Orchid Cruise

Big big thank you to Orchid for this wonderful new cruise! I have been to Halong Bay many times before but had never heard about Lan Ha Bay until recently. I was told by a few different people that it was less touristy than Halong Bay, which had become noticeably worse every time I went. So this time, me and my family booked the 2 days 1 night with Orchid, going on their new route from Hai Phong Harbour.I was very impressed with the cruise manager, Thomas, as well as all of his crew that saw to our needs and treated us with respect in a friendly and personable way. The cabin was very comfortable and all of the meals were extraordinary.Though Lan Ha Bay looks exactly like Halong Bay, I have never tired of the views and will likely head back a few more times at least! I was so glad that I went with Orchid into Lan Ha Bay, they showed us the caves and helped us with kayaking and a cooking lesson.Huge thanks to the crew and a big congratulations to Orchid Cruise. It is nice to see a new cruise getting everything so right and having a truly incredible staff that seem very close and connected already! Thanks and well done!

We booked this tour through our hotel in Hanoi and was not let down at a single part of the whole experience. Mr Thomas ran a very tight ship. Everything was organised to perfection, which is certainly not our usual experience in Vietnam!We had a very big cabin with a gorgeous balcony where we ended up spending a lot of time. The rest of the room was air conditioned, had huge beds, a rain shower with free-standing tub abd cane with free fruit, tea coffee and water. The only thing they could have done with is some stuff for the bath, like salts and bombs, so bring your own if you want to chill out completely :) Dinner was a set menu with many courses, and I loved all of them! Breakfast and lunch were buffet options and the chef did a great job in giving us a bunch of different foods. One of the people we were with was a vegetarian, so they made her completely different food for dinner, rather than just taking the meat out – it was very impressive!As for the destination, we thought Lan Ha Bay was incredible, and a lot less busy than Halong Bay, which you can see just by looking across the dividing line. We went kayaking and swimming, both of which we liked, but the best thing we did was stay up at night and watch the stars; we figured we wouldn’t get much of a chance to do this again as we were staying in cities for most of our trip. We got up early to take in the sunrise, which is definitely worth it once you realise that this is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.The only constructive piece of criticism is that the cocktails need quite a bit of improving. Other than that, we had a really really great time with Orchid and want to give a shout out to Mr. T and Mr. Thomas, along with all of the friendly crew, for a wonderful time in the bay, thanks guys!

Me and my husband took the Orchid Suite which was outstanding. The bay outside was a great peacefulness that really has to be experienced. We had kayaking as soon as we arrived and it was very fun, and not too long.We came back to have drinks on the sundeck, which was really magical at sunset! We got the dinner menu early in advance on day 2 so that we could mention if we didn’t like anything. The appetizer didn’t really appeal to us, so we told our waitress that we were opting to skip. Apparently skipping isn’t an option here! They replaced the appetizer with a duck dish that was out of this world, followed by the delicious set menu the rest of the time – I don’t think they ever let you go hungry at Orchid!We got up early for tai chi, which was definitely worth it. We headed out on the day boat, which was MUCH bigger than I expected. We toured around the village on bikes and it’s here that I had the aforementioned accident. We went through a fairly dark tunnel where I hit a bump and crashed into some rocks. I needed four stitches in my leg, which I got at the hospital of the village we were going to – very lucky! The doctor was great and Alice from Orchid was just lovely, she took the role of translator and comforter very well, and she continued to check on me afterwards; you could feel that her concern was genuine! We toured the village and had a beautiful lunch, after which some of the passengers went kayaking. Which I decided to skip so as not to get my newly stitched leg wet.The last day was another great breakfast and a short cave visit which you do on a bamboo boat. 

There was a lot of cruises to choose from before we booked with Orchid, but we had heard good things and wanted to experience it for ourselves. We had about 2 hours to drive to Halong Bay and had a comfortable bus to do it in. The waiting lounge is maybe a bit cramped, which means it gets very hot. The power went out while we were there, but by that time it was time to get on the cruise.Thomas, our tour leader, was really great. He was so attentive to our needs and nothing was too much of a problem for him. We mentioned that our shower curtain was broken and the crew quickly fixed it. It seems like the whole crew is friendly and helpful too! Me and my mom thought that it was a very luxurious trip and worth the price that we paid. Our cabin was very comfortable and we had a beautiful balcony outside. It was a lovely time sailing between the rocks in the bay; I just wish we’d booked the longer cruise rather than the short one. The food was fantastic and artistically prepared by the head chef. The transfer back to Hanoi was very simple and comfortable.Definitely recommend!

We’d heard lots of positive things about Orchid Cruise before heading out to Vietnam, so much so that I’d booked with them 9 months in advance! I did have a slight issue when booking as I didn’t feel comfortable paying the full amount into an account under an individual’s name, rather than a company name. This was sorted pretty quickly though and other than this, the rest of the time on the Orchid was fantastic. Everything was a real 5-star experience from start to finish. The bus that picked us up was very comfortable and had easily enough space for everyone coming on the cruise. We were greeted by the warm smiles of the crew and shown to our connecting room, with the connecting door hidden in the wardrobe, which was cool.We stayed for 3 days and did the cycling and kayaking. There is a lot of space for everyone because of the small amount of cabins on the cruise. The food was very good but I have to say that we had some slightly better on our Caribbean cruise before. The service of the whole crew was amazing and special thanks go to Alex for his friendly smiles, great conversation and wonderful hospitality throughout. 

We had a lady called Nora who eased us through the booking process and made everything very simple. We had a few questions but she answered all of them efficiently and effectively. The journey to Lan Ha Bay was about 2 hours, which we did in a very comfortable van. We waited in the waiting lounge before boarding the small boat, which took us out to the big boat. The whole crew welcomed us on board and showed us to our room. We had a great buffet lunch followed by a trip outside to do the kayaking and swimming. Happy Hour was on when we got back, and then we had a cooking class and dinner. Dinner was a very nice affair and was served to us very professionallyWe didn’t attend the tai chi class but did head to breakfast, which was a great spread of lots of different types of Western and Asian foods. We had a nice trip through the cave and ferry back to the harbour. There is a great sundeck on the boat which is perfect for watching Lan Ha Bay go by. There’s a gym and a massage place on board, just for luxury aesthetic I think. Our room was beautiful and had all the amenities of a luxury hotel on land. Lovely crew on board, special thanks to Marvin!

A great cruise by a great company. We stayed for one night with Orchid, booking comfortable rooms seeing as we were with my elderly parents. I’ve been to Halong Bay twice prior to this and both experiences were perfectly average and I was even mildly electrocuted on one of them. We struck it lucky with Orchid Cruise though, which was essentially just a floating luxury hotel. We got the Exclusive Suites at the back, which were out of this world. So, so, so amazing. There were 8 gigantic windows that gave us views of the beautiful outside, not to mention the air conditioner, bathtub, shower, comfortable bed and various furnishings around like tables and chairs. The balcony really topped things off with their deckchairs. This room was the most expensive of the ship but it was SO worth it!The food was very delicious and the staff were unbelievable. Adam, Ana and Jenny really made this trip special for us, along with all of the other members of staff who work tirelessly to make your trip special! They were extremely kind and very respectful to both me and my parents. We left the cruise disappointed because it was the end, but so grateful for the time we had there! The only constructive feedback I could give is to maybe provide the staff with lighter clothes for the summer, they looked sweltering!

Just returned to Hanoi from our trip to Halong Bay with Orchid Cruise and I was blown out of the water by their service. They are excellent choices if you want to enjoy more quiet and beautiful area in Halong Bay. We booked this one because we had heard that it is a bit more quiet than the other cruises. I have actually been on 3 Halong Bay cruises and I did indeed find that it was more quiet. This gives time for the crew to look after each guest as an individual, making it a very personable and friendly experience Mr. Thomas and his team were fantastic throughout, thank you all! The cruise is very new so it’s hard to find any faults with it. The cabins are fantastic and spacious, and they have an onboard spa and gym too. We had a very nice room on the second floor with a great view from the balcony and windows.We had great food the whole time and really looked forward to meals! None of them disappointed. We also had great cocktails, two of them at Happy Hour! We thought the beer was a little pricey though.The cooking demonstration, kayaking, sunrise tai chi and visits to cave were run superbly. Management seems to be Orchid’s specialty as everything was so, so smooth.We had an amazing time overall and cannot wait to return!

We did the single night cruise last year and regretted not doing the 2 nighter. So, we came back to do just that this time round, and were so glad we did.These are the reasons why I’m recommending Orchid to my friends:- The boats are relatively small and there is very little chance of overcrowding - Incredible food - The staff are incredibly friendly and do their jobs very well - The activities are very well-organised, I even thought they had been improved since last year- The cabins are fantastic, we got the ones at the back with a massive bath and shower - Our kids really enjoyed itIt’s certainly not the cheapest cruise, but you are paying for luxury and that is exactly what you receive.There has also been a big improvement in Halong Bay since last year. I noticed much less rubbish than before, which suggests that the government is doing something about it. Great tour yet again with Orchid. Thank you guys, I’ll probably be back!

Orchid Cruise made this one of the best things we did in Vietnam. The staff were out of this world! In particular, Thomas, the manager, was exceptional; so well organised and always happy to chat to guests. Harry had incredible English and was so polite with all of the guests, he had a sixth sense for their needs and could sort them out instantaneously.We had dinner in private in our room, considering it was our wedding anniversary, and the whole experience was just stunning. They gave us some complimentary wine and candles and lay rose petals across the bed; really can’t ask for much more than that!We had the executive suite room, which was beautifully decorated and very decadent. We had a big balcony, spa and a large round bed in the centre. There were so many windows that we essentially had a 180 degree panorama of Halong Bay. Obviously, this room was a little dearer than some others, but it was definitely worth it.The food was incredible the whole time we were there. There was a fantastic mix of both Vietnamese and Western food, and there was so much of it too. We had a very smooth arrival and departure in the luxury van from our hotel in Hanoi.It was raining during our time on the island on the second day, so we opted to stay on the boat instead. We spent the whole day eating and relaxing and we would be happy to do it again in a heartbeat! Thank you so much to Thomas and the wonderful crew, you’ve earned a recommendation from us!

Me and my family of 4, including 7 and 11 year old boys, headed out into Halong Bay on the Orchid Cruise, which was recommended to us by a work colleague and most certainly did not disappoint! Everything was surprisingly professional and everything ran on time. We got the luxury bus from our hotel, with all of the modern amenities: leather seats, air con, wifi etc.We had booked the family room, which is essentially just two cabins connected with an open door. Because of this, we had two gorgeous bathrooms and huge windows in both so that we could look at the scenery while taking a bath! The boys loved the room, seeing as they could stay together and away from their annoying parents, but we were only just around the corner, so supervision wasn’t a problem! There was a small amount of cabins on the boat, so we weren’t overcrowded at any point.During the 3 days, we took trips to caves, out on kayaks and to a village on Cat Ba Island. All were great, but we skipped some minor activities in preference of relaxing on the boat, which wasn’t a problem. We had a good chance to meet other guests and learn something new at the cooking class, which our boys really liked.I can’t speak any higher of the food, the presentation and taste were both simply outstanding! They tell you the contents of dinner in the morning, so you have plenty of time to tell them if you require any changes. I knew that my boys wouldn’t eat some of the fancier foods, so those courses were replaced with spaghetti and tomato sauce, which they wolfed down gleefully. Our lunch menu on the second day was heavily focused on seafood, which none of us are huge fans of, but the staff cooked us something completely different for each course, which is a remarkable level of service.Speaking of service, the professionalism from the staff was incredible! They work so hard for the pleasure of the passengers and manage to remain so friendly and smiley the whole time. I was very, very impressed by all of them.I highly recommend Orchid Cruise to anyone reading, it was simply unbelievable in every way.