Cruising Together: Our Ha Long Bay Tour with Indochina Junk

We just got back to Hanoi from a fantastic trip around Ha Long Bay with Indochina Junk, which we would highly recommend to all.

Our cruise package included a pick up in the old quarter of Hanoi, transportation in a VIP luxury van (not private, but comfortable), two nights accommodation on the boat, three days of activities, all meals (drinks excluded aside from drinking water), and return transportation to Hanoi on the third day.

We left our hotel at 8:30 am on the first day and began the three-hour drive to Ha Long Bay. There was another couple sharing the van with us, who were very friendly. Between this couple and our family, six out of seven seats were taken up in the van. Bottled water was provided for the trip, and our driver drove very responsibly relative to some of our other transportation in Vietnam. The aim was for drive to be part of a full-tour luxury experience.

Upon our arrival at the company’s offices in Ha Long Bay, we completed some paperwork, paid off the remaining balance for the trip, and enjoyed a welcome drink. After about 30 minutes in the office, we were transported to the cruise ship port. From there, our tender transferred us over to our ship, the Dragon Legend I. The ship had three indoor floors accessible to us and some additional outdoor floors above, which included a sundeck, a small splash pool area, and an outdoor dining area. There was also a very basic gym onboard, which was made up of some basic spinning bikes. The ship was medium-sized, with approximately 24 cabins in total.

After a brief orientation with the crew, we got to go check out our rooms. We had elected to share a room with our two children, so when we arrived there was a small fold-out bed in the room set up beside the queen bed already in the suite. The addition of the foldaway bed meant that there wasn’t much floor space left, and and the room felt pretty cramped.

However, because the ship wasn’t fully booked, the crew offered to give us an additional room at no cost, which gave us a lot more space. It meant that we had to split up the family so that each adult shared a room with one kid, but it was much more comfortable that way, and we were very grateful for the kind offer from the ship’s staff.

The rooms themselves were decorated in a classic style and were very nice, though not in pristine condition. There was a large two-person soaker tub in each room as well as a shower, a mini bar, a safe, and a TV, and it was all quite comfortable. Windows in the room could be opened wide to get an unobstructed view of the surroundings, which was lovely but a bit of a safety concern with young kids around, since they could easily fall through one of the large windows and into the sea below. We made sure to keep the windows locked at all times, but it’s just something to note if you are travelling with young kids.

There were a number of excursions organized as part of the cruise, and while the trip felt slightly too scheduled for our tastes, it was all very pleasant and there was plenty of downtime. The highlight for us were the two times we got to take kayaks out with our kids to explore the karsts independently, and the BBQ the chefs put together for us and the other passengers on a private beach. Both were absolutely incredible experiences. Some of the excursions felt a little bit like time filler, but that’s pretty standard on cruises and the highlights more than made up for this.

We can’t rave enough about the food on board the ship — it was all phenomenal, and we appreciated that they were able to accommodate for children who don’t eat seafood, especially since seafood was part of nearly every dish on the menu. If we had a single complaint about the food, it would be that they gave us too much (tough life, we know!). These were all 8- to 10-course meals, so we always left thoroughly stuffed and were not able to finish everything we were given. We’re fairly certain we each gained about 10 pounds over the course of the three-day cruise.

In terms of costs, the cruise was just under 1200 USD for the full family, and we incurred additional expenses for drinks of under 100 USD, although additional costs will vary greatly depending on your alcohol consumption. We also left a gratuity for the fantastic staff, who really gave it their all to make this a fantastic experience for everyone in the family. We were treated like celebrities throughout the whole voyage, and it was all due to the five-star service provided by the caring staff members.

We would very much recommend this cruise to anyone who is looking at Ha Long Bay tours around this price point. While the Dragon Legend was not brand new modern ship, it was very comfortable, and a top flight experience overall.

To read more about our cruise experience, click here.