Last week, my partner and I went to Cebu and Bohol on our vacation.  Since the ferry trips took 24 hours or more, we wanted to make sure that our accommodations were comfortable.

The Manila-bound tickets we initially bought were for cabin accommodations. This was okay, since the 2 of us were the only ones in the cabin, so we had our privacy.  Cabins can accommodate 4 to 8 people, depending on the vessel, and each cabin has its own TV and bathroom. But when we were going back to Manila from Cebu, our cabin had 5 other people in it, so we had to upgrade accommodations to have our privacy.

For the SuperFerry 1 vessel bound for Manila, getting the stateroom accommodations in the SuperFerry offices meant paying  P3,962.99 for two people (net fare including taxes and fees, and without meals).  However, by getting the upgrade on the ship itself,we were able to save P1,843.19!

How did this happen?  When we approached the vessel’s front desk, the person in charge told us that we only had to add P700 to our original fare (which was P1,419.80).  That’s only P350 each!  This would make our new fare P2,119.80, which is much cheaper than the P3,962.99 that we would’ve paid if we purchased stateroom tickets in the first place.

This was a real bargain because stateroom accommodations have a much bigger bathroom, a bed for two (rather than one small bed each), and a private viewing deck.  Also, your TV gets a wider range of channels (the TVs in other accommodations can only view GMA and ABS-CBN).  You also have a desk, chairs, and a nightstand.  You can also request hot and cold drinking water to be brought to your room.

The only downside to doing this is that if all the staterooms are full, then you can’t get an upgrade.  Also, you’ll have to reserve your upgrade as soon as you get on the vessel, or others who want to request an upgrade might get ahead.  But if you travel during off-season or the shoulder season, there’s a good  chance that there will be empty staterooms and fewer passengers to compete against.

I also don’t know if you can have the same amount of savings in other vessels, but I think that it’s likely.  After all, you’re already on the ship, and if there are vacant staterooms, at least SuperFerry can still earn from them because of your upgrade.

Have you experienced this yourself?  What do you do to make ferry accommodations more affordable? Please share any tips or comments with us

Note: Prices are accurate at the time of writing.