This is a tough review to write. The staff were all kind and helpful but the overall experience left a lot to the desired so I cannot give it a positive review. My husband and I did the 3 day, 2 night cruise of Ha Long Bay with the hotel pick up and drop off.
Day one was fine — there were only 5 guests on board so the activities were a little lackluster since it was only two families partaking in the events. After the first activity, me and my husband were pulled aside and told that we would have to relocate to a new ship tomorrow after the first excursion so we had to pack up after breakfast and they would relocate us to a sister vessel with no real explanation other than maintenance issues.
Day two, I developed food poisoning. Since we were taken off the original ship, it was just myself and my husband on the kayaking excursion and it was a little uncomfortable with just us and the guide. I wasn’t feeling well due to the food poisoning and I was forced to be out on the kayaking event from 9am until 3pm until they relocated us to the new boat. I was offered several things to eat by the staff but all I wanted was access to a bathroom and a bed, which I didn’t have.
Day three was the last day, they again kept offering me food but I just wanted to sleep. They had us check out of our rooms at 9:15am so they could prep it for the next group but they kindly left me stay in there until 10am so I could rest and skip breakfast. When we made it to shore and loaded the bus to make it back to Hanoi, the driver pulled over on the side of the road and asked me and my husband to get off at the airport and wait for a new car. We advised him we were not going to the airport, but our hotel and confirmed he had our names and hotel address on his list. He then asked another couple to get out at the airport but they also were trying to go to their hotel.
This happened once again once we arrived to Hanoi — the driver said he thanked us for the opportunity to take us this far and advised us all to get off. We all protested and asked to be dropped off at our hotels. He then dropped off three couples at their hotels and passed out hotel on two occasions without stopping. We finally asked him to stop and we said we would walk the rest of the way bc we were unsure if he knew where he was supposed to be taking us.
The overall experience with the changing boats, sickness from the food served on board, hours of time spent without a room or activities to do, and confusion with the driver at the end made this a very lack luster experience. The two cruise directors that we worked with were great and were friendly and helpful but this does not make up for the rest of the experience as a whole. I would skip if coming back in the future or book with a different company.
