Dinner Cruise at Manila Bay

Fascinating.

This is how I describe our dinner cruise adventure at the Manila Bay. Onboard Prestige Cruises, my friends and I (we were about 20) decided to celebrate the July, August and September birthdays with pizzazz.

Our party’s theme was fascinators, and we were dressed in the 20’s. The exciting vibe has caught on board as our fellow passengers enjoyed the spectacle our dresses offered. Many of them were couples wanting for a romantic dinner on a cruise ship.

We left the dock at about sundown and the view of Roxas Boulevard lit up with the changing hue of the sky as the backdrop. Neon lights filled the view and the striking SM Mall of Asia could be spotted from afar.

It would have all been fine except for the food, which I think the cruise’ management could still improve on. Nevertheless, we ate in haste and proceeded to the end of the small ship for the fireworks display. Colors lit up the sky in different shapes — flowers, smileys, meteors.

The cruise lasted for more than an hour and the cruise ship sails every two hours. We took two trips so we could enjoy the night (not the food), with a live band filling the air with their music and constant birthday greetings.

On our second trip, we took the opportunity to release sky lanterns as a good measure of luck for the birthday celebrants. We excitedly waited for the lanterns to fly and after a few tries, some of them danced in mid-air until they disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Yet, the hour seemed to fly so quick. Before we knew it, the ship was sailing back to the dock. For P250, it was a great experience. Of course, we paid double so we could enjoy the entire night at the sea. And it gave us a good vantage point of seeing our city as if looking on a canvass. It’s a different picture when viewed from Manila Bay.