Manila...Advice on what to see/do?

[FlaMariner]

Port stop in Manila.......

 

I am hearing conflicting info....some say get out of town and head to the mountains for the scenery and others suggest a tour of old Manila.

 

What did you do and what would you recommend?

 

And any independent tour advice would be appreciated. 

[FlaMariner]

So zip, nada on intel for a day in Manila?

 

Just popping this back up the queue........

[edinburgher]

On 5/19/2024 at 3:00 PM, FlaMariner said:

Port stop in Manila.......

 

I am hearing conflicting info....some say get out of town and head to the mountains for the scenery and others suggest a tour of old Manila.

 

What did you do and what would you recommend?

 

And any independent tour advice would be appreciated. 

There may be some info and/or suggestions in previous threads.  If you have not already searched for and read some of them, choose from these:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=manila&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=43

 

[wpas1]

We enjoyed China Town.  Walked around and ate small portions at several restaurants.  We also did a tour at Intramuros. It was very interesting especially not knowing a lot of Filipino history.  My SIL who is Filipino said it was a school field trip for him many times but he learned new things on our tour.   We only spent one full day in Manila.

[roothy123]

I didn't find Manila fabulous, but early on I didn't make too many plans as I heard that Saturday traffic around the port was horrendous and the heat was too.   It ended up not being all that bad, traffic or heat/humidty wise.  But I didn't go far, so maybe that helped.  First I walked out of the port, past tons of people vying for my attention (cab drivers/tour guides mostly, and a few tuk tuk or carriage drivers).  I had planned to walk over to the old town area but ended up a little short of there at the outskirts of the park.  I finally decided to negotiate with a tuk driver for a short tour of the old town.  We stopped for a brief while at the fort, and stopped for maybe 15-20 minutes when I went into the cathedral.  I forget how much he wanted, or I gave him, but I think it was a little over $20.  That may have been too high, but it was what I felt was worth it to me.  There was little "touring" involved, but that was OK.  I had done research and pretty much knew what I was seeing.  The tuk driver dropped me near the port and I found my travel partner and had lunch. 

 

After lunch I took the shuttle to the mall in a somewhat newer (but still fairly center city) part of the city. I then walked to the waterfront and saw my ship in the distance. The Mall was just like any U.S. mall, except that a security person looked in each person's bag before the person was allowed in.  It was a nice, but unexpiring day. I preferred the two preceding days in the beautiful water eas of the Philippines (beautiful Puerto Princesa and Coron).  But I had not researched much in Manila because I feared the traffic a little bit. The somewhat good news is that if you want to go into the city, it's not hard from the cruise port, assuming you're a decent walker.  And there were a lot of vendors in the port terminal, which made for a little bit of fun for those looking for artsy small things.

[Torquer]

We are also looking for tours/information on Manila.  On our cruise, we overnight there, so we have two full days.  I am very interested in WWII history, so was thinking about a tour boat to Corregidor for one day, and exploring the city on the other day.  Can anyone recommend good tour companies in Manila.  Is it reasonable to tour by ourselves in the city without a guide?  Do people working at tourist places such as museums/restaurants speak enough English to communicate?  Any information or hints would be very helpful.

[ssawjo]

We did a city tour offered by Oceania when we were there.  The ship departed at 2 PM so the tour was short, IMO.  However, if you are there all day, I suggest using Tours by Locals and you can tailor your tour to what you want to see.  The Intramuros is very interesting and historic, especially for WWII history buffs, like me.  Our tour started with a stop at the famous Manila Hotel and then a walk through Riza Park.  Then to the Intramuros and the old city.  Drove by the mall mentioned above and did not stop.  

 

Corregidor is undoable because the ferry from Manila to the island is not operating at the present time.  You have to go to Mariveles on Bataan and take the ferry from there.  You will not have enough time.

 

The Filipino crew members were not at all happy about the earlier than originally scheduled departure from Manila.  Many had plans to be with family and one of the bartenders was going to see his son for the first time.  Felt really bad for them but they were their usual cheerful selves.

 

Have fun,

 

Bill  

[roothy123]

I guess I was on the same cruise as ssawjo.  It had some hiccups but overall was a wonderful experience.  And at least our cabin steward and her assistant both got off the ship in Manila, after a lot of anticipation.  Sharon told her kids to just meet her in the port.  Some of us cruisers told her that she and her assistant didn't have to clean our rooms that morning.  But I don't know if that helped them get off the ship any earlier.

 

As for Corregidor, my husband told me a little about it.  And I was interested in seeing if I could see the lighthouse on the island from the ship, though it would be fairly far.  But with a 7 AM arrival, I barely made it up in time to see the sail in, including our enthusiastic greeting on the dock.  But if you have an overnight in Manila, I suppose it might be possible to get to the island some way, even if it meant getting back to the ship after dinner.  

 

There is large American military cemetery in Manila that may interest some people. My notes say it is the Manila American Military Cemetery, and that it requires a cab ride, which may be best done early in the day due to traffic.  It apparently contains the largest number of graves of U.S. military dead of World War II, 17,058. Most lost lives in operations in New Guinea & the Philippines.

 

 

 

[ssawjo]

19 hours ago, roothy123 said:

I guess I was on the same cruise as ssawjo.  It had some hiccups but overall was a wonderful experience.  And at least our cabin steward and her assistant both got off the ship in Manila, after a lot of anticipation.  Sharon told her kids to just meet her in the port.  Some of us cruisers told her that she and her assistant didn't have to clean our rooms that morning.  But I don't know if that helped them get off the ship any earlier.

 

As for Corregidor, my husband told me a little about it.  And I was interested in seeing if I could see the lighthouse on the island from the ship, though it would be fairly far.  But with a 7 AM arrival, I barely made it up in time to see the sail in, including our enthusiastic greeting on the dock.  But if you have an overnight in Manila, I suppose it might be possible to get to the island some way, even if it meant getting back to the ship after dinner.  

 

There is large American military cemetery in Manila that may interest some people. My notes say it is the Manila American Military Cemetery, and that it requires a cab ride, which may be best done early in the day due to traffic.  It apparently contains the largest number of graves of U.S. military dead of World War II, 17,058. Most lost lives in operations in New Guinea & the Philippines.

 

 

 

Our cabin attendants asked for a very early room cleaning and we were more than happy to help them out.  They did get off for a few hours and were happy.  

 

I guess we were on the same cruise.  Great cruise overall.  We are headed back to the Philippines for two weeks because we enjoyed it so much.

 

Sailed pass Corregidor on the way out but too far away to really see anything.

 

Bill