cinci4u Posted December 29, 2023 #1 Share Posted December 29, 2023 Hi, We are looking at doing tours on our upcoming cruise on December 2024. Our ship docks at 1:30pm on 12/6 and leaves on 12/7 at 7:30pm. Unfortunately, due to the timing of our ship arriving into port an overnight cruise in Halong Bay is out. Is it worth staying overnight in Hanoi and not going to Halong Bay or just do a Halong Bay day cruise through the cruise line. Any help would be great. Thanks, Bryan and Terri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Milhouse Posted December 30, 2023 #2 Share Posted December 30, 2023 FWIW, this is kind of dated but we did a land trip to Hanoi (and other parts of Vietnam) in Oct 2014. We spent four days in Hanoi of which three were pretty full days of sightseeing. So, I think an overnight stay would definitely have enough points of interest (landmarks, parks/lakes, markets, etc) to keep you engaged/entertained. So many fantastic places to eat too. However, it is a bustling, chaotic city so you kind of have to enjoy that type of vibe. We also did an overnight cruise (Emeraude cruises) in Halong Bay (with a coach transfer to/from Hanoi). It is kind of a bucket list activity with the beautiful scenery. Not sure if the cruiseline's day cruises have similar activities but to give you an idea of the possible experience: as part of our overnight cruise, we stopped at & walked through a cave, visited a pearl farm, and did a short hike around a small island. All kind of interesting but very touristy. There was also a chance to kayak a bit. The star is really the scenery though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinci4u Posted December 30, 2023 Author #3 Share Posted December 30, 2023 6 hours ago, Milhouse said: FWIW, this is kind of dated but we did a land trip to Hanoi (and other parts of Vietnam) in Oct 2014. We spent four days in Hanoi of which three were pretty full days of sightseeing. So, I think an overnight stay would definitely have enough points of interest (landmarks, parks/lakes, markets, etc) to keep you engaged/entertained. So many fantastic places to eat too. However, it is a bustling, chaotic city so you kind of have to enjoy that type of vibe. We also did an overnight cruise (Emeraude cruises) in Halong Bay (with a coach transfer to/from Hanoi). It is kind of a bucket list activity with the beautiful scenery. Not sure if the cruiseline's day cruises have similar activities but to give you an idea of the possible experience: as part of our overnight cruise, we stopped at & walked through a cave, visited a pearl farm, and did a short hike around a small island. All kind of interesting but very touristy. There was also a chance to kayak a bit. The star is really the scenery though. Thank you for the information and suggestions. Bryan and Terri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bull Posted December 30, 2023 #4 Share Posted December 30, 2023 Almost all cruise ships' overnite stops at Halong Bay are a day and a half (or half a day and a day) which precludes overnite junk cruises, because they're timed to suit folk travelling from Hanoi. Hanoi is a journey of about 3 hours e/w. Altho a full day trip is usually offered most of that day is spent on a bumpy bus ride, with limited time in Hanoi. So it's something I'd counsel against - if you choose a trip to Hanoi, make it one which includes an overnite hotel in Hanoi, Most ships' junk cruises are two hours and I'd counsel against any junk cruise under four hours. Crossing the open bay takes up much of a two hour cruise, then a stop at a cave on the periphery of the limestone islets (called karsts), leaving little time - if any - to get amongst the karsts. Amongst the karsts it's a surreal watery lunar landscape. And the bay is usually misty - something which can take the shine off most boat trips (deliberate awful pun 😏), but which simply adds to the atmosphere in Halong Bay. I recommend seeking out a six or eight hour cruise - the 8 hour cruise especially gets you into solitude, and follows the same route as many of the overnite cruises. Those two-hour ships' junk cruises also tend to be packed to the limit with little opportunity to move around. Independently booked cruises give you much more space. If you book a complete junk to share (thro your cruise RollCall) with fellow-cruisers, aim to limit the numbers to a couple of dozen. All junks have a John (of sorts 😏) at the stern, and sell drinks (sometimes food as well, mebbe by cooking a fish which you've bought at a floating fish-farm). It's possible to book a ship's day-trip to Hanoi on the full day, and a ship's two-hour junk cruise on the half-day. But IMHO that's the worst of both worlds. JB 🙂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinci4u Posted January 1 Author #5 Share Posted January 1 On 12/30/2023 at 10:02 AM, John Bull said: Almost all cruise ships' overnite stops at Halong Bay are a day and a half (or half a day and a day) which precludes overnite junk cruises, because they're timed to suit folk travelling from Hanoi. Hanoi is a journey of about 3 hours e/w. Altho a full day trip is usually offered most of that day is spent on a bumpy bus ride, with limited time in Hanoi. So it's something I'd counsel against - if you choose a trip to Hanoi, make it one which includes an overnite hotel in Hanoi, Most ships' junk cruises are two hours and I'd counsel against any junk cruise under four hours. Crossing the open bay takes up much of a two hour cruise, then a stop at a cave on the periphery of the limestone islets (called karsts), leaving little time - if any - to get amongst the karsts. Amongst the karsts it's a surreal watery lunar landscape. And the bay is usually misty - something which can take the shine off most boat trips (deliberate awful pun 😏), but which simply adds to the atmosphere in Halong Bay. I recommend seeking out a six or eight hour cruise - the 8 hour cruise especially gets you into solitude, and follows the same route as many of the overnite cruises. Those two-hour ships' junk cruises also tend to be packed to the limit with little opportunity to move around. Independently booked cruises give you much more space. If you book a complete junk to share (thro your cruise RollCall) with fellow-cruisers, aim to limit the numbers to a couple of dozen. All junks have a John (of sorts 😏) at the stern, and sell drinks (sometimes food as well, mebbe by cooking a fish which you've bought at a floating fish-farm). It's possible to book a ship's day-trip to Hanoi on the full day, and a ship's two-hour junk cruise on the half-day. But IMHO that's the worst of both worlds. JB 🙂 JB, Thank you, thank you for the information. We have decided to stay overnight in Hanoi. Bryan and Terri 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagcruiser Posted January 3 #6 Share Posted January 3 Bryan and Terri Are you booking the overnight in Hanoi through Celebrity or a different tour operator? We want to stay overnight too but I want to do a tour that includes the longer cruise through the bay. Please let me know what you are booking. We might be interested in joining. Thank You Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinci4u Posted January 3 Author #7 Share Posted January 3 (edited) We have booked with Celebrity. However, I have been checking around for independent tour operators. If we do an independent tour operator, we are looking at $550 for 2 people which includes all the transfers from the cruise-port/hotel, a food tour during the evening by rickshaw and a tour of Hanoi by Jeep before leaving to the cruise-port. The hotel cost is not included in the pricing of the tour. If you are interesting in joining us let me know and I will check on pricing for 4 people. You should figure the cost of the hotel in Hanoi will run between $100 - $200 per night and we are looking at staying in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. For logistical reasons, I do you think it’s important that we all stay in the same hotel. Edited January 3 by cinci4u Grammar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinci4u Posted January 3 Author #8 Share Posted January 3 6 hours ago, dagcruiser said: Bryan and Terri Are you booking the overnight in Hanoi through Celebrity or a different tour operator? We want to stay overnight too but I want to do a tour that includes the longer cruise through the bay. Please let me know what you are booking. We might be interested in joining. Thank You Hi Dagcruiser, Please note my response above and I notice that you are on our cruise in November. Thanks, Bryan and Terri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alwayscruisetime Posted January 4 #9 Share Posted January 4 Just finished a Halong Bay day cruise organized independently that was outstanding! Highly recommend- tour itself was perfect, and tour guide went out of her way to make sure we squeezed everything we wanted out of our day. Contact Ms. Gam through WhatsApp at +84 352 403 168. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagcruiser Posted January 4 #10 Share Posted January 4 Bryan and Terri Are you booking the overnight in Hanoi through Celebrity or a different tour operator? We want to stay overnight too but I want to do a tour that includes the longer cruise through the bay. Please let me know what you are booking. We might be interested in joining. Thank You Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagcruiser Posted January 4 #11 Share Posted January 4 Bryan and Terri After further consideration we have decided to book the overnight Celebrity excursion. I hope this works out. See you on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lane vacation Posted May 4 #12 Share Posted May 4 On 1/4/2024 at 2:51 PM, alwayscruisetime said: Just finished a Halong Bay day cruise organized independently that was outstanding! Highly recommend- tour itself was perfect, and tour guide went out of her way to make sure we squeezed everything we wanted out of our day. Contact Ms. Gam through WhatsApp at +84 352 403 168. Hi I have just booked with this lady I am so happy you have enjoyed it and it was worth doing how long did you have on the boat ? I am not sure how long the journey is from the cruise terminal ( as we are on a cruise) to the bay, do you know ? does she say what is best to do on the trip or did you have to say what you wanted,as she messaged me and said a rough idea but said it can change to what you want … also I have booked a few hours the following day to take us round by the port thanks so writing this, it has put my mind at ease thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alwayscruisetime Posted May 4 #13 Share Posted May 4 Hi Lane - We had about 6 hours on the boat, if I remember correctly. It is a very short distance (10-15 minutes?) from the cruise terminal to where you board the boat for the bay. We stopped at a pearl factory on the way and while usually we hate being forced to do these shopping stops on a tour, the pearls were beautiful and well priced, and we enjoyed seeing how they are harvested as well. You can absolutely decide how you want to spend your day. There are "must see" spots on the bay, where everyone stops (the caves are amazing - we've done caves in New Zealand, China, and the US, and this was the best tour guide we've ever had - she pointed out different formations, told us about local customs, etc.) and a place where you get to choose between kayaking yourself or being paddled by someone else, and there is a troop of monkeys that are perched on the rocks above the water - fun to see) and obviously depending on the time you spend out on the water, you can go further and see more. I had read not to do less than 4-6 hours, because you need at least that much time to see everything. Because we had the boat to ourselves, we were able to decide when we wanted lunch (for us we chose after the caves) and I'd suggest not doing it too early. You want to be hungry, because it's LOTS of food! She's going to be able to give you a great day around the port the following day, too. We didn't have that luxury - we only had a bit of time after our boat trip, but we told her what we wanted (hubby wanted a massage, I wanted to buy a watercolor painting of the bay) and she was wonderful about finding both for us and making sure we got to fit them in to what little time we had. She's a lovely person who has a personal history with the area so having her as the tour guide adds to your experience - you've made a wonderful decision! Enjoy! We, too, were on a cruise, with other ports in the area. If you have any other questions or want tips on any other ports, feel free to ask! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Miaminice Posted May 9 #14 Share Posted May 9 We also did this... We booked all of our tours in Vietnam with a young lady called Rose. She organized all the tours in the other ports with young guides and guided the tour in Halong Bay and Hanoi herself. She was the best guide ever!!! On board she cooked for us - outstanding - and at night we did a motor scooter tour to the best places of Hanoi before doing a food and history tour the next day. Some others followed our recommendation and also booked with her. They all came back raving about the experience. She is a gem!!! Here´s where you can see more: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubofhockey Posted May 15 #15 Share Posted May 15 We did an overnight on a junk in HaLong Bay and it was one of the best experiences we have had anywhere, off of a cruise or anywhere else. The dining (and spirits) and the personal service were over the top great. Maybe we had more time because we were on Azamara, but not much longer. We did ours on Bhaya Cruises before Covid in October of 2019. I could not recommend this experience highly enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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