Ha Long Bay · overnight cruise
A steel-hulled ship of 31 cabins on Ha Long Bay, where every grade has its own private balcony. Two sailings: one night, or two nights with a second day aboard a smaller boat into the quieter eastern bay.
Suites
31, all with balcony
Boarding
12:00
Two sailings. The longer one adds a second night and a quieter anchorage.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Per cabin for two guests sharing, on the 2 days, 1 night sailing. Whole cabin, two guests, tax and service included.
Deluxe Balcony Cabin
25 m² · Main deck
The entry-level cabin. Queen-sized bed, private balcony, walk-in wardrobe and en-suite bathroom, on the main deck.
$347
per cabin, two guests
Executive Balcony Cabin
25 m² · Upper deck
Everything the Deluxe Balcony has, one deck higher, so the bay view is unobstructed. Smart TV and room service.
Elegance Balcony Suite
35 m² · Upper deck
At the rear of the upper deck, so it is the most private position on the ship. Ten square metres larger than the balcony cabins.
Captain's View Terrace Suite
35 m² · Upper deck
Panoramic glass windows giving a 180-degree view, and a terrace rather than a balcony. The top grade on the ship.
For the whole cabin, for two guests sharing, for the whole sailing. Not per person, and not per night. Tax, service charge and onboard insurance are already in it. Children's fares are quoted with the cabin, so ask on the request.
The bay has two seasons. 1 May to 30 September is low season and the fare shown here. 1 January to 30 April, and 1 October to 31 December is high season and the same cabin is $373. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve carry a $40 per person dinner surcharge on top. Low season is the summer, which is also the hottest and the likeliest to be rained on, which is worth knowing before you book on price alone.
Transport is not in the cabin fare. The operator runs a shared coach from Hanoi to the marina and back for $45 per person, which you can add to the booking request. Allow around three and a half hours each way, and check-in at the marina is from 12:00.
Yes, and it is a full set menu rather than one substituted dish. Upma, poha, poori and bhajis at breakfast; dal tadka with kadai paneer, mixed vegetable curry, raita and rice at lunch; paneer do pyaza or aloo gobi masala with papadam, jeera rice and chapati at dinner. A non-vegetarian version runs alongside it with chicken curry, fish masala, chicken tikka masala and prawn curry. Ask for it on the booking request, the galley provisions for it in advance, so it is not a same-day ask.
Vegetarians get their own lunch and dinner set menus, not the meat courses minus the meat: sweet corn soup, vegetable spring rolls, green mango salad and tempura at lunch; potato soup, banana blossom and crispy tofu salad, braised vegetables in curry sauce and rainbow fried rice at dinner. Under-fives have a separate menu of congee, soup or chips, egg fried rice or beef noodles, and ice cream or cake. Both are arranged in advance on the booking request.
Lunch on the first day is a buffet: sushi and cold salads including a Ha Long jellyfish salad, then a hot station of steamed prawns with chilli and lemongrass, tempura fish, sturgeon fish cakes and grilled lemongrass chicken. Dinner is a served Western set menu, smoked salmon with brie, seafood bisque, then a main you choose from lobster thermidor, sea bass, chicken, Australian beef fillet, or vegetable and cheese crêpes. A table of two is asked to order two different mains, which is a nice way of saying you should taste both.
The one-night sailing visits Titov Island, Luon Cave and Sung Sot Cave. The two-night sailing adds a full middle day on a smaller boat, the Paradise Explorer, which reaches Tien Ong Cave and the floating village at Cua Van, quieter water the main ship cannot enter.
On the two-night sailing, kayaking on the first day is included and the second day costs extra. On the one-night sailing kayaking is an extra; the bamboo boat at Luon Cave is not.
Check-in at Tuan Chau Marina is from 12:00, and the ship is back alongside at 10:30 on the last morning. Allow around three and a half hours each way from Hanoi.
In the restaurant and bar only, and it is slow, the bay is ringed by limestone and the signal does not carry. Treat the trip as time offline.
The same bay, a different boat. Both sail the same waters.
Plan the rest
