Excellent experience.
Ship is 5 months old only, very clean. Staff are very well trained and friendly and helpful (esp thanks to our butler Jay, and manager Harry)!
Food are 8 courses meal, and we have a different menu every night. Very good quality. Pho are available for breakfast which was also great.
Guests actually board and leave the cruise everyday. So for 2D1N, it’s kayaking in the Lan Ha Bay and enjoy cruise activities, while the next morning you visit the dark and light cave before checking out. For 3D2N, you visit the Viet Hai village on day 2 afternoon, and for 4D3N, the Cat Ba National park with hiking. I’d recommend at least two nights.
We had time to try all the activities on board - all are fun and well planned.
Just be prepared for one thing - sometimes the WiFi signal is really bad, be it my own data plan or yhe ship’s WiFi. But that’s expected cause the ship does sail to some more remote part of the bay.
My 11 and 9 year old kids also love the cruise and they say they want to come back again.
First thing that might come across your mind is “This amount of money for a cruise in Vietnam? Isn’t it too expensive for Vietnamese standards?” My short answer is a definitive NO… and here is why:
FIRST AND FOREMOST - Attentive, empathetic and genuine individuals:
“You look unwell, do you need any medications? I’ll tell the staff to make a hot ginger tea for you when we arrive onboard”, the empathetic Cruise Manager, approached us.
After a long trip with 3 hours of sleep, indeed we were exhausted.
• The kind gesture showed us, how the staff is genuinely interested in us as a person, to make the trip comfortable and unforgettable for us by going the extra mile.
It’s noteworthy that all the cruise staff follow Cruise Manager’s lead in this aspect. But there are 3 great personalities onboard that stood out and we would like to thank them:
- 1) The Cruise Manager himself, Mr. Thao, is especially empathetic, with an eye for details and strong motivation combined with his vivid visions and creativity will bring Elite of the Sea to the next level.
- 2) Our lovely butler, Cici, shines with positive energy and is able to transfer her energy to us through her knowledge, confidence and passion while talking. Cici is incredibly friendly, proactive and has a lot of potential. I would love to see her grow and advance in her carrier.
- 3) Although we did not catch any squids with Tracy the other night, we did have fun time nevertheless. Tracy strikes me as a warm person that is very attentive, empathetic and friendly, with a great sense of humor.
SECONDLY - The fine-dining with 6-course meals were delicious for the European standards. Taste-wise, some dishes are not too far from Michelin Stars’. The presentation is nice. The service is professional. All-in-all, we loved the food.
FURTHERMORE, our room was spacey, quiet and very clean. On request, we got our room decorated for a special occasion. Again, the crew demonstrated that we can fully rely on them. On top of that, the extra request was free of charge.
IN SUMMARY, the amount of money may seem like a lot at first, but in return, we made connections with great people and got memorable moments and experience what will stay with you for a life-time.
This trip with Elite of the Seas is priceless and is a must for everyone coming to Ha Long.
karinasingapore
29 Jan 2023
Excellent excellent excellent !!! Highly highly highly recommend. We signed up for stellar of the seas and was upgraded to the elite which was a boat that was bigger and only 3 month old. Did the 2 night cruise and itinerary was perfect ! They did a drone video for all guests for free. There were lots to do ie squid fishing after each dinner , rice paper roll demonstration , karaoke etc. activities included kayaking , 5 hour trip to a local village via bicycle and got to see the plantations and lifestyle of Vietnamese villagers. There was a boat ride to caves which was lovely !
The food on board was fabulous. We had 3 fine dining meals ie 1 lunch and 2 dinners and they even cooked spaghetti and pizzas , French fries for our 6 and 8 year old. Highly highly recommend. I think none of the guests including us wanted to leave.
Special mention of Brian, Tim , thinh and the boat manager whose hospitality was out of this world.