I was going to wait until we arrived in Hanoi to book the 2day 1 night Halong bay cruise but as we'll only be there for 2 full days I've decided to book it in advance. We're not looking for a luxury junk our budget is between 100/150 US $ per person, ideally with no Karaoke or games in the evening as I've read that on some junks they do this and insist you participate.

Thanks

I just came from there and don't have any specific recommendations, but I noticed very few seemed to have AC in the cabins while ours (Hai Au) did. But many of them fill up with single tour groups and I'm not even sure if most companies will guarantee you a specific boat when you book.

Our weather was a little cooler than we expected thanks to a morning rain before we arrived and a bit more during the night, but I simply couldn't imagine trying to sleep in one of those cabins with no AC.

Our junk was the Paloma and while it had AC in the cabins, there was none in the common areas. I believe it was a bit more costly than your budgeted allotment, but frankly, I would say it is worth spending more money to have AC throughout the boat. You don't think you really want a cabin without AC...IMO that would be essential. Other than that, we loved the Paloma - great service, lots of good food and no karaoke at night!

June, how did you book the Paloma?

We booked directly through Paloma before arriving in VN. They delivered the tickets to our hotel in Hanoi on the first day that we arrived. We used their transportation as well and were very satisfied.

dgunbug, was "their transportation" a private car,or did you go in a van with other people? Did you have to stop along the way to "shop"?

Hi there

Perhaps you should wait until you get there while following the advice given by the travelers above. In my case, I was there last year and got a cabin with AC, superb food and a great common area for 75 USD/person (wife and I)- I found this price by shopping around. Unfortunately I cannot remember the operator we went woth, but they were very good, and arranged transportation to Haiphon as well.

I have a travel blog, and the link below will take you to my Halong Bay post. You can see what our boat looked like in the Flickr slideshow at the bottom, and the entry will give you a first hand impression of our visit (and more pics!)

http://www.maitravelsite.com/east-an...g-bay-vietnam/

Enjoy the Bay, a really special place!

Federico

Oh, one more thing: we paid 75 USD for a 3 day, 2 night tour...which does make a difference (for the better!)

The transportation with the Paloma was with a group van and did stop on the way there and back for shopping at factory. We would have preferred a private car, but the stop was not bad - it gave us the opportunity to use the rest rooms and to look at crafts made by the handicapped VN people. Several people bought gifts, but there was no pressure to buy.

Some earlier threads here:

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-to-cruise.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...e-284304-2.cfm

The boats of indochina-junk go to a less-visited (eastern) part of the bay. I've been on their Red Dragon and enjoyed it very much. It has a/c and no karaoke.

Be careful booking Halong Bay cruises on the web. There are many websites that have similar names and masquerade as the home page of the various junk companies. Apparently they take your booking, then at the last minute tell you the boat is full and try to puy you on some inferior trip. Make sure you have the web page of the real company, or use your hotel or a reputable travel agent to book them. I used Tonkin, who are generally well-regarded around here.

I am thinking of the Red Dragon for a 1 night/2 day stay on Halong Bay. I see multiple sites for Red Dragon, all with different logos. Is there more than one boat, or am I seeing different agencies. It's hard to tell. The Ginger sounds nice too. Am open to suggestions, but must have airconditioning.
Thanks....please weigh in

Does anyone remember - on the Paloma, the Hai Au, the Red Dragon or any others --- is there a place outdoors but in total shade during the day? I am happiest lying on a chaise longe with a cool drink and my book, but I hate the direct sun (and my skin hates it more than I do).

Also, dgunbug, is the dining area of the Paloma, which seems to be enclosed, NOT air conditioned?

There was no AC in the covered dining room on the Paloma and there was no shaded reclining chairs on the upper deck. There are chairs along both sides of the boat and towards the front that have partial shade, but it was hot. Also, while the boat is anchored there is no cool breeze. I would strongly recommend one of the other boats with AC indoors. I believe the Valentine may fit the bill, but the price may be a bit more. I think the added expense would be worth it. The only place to escape from the heat on the Paloma is the cabin.

That's just what I needed to know -- anyone know about the Red Dragon or, NeoPatrick, the Hai Au?

There are no "public" areas that are air conditioned on the Hai Au. But the top deck does have a covered area with table and lounge chairs. The chaise lounges are not covered. However, you could move furniture around probably as we did.
All the windows were left pretty much open in the dining room and one could probably relax and read comfortably there instead of the top deck as well. I'd have been kind of disappointed if we had to eat in an AC dining room instead of one with all the windows open feeling more like we were "part of nature".

To be honest, while I'm the one who started this thing about AC, because I'd have a difficult time sleeping in a very hot and humid boat, I really don't see the point of the AC in the rest. These are pretty rustic boats and there is no reason to confuse a one night cruise on one in Halong Bay with some sort of regular luxury cruise. I suspect even on the fanciest of the boats, these are still not luxury vessels. Bathrooms and cabins are going to be VERY basic. Our cabins were a toilet and sink, and a shower nozzle that turned the entire bathroom into a shower. The cabins were quite small, but one advantage of our tour was that we each just took a small overnight bag of necessities and left all our other luggage safely on the bus. I can't imagine a couple with all their luggage (even just two big suitcases) in the cabin.

We were also "lucky" in that our cruise was pretty much totally on very cloudy days and often a light drizzle. I can't say what the whole thing would have been like in 95 degree heat and full sun.

NeoPatrick - While Halong Bay is often cloudy, I can tell you that without the light drizzle which cools things off, it is preferable to have AC rather than an open window to enjoy the nature. There's plenty of time to go out side so it's nice to have the option of being indoors and cool. That was our only complaint about the Paloma. The cabins were actually quite nice and nice and cool...but who wants to stay in the cabin all day!

Well, I realize it can be incredibly hot, as is most of Vietnam. I guess my point was that just like not staying in my hotel all day in Saigon or Hanoi or wherever to stay cool, it is necessary to get out into the heat much of the day -- and I am willing to accept that if you want to enjoy being in Halong Bay, then being out in the heat is somehow more important than staying cool in an enclosed dining room or lounge, that's all.
If I'm going to spend my cruising time in the bay completely inside in an AirConditioned lounge, I guess my preference would be not to go at all. Looking at it all through closed windows just wouldn't be the same as being out on an open deck. But I'm kind of the same way on things like River cruises -- I'd rather suffer the heat to be out in the open (although shaded from direct sun would be nice) rather than be inside in an airconditioned lounge looking out through windows.

By the way, if like most of these cruises, you'll probably be getting on the boat around noon, so other than first afternoon for a while (we had lunch on the boat first while cruising and then stopped at the caves in the heat of the afternoon), most of the cruise in in the late afternoon and evening and the next morning before departing at 9 or 10 usually. So it's not like you're stuck in the heat day after day. We're really talking about a couple of hours here. And again if you really can't stand heat at all, then frankly these are probably not the cruises for you since it's all about being out in the bay, not about sitting in a luxurious ship.

We certainly do want a cabin with a/c After doing some research we've booked with the Red Dragon Junk cruises on their Dragon Pearl Junk cost 125US$ per person. I think when you book these cruises if possible it's better to book directly with the cruise company rather than with a Tour operator as over the last couple of days I've read countless reports of people practically being shunted from one junk to another and sleepless nights due to fighting rats yikes!!!

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time!