10 things i did on a manila-laoag-kaohsiung-hong kong star cruise

Acruise has a unique way of connecting you to the depths of the sea, and to the length of the sky. And to the breadth of your soul.

Unlike airplane travel that shuts off your vision with an eye mask, traveling on a ship opens your eyes to the beauty of the waters and the heavens, which somehow merge in stillness during sunrise or sunset, giving you time to think. And perhaps find yourself.

Okay, enough of the pondering. In short, a cruise can be so wonderful. Fun and crazy, too, especially if it is one designed by travel guru Keren Pascual, himself a wander boy and citizen of the world. You have to be a little crazy (like him) to call your trips Famous 1, Famous 2 and so on until you lose count, and all because you were fascinated by that funny and poignant movie Almost Famous in 2000. So that explains why Keren called this voyage “Always Famous.” Why not? He gathered beauty queens like Maxine Medina and Kylie Verzosa, entertainment stars like Maxene Magalona and LA Aguinaldo, top models like Tweetie de Leon and Jo Ann Bitagcol, fashion industry pillars like Rhett Eala, Rajo Laurel, Patrice Diaz and Robbie Carmona, jetsetters like Tetta Agustin and Christian Baverey, design/ style celebs like the inimitable Tessa Valdes, Tessa Alindogan and Anton Barretto, lifestyle press like Leah Puyat, Liza Ilarde, AA Patawaran and Pam Pastor, famous entrepreneurs like Ana de Ocampo, Charlene Escaler, Marissa Tambunting and Angelette Calero

The Super Star Virgo of the Genting Group was our home for five days, during which sometimes you feel like you’re just comfortably inside a hotel or a mall or a spa or a restaurant complex. The ship has 13 decks, nine types of cabins to choose from, and eight restaurants to dine in. Your ship is your hotel and there are no luggage overweight charges. You can eat non-stop (and exercise non-stop anyway).

So what do you do on a five-day cruise from Manila to Laoag to Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Hong Kong and back to Manila? Here’s what we did:

Tycoon Andrew Tan (second from left) with wife Katherine and son Kevin, and the author during the launch of the Star Cruises voyage from Manila: His Resorts World tie-up with the Genting Group aims to boost tourism.

SSVirgo captain Jan Blomqvist says this trip had 1,864 passengers and a crew of 964.