Rosa Cruise

We went through a travel agency to book this cruise as we didn’t know which to pick out of the several on offer. We really had a great time as well! The staff were so lovely and the tour guide was amazing – they were a much higher quality of staff than we were expecting for sure. They are always thoughtful and helpful. They were especially great with my 2 year old son, who was a bit of a celebrity with the crew by the end of the cruise! We even got a great surprise during the dinner, when the crew brought in a birthday cake and sang happy birthday to us! Amazing work from a lovely set of young people – I would highly recommend going with the Rosa Cruise!

We finally settled on the Rosa Cruise after quite a bit of research. We were pleased that we did after talking to the booking office, who were very efficient and friendly in their responses. This was shaping up to be the perfect mid-range cruise for us. We spent a few minutes rounding everyone up before we boarded the boat. We were given a welcome drink and joined the happy buzz of people in the dining room. The wooden cabin made us feel like we were in the forest. We were a group of 4, 2 couples in 2 rooms, so the crew made us some towel swans and placed them on the super comfortable bed. Some of the older boats in Halong Bay seemed to be emitting a pretty audible and not particularly pleasant engine noise, which somewhat ruined the ambience of Halong Bay. Luckily we were able to get away quickly and find some space to ourselves. The engine on the Rosa Cruise only emits a very slight hum, which is barely audible and does nothing to distract you from your trip. Even though it was a freezing January day, we went immediately to the top deck and felt the wind on our faces. The limestone islands are just amazing and the Rosa Cruise anchored the boat in such a way as for us to enjoy sunset above them at the end of the day. The only thing we weren’t that fussed about was the purported “educational” trip to the pearl farm, which is a quick demonstration which ends in a trip to the gift shop. We had already seen this when we stopped for a rest at the servo on the way, which also had a souvenir stand. Typical of these kinds of tours though, so we just grinned and bore it. We enjoyed the kayaking, although we were confined to a pretty small area and I’d have liked it more if we could have spread our wings a bit. We floated in our kayaks during sunset and that was a really surreal moment. We got some smiles and ginger tea back onboard the boat. There was a choice of either squid fishing or karaoke after the dinner. We opted for the squid fishing as the cold was not an issue for us – the men, however, caught absolutely nothing. We went to a very impressive cave called Hang Sung Sot, but it was somewhat flooded with crowds and that was a bit of a turn-off. This is fairly unavoidable though, I know, given the popularity of Halong Bay nowadays. The final activity was a simple cooking class, where the 24 people on board all collected around the dining room table and tried their hand at making traditional Vietnamese spring rolls. This was actually great fun, as was the tai chi class that happened early in the morning, which I wasn’t expecting to enjoy that much but I did. For the whole package that we paid, we were given a tasty lunch, dinner, breakfast and another lunch. The lunches and dinner were set menu, so we just ate what was put in front of us and enjoyed it. We were happy that this was the case as we didn’t want there to be a buffet for every meal and therefore lots of food wastage. The lovely staff were always there for you when you needed them, ensuring the trip went smoothly and that you have a good time while you’re on there. The boat was a little bit old but had been well looked after, and was super clean every time we stepped back on board. At no point did we ever feel unsafe. An amazing experience, really, and one that we will highly recommend to anyone who will listen! Thank you Rosa Cruise!

This is definitely one of the must do activities if you’re in Ha Noi. It would be crazy not to really. We only decided the day before that we were going to go on a cruise at all, so our choosing was a bit rushed, but the Rosa Cruise seemed to fit the bill so we went through the simple booking process and were on the boat the next day. The ship itself seems to be in pretty good shape and the top deck was a lovely spacious area where we were able to watch the bay cruising past and idly chat with other passengers. This was one of the best parts about the Rosa Cruise – the fact that it is a smaller boat and therefore has fewer passengers that most of the other companies. This gave us lots of privacy but also a really nice atmosphere when we felt like socialising. Frank was not only a fantastic guide, with lots of knowledge of the bay, but he was a people pleaser and kept the atmosphere light and positive with some great stories! He took us kayaking and through the caves, both of which we absolutely loved. Great Cruise – get on board when you’re here!

Excellent work by the Rosa Cruise to accommodate for all 5 of us in the family! The rooms were not big, but suitable for our family. Our guide Minh was stupendous; always so well informed about the bay and able to deliver the information passionately and in excellent English. We enjoyed everything about the sites and kayaking and caving around the area. The food was tremendous and accommodated for a few dietary restrictions that my family suffers from. The crew on the whole were excellent and the rest of the cruise went exactly as advertised, with great organisation from everyone involved.

A great cruise with fun had by all! I have to mention the food first as it is the thing that is really sticking with me. Incredible seafood with lots of prawns, crab, mussels and fish, with other meat like chicken, beef and pork, as well as very great vegetarian options. If you the time and budget, I would heartily suggest going on the 3 day 2 night cruise as opposed to the 2 day 1 night, as you get so many more activities and repetitions of fun activities than the standard kayaking and caving on the shorter tour. It’s also a 4 hour drive to the bay from Hanoi, so going for that extra day definitely makes it all seem much more worthwhile. Be prepared to stay inside your coats if you’re going in January like we did! It was pretty nippy and I would definitely advise going back at some point in the autumn or spring. The AC in the bedroom is also a heater so we were very comfortable in there. We had a brilliant time overall and would like to come back later when I don’t have to kayak with gloves on! Hopefully soon…