The ship was scheduled to dock at noon in Ha Long Bay. We decided to do a half-day afternoon tour of Ha Long Bay and then a full-day tour of Hanoi the following day (see next entry for more on that decision). The ship’s “Ha Long Bay by Boat” shore excursion included a stop to climb up and tour a cave. We’re not big on caves, so I contacted several boat tour operators, looking for something without the cave stop. But none offered a tour leaving late enough to accommodate Millie passengers. So we booked the “Ha Long Bay by Boat” shore excursion.
The day was really nice. After breakfast we went up to Cosmos to read, and around 9:30 the first karths (tall monolithic limestone islands) came into view. We watched for a while, then went down to our balcony to continue watching. It was pleasantly cool—we actually wore windbreakers on the balcony. Ha Long Bay City is adorable, with amusement rides including a large ferris wheel. It’s clearly evolved into a tourist destination.
We had to be in the theater at 12 noon for our tour. What about lunch? (Most places onboard don’t start serving lunch until 11:30.) We ordered room service at 11, but by 11:30 it hadn’t arrived, so we went up to the pool grill and grabbed quick burgers and fries. (That evening our room steward told us our order arrived around noon.)
The boat tour of Ha Long Bay was very nice. The boats pulled right next to the ship, so we didn’t need to take a bus anywhere. The guide on the boat spoke with a heavy accent and was hard to understand. The boat went to Dau Go Island, where most people climbed up to see the cave, while about 10 of us stayed on the boat. Then the boat took us through some really stunning parts of Ha Long Bay, including the Kissing Chickens—two karths that, from the right angle, look a bit like two chickens kissing each other. Staff on the boat came through with a variety of souvenirs but were pretty low key. Altogether it was a very beautiful, relaxing afternoon—a nice break from more active sightseeing.
At this point I should note that all our shore excursions in Vietnam were run by SaigonTours, which is a government-run travel agency that runs tours and also owns some of the upscale hotels in Ho Chi Minh City. Tourism in Vietnam only began in the 1990s, and you can tell they’re still getting things going. The buses are a hodgepodge and all somewhat worn, with somewhat uncomfortable seats and no powerports. (The Caravelle, where we stopped for drinks and which SaigonTours owns, was very nice.) I would guess that there are no competitors in Vietnam for the shore excursion business—it’s a Communist country, after all.
Tonight the starters for dinner looked so good that I ordered four of them and skipped the entrée: seafood ceviche, two salads, and spinach artichoke dip. DH had beef brisket pot roast which our server said was very tender, and it was. The maitre d stopped by again to chat. She told us that, while everyone stayed on board and worked during The Revolution renovation, it still took longer than expected, so remaining ships will be pulled for 45 days.
Fabulous oversight. Thanks
we are doing this cruise honking to Singapore in December 2019 and your insight and experience is appreciated
can I ask if the “Halong bay by boat “ excursion by CC for 3hrs 45min is enough time to experience enough of the scenery and appreciate the site. Or is the 6hr tour going to be better?
Report on March 2 Southeast Asia Cruise on the Millie – VERY LONG
in Celebrity Cruises
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Fabulous oversight. Thanks
we are doing this cruise honking to Singapore in December 2019 and your insight and experience is appreciated
can I ask if the “Halong bay by boat “ excursion by CC for 3hrs 45min is enough time to experience enough of the scenery and appreciate the site. Or is the 6hr tour going to be better?
Thanks.