I’ve never imagined myself to be on a cruise. The only place I knew people usually do cruising is in Caribbean – which I believe is quite far from here. I was kinda surprise they have it here in South East Asia! Yes, we did our first cruise at Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. It’s around 3 hours drive from Hanoi – the capital city of Vietnam.
We booked a 2D1N cruise at Signature Cruise. Well, Fred did it. He took care of all of our tickets, hotels, and many other things. He’s also the one who read the map while we’re walking exploring the city (Hanoi and Saigon). All I’ve got to do is wear my jacket and my shoes since it’s slightly cold there in January. Then I’m ready to go.
Okay! Back to cruise…
We were picked up at our hotel at 8 am, and they took us to Signature Cruise’s office at Ha Long Bay. As we arrived, the officers greeted us with a wide warm smile. Plus a cup of hot tea for each of us.
After listening to a brief explanation about what we’re gonna do next, we headed to a small boat – which later I found to be the one which take us a our ship.
At the ship, they gave us another cup of tea – this one with strawberry flavor which is so good. And warm towel. Then, the manager give us an explanation about our schedule until next morning.
The Room
Then of course, it’s time to check out the room! We booked 2 rooms – one for two, and one for three. I was very surprised that our room look even more impressive than the one at the photograph we found at their website. I didn’t have words to say other than wow. And wow again. Then again.
The room is decorated with luxurious furniture, like a modern working desk, super-comfy bed, a sofa, private Jacuzzi, etc.
Talking about Jacuzzi… It’s located right next to the window in the bathroom. So you know what I did first thing in the morning? Of course, taking a dip with my window wide opened while watching the sunrise. And…. not to forget to have a cup of hot coffee in hand. So…. refreshing.
Lunch Time
Well, aside from the cool bathroom, the dining room is also stunning! They have approximately 6 tables for us and one bar where you can order your drink.
Lunch is served! 🙂
Fisherman’s Village Tour
Right after we finished our lunch, we went back to our room for a rest. Then, we’re off on a small boat to visit the Fisherman’s Village. The small boat will take maximum 4 people, including one local who paddle the boat for us.
Fred and I take the same boat, with one local and one guide. The Fisherman’s Village is literally where the fishermen live in Ha Long Bay. They farm clams and then they took the pearl. There’s a also a local pearl shop in the middle of the village.
Note that the village is not the one you’ll be able to walk around. Otherwise, it’s simply a spot in the middle of the sea where people build their houses, more like a floating houses, with a floating pearl shop. I don’t know if it’s legal, but there it is. 🙂
We also went to a cave which is quite packed up with tourist. It’s huge! And got a very nice lighting. They name it Surprising Cave.
According to the guide which take us around, the cave was once found by a French explorer back in 1901. It’s one of the biggest open-for-public cave in Ha Long Bay. And one of the most beautiful as well!
We take a walk inside the huge cave for about 30 minutes. As soon as we walked out of the cave, we were greeted with a stunning view of Ha Long Bay. Believe me, you’ll have the same feeling of I-don’t-wanna-go-home like I did.
Then, we took a group photo! These are friendly people in the same cruise with us. There are couples from the UK and Holland. And… a family from Indonesia 😉
Then, we went back to our ship for Cooking Class and Dinner.
Cooking Class
When I first heard about the cooking class, I thought we’re going to kitchen for cooking some Pho or other complicated Vietnamese dishes. Turned out, we made a Vietnamese Spring Rolls which is quite easy! We don’t even need a stove and a pan for that. Each or us made ourselves a plate of spring rolls which mostly consists of veggies, like carrot, vermicelli, etc. And not to forget about the cilantro! I don’t know why cilantro is everywhere in almost any kind of Vietnamese Dishes. Then we just roll it over the edible paper wrap and eat it.
Now that our Spring rolls is ready. Time to finish ’em up!
It feels so good to eat the spring rolls you made your self! And it actually tasted quite the same with the one you bought at a local store. And according to our guide, a girl should be able to make her own spring rolls before getting married. So now I’m qualified!
Dinner Time
Dinner time is quite the same with lunch time. Only the meal is different. We had pumpkin soup, beef stew, and… I forget what else we had that night.
But there’s this “Happy Hour” which is simply a time when you can buy 1 drink and get another drink for free. I had Tequila Sunrise while the others had wine.
The The Morning
The next morning starts with a Tai Chi lesson. For those who have no idea what Tai Chi is, it’s simply a Chinese martial art, if I can say. The movement is sooo gentle and slow that it can reduce your stress while balancing your health.
I showed up late at the Tai Chi lesson since I was very busy dipping myself in the Jacuzzi. So, by the time I joined the lesson, it was over.
Then, we had our breakfast and went back to Hanoi. Yes, I can’t believe our 2D1N tour ended so quickly! I really hoped we booked for another night!
But well, I’m sooo happy that we did try Signature Cruise this time. We had such a good time on the cruise. The staffs are so friendly and helpful. The food was great. The other passengers are so friendly. And the bed was unbelievably comfortable. Believe me…
I really recommend anyone to book the tour at Signature Cruise if you’re coming to Ha Long Bay!
Until next time!
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Signature Cruise, Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
Head Office: 2nd floor, 13 Nguyen Huu Huan Str., Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi, Vietnam.
Tel: (+84-4) 3 935 1268 | Fax: (+84-4) 3 935 1270| Hotline: (+84) 973 424 108
Email: Info@signaturehalongcruise.com | Website: http://signaturehalongcruise.com
Working time (Monday to Friday): 08.30 – 17.00 (GMT+7)
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email : lohh.sharon@gmail.com
Sharon Loh 
seru banget 😀 itu interior kapalnya serba putih ya 🙂 elegan euy *mupeng* dan ada cooking class pula di cruiseship haha, cool 😀
Hihihi iya asik deh kapalnya 😀 Baru 3 bulan gitu kalo ga salah pas aku pergi hehe. Cooking class nya cepet loh! Tinggal gulung2 jadi 😛
Menarik juga ikut cruise begitu ya. Pas aku ke Halong dulu cuma “cruise” pakai kapal nelayan 😛
Hehehe aku mumpung diajak ikut sajo 😛
aku pernah cerita gak kalo aku lahir di Hanoi? yep I was born there hehe during the hard times, with all bombing and all that 🙂
Pernah! Hehehe. Wow serius itu pas masa perang2? :O Serem yak. It’s good that you’re safe back then 🙂
Awesome right, my childhood? Hahaha
Haha I just found this part after I read your post about Hanoi. X))
My itinerary was crazy, 5 days in Vietnam, visited HCM, Mui Ne, Hanoi, and Ha Long Bay.
Eh, forgot to mention that the room was surprisingly niceeee. Gak nyangka kayak begitu kamarnya.
Wooooow that’s a crazy packed itinerary! 😀 Must be exciting. Iyaaa ga nyangka banget sama kamar nya. Kirain di kapal ya gitu2 aja seadanya. Taunyaa…. lebih nyaman daripada di kamar sendiri hihihihih
Hi Sharon Lon.Nice post.I like the lunch very much.The room are surprisingly nice.Its really enjoyable.
Hi Eoin! Thank you.
Yes I was quite surprised too since we never saw it ourselves. It was a really nice stay. And true, food was pretty impressive.
Wow the cruise was amazingly beautiful and luxurious. Eager to have a trip in this cruise.
nyeseeeel pas ke vietnam yg lalu kita cuma ke ho chi minh doang -__-. makanya aku masih pengen bgtttt ke hanoi dan halong bay ama Sapa kalo nnti ke vietnam lagi.. walopun ini negara bnyk bgt scamnya, tp nth kenapa ga pernah kapok mau dtg lagi 😀
itu sumpah kamarnya bgs bgt.. ga kayak di kapal jadinya… ^o^… jd sepertinya ambil paket yg 2 malam aja ya mbak? soalnya aku bnyk baca mnding yg semalam aja udh cukup. tapi yg 2 malam ada main kano gitu, dan aku pgn cobain ;p
Ayo Vietnam lagi! Hihi. Waktu aku ke hanoi enak udaranya lagi dingin dingin gituuuu. Sekitar belasan derajat, di Halong Bay nya juga.
Aku kemaren cuma ambil yang semalem aja soalnya lumayan hemat duitnya hahaha, kalo dua malam, kemaren cuma beda di itinerary siang nya aja. Hari kedua kyk di bawa naik perahu2an kecil sm masuk goa apa gitu. Kalo pingin banget cobain aja 2 mlm hihi, manatau 2 mlm aja ga cukup butuh 3 malam wkwk