Vietnam — Glory Cruise, Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

The Glory Cruise Boat

September 2015

For my cruise around Ha Long Bay, I used Glory Cruise Boats.

Glory Cruise Boats provided a coach to transfer passengers between Hanoi and the cruise terminal.

After the transfer from Hanoi to the cruise terminal, we took a small boat to our main vessel. We also used several craft during our trip around Ha Long Bay, including a small tender and a “day boat”. (On day two of my cruise, the main boat had to return to the terminal to pick up new clients, so we transferred to the day boat. This was a little bit annoying as it meant I was away from my cabin for most of the day.)

There were 17 cabins on the boat across two levels. My cabin was on the lower deck, with a door that opened onto the main walkway. The cabin was perfectly adequate, with a comfortable bed and a good bathroom.

Below is a photograph of the tender boats we used for transfers to the floating fishing villages.

The main cruise boats did look spectacular. And they looked stunning across the bay at night when all lit up.

The image below is of the “day boat”. We transferred to this for most of our second day in the bay while the main boat returned to the terminal.

On the main boat’s upper deck was a lovely outdoor lounge area. Unfortunately, during my trip, I didn’t get to use the deck due to the bad weather (it rained most of the time). I was up on this deck early every morning to catch the sunrise. Unfortunately, I never saw it due to all the clouds.

I enjoyed my time with Glory Cruise Boats in Ha Long Bay. The boat was very comfortable, and the staff were incredibly helpful and friendly. The food was good, and I can’t fault the service. Transfers to and from Hanoi, although long, worked flawlessly.

My only complaint about my time with Glory Cruise Boats would be the cost of onboard tea, coffee and water.