Our ship was at a virtual crawl during the night while 'things were fixed'. I heard rumor that there was talk about heading straight to Hong Kong.....skipping all ports from here to there...but so far, so good. The band-aid is holding firm. What is really great about this port is that the majority of the crew members are from the Philippines. We are coming "home"! By getting to know the crew, we passengers were adopted into their families. We had the honor of bringing them all home. The anticipation and excitement had been in the air for a few days now. When we docked everyone was out on their balcony. The decks were filled with the crew in their white or grey uniforms. We lost 200 crew/staff here as the 8 month contracts were up. We have aquired 200 new smiling faces as a result. The rest, that stay onboard, got time to visit their families and friends. Because we all were drawn in, this port was an emotional high at docking. I felt I too was meeting up with family I was in tears . Everyone was pointing and waving. When disembarking, we witnessed hundreds of people running , hugging, kissing. Litttle ones were runing into a mommys' arms. Husbands and wives were reuniting. One of our waiters was glowing when he realized his 18 month old remembered him.
Because we arrived late, we were not able to go on the tour David was looking forward to, Corregador. Instead, we booked Charms of Old Manila, one of the worst tours we have been on to date. We saw a San Augistin Church dating back to 1571, an old fort, Rizal Park, had a snack no one wanted, and hit a souvenir shop. People were ready to lynch the tour guide, were impatient, complained all the way, some left in a taxi mid way and one kept a whole bus waiting an additional 35 minutes while she shopped. You know, the ususal ship tour.
My impression of Manila?????? Like my favorite brother-in-law so beautifuly described...."Manila? big laugh... good luck with the traffic going anywhere!" And was he right...Thanks Andy! Hence, all my pictures are of TRAFFIC...everywhere. It is a mess going anywhere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy2x-3Juy-g
What I will remember mostly about Manila, besides traffic is the people and the family ties. I too would wait on that pier for 2 hours knowing that my husband and I were still together.... and I would want to feel that for as long as I could, until he sailed away. We stood on the balcony and then on the deck 5 for a good 90 minutes waiting for the ship to sail. Once again, families stayed on the pier until the ship was out of site Our waiters were moving back and forth between waving good bye and their ship duties. Cell phones were their mode communication. We just wanted to stay on deck, stay with them in spirit, until the last minute. There was a high school band on the pier. Balloons were set off into the night. Our ship played a tune and the band answered. Everyone was dancing and moving to the music. When the ship played this song, everyone went wild! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpN8JFhIQGI (Coming home Manila) It just went on and on until we had to leave. With our waiter, we blew kisses and waved good bye to his two daughters and his wife. Our waiters had a smile, but their eyes gave them away. As we pulled out, the pier was no longer in site, we place our order.....and we all pretended it was life on board as usual.
My impression of Manila?????? Like my favorite brother-in-law so beautifuly described...."Manila? big laugh... good luck with the traffic going anywhere!" And was he right...Thanks Andy! Hence, all my pictures are of TRAFFIC...everywhere. It is a mess going anywhere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy2x-3Juy-g
What I will remember mostly about Manila, besides traffic is the people and the family ties. I too would wait on that pier for 2 hours knowing that my husband and I were still together.... and I would want to feel that for as long as I could, until he sailed away. We stood on the balcony and then on the deck 5 for a good 90 minutes waiting for the ship to sail. Once again, families stayed on the pier until the ship was out of site Our waiters were moving back and forth between waving good bye and their ship duties. Cell phones were their mode communication. We just wanted to stay on deck, stay with them in spirit, until the last minute. There was a high school band on the pier. Balloons were set off into the night. Our ship played a tune and the band answered. Everyone was dancing and moving to the music. When the ship played this song, everyone went wild! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpN8JFhIQGI (Coming home Manila) It just went on and on until we had to leave. With our waiter, we blew kisses and waved good bye to his two daughters and his wife. Our waiters had a smile, but their eyes gave them away. As we pulled out, the pier was no longer in site, we place our order.....and we all pretended it was life on board as usual.
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