New overnight cruise offers an alternative to Halong Bay

One of the most popular excursions for visitors to Vietnam is a cruise on Halong Bay.

But Halong Bay is becoming increasingly congested, making nearby Lan Ha Bay an attractive, and more tranquil, alternative.

Ambassador Cruise, one of Vietnam’s leading boutique cruise firms, has just launched its latest vessel, Ambassador Signature on Lan Ha Bay.

The 39-berth vessel features smart-looking cabins, an onboard spa, a piano bar, and large sundeck among its offerings.

And the menu has been curated by Michelin-starred French chef David Gallienne from Le Jardin des Plumes in Giverny.

It promotes the tranquil waters of Lan Ha Bay as "a quieter, yet similarly stunning, alternative to the world-famous Halong Bay".

The Ambassador Signature made its maiden voyage in the karst-dotted Gulf of Tonkin in late July.

 


Its new one-night voyage offers an option of cabins in four different categories, all of which come with a private balcony and bathroom. The top two categories have private terraces.

Dining is accompanied by tunes from a resident band. I'm not sure if that is a good thing, or not.

Optional excursions include a visit to Viet Hai, a traditional floating fishing village, and a tour through Light and Dark Cave by bamboo boat or kayak.

I'm hoping to do this trip on an upcoming visit to Vietnam, so will aim to report back sooner rather than later.    

For more information see ambassadorcruise.com.

A stylish new way to explore Halong Bay

A day spent cruising beautiful Halong Bay is just about mandatory for anyone visiting Vietnam.

There are dozens of ships doing the trip, some of them older and more comfortable than others.

Now Ambassador Cruise is lifting the bar with the launch of a day cruise on a new vessel with restaurants and bars, an outdoor jacuzzi and a glass bridge.

The cruise line will launch the new experience in the UNESCO World Heritage site from Friday.

The new ship features spacious sundecks across two floors that total 324sqm and 250sqm, and offers 360-degree views of Halong Bay and its myriad limestone karsts.

There are two restaurants, two bars, an entertainment area for live music, and that large open-air jacuzzi.



The five-metre glass bridge jutting from the vessel’s bow aims to inspire photographers.

The new craft is 90m long and is being promoted as the largest and most luxurious ship to sail Halong Bay’s waters.

Ambassador Cruise is also the only Halong Bay cruise line to include an elevator for the elderly and people with disabilities.

The new ship can caters for up to 500 passengers and the itinerary includes Sung Sot Cave, a buffet lunch, Ho Dong Tien Cave, Trong Cave, Me Cung Cave and Cua Van Floating Village.

The cruise anchors off Titov Island whose scalable heights offer panoramic views of the bay and afternoon tea is served on the vessel’s sundeck.

A round-trip shuttle bus links Hanoi with Halong Bay via an expressway that opened in 2018, cutting the drive time between the destinations in half to two hours - good news as that previous drive was tiresome in the extreme.

Nguyen Cao Son, founder of Asia Premier Cruises Corporation, which owns Ambassador Cruise, said February was the right time to launch the day cruise, following the the travel resurgence and 2018s launch of both the expressway and Van Don International Airport, located 50km from Halong Bay.

“The day cruise opens up Halong Bay in an exciting new way for many travellers, particularly those who can’t squeeze an overnight cruise into their schedule and yet now have the opportunity to experience this breathtakingly beautiful destination in style in a day,” he said.

Ambassador Day Cruise II is priced from $158 (VND 2.625 million) including day cruise program, round-trip shuttle bus transfer from and to Hanoi, one buffet lunch, onboard insurance, tax and service charges, sightseeing fees and afternoon tea on the sundeck.

For more information see ambassadorcruise.com.