Well I can now report on the quality of the ferry to Coron from Batangas.
Also as a note,
@Centrals, initially I wanted to take the Bunso ferry from San Jose but it's been shut down for government inspection since March... ):
Ferry report:
The conditions of the ferry itself were fine, albeit nothing glamorous. We booked seats in the AC since it was an overnight ferry. The ferry was delayed and departed around 19:30 Monday (18:00 scheduled departure for a 9:00 scheduled arrival Tuesday). Went to sleep in the bunks and deeply regretted not renting a blanket (wanted to save the 100P) as the AC room was freezing!
In the middle of the night (around midnight) woke up to an announcement from the captain, although no one understood what he said because the speaker in the AC room was broken. I went outside to ask what had happened and apparently the seas were too rough so we were taking shelter "so that we will not sink". Encouraging words. I checked my phone and Google Maps said we had not even made it around the northwest corner of Mindoro! We ended up sheltering on the north side of Golo island.
I woke up around 6am (Tuesday now) when the boat started moving. I caved in and rented a blanket. No one seemed sure of where the boat was going because it changed directions several times. People said that we were returning to Batangas because the trucks onboard were too heavy and the waves might make them crash into each other. The plans changed several times: 1) in Batangas we would unload the trucks, refuel, and then depart immediately. 2) in Batangas we would just add more ropes to the trucks, refuel, and then depart immediately. 3) same as plan 2 but departing at 15:00. 4) same as plans 2/3 but departing at 18:00.
We made it back to Batangas around 12:00. They said we could not leave to buy more food/water. People ended up leaving anyway and this is when plan 3 was announced. BF left to buy provisions while I guarded our bags. After he came back around 13:00, plan 4 was announced. We stayed on the boat until ~16:00 when everyone had to leave to refuel the boat. We were told to be back so we could depart at 18:00. BF and I took all our bags with us.
Around 17:30 we attempted to board the boat but were stopped by port staff who said it was not allowed. Confused, we waited off to the side where some other boat guests said that other port staff had told them that if the boat was not finished fueling by 21:00 the boat would not be allowed to leave until the next morning.
Lots of confusion and people demanding refunds, with different Atienza staff confirming/denying them.
BF and I already lost one dive day in Coron and decided to catch a bus back to Manila to take an early flight the next day--except I forgot that I had given my driver's license as collateral for the rented blanket and it was still onboard (where no one was allowed).
Finally at 17:50 a different port staff allowed me on board to get my license, but the lady running the blankets/food stand was not there and no one had a key so I had to wait for her. The staff told me that they were waiting for the fuel to get there. I asked if they still planned to leave at 18:00 and they said yes. I said that was in 10 minutes and they still hadn't fueled and they seemed confused. They didn't know when the fuel truck would get there. The stand lady arrived and I collected my DL from her and we left.
-- Miserable experience. We heard from others who stayed on the ferry that it left barely before 21:00 and ended up going around Mindoro the other way (eastern route) and not arriving until 19:00 the next day (48 hrs after original ferry departure time).
