Emperor Cruises

Hands-down the best cruise that me and my wife have ever been on, and we’ve done a few!The main attractions are the limestone towers of Bai Tu Long Bay, which are stunning, but on the Emperor Cruise, they are accompanied by the most excellent service and amenities. The food is unbelievable (seriously, it’s some of the best I have ever had). The crew are fantastic, the cabins are lovely and I had a great foot massage from the masseuse.The activities were good fun but we opted to spend a lot of time on the boat, which was a phenomenal vessel. Our cabin was a thing of real beauty and it looked exactly like it did on the pictures.Can’t recommend everything enough! Loved the whole package by Emperor Cruise.

Me and my wife still haven’t stopped talking about our cruise with the Emperor Cruise – even though we returned home about 3 months ago. We use ‘unforgettable’ in the literal sense!It really was an incredible trip, aided so much by the brilliant crew, who were so friendly and approachable, but never intruded on your private time and kept their distance. That’s a very good skill to have for the butlers, who become more like friends than personal assistants during the cruise, but know exactly when their job is finished and they should leave you at peace. Really nice activities in the bay. The kayaking was super fun and we got some great angles on the bay. The cooking class was a very fun experience and good for meeting other people on the boat.The private balcony in our cabin was very well appreciated, and the jacuzzi faced out across the water next to another large window. There’s a maximum of 16 people on this cruise, which we thought was great as it feels like you get a more personalised service. All of the food was top quality and the crew paid very close attention to my wife’s intolerance to shellfish, offering her an alternative which she said was delicious.Some minor negatives: It takes four hours to get between Hanoi and Halong Bay. The bus is super comfy and has USB chargers, so it’s not all bad, but it does take up quite a bit of time on a 2 day 1 night itinerary. The engine also makes a hum on the boat, it’s not loud but it does disrupt the peace a little bit.I’m clutching at straws trying to find negatives to be honest. It was a fantastic trip and one that me and my wife would be so happy to do all over again.

We decided to really go for it for our honeymoon, and crown our trip around Vietnam with a super luxury cruise. To that end, we booked the Emperor Cruise and the 3 day itinerary. What a choice that was!The luxury shuttle bus with Wifi kicked us off in suitably elegant fashion, then we transferred to the boat and were welcomed on by the staff, waving, smiling and beating the welcome drum.Once we got on the ship, we saw it was every bit as beautiful as it was in the pictures we saw in Hanoi. Our room had a full window so we could always see the bay, as well as in the bathroom. We walked in to the sight of a bed full of roses, rose petals and little swans made from towels. It was a very lovely touch which just hinted at some of the great service to come. The staff have an amazing ability to make you feel like you have known them forever. They were so friendly, funny and professional – the perfect package! Jasmine was our brilliant and super bright butler. She really made this experience for us with her humour, story-telling and listening skills. We learnt a lot from her and laughed constantly in her presence.There’s a great balance between the activities and the relaxing. We spent a lot of time chilling in the cabin, but made time to explore the top deck and go out in kayaks and to the cave.There are two message therapists who are very good at their jobs. They even came on the day boat for the second day, when we went exploring around the quiet areas of the bay. You will never go hungry on this boat, nor will you leave the dining room dissatisfied, the food is absolutely incredible! This honeymoon really couldn’t have gone any better and so much of that was down to Jasmine and the other members of the Emperor Cruise crew! You are a great bunch and we wish you all the best for the future – you guys gave us the perfect honeymoon.

This has to be one of the best cruises in Halong Bay. I place it very highly in my list of top experiences. The ship is very beautiful and decorated with lots of great art from an artists referred to as the Picasso of Vietnam. From the moment they collect you from your hotel, you are taken care of by amazing staff. In particular – Jazmine was outstanding, with a great attention to detail and friendly and professional service. The food was absolutely delicious and we really looked forward to mealtimes. There are a lot of activities to do, but you can always just relax on the ship. We did the kayaking around the fishing village, which was great, but skipped the cave visit in order to spend more time in our beautiful cabin. There aren’t many cabins on the Emperor Cruise, so you really do get a personalised experience. We did the 2 day but I would now recommend going for the 3 day/2 night cruise as you will get more time in the beautiful bay and on the beautiful Emperor Cruise. The one small thing we didn’t like was the docking area, where we had to wait for the cruise – that was less of a 5-star experience! A fantastic cruise regardless.

We got the best of the best when we booked the Emperor Cruise! One of the staff, Jasmine, was a lovely girl and she knew a bit of Korean, which was very nice for my parents, whose English isn’t that great – also me, who didn’t have to translate everything for them all the time! (영어 잘 못하는 동반자 있으시면 자스민을 꼭 찾으세요!) The windows of the Emperor Cruise are 1.5 times the size of those on smaller cruises, which is a huge bonus as you get better views of the bay. Both the food and the activities were really great. The room was perfect for us – very spacious and light, with lots of nice touches enjoyed particularly by my parents. We took a double room and then Emperor Cruises provided us with another bed, which was just as comfortable as the main bed. It was a shame about the weather, which was a little chilly (we went in February). Bring some thicker clothes if you’re coming at this point.The only negative thing I will say is that the docking area is a bit filthy and full of rubbish and smog. Would be better if the tour companies took better care of it, considering tourists are paying a lot of money for a relaxing experience.Still absolutely worth what we paid though! Really great cruise and one that I will probably return to to do again!