Emeraude Classic Cruises

“Within many cruises for the Halong Bay, I chose Emeraude Classic Cruises after being recommended by 2 of my friends. And I was very happy with my choice. The staff was really friendly and helpful. The ship was not the biggest one traveling on the bay but we had more than enough place to feel comfortable. The ship also has its own simple but authentic style. Everything was clean. The presents in the president suite were a nice surprise for us.”

“Not much to be honest. Ha Long Bay is beautiful but tourism like this has ruined it. Every sight is filled with swarms of people, the activities are highly controlled and sterile of any real enjoyment. You can’t swim in the bay except for 30 mins in a cordoned off area of a man made beach with the guests of 10 other ships so you’re basically in a sticky polluted suncreamed tourist soup. You can kayak sure, for about 20 mins again in a corderned off area. Want to explore a cave? Great?! But you’ll have to get up there at a glacial pace as you que all the way up the 600 steps to the top as Vietnamese and Chinese tourists for some reason try pushing past you constantly as if it’s going to get them there any faster. Food was okay, I actually found the Vietnamese food served at lunch to be pretty poor quality and I ended up not eating much of my plate which is odd for me as I love Vietnamese food. It had a strange flavour. The western food in the evening was quite nice and I liked that breakfast included grilled tomatoes and beans.”

“Everything (almost)”

“The food was great and the service very good. The Paul Roque room was the stand out as it included a private deck area at the front of the boat on the second floor.”