I knew nothing of Ha Long Bay until 2019, when I first began dreaming of going to SE Asia. I was on my first cruise ship contract, and I had friends working on a ship doing an East Asia itinerary — their images of Ha Long Bay seemed like a less grand but calmer version of New Zealand’s Milford Sound.
Fast forward to 2022, I absolutely had to visit Ha Long Bay during my first trip to Vietnam. I was able to book an overnight tour through the Buffalo Hostel in Hanoi just before I left for Cao Bang Province. Upon returning back to Hanoi I was informed that the tour would be cancelled on my booking date due to a storm that “destroyed” the private island where we were to stay.
The employees at my hostel in Hanoi explained that in the wake of this storm the Ha Long Bay Hideaway Tour would now house its guests on a ship that the island owner acquired just a week earlier. Luckily I was able to reschedule my tour for the next day. Many of us would later be grateful for this storm, as a mere $16 extra on the original price of $93 would be the difference between sleeping in a basic dorm on a now un-livable island, and sleeping on a 5-star boat.
The tour included a 2.5 hour bus/ferry transfer from Hanoi on through Cat Ba Island and onto our ship. Given that this tour was booked entirely by backpackers none of us were given private rooms, but I still had my own bed in a spacious room at the very front of the ship with an incredible balcony.
As a former cruise ship musician I was just overjoyed to be back on a ship (albeit a comparatively smaller one) for the first time since March of 2020. Not only this, but to be able to have an actual guest room with a front of ship view for such a reasonable price in Ha Long Bay felt very special.
Our tour included lunch both days, one dinner, and breakfast on the morning of departure. I was impressed how well organized and staffed the ship was considering the vessel was purchased just a week earlier. My only real complaint about the experience was the fact that most of the guests were party-seeking backpackers in their early twenties. Pro tip: shotgunning beers in the luxury cruise dining room at lunchtime is not a good look, kids! I did make a few friends who were a little older like myself, including a nurse from Seattle who was trained as a classical singer — so I was in good company.
When I worked on cruise ships I would always wake up super early to watch the arrival into port. Even though our boat had anchored the evening before I still got up at 5:30 to sit out on my deck with instant coffee and chill. Most everyone else had stayed up so late partying that I had all of the balconies around the ship to myself. I would say that it pays to get up early, but I’m glad most people don’t — more calm for me!
Our tour wasn’t just spent onboard the ship — on the first day we took a tender to a nearby beach for a couple hours of swimming. I was surprised at how much garbage could be seen floating in these waters — and I don’t know who’s really to blame for this: tourists or locals? On the second day we went out for an hour of kayaking, where we could get up close to the floating villages that reside near to Cat Ba Island.
I came into my Vietnam trip knowing a Ha Long Bay tour would be the most expensive thing I would buy, possibly in all of SE Asia — but I found the experience worth every penny (or Vietnamese “Dong”). It was a big reminder that I do want to get back to performing on ships someday soon. And while Ha Long Bay was impressive, it really was the cruise in tandem that made the experience.
Up Next: Vietnam IV. “Ninh Bình”
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