Halong Bay arrival and clearance

[grmmybtty]

We will be on the LA to Sydney cruise on October 4,2023. We are schedule to arrive in Halong Bay at 7am on 11/24, which is our first stop in Vietnam. Has anyone experienced a stop at this port who can tell me how long it takes for Vietnamese customs and immigration to clear the ship for disembarkation? Even though our itinerary indicates it is a tender port, the new Halong Bay International cruise terminal has opened and we may possibly dock. I would like to schedule a day cruise which departs from Tau Chau Marina at 10am, a 25 min.Taxi ride. Would I be able to make it or should I book a ship leaving later in the morning?

[osandomir]

5 minutes ago, grmmybtty said:

We will be on the LA to Sydney cruise on October 4,2023. We are schedule to arrive in Halong Bay at 7am on 11/24, which is our first stop in Vietnam. Has anyone experienced a stop at this port who can tell me how long it takes for Vietnamese customs and immigration to clear the ship for disembarkation? Even though our itinerary indicates it is a tender port, the new Halong Bay International cruise terminal has opened and we may possibly dock. I would like to schedule a day cruise which departs from Tau Chau Marina at 10am, a 25 min.Taxi ride. Would I be able to make it or should I book a ship leaving later in the morning?

Probably you will be fine, but I’d schedule for a later time just in case. Also, we found that the ambiance on the afternoon cruise in Halong Bay was even better than in the morning.

[Redtravel]

We cleared at Ha Long bay quickly.  We had to buy a Vietnamese visa.  Ship sold them onboard.  We just showed our passport and visa to the officials as we left the ship.  

[grmmybtty]

Thank you both for your replies. The cruise I was looking at is an all day cruise sailing to the less visited Lan Hau Bay, so I think I will take the chance to book it. If I find out after we board and speak to the Oceania staff that the timing is too close, I can cancel up to a week prior.

[CVA34]

cant really say, but, was in Da Nang in 1969

[ORDBoyInLAX]

Have a related question - I am also on the Regatta that stops at Ha Long Bay at 7am on 11/14/23.  I'm trying to arrange an independent excursion to Hanoi (as the , and am being asked into which port at Halong Bay the ship will be arriving,   Oceania today said that for my particular cruise, they don't have that answer yet and might only be able to tell us once we have already boarded the Regatta two days before.   That doesn't seem right to me - does anyone have any helpful info/intel?  Thanks in advance.

Edited October 3, 2023 by ORDBoyInLAX

[Acrusa]

29 minutes ago, ORDBoyInLAX said:

Have a related question - I am also on the Regatta that stops at Ha Long Bay at 7am on 11/14/23.  I'm trying to arrange an independent excursion to Hanoi (as the , and am being asked into which port at Halong Bay the ship will be arriving,   Oceania today said that for my particular cruise, they don't have that answer yet and might only be able to tell us once we have already boarded the Regatta two days before.   That doesn't seem right to me - does anyone have any helpful info/intel?  Thanks in advance.

we did this on a cruise ship tour many years ago. My advise go with the ships tour.  It's over 3 hrs to get to Hanoi over very hilly highway. This way you won't have to think about it. 

[mcd-family]

We will be on the Regatta, and have booked a private Hanoi tour on 14 November. Ship excursions were fully booked months ago. Please contact me directly if you can, would consider a shared tour.

[Host Kat]

9 hours ago, mcd-family said:

We will be on the Regatta, and have booked a private Hanoi tour on 14 November. Ship excursions were fully booked months ago. Please contact me directly if you can, would consider a shared tour.

 

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[pmatawan]

Can anyone who sailed on Oceania recently tell me if the ship tendered into port or docked at the new cruise port terminal?

[clo]

On 2/27/2023 at 7:35 PM, CVA34 said:

cant really say, but, was in Da Nang in 1969

Yikes!

[Tranquility Base]

9 hours ago, pmatawan said:

Can anyone who sailed on Oceania recently tell me if the ship tendered into port or docked at the new cruise port terminal?

Are you due there next month ?

We are on a cruise through there at a later date.

If you remember, could you post back here as to your experience please.

Thanks.

[pmatawan]

7 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

Are you due there next month ?

We are on a cruise through there at a later date.

If you remember, could you post back here as to your experience please.

Thanks.

Will do.

[pmatawan]

On 1/26/2024 at 6:13 AM, pmatawan said:

Will do.

 

On 1/26/2024 at 6:13 AM, pmatawan said:

Will do.

We are docking, not tendering. 

[Tranquility Base]

5 hours ago, pmatawan said:

We are docking, not tendering. 

Thanks for coming back with that @pmatawan

That's good info.

 

One other query if I may.

 

Did you hear any comments regarding the shuttles into Saigon from the Hiep Phuoc port ?

How long the shuttles to & from town were taking, and what time the last shuttle left from town on the first day in Saigon.

[pmatawan]

5 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

Thanks for coming back with that @pmatawan

That's good info.

 

One other query if I may.

 

Did you hear any comments regarding the shuttles into Saigon from the Hiep Phuoc port ?

How long the shuttles to & from town were taking, and what time the last shuttle left from town on the first day in Saigon.

The shuttle was to a market area. We did not take it as we were on private tours, but the ship is returning to Siagon on Feb I8th and we will be taking it at that time and I will let you know.

[pmatawan]

On 2/13/2024 at 12:28 AM, Tranquility Base said:

Thanks for coming back with that @pmatawan

That's good info.

 

One other query if I may.

 

Did you hear any comments regarding the shuttles into Saigon from the Hiep Phuoc port ?

How long the shuttles to & from town were taking, and what time the last shuttle left from town on the first day in Saigon.

The shuttle takes less than 30 minutes but is dependent on traffic. Last shuttle is 9:30pm.

The information in Currents said shuttles don't run from 11am to 2pm and again from 5pm to 7pm to allow for meal breaks, but is inaccurate. The shuttles schedule from the bus company  shows it leaves ship on the hour and returns from the city on the half hour. That may be inaccurate also as we got on a "crew shuttle" leaving the city at 2pm.

[Tranquility Base]

6 hours ago, pmatawan said:

The shuttle takes less than 30 minutes but is dependent on traffic. Last shuttle is 9:30pm.

Great, thanks.

I'll be able to plan my first day as a DIY day, and will remain flexible regarding actual shuttle departure timings.