By Joseph B.A. Marzan
2GO Travel, the country’s largest sea travel provider, invites everyone to travel across the country while being pampered with premium service above water with its P22 Crazy Sale.
From Iloilo, travelers can sail to Manila thrice weekly and once weekly to Cagayan De Oro via M.V. 2GO Masagana, one of the company’s newest and fastest vessels, as well as M.V. St. Michael the Archangel, a tried and tested staple in their family of ships.
The two vessels also ferry travelers from Bacolod to Manila and Cagayan De Oro.
Within the Visayas, travelers from Cebu can go to Cagayan De Oro, Ozamiz, and Butuan, while those from Dumaguete can travel to Zamboanga and Dipolog.
Travelers coming from Manila, 2GO’s main port, can travel to Iloilo and Bacolod as well as other destinations including Butuan, Cagayan De Oro, Cebu, Coron, Dipolog, Dumaguete, Ozamiz, Puerto Princesa, Tagbilaran, and Zamboanga.
2GO Group Head for Marketing Blessie Cruz said in a press release that they intend to make trips into what they call their “3S” or “Safe, Sulit, Saya!”
“Sea travel is the way to go, as 2GO offers passengers ‘sailcations’, wherein your vacation begins the minute you go onboard. Our vessels, most especially MV 2GO Masagana and 2GO Maligaya, offer spacious and clean accommodations, hot and fresh meals, special event packages, and a variety of food and drink selections onboard, giving passengers a safe, affordable, and fun travel experience,” Cruz said.
In a press event in Iloilo City, 2GO retail marketing manager Ingrid Salud said that they are open to exploring more tour package offerings for Iloilo City to ensure that travelers will have a good time after they dock.
Salud said their goal is to develop ‘sail and stay’ packages that already include hotel accommodations, among other components, which are already being marketed for customers travelling to Caticlan and Cebu.
“We can all sit down to develop Iloilo products which are suitable for the market. We saw in one brochures that there are food trips here in Iloilo [City], so that’s something we can consider. Definitely, we’re open to that,” she said.
Iloilo City Tourism Officer Junel Ann Divinagracia suggested that tour providers in Iloilo City may provide ‘stopover city tours’, where tourists can dock and go on a short tour of the city which can run for up to 2 hours.
Corporate Communications Manager Francis Respicio said that they want to emphasize on the ‘sailcation’ aspect of the travel to ensure that travelers will have a good experience while on board even with the long travel time.
“Your vacation begins the minute you step on board the vessel, with all the amenities, the clean vessels, and the hot and fresh meals that we offer,” he said.
“Instead of pitting airline versus sea travel, what we’re trying to do is to grow the traveling market, especially for those to wish to have a slower traveling experience. If you’re in the capacity to do that, you can travel with 2GO,” Salud added.
The P22 sea sale is inclusive of a 50-kilogram baggage allowance and accommodations. The promo started on July 4 and will run until July 11, and travel dates for this promo will run from August 1 onwards.
