What‘s Included

Meeting and Pickup

What To Expect

Reviews

• Might be a must have but I'd definitely not do it again

  Daniel H,

  Feb 25, 2025

  - Viator

  2.00

  The whole thing is overly touristic and quite the disappointment. Day 1: we were brought to a souvenir shop where we were left 30 minutes. Coffee was expensive, the same souvenirs as everywhere else were about 4 times the price. Arriving at the harbor we had to wait 45 minutes; no distraction or even drinks available. Lunch was good, though, some nice seafood which turned out best of the whole trip. The kayaking is about 30 minutes, the cave a complete disaster. 30 minutes for the 150 steps up to the cave as the queue wasn't moving - people who just had waited themselves thought it was a good idea to take pictures at the entrance all the way up. Everything felt rushed the whole day, come here, look there, go on and now relax as we're off to the next thing in 20 minutes, go go go! Day 2: Same on the little island as with the cave, all tourists standing on each others feet going all the way up, no movement. At the "beach" - about 100 m of sand - there were oil-spots which later were removed by hand by some workers. Just so you know which water you'll bathe in. After that we had to leave the rooms (bags left at the reception) followed by a really bland brunch. Back to the harbor at around 10:30 (so the 2 days are more like one) and... 90 minutes waiting in the same room as the day before. General: I think prices were extreme on the boat. Nearly 8 USD for a small glass of rather poor wine, 3 USD for a can of the cheap Saigon beer (regularly 1 USD in Hanoi restaurants); that's just milking it after taking 200 USD/person for this trip. Rooms were clean, nothing bad to say about them. Not only being handed a survey before brunch but being pushed to answering it was another disappointment. Conclusion: would not do this again; it was all too much rush and all too little fun. Halong Bay is completely overrun which is not the company's fault but the other points remain. I know this trip is a must for every Vietnam-tourist and I thought this could be the highlight of our vacation but is was completely disappointing and in hindsight I would not miss anything about it. No one reading this will decide not to go but I'm sure some will agree with this opinion afterwards.

• Great Boat, Staff, Food! Just Check What You Get!

  Katherine R,

  Jan 10, 2025

  - Viator

  3.00

  This tour was a tour of 2 halves. The tour was amazing, MilaLux is a great boat, the food was incredible and the staff are really good at what they do, especially the two boatman who ferry you to the islands. What delightful gentlemen! The girls in the restaurants were incredibly courteous too. BUT... I booked this tour/ company/boat because on this site it shows a lovely looking big room with sun loungers on the balcony on the picture. These are at the front of the boat. YOU DONT GET THAT. We were given a small, but completely functional room at the bottom at the back. Cannot fault the room, but it's not the one on the picture, which I felt a bit deceived about. All rooms have a small balcony anyway, but that's besides the point. Also, check out is at 9.30am, which is fine. We had breakfast and took some pictures on the deck, then went down to get our belongings at 9.10am. Our room door was WIDE OPEN with nobody to be seen. A complete violation of privacy. I understand they need to clean, but surely when you have handed your key back, you've checked out, and therefore they are free to enter. Not while we are still using it! This ruined the whole experience for me, as ended up feeling angry on a trip which was great.

• Amazing experience

  CRAIG H,

  Apr 16, 2024

  - Viator

  5.00

  The room was spacious and very clean. Activities were good and food catered for all tastes. Crew were first class and not pushy and drinks were reasonably priced.

• The staff on this tour was amazing, but this was not the boat I signed up for.

  Danna Z,

  Mar 17, 2024

  - Viator

  1.00

  I signed up for this cruise after seeing the incredible photos of the boat and the raving reviews online. Shortly after I got a confirmation from Viator for this tour, however, I received a text message letting me know that this cruise was full but I can go on another boat of equal quality. After a cramped and long bus ride to the harbor during which our bus was hit by another car, my heart sank the moment I laid eyes on our boat. It looked a lot older and did not have the patios shown in the photos. Yet still, none of this would prepare me for the moment I opened the doors to my room on the boat. Instead of the elegant, spacious room with beautiful decor I had anticipated, my room looked bare, sad, and nothing like any of the photos I was shown. Additionally, neither the sink nor the shower drain in the bathroom worked properly, so it took awhile for the water to seep through any time we used either. I couldn't express how disappointed, sad, misled, and deceived I felt. With so many booking agencies on the streets of Hanoi, I could have signed up for a much, much cheaper tour if I didn't care about the quality. I was so upset that even after paying for a premium for a luxury five star cruise, we did not get what we paid for, at all. The only thing that made this cruise fun was the incredible staff on board and of course, the fact that we still got to see and explore Halong Bay. We had a great tour manager who was friendly, attentive, and tried his very best to create a great experience for us. All the other staff members were also very kind and incredible, and we are very appreciative of this group of people for being the highlight of this otherwise very sad experience. Future travelers please beware, if they ask you to switch to a different ship, just cancel and book something else instead.