franski

On month today we will be in the air... on our way to Vietnam. We are doing Vietnam/Cambodia - including Hanoi & Ha Long Bay - with Emerald. We are stopping in Bangkok for 3 night on the way home. Getting excited! Fran

Will be following along... We are doing Vietnam/Cambodia with Emerald in February. It will be interesting to see how the sister companies compare. Are you spending any time in Ha Long Bay? Fran

We have travelled a couple of times with Scenic - and not been disappointed. We are actually doing Vietnam & Cambodia with Emerald (sister company, lower price point than Scenic) in February 2023... So the count down is on!! We are starting in Hanoi - going in a couple of days ahead on our own. We have a total of 5 days in Hanoi (3 on our own - 2 with the tour) before heading to Ha Long Bay. We fly down from Hanoi to HCMC and get on the boat there. We are flying home from Siem Reap through Thailand, so are staying 3 nights in Bangkok before the final leg of the journey.. Very excited about this trip. Hoping to do some posting along the way (internet permitting...). Fran

I book with a TA to have that little bit extra piece of mind... someone to "have my back" as it were if things go sideways. We did Peru and the Amazon with Avalon a few years ago. Our flight leaving Toronto was quite late - and we missed our connection in Miami. (Actually, the plane was still at the gate - but the gate was closed.... so close...). Anyway, by the time we made it to our hotel (air line arranged and paid for) it was almost 4 am. We had another flight booked from Lima to Arequipa - for noon. Obviously we weren't going to make that. A quick e-mail to our TA at 4 am told her about the issue - and asked if she could change our booking to the first flight the following morning. She phoned me before 10 am - the flight had been changed, and the change fees charged to the credit card we had on file. When we returned home, she had all the paper work waiting for us to claim the change fees, and the one night in the hotel that we missed. I always do my own research for river cruising - but always use our amazing TA for the booking. Even if she charged for her services (which she does not...) she would be worth it. Fran

I have had lots of people tell (? warn) me about the heat & humidity. We are going early February - and it should be a bit cooler in the north where our tour is starting - but know that it will be stinking hot once we get to Ho Chi Minh city, and then onwards... I expect to make good use of the pool on the boat, and at the various hotels we are booked at. This is the *only* tour my DH has talked about doing since we started travelling. I just needed to wait until I could get a price point I could be comfortable with. Knowing the heat will most likely be an issue for me, I have already started to warn him that he may be doing some of the excursions on his own. Hopefully some will be early morning when it is a bit cooler. I have grown my hair out so I can pin it up off my neck. Will be taking lots of cooler clothes, and won't go anywhere without a hat. I will also be taking some electrolyte replacement packages and ensure I drink lots of water. I will keep my alcohol intake to a minimum as well. I think I have covered all my bases... I guess time will tell!! Fran

We look at flights and see what we can get them for. And then have our TA contact the cruise line. Often the cruise line has a better price. We always get options when booking through the cruise line. And, we usually extend our trip so we look at arriving before/staying after the tour. Our recent cruise with Scenic include free air. But - they have us a dollar figure to work within. So, as long as we stayed within that amount, we could come and go on any date - and from any airport. Trip was Bucharest to Budapest. We went into Bucharest 3 days early, and flew home from Warsaw Poland a week after the cruise ended. No issues at all. The biggest challenge was the fact that 2 of our flights were cancelled (we were rebooked on the next available flight....) so we ended up with long layovers in Frankfurt (way over) and Munich (way back...). We discovered this on our own - no notice came from the airline!! We just booked our air for Vietnam/Cambodia through Emerald --> much better price than we could get on our own, and we booked premium economy. We always get our own insurance... and it covers all part of the trip. Fran

I find it odd that a travel agency would charge you for their service. Maybe things are different in Alberta, but I work with a TA here (I live about 50 km east of Toronto) who does not charge for any "research" she does for me. Did you go with a Cruise specialist? I wonder if they charge (my TA works out of a "generic" travel agency...). Fran

The heat is a concern of mine... Going in early February may help with that a bit (at least that is what I tell myself...). We bit the bullet and booked premium economy for our air. When we look at travel now, we factor in the increased air fare costs as I won't fly long distances in economy any more. If we can't afford the increased air fare - we just won't travel. We are flying through Taiwan with EVA air - so 15 hours to Taipei - and then another 5+ to Hanoi. We arrive on Feb 2nd - and the tour doesn't start until the 5th - so have a couple of days to get over the jet lag. We booked at the Anatole so Emerald will be picking us up - even though we are coming in early. The cost of the hotel is quite reasonable so it didn't add a huge cost to the overall trip. Fran

Thank you for your review - it was very helpful. We are booked on the February 5th tour - also taking the 17 day package. Vietnam/Cambodia has been one of my husband's bucket list tours - and I agreed to go if we could do Halong Bay. I do *not* do heat at all well, so this is stepping out side my comfort zone. We actually had this booked for February this year but it was cancelled due to Covid - so just moved it back a year. We are going in early - staying 3 nights at the Anatole in Hanoi before joining up with the tour. I have realized that we really need a couple of days to acclimate when we travel so far from home. And, since we are already in that part of the world, we are going to Bangkok for 3 days before flying back to Toronto. Thank you for your comment on clothing. I had heard they were very strict and know that I need some type of sleeve. I am actually thinking about taking some type of loose gauzy shawl (I will look at sewing something that packs down into a small bag) so that I can wear sleeveless tops but cover my shoulders as needed. I was excited to learn about the self-service laundry... Expect to use that a lot!! We already have our visas for Vietnam - and I did know that we need to get our Cambodian visa on the boat. Do we need passport pictures for those? Or just our $40 US/pp? Thanks for the advice about the "Dinner in a Rice Field". A quick question about the food... My DH has problems with red & yellow peppers... (green ok for some strange reason). Will he have to watch the food closely for coloured peppers?? Thanks again for your in-depth review. I may come back with more questions!! Fran

We returned from our 16th river cruise in October - and almost always book Aquarium Class. We were given an upgrade once to a French Balcony - and while it was nice, I don't think (for us) it would have been worth the money to upgrade. We paid for an upgrade when we were in China - only because we were set on a date, and direction of the trip - and there was only 1 cabin left. We have booked an upgrade on our next cruise on the Mekong as I do not do heat well (yeah, I know that Vietnam/Cambodia will be HOT!) and I figured if I overheated (a definite possibility) then I could lay down in the cabin and look out the window. Also, the upgrade on our upcoming sailing wasn't a huge amount of money. If you are travelling with friends, you will spend very little time in your cabin. You still have a window in Aquarium class (so there will be sunlight) and actually have a fairly deep window ledge. We use that ledge to dry some of our hand washed items. Whatever you decide... Enjoy!! Fran