Thanks to all the advice from this forum, we are in the final stages of booking private tours in Thailand and Vietnam from our cruise ship.

I have a question please: Is it standard for the tour companies to charge $25 per person each time they pick us up at the port for a tour? (This is in Vietnam only.)

It sounds pretty steep to me. We have been told all tour operators are charged this fee and therefore pass it along to their passengers.

Thanks again for your help.

seriously? i was on cruise ship before and never been charged 25$. Though I didnt travel to vietnam at that time.

Well, you may be dealing with a company in Hanoi for tours in, for eg. Halong Bay. The surcharge may well be to cover their three hour drive to and fro.

In which case, the logical inference is to deal with someone closer.

A few more specific details might help solve the mystery. $25 a head can mount up verrry fast. My nose is twitching.

Is the $25 the fee to transport you from the ship to Hanoi? If so, it is understandable. The distance is quite far. It sounds like you will be doing multiple trips. Where exactly are the tours taking you? If you are in Halong Bay for multiple days, I would pay extra for a hotel in Hanoi for overnight and spend the time there rather than going back and forth to the ship.

It was explained to us that this is a charge levied by the port authorities that allows the tour guide and driver to go inside the port for picking us up off the ship. It was further explained this was a compulsory fee outside their normal charges for tours and therefore was an add-on.

We will be 2 days in HCMC and 1 day in the Hanoi area, and want to do a Halong Bay trip. HCMC is 8 km from the port where we will dock. We dock 6 km from Cai Lan.

The tour company is one that has been highly recommended on this forum and others and the price of the tours themselves seem reasonable. We normally don't sign up for tours when we cruise, but we've never been to Vietnam before and wanted to maximize our time in port.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

You are in Hanoi for just one day and want to do a Halong Bay trip? You do realize, don't you, that Halong Bay will involve about three hours driving each way, so you'll have a little time to see Halong Bay and no time in Hanoi. If it were me, and obviously it isn't, I'd spend my time in Hanoi.

Kathie, she's on a boat. A boat needs water. I wonder where the closest water to Hanoi might be? In dreary Halong Bay.

But dogster, if they are docking at Halong Bay, why would she want to do a trip to Halong Bay? I'm confused. I thought there was docking for small cruise boats less than an hour from Hanoi.

Who knows? In cruiseland, the ship gets you to the place and then the shore excursion bunfight begins. Some do it thru the ship, some privately.

Of course, the logical place for the OP to go is www.cruisecritic.com. Go to Forums, find your cruise line, then your cruise, go to roll call and ask. Easy.

Kathie, unfortunately we are not docking close to Hanoi. It is 3-1/2 hours worth of bus driving each way and the shore excursion is 11 hours total - so it would only leave us 4 hours in Hanoi.

It's much closer to do Halong Bay. (We dock in Cai Lan.) Right or wrong, we just weren't excited about that long bus ride and then so little time in Hanoi.

Dogster, I have posted my question to cruisecritic.

Thank you.

I see. Thanks for the clarification. Under those circumstances, I certainly agree with your plan to go to Halong Bay. I'll bet the cruise company didn't clarify how far you would be from Hanoi before you booked...