Halong Bay
We signed up for a 2 days/1 night trip with Signature Cruise. Signature Royal was our assigned vessel.
The ship wasn’t large. There were 4 levels in total, but only the restaurant (level 3) and top deck were common areas.
We had junior suite C2, which was fairly spacious.
Meals
All meals were included in our fare. We started off with lunch and it was lip-smackingly yummy!
Dinner was good as well. Just note that if you have any dietary restrictions, be sure to let them know in advance. The menu is fixed with no alternatives.
Breakfast was a small buffet that included hot pho and eggs.
Activities
Excursions off the boat were to a floating village, pearl farm and island on the first day and a cave on the second.
Activities on the boat include a Vietnamese spring roll cooking demonstration, night squid fishing (except squid weren’t in season) and a morning tai chi session.
None of the activities/excursions were very interesting but that didn’t matter to us.
The View
We took the cruise to see Halong Bay and the cruise certainly delivered. Within half an hour of the ship setting off, we were surrounded by magnificent jagged limestone formations and calm blue seas.
Sunset and sunrise bathed the panorama in warm hues of pink and yellow.
Check off the bucket list!
Info on Hanoi Transfer
Hanoi is 4 hours away from Halong Bay. We were picked up from our hotel on day 1 at 8:00 am. We had opted for the luxury bus (USD 40 per person) instead of the shuttle bus (USD 30) per person. It turned out to be a small van with 7 large seats. Personally, I may prefer the normal bus. Too claustrophobic in the small van and it felt less private with the front two seats facing backwards. But the journey time with the shuttle bus may be longer as it has more people. Wi-fi on the bus was sketchy.
Be prepared for long waiting times for the transfer to and fro the ship. At the arrival centre, we had to wait for an hour before we were brought to the cruise ship.
Similarly, for the return journey, we were trapped on the ship for more than an hour after breakfast was over and we were booted out of our rooms. It was quite uncomfortable as there was nothing to do. Even after we were back at the arrival centre, it was another hour before our van set off to Hanoi. As such, despite being ready for disembarkation by 10:30 am, we only reached Hanoi at 5 pm.
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