Synopsis

Arlyn had her angiogram/angioplasty in late April 2026. We wanted to travel to Bolusao, E. Samar before Fiesta began (May 16, 2026). Arlyn needed to visit with her cardiologist and endocrinologist to get clearance to travel. She received the clearance on May 12, 2026 from both specialists.

Our departure date to travel to Bolusao was set for May 13, 2026.

Summary

• Purpose: Fiesta in Bolusao
• Departure Date: May 13th, 2026 (Wednesday)
• Departure Location: Mandani Bay Tower 1, Mandaue City, Cebu
• Arrival Date: May 13th, 2026 (Thursday)
• Arrival Location: Barangay Bolusao, Lawaan, E. Samar
• Total Cost: ₱14,598.00

Map(s)

Narrative

May 12th, 2026

We received final clearance from Arlyn's two specialists on May 12th, 2026. Since we had the clearance, we needed to quickly make arrangements for us to travel to Bolusao. To make the trip to Bolusao, we needed to book passage on a ferry for our car and gear. We selected Roble Shipping (Company Website, Wiki) for this trip. On May 12th, 2026, we drove to the Roble ticketing office (Google Maps) to purchase our tickets.

We purchased the tickets needed for Arlyn and me to ferry from Cebu City to Ormoc City, Leyte. We sprung for the VIP room. We also paid for our Fortuner to join us as freight. The ship we booked passage on was the M/V Immaculate Star.

Itinerary

Date/Time	Event
May 13th, 2026 10:00 PM	Depart Cebu Port Pier 4
May 14th, 2026 5:00 AM	Arrive at Ormoc City Pier

Because of the conflict between Iran and the United States, the Strait of Hormuz was at the center of the conflict. This had a negative impact on oil shipments around the world, including the Philippines. As a result, the cost of fuel increased significantly (as much as 50%). This increase in fuel costs were passed along to the consumer in the form of fuel surcharge. This increased the cost of shipping our vehicle on the ferry. The cost of shipping our car was ₱10,520.00.

Passengers were not immune from the fuel surcharge. Passengers also had to pay a fuel surcharge. The cost for the VIP room was ₱3,820.00.

We concluded our business with Roble at around 4:00 PM. We still needed to drive to the Cebu Port Authority to pay the wharfage fee and acquire the Philippine Coast Guard stamp. However, since it was so late in the afternoon, we decided to run these errands the next day. We returned to our condo unit.

Payee	Item	Cost	Form of Payment
Roble Shipping	Freight cost for Fortuner	₱10,520.00	Debit
Roble Shipping	VIP Room	₱3,820.00	Debit
Total		₱14,340.00

Note: Because of the fuel surcharges we had to pay, this increased the cost by ₱2,826.00.

May 13th, 2026

Terminal and Wharfage Fees

In response to the fuel surcharge, the Cebu Port Authority suspended the collection of terminal fees. This resulted in a savings of ₱50.00.

This suspension of fees did not extend to wharfage fees. Since we had a vehicle to ship with us, we had to pay the wharfage fees.

A wharfage fee is a charge for using a port's wharf or dock to load or unload cargo from a vessel. This fee is levied by port authorities or terminal operators and is typically calculated based on the weight or volume of the cargo to cover the costs of maintaining and operating port infrastructure.

Arlyn and I headed to the Cebu City Pier 4 Terminal Building located on Quezon Blvd (Google Maps) on the morning of May 13th, 2026 to pay the wharfage fee.

While we were in the area, we proceeded with acquiring the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) stamp.

You need a stamp from the Coast Guard when using a roll-on/roll-off, or Ro-Ro, vessel in the Philippines to verify that your vehicle's documents (i.e., Original Receipt and Certificate of Registration) are legitimate and that the journey is safe. This stamp is part of the process to ensure compliance with maritime laws and to get clearance for boarding, as the Coast Guard has the authority to enforce laws on the water and inspect vessels for safety and legal requirements.

The Coast Guard station building is located near the Pier 4 Cebu City Port Authority building (Google Maps). Upon arriving at the Coast Guard station, Arlyn visited with the Coast Guard to receive the required stamp on our ticket. There was no charge for this stamp.

Since we paid the wharfage fee and had our Coast Guard stamp, we returned to the condo to complete our packing and prepare for travel.

We loaded our gear into the Fortuner at the Mandani Bay Condominiums. At 7:30 PM, we departed the condo's garage. We made the drive to the Cebu Pier 4 entry gate in about 15 minutes. We had the necessary wharfage fee paid and Coast Guard stamp, the guard let us enter with no issues. We did get pulled over for a K-9 inspection. That took about 10 minutes. After buttoning up the car again, we drove to the Immaculate Star. We parked near the ferry's vehicle entrance and waited. At around 8:30 PM, after loading some of the trucks, we drove onto the ferry. Once parked and chocked, we grabbed our overnight bag and backpacks and headed to the VIP room. We arrived at our cabin at around 8:30 PM.

The cabin's key is provided to you when you surrender a piece of identification. I handed over my Philippines driver's license.

The VIP room is large with a queen-size bed. There is a seperate air-conditioner that you can control. There is a padded bench, small table with chairs. The bed does have a light blanket with sheets. There are also pillows included. The cabin also has a private bathroom. The bathroom has a shower, comode and sink. There is a bidet, but no toilet paper, so bring your own. There is also a television in the room, but we did not use it.

During the evening, we had one person try to enter our VIP room. We were in the cabin with the door locked. This person tried to open the door by jiggling the handle and pushing on the door. It was a woman passenger trying to gain entry into the room for free as the room is not always booked. After realizing the door was locked and the room was unaccessible, she quickly left.

The ship left on time at 10:00 PM.

There is a cafeteria onboard the ferry. The cafeteria's operating hours are from 7 PM to 12 AM. The cafeteria does not reopen again during the trip. The cafeteria is large and bright with several servers available to assist you. The food was freshly made and was adequate. There were also some premade desserts that were obviously prepared earlier. Chips, raman bowls, bottled water, Coke Zero and beer were all available.

The ferry does not have Wi-Fi. For those with cell phones, it is possible to get a weak signal from a cell tower from a passing island, but the connection is weak and unreliable.

It is at this point that I must mention that traveling on a ferry is not like sailing on a Norwegian cruise ship like the Encore. The VIP cabin is located on the starboard side of the ferry, very near the bow. Once we left Cebu, workers needed to perform various activities near the bow that included adjusting the anchor chain. There is no insulation, so every metallic sound reverberated through the cabin. There was a constant clanking, banging sound that continued for the better part of an hour. It was difficult to sleep. Fortunately, the sounds subsided and we were able to fall asleep.

Payee	Item	Cost	Form of Payment
Cebu Port Authority	Wharfage Fee	₱168.00	Cash
Roble Cafeteria	Dining	₱90.00	Cash
Total		₱258.00

May 14th, 2026

At about 4:45 AM, I woke up to the sound of the bow anchor being unlocked. This signaled our imminent arrival to the Ormoc City pier. I looked over at Arlyn, who was still sleeping, and realized she did not have a good night's rest. I woke her up and turned on the cabin light. We got dressed, visited the loo and brushed our teeth (with bottled water of course). At around 5 AM, the air-conditioner was automatically shut off. I guess we had worn out our welcome and it was time to leave. We repacked our overnight bag and gathered up our gear. We headed out from the cabin, making sure we surrendered the cabin key and had my license returned to me. We found our car and reloaded our gear.

The chockes were already removed and we were on our way. We drove off the ferry and approached the pier security gate. The guard wanted to review our tickets before allowing us to leave the pier. It was 5:15 AM.

We drove from Ormoc to Tacloban in about 2 hours 20 minutes. We did not stop along the way.

We drove from Tacloban to Bolusao, E. Samar in 1 hours 40 minutes. We arrived in Bolusao, E. Samar at 9:15 AM.