Saturday, 14 June 2025

Cebu II Day 1-2: Shangri-La Mactan Ocean Club

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DAY 1

We booked our tickets via Singapore Airlines at $279 per adult/child (inclusive of seat selection)! I had a great time during my first visit and was excited for the Hubby and family to experience Mactan as well! 😁

We arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 2 at around 8.30am and had our breakfast in the transit area.

Our second time this year taking pictures with the huge pond at T2 Transit! 😊
We had our usual toast breakfast from Coffee & Toast 😋 Gotta have my favourite Teh-C before we flew off to a foreign country that doesn't have it! 😬

Our flight was supposed to depart at 11am but it ended up taking off at 11.20am instead.

Enjoying our flight and meals

After flying for about 3 hours and 30 minutes (thankful for a smooth flight), we arrived at Mactan Cebu International Airport at 2.50pm (no time difference between Singapore & Philippines).

Welcome to Cebu!

Once we landed, we had to complete a virtual arrival card for every person in our group. It took some time as we were unfamiliar with the process but we got help from a friendly airport staff! So thankful for him!

After we had cleared customs, we bought some drinks and snacks from the convenience store before hailing a Grab to our accommodation. Grab is my best choice in the Philippines for affordable and reliable transport 😀

Quick stop at Nomad before boarding our Grab

No prizes for guessing our accommodation! 🤭 I'd been so impressed by Shangri-La Mactan since my first visit in 2016 and have been wanting to bring the family ever since!

Checking in and enjoying our welcome drink!
All ready for our weekend of fun!

Instead of the Family Room we had stayed previously, we decided to splurge on two Ocean Club Rooms so that we can enjoy the Horizon Club facilities. It cost us $494 per room per night, inclusive of breakfast, afternoon tea and evening canapés (my kids are so blessed)! 😬

We were super happy to find out that Shangri-la had upgraded one of our rooms to the Ocean Wing Panorama Suite! The suite was huge!

Small counter with water and amenities near the door
Dining table and study area in the living room
Bedroom with TV
Comfy additional seating
Spacious bathroom with the usual amenities and L'occitane products!
Separate bathtub and shower with kids amenities provided as well! Super cute!
Left: Complimentary basket of fruits and nuts;
Right: Walk-in wardrobe with bathrobes and inside and outside slippers.
I love hanging out in the huge balcony! 😍
Amazing views of the ocean
Amazing views of the beach and resort!
View of the Ocean Wing Pool from our balcony
(There were two swimming pools in the resort!)

The balcony was my favourite aspect of the room and we spent so much time hanging out there! The resort also ensured that we received the contour pillows (for side-sleepers like me) that I ordered via the Shangri-la app! It made such a big difference to my sleep quality! So far, I've only had contour pillows at Gevora Hotel (Dubai) and China World Hotel (Beijing). It was a great start to our trip! 😍

View of the Main Wing Pool from the bathroom window

The other Ocean Club Room had a balcony with a sea view as well, albeit smaller than the suite. The two older kids were super lucky to have had the room all to themselves as the Littlest could sleep on the sofa in the suite (the 3 of them were supposed to share the king bed)! 😅

Bathroom and balcony of the Ocean Club Room

We were so excited to head to the Ocean Club Lounge for evening canapés but were disappointed to find out that the Littlest was not allowed in the lounge during Happy Hour! This was unlike our experience at Shangri-la Dubai and China World Hotel! I have given feedback to the hotel, as I don't see why kids were not allowed given that the resort catered to families. We had little choice but to take turns as someone had to take care of the Littlest in the room.

Spread of food at the Ocean Club Lounge
Little bites to fill your stomach! 😋 
Selection of alcohol
We loved the selection of cheeses
What's on my plate?

After our evening canapés, we were all ready to hit the pool all dressed in our swim suits. However, the moment we stepped out of the lift of the ground floor, we saw that it was raining heavily with lightning and thunder! Such a bummer! 😮‍💨

We had little choice but to return to our rooms and call Grab for dinner. The food was not fantastic but it would do as we were too lazy to leave the comfort of our suite!

Made full use of our dining table

While the kids were sleeping, the Hubby and I spent quality time chatting in the balcony! The rain had stopped and there was a cool breeze after the rain blowing onto our faces! 

Night view of the beach and sea from our balcony

It was a great night! ☺️💤


DAY 2

I must have slept really well on my contour pillow as I woke up really early at 6am the next morning! 

It was already super bright at 6am! The sun rises early in this part of the world 😐

We headed to the Tides for our breakfast.

Chef-customised noodles and omelette plus kids corner
Local desserts and bread
Your choice of yogurt and toppings!
Your choice of ice cream and toppings!

We enjoyed the variety and quality of the food! Super yummy! 😋 

After breakfast, we headed out to the sea for snorkeling! All Ocean Club rooms and suites come with complimentary rental of snorkeling gear, which you can obtain from the beach counter.

Beautiful morning for snorkeling!
Shangri-La Mactan's private beach
View of the beach and the Ocean Wing building from the sea
Our suite is on the second highest floor and first from the left (with the large balcony)
Having fun in the sand and the sea
The Boy's first time snorkeling! He had a great time!
Eldest was wearing the snorkeling mask we got from Decathlon
Photos of the coral and sea creatures that we managed to capture with our phones

Unlike 9 years ago, there were much less live corals due to the earthquake. We also did not manage to see many animals as it was getting hot. The Hubby said that we would have better luck if we went earlier in the morning (which we did the next day).

The kids soon got bored so we headed to the Main Pool.

It was super hot but the kids enjoyed their swim!
Kids loved the slide, which was just for kids below 12 years old
The Littlest also loved the smaller water playground

When it finally got too scorching hot to swim, I herded the family back to our rooms to wash up before heading to the Ocean Club Lounge for a quick snack.

Loving the snacks, hot chocolate and the view!

The snacks alone were not enough to fill us of course; we took a Grab to Kaya at Time Square Mactan for lunch. 

Time Square Mactan
Kaya, a restaurant specialising in Korean BBQ
Look at the beef we ordered! So yummy! 😋
This was part of the lunch set we ordered
Various side dishes and the kids' favourite steamed egg

The food was delicious! Everyone enjoyed our lunch! 😄

We walked over to Mactan Town Center to check out the supermarket.

We shopped at Mr DIY and Merrymart Grocery
Had to get ice-cream and Happy Meal from McDonald's
(it's like a tradition for us to eat at Macs all over the world; for example in Dubai and USA)

We took a Grab back to our hotel just in time for afternoon tea and evening canapes (this trip was mainly eating and swimming! 😅).

Love the tea, cheeses and other bites

We headed to the pool again for a night swim.

Sunset in Mactan
Mega large chess!
The pool was heated to a perfect temperature! It wasn't cold at all!
We managed to catch snippets of a live performance before we headed back to our room

We didn't manage to bring the Littlest to Adventure Zone, unlike the Eldest during our last trip. The Littlest didn't seem to mind it much as she was more than happy with the pool! 😊

Looking forward to enjoying more quality time together as a family!


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P.S: We're proud Shangri-la Circle members; read about our Shangri-La experiences around the world:


Continue to >> Cebu II Day 3-4: Snorkeling, Kayaking, Jolibee & Flight Home

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Visit MADPSYCHMUM TRAVELS for the rest of my posts on Cebu, Philippines 
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