Mekong Cruise

[F19810]

I'm interested in a doing a Mekong cruise next year or two.  I've been on Ama but no other river cruise lines.  I've looked at Ama, Avalon, Emerald and Uniworld.  They are similar but have differences and I am having a hard time deciding which one to choose.  I'll be traveling by myself and Ama has single rates, the others may have specials for single so that could be a deciding factor.  I want to do an extension with Ha Long Bay but Ama is only 1 day, some of the others are 2 days.  She boats are "large"with 100 passengers, others about 30.  Anyway, does anybody have any suggestions of which company to go with?

Thanks

Judy

[franski]

We have just this week put a deposit down with Emerald for February 2022 - 17 day package, from Hanoi (including Halong Bay) to Siem Reap  They currently have an amazing sale on - but, I don't see that they have any specials for solo travelers.  That may change going forward...  You could always call and ask??

 

I picked Emerald for a couple of reasons.  The first is the great sale they currently have on.  But their Halong Bay portion is what caught my eye.  Many that I have reviewed do have a day sailing on the bay,  but with Emerald, you actually sleep on a boat for 2 nights (some companies put you up in a hotel).  I think that Uniworld has the same type of package - but at a higher price.   When you add in the fact that Emerald includes airport transfers - and gratuities - it seemed like a natural choice for us. 

 

Their boat is on the bigger side - 42 cabins - but I am OK with that. 

 

Here's hoping things settle down, and we can go as planned!!

 

Fran

[F19810]

I was leaning towards Emerald because of the 2 nights on the boat on the bay.  If I go to Egypt this year, i would be looking at taking this trip feb 2023.  The two things that I didn't like with Ama are the size of the AmaDara and only 1 night on the bay.  The plus for Ama is that I have sailed with them before and the single rates.  Please tells us how your cruise was.

Judy

[gnome12]

In the past, I have been told by Emerald (at a presentation) that they don't do anything for single travellers. I have had single supplement on the cruise portion (note not on the land extensions) waived on both Ama and Avalon.

 

I have travelled this route (Hanoi to HCMC with Halong Bay) with Ama; we had an overnight on a junk in Halong Bay. I would not have been happy doing that in a single day. However, I didn't like the cabins on Ama; the twin balcony to me made the room cramped; the real balcony was too small to be useful even for one person, and the French balcony seemed more like an alcove. Ama does not sail all the way to HCMC; we had a 2+ hour transfer at the end of the cruise.

 

I travelled the Irrawaddy with Avalon on a ship of the same size that they use for the Mekong; 18 cabins. I loved the cabin; roomy with a 14' wall to wall window that opened up 9' (with a screen to pull across) and a small seating area, and a bed that faced the window. Avalon sails right into HCMC; docking on the Saigon river.

[gnome12]

1 minute ago, F19810 said:

I was leaning towards Emerald because of the 2 nights on the boat on the bay.  If I go to Egypt this year, i would be looking at taking this trip feb 2023.  The two things that I didn't like with Ama are the size of the AmaDara and only 1 night on the bay.  The plus for Ama is that I have sailed with them before and the single rates.  Please tells us how your cruise was.

Judy

I had no problem with only one night on Halong bay. We saw plenty. I think I might have been a bit bored with an extra day, but that is me.

[F19810]

26 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I had no problem with only one night on Halong bay. We saw plenty. I think I might have been a bit bored with an extra day, but that is me.

The problem with Avalon is that they stay in a hotel in Ha Long Bay.  Do you think it is better to stay on the boat?  I'm leaning towards Uniworld or Emerald but want to hear what others think.

Judy

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, F19810 said:

The problem with Avalon is that they stay in a hotel in Ha Long Bay.  Do you think it is better to stay on the boat?  I'm leaning towards Uniworld or Emerald but want to hear what others think.

Judy

I think that it is worth staying on the boat. Then you get sundown and sunup from the water among the rock formations. We cruised around the bay and made 2 major stops, one at a cave complex which was fascinating, and one where you had the option of a beach or climb up to a lookup; I skipped that excursion and stayed aboard. Onboard we had a hands on cooking lesson, and a very nice dinner.

[garf1108]

Went on AMA last March and the cruise was fantastic.  Spent 1 day in Ha Long Bay which was sufficient.

A memorable cruise.

[F19810]

On 2/6/2021 at 11:40 AM, garf1108 said:

Went on AMA last March and the cruise was fantastic.  Spent 1 day in Ha Long Bay which was sufficient.

A memorable cruise.

Thanks, I'm leaning towards AMA.  Right now I have an Egypt cruise for November and I would love to postpone it one year.  The CDC has Egypt at level 5 warning  for Covid and I'm afraid that things won't change much between now and then.  Cambodia is a level 1.  I would love to do the Mekong this year but I would lose my trip insurance and the money for Abu Simbal.  That means I would lose $1,800.

By the time AMA cancels the trip, other tours will be booked.  At this point, I'm keeping the Egypt trip this year and Mekong next year.  Praying that things work out.  I'm going to go crazy if I have to wait another year to go on vacation!

Judy

[spikemom]

I was on a Pandaw cruise of hte Red River and Ha Long Bay which spent 2 plus days in Ha Long bay. It was the highlight of the trip, it is so beautiful. The port at Ha Long is very congested and touristy, there are tons of day boat tours and I don't think you'd want to be in a  hotel there. We visited floating villages, went off the boat onto one, spent some time in smaller boats,  and went ashore on an island and visited a village there. It was wonderful, you need to have time there to appreciate it and time away from the scrum of other boats. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kayakcove]

A vote for AMA. We did the full land and river northbound in February 2020 and loved it. The quality of the guides and trip leader were well above expectations. One night in the bay was enough, nice scenery but not as much interaction with the people and culture which was highlight of the rest of the trip. Was interesting as I watched couple fixing their evening meal on their little fishing boat nearby.  We had 3-4 solo travelers on our trip and they were just a part of the group. A couple of them were not used to being solo, but found themselves as such as their trip mates backed out as the virus was becoming a factor. They had no trouble blending in.