Cruising Ha Long Bay, Vietnam: A Paradise Luxury Cruise Review

If you are planning a trip to Vietnam, a cruise through Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a definite must to add to your bucket list! Cruising through this bay with Paradise Luxury Cruises was an unforgettable experience. With 1,969 rainforest topped limestone islets jetting up out of the sea at every turn, this is a one of a kind cruise.

Booking the right cruise

There are day tours from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay, but the ride itself just to the bay is a 4 hour drive. We thought the best way to relax and get the most out of our experience would be to book a 2 night/3 day cruise. There are also 1 night/2 day cruises available, but we figured a 2 night would be more enjoyable. We were very glad we opted for the 2 day cruise! Another perk of booking a cruise are the planned excursions and kayaking, as well as the delicious food. We thought the money was well worth it.

There are a TON of cruise lines to choose from when booking a Ha Long Bay Tour. Be very careful when selecting your cruise as we learned that pictures can be VERY misleading after reading some of the reviews. Another tip would be to read reviews from multiple sources and as many as possible. I read reviews from Google, Trip Advisor, Expedia, and Booking etc.

Paradise Luxury Cruise Review: Costs

We decided to book with Paradise Luxury, as it seemed like the reviews for this cruise line were consistently good. The downside was this line was more expensive than most of the others. We booked through Expedia and paid $340/person, $50/person round trip transfer in luxury van, plus $20 for an extra day of kayaking (one day of kayaking was included), plus $70/person for an unlimited drink package and 4 massages for a grand total of $470/person.

While researching cruises, a few of the other cruise companies that we considered after reading reviews and would suggest (based on research) are: Aclass and Indochina Sails. In addition, we were able to visibly see these other boats on the bay. While looks can be deceiving, these other boats (along with ours) seemed to be the nicest. If you are on a budget, there are many more less expensive options. There is even a party cruise, but the reviews are questionable. We decided to splurge on this option because we were able to save so much on hotels and free business class flights during the rest of our trip. Look for a post on how we managed to score all the savings soon!

Paradise Luxury Cruise Review: Transfer to Ha Long Bay

We were picked up from Hanoi at 7:30 AM in a luxury limousine van. We chose this option so we could recline our seats and sleep on the 4 hour drive. Also, the pick up time was 7:30am on Jan 1st so we figured we would be running on low sleep after New Years Eve. There were a total of 7 seats in the van and unfortunately if your were one of the unlucky three passengers sitting in the very back, your seats will not recline due to the luggage in the back. We were provided with complimentary water bottles and about half way through the 4 hour journey, we took a break at a store with restrooms, shopping, coffee, and food.

Make sure you get one of these good seats!

When we arrived at the Paradise Suites Hotel we were provided with delicious fresh watermelon juice, passion fruit juice and snacks before boarding the boat. I had heard horror stories of crazy journeys to Ha Long Bay (driving in Hanoi is insane) but our driver was good with no problems and we were happy to make it safe and sound.  Overall we think this was worth the $50 per person (round trip transfer) as long as you get one of the 4 individual reclining seats and not one of the three back bench seats.

Paradise Luxury Cruise Review: The Boat and Guest Room

Our boat has three decks plus a roof sun deck.  The bottom two decks were reserved for guest rooms with the upper levels housing the dining/bar area as well as the sun deck.

The sun deck

The Paradise Luxury class boats (there are 4 boats total,, we were on the “Prestige”) have 17 guest rooms.  Our boat seemed to be in good condition (much better than other boats in the bay) and even though our cabin was near the engine room we never heard engine noise.

Our room was much larger than what you would find as a standard cabin on a large cruise ship.  We had a king size bed, and a tastefully decorated modern bathroom with large separate stand up shower.  The windows could be opened to enjoy the view and bay air as well.  Two bottles of water were provided daily in the room.

The room was nicer than we expected!

We were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the room and the boat and found it to be a major plus for this cruise.

Paradise Luxury Cruise Review: The Food

The food was delish and menu diverse. You are able to chose from an appetizer, soup, main course, side dishes and a desert for lunch and dinner. They offer a menu from the east as well as western food.  There is a separate breakfast menu.

Enough variety that it didn’t get old

The lunch and dinner menu does not change over the 3 day trip, but there are enough options that it doesn’t get old or repetitive.

Presentation and taste were excellent

Again, we were really surprised and pleased with the quality and presentation of the food. Extra bonus points here.

Paradise Luxury Cruise Review: Spa and Drink Package

For $140 a cabin ($70 each) we received two couples massages and unlimited drinks.  The drinks were limited to two types of Vietnamese beer, several wines and a selection of cocktails.  The drinks were delicious and we really liked the Vietnamese Saigon beer.

For the massages, there was a selection of different styles to choose from as well as areas on your body to target.  You could also specify beforehand how much pressure you preferred for your massages.

Overall we felt the massages were good; not great and not terrible.  If you are going to make good use of the free flowing drinks then we would say this package is worth it.  Otherwise, save your cash for a massage on the mainland.





Paradise Luxury Cruise Review: The Itinerary and Excursions

DAY 1

Boarding time was at 12 noon sharp.  Once on the boat, we were warmly greeted with hot towels and tea (this was the same after returning from almost every excursion) and had lunch right away.

Sung Sot Cave (Surprise Cave)

After a fabulous lunch (we were feeling very fancy and pampered) our first stop was to the largest and most famous cave in Ha Long Bay, Sung Sot Cave on Bon Hon Island. There are two chambers of the cave filled with thousands of stalactites and stalagmites spanning a 500 meter long, 30 meter high paved passage.

The cave is HUGE!

Yes, as you will read in reviews, Surprise Cave IS insanely touristy and crowded as is Ha Long Bay although we still felt like it was worth a visit. While tons of people do dampen the mood, the raw beauty and utter size of the cave and the formations can still be appreciated. Don’t go if you can’t handle all the steps (about 100 steps) to the mouth of the cave. Once you start the journey there is no turning around (only one way in and one way out).

Kayaking in Luon Grotto

After the cave we were given the option to kayak in Luon Grotto (part of Bon Hon Island) for an extra $20 for a 2 person kayak and we were happy we did. The grotto can only be accessed by a small boat or kayak as you must pass under an arch of solid rock.

Kayaking under the arch

As we passed through the arch into the grotto, were completely amazed by the enormous sheer limestone cliffs surrounding us and the monkeys scaling the rocks like ninjas.

After our excursions, we enjoyed a cooking demonstration where we rolled our own spring rolls, a lovely couples massage, dinner and ended the night with squid fishing. We were hoping to catch some squid (our cruise director said he would fry one up for us for breakfast) but no such luck. Here’s Scott dying to catch a squid for breakfast.

No luck on the squid fishing 🙁

*There was also the option of doing Thai Chi on the sun deck every morning at 6:30 am. We aren’t THAT ambitious so skipped out.

Day 2

Ti Top Island

After a nice breakfast, we were transferred to a different boat for the majority of the day.  Our first stop was Ti Top Island. In 1962, astronaut Ghermann Titov and Ho Chi Minh visited and subsequently decided to name it Ti Top Island.

Too cold to swim!

There you have the options of swimming (way too cold in January for that), chilling on the beach, or hiking up over 200 steps to a viewpoint. Of course we chose the hike to enjoy this view!

The view is incredible!

Pearl Farm

Cute pup relaxing at the pearl farm

At the pearl farm we were given a tour and an explanation of how the clams are fertilized and the pearls are harvested. Very interesting! Of course, we were shuffled like tourists into a jewelry shop to shop for pearl jewelry. While I didn’t buy anything, I must admit the jewelry did look like quality and the pearls were set very nicely.

Making pearls is very technique sensitive.

After the pearl farm, we had lunch on the day boat, it was just as good as the main boat and plates of food just kept coming.

Cua Van Floating Village

We were happy to be able to see one of the last floating villages in Ha long Bay after the government pushed the majority out. At one point there were 733 inhabitants living on the man made islands and 176 households. There are currently 150 people living there as the government has pushed them inland with the intent of protecting the bay from too much pollution. You could choose to tour on a bamboo “raft” (it was more of a row boat with 4-6 people per boat) rowed by a local or to use a kayak. We like the exercise and to explore on our own so chose the kayak!

cruising in the kayak

After the floating village, we were transferred back to the main boat.  We concluded the night with another cooking demonstration, dinner, a couples massage and more squid fishing. We didn’t have any luck catching any but we saw schools of squid! They checked out the bait but were too smart for us. Lucky for us, there was a fun group of young people on board so we utilized that unlimited drink package we purchased and had a good time.

Day 3

Breakfast and check out. We unwillingly left the boat and were served a really nice buffet lunch at the Paradise Hotel before our luxury van arrived to take us back to Hanoi.

Over all we really enjoyed the itinerary.  Although some areas were crowded, others were very peaceful and the scenery everywhere was amazing.  





Helpful tips:

It is helpful to be staying in The Old Quarter of Hanoi for pick up and drop off.  If you are staying outside the Old Quarter, you may have to find your own transport to the Old Quarter to meet the Ha Long Bay shuttle.

You are given two bottles of water per day per room, if you want water at meals or throughout the day, bring it with you on the boat. You will be charged $5 for a liter of water (the water is not included in the unlimited drink package).

We had a poor experience attempting to book with the site Halong Bay Tours. We booked a cruise they had available, placed a deposit and were then contacted by email the next day stating the cruise we had booked was sold out. They suggested other cruise lines, but the ones they suggested were not as highly reviewed. We opted to get a refund and book with another company.

While some people will tell you that Ha Long Bay is over crowded and polluted, that is only partially true. It is true that some of the more trafficked tourist areas are over crowded and you can see signs of pollution in these areas. On the other hand, Ha Long Bay and the surrounding areas are so large that there are still pristine untouched areas. This is part of the reason we recommend a 2 night cruise, it lets you get further out on the bay and really experience the best areas. It’s also important to pay attention to your itinerary to see the sights that you want and avoid others as each cruise will take a different path.

Final Thoughts:

Overall we were very happy we booked with Paradise Luxury Cruises. The food was surprisingly good and service was excellent. The bedrooms were clean and beds were very comfortable (especially compared to some of the rock hard beds we have slept on in Asia). The room felt like an actual bedroom rather than the compact cabins that are on larger cruise ships.

Enjoying the view from the sun deck

Even with the overcrowding in some areas, we would definitely recommend cruising Ha Long Bay and especially Paradise Luxury Cruises. We hope you get to experience this natural wonder yourself one day!  Enjoy a few more pictures of this awesome place below!

Our boat!

I made springrolls!