27 Apr 2023
While there are plenty of options for Halong Bay cruises, I chose to come back to Au Co (having done a cruise on Bhaya Legend, a smaller boat, a few years ago) and was more than impressed with the quality of food and hospitality of the crew.
The ship was well-run with a young and enthusiastic crew who did their very best, especially Phuc the activities leader and Hoai the server.
The boat is in excellent condition and our Executive roo with twin sharing was sufficiently sized and had a nice balcony and breeze. However we had some pest issues, and it was a bit musty.
April is low season so the cruise was about half full with 32 guests, of which 25 were on a package tour from a British company, which detracted from our experience. Perhaps choose the Legend boat if you prefer a quieter atmosphere (do note that the route differs somewhat too).