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.

High-rise hotel set to further impact Halong Bay

 

Halong Bay in Vietnam is one of the most spectacularly beautiful stretches of water on the planet. 

is a UNESCO World Heritage site that features thousands of dramatic limestone karsts and uninhabited islands in various shapes and sizes.

Some critics felt pre-Covid that the many cruise boats in the waters were starting to destroy the region's charm - and cause major environmental damage. Now a high-rise hotel may be set to cause further dissent. 

A press release I received today announced that WorldHotels will expand its portfolio in Vietnam with the launch of a brand-new Elite collection hotel in Halong. 

It promises a "magnificent backdrop of nature, offering views of the horizon that embraces the natural wonder of Halong Bay".

All well and good - except the images attached show the proposed hotel is a high-rise monstrosity (below). 

Surely the Vietnamese authorities should be encouraging appropriate low-rise, low-impact developments rather than one that looks like a city centre property? 

Expected to open its doors in the first quarter of 2023, MW Luxury Halong is described as "an elegant and iconic lifestyle hotel with world-class architecture and sophisticated interior design".

How something can be an icon before it has even been built is a moot point - PR excess may be to blame. . 

The hotel will offer an infinity pool offering "panoramic bay views" and a spa and fitness centre. 

It is situated in the centre of Halong, a relatively small city where it will be unmissable. For all the wrong reasons. 

Progress, apparently.