Peony Cruises Ha Long — Hotel in Hạ Long City

If you’ve never been, Ha Long Bay is a must - it’s breathtakingly beautiful, even despite the cold, cloudy conditions of December. I researched a number of cruises, all basically with the same itinerary (as I’ve since learned the government is responsible for where these cruises go). I decided on upper-middle of the road Peony Cruises. I still wanted the traditional look and feel of a Vietnamese junk boat, with significance on room cleanliness, hotel-boat transfers and staff. As a sister company to Mon Cheri, I imagine the boats are similar in style. I booked 2D/1N in the bigger suite, as a small treat for my husband and I. After booking, we received an email with an offer for a complimentary 30-min foot massage during our stay. Leading up to the boat’s departure, communication was clear and included: what was included/excluded in the package we purchased, the driver pickup time and license plate and itinerary of our entire stay.

The limousine pick up for us turned out to be a spacious 6-seater, and as we were the furthest from the city centre, we were the first of 3 couples to be picked up en route.

The ride was comfortable, albeit a little long, with one bathroom/snack stop along the way. Our arrival to the quay was a little chaotic, with all the shuttles arriving around the same time, all within a small indoor space (there was room outdoors, but it was not all that warm and most people were clearly not dressed for the cooler weather). We were promptly divided into groups and boarded our tenders that would bring us to our respective ships - about a 25 minute ride.

We were greeted upon arrival by a few employees waving on the gangway, and ushered into the dining room where we received our safety briefing and room keys, while eating our buffet lunch.

I am thrilled that we got the bigger cabin with the corner balcony though, again, because of the cooler weather, in addition to the super strong smell of diesel, we didn’t get to enjoy as much as I’d hoped. The room showed its age in small ways (watermarks around fixtures, the bathroom slats being loose, etc) but was perfectly clean and comfortable. I really enjoyed the floor to ceiling windows, that allowed us a phenomenal view of Ha Long Bay from the comfort of the bed.

My only real complaint about the room is its proximity to the staircase and while we did not have that many people on the ship to begin with, the noise coming from the wooden stairwell was still bothersome.

My other small complaint were the announcements that made it into the room. I understand they want everyone to know when activities and meals begin, but it felt forced instead of optional. After the briefing of the itinerary over lunch, a paper itinerary provided to everyone and a permanent itinerary posted at the reception desk, the announcements just seem redundant.

Food was as expected - just ok. There is an effort here to provide meals that are quick, easy and appeal to varied palettes. I had hoped for more authentic Vietnamese food, and not the watered down “Westernized” versions of them.

Service in the dining room was always great. We had “Andrew” and “Henry” looking after us, and they were both friendly, and thoughtful.

The dinner was a little much for me. I expressed to the manager, who came by the table, that I wasn’t hungry enough for two mains and he insisted that I eat them anyway as they were already prepared. It was very uncomfortable and I didn’t end up eating much of either.

Re: free 30-min massage… there seemed to be a lot of confusion around this initially, despite showing the email we received from Peony, as well as when we checked out. The massage itself… I’ll only say this much: I’m glad I didn’t pay for it.

Overall? It’s hard to say, as I’ve never done this before and will likely never do it again. I’m glad we only did the 1 night. The room was my favourite part, and allowed us to experience Ha Long Bay in a truly comfortable way.

The check in/check out process were equally chaotic, though the ride back was as comfortable as...

Generally a very nice experience, but…

The review may have a negative twist, but is just intended to describe the experience. We generally left happy, just a little… disappointed in some aspects.

When you first get to the dock you are Sheparded into this area they call a lounge but is just a big waiting room. They offer free WiFi and some complimentary flavoured water, but drinks are purchased from the bar which seemed to be confused when I attempted to buy a beer and some crisps. A word of warning, this area is shared by several other cruises and gets very busy and when we were there the toilets were disgusting, extremely strong smell of raw sewage.

AT about 12, you are called by boat onto one of their tenders. These are fairly basic “boats” with hard wooden benches, it’s quite loud, somewhat air conditioned and not the most glamorous boat. It also seems to be a Vietnamese law that you must wear a life jacket in this at all times. This tender ride takes about 30 minutes to reach the main boat.

Once you arrive at the main boat (Peony II in our case) you will quickly notice the volume of other boats around you, on the journey I counted approximately 50, in the little bay where our boat was was easily 20. Get used to seeing these boats as they all do the exact same journey. Boarding Peony II is a nice feeling. Very welcoming reception room, but you are immediately told to go up to the dining room for lunch.

Before lunch is served they explain a few things about the boat and the itinerary, and then you are free to go about the buffet. Pretty good selection, fairly standard buffet items.

During lunch you are given your room key and once you have finished eating you can head down.

They offered kayaking and swimming g as the first activity so you only get about an hour to unpack, and get changed before going kayaking. Can’t complain about the Kayaking, it was lovely to poodle off around the bay for 45 minutes, the swimming was marginally disappointing as we MUST keep our life jackets on, so it was more of a float in the bay. As a side note, there is little to no places to dry your items in the room. Leaving outside didn’t work as it was close to 100% humidity the whole time.

After the swimming you have a few hours to enjoy yourself, the sun deck is lovely and the cocktails great. They had games to play and the staff were very fun. Only downside is that they then start some cooking demonstration and then it’s straight into dinner.

Dinner was excellent a 7 course set menu, amazing food and excellent service.

Afterwards it would have been nice to relax on the sundeck a bit, but as the activity was at 6am the next morning you felt like you had to go to bed.

The next day felt rushed, early start for breakfast, straight into visiting caves, get back, checkout, have brunch, pay the bill leave all before 12.

The biggest down for us was just the lack of personal time, I very much wanted to just sit on the sundeck, watch the world go by and have some drinks but this was just not possible. Even the 2 night cruise you have to leave the boat for most of the second day.

If you’re looking for relaxing, this is not...

We did the three-day, two-night cruise with Peony in early May, staying in a Deluxe Cabin with Balcony. We would definitely recommend the two-night option, as the second day is when you really get to see the bulk of the bay from the day boat.

Our room was good, with a comfortable double bed (we had requested a double instead of two singles pushed together), a seating area with a view through a large window, a small but pleasant balcony, and a spacious bathroom with windows to admire the view, plus a freestanding tub with shower. The room and bathroom were clean, modern, and comfortable. We had a minor issue with the bathtub plug, but everything else worked well.

Day 1 began with a transfer to the main boat, followed by lunch, kayaking, and swimming. There was an optional cooking class and happy hour leading up to dinner at 7. After dinner, there was a second happy hour and optional squid fishing.

Day 2 started early, with breakfast from 6:30 to 7:50, before we transferred to the day boat. It was comfortable, with three decks and sun loungers to relax on as we cruised. The weather was fantastic, which definitely enhanced the experience. We began with a two-hour cruise through Lan Ha Bay to Cat Ba Island, then cycled to a village and learned about the local culture. The ride was scenic, but the village visit felt more like a souvenir sales pitch. The bikes were also poor quality, making even gentle inclines difficult.

We had lunch on the day boat before cruising to a beautiful swimming and kayaking spot. Later, we returned to the main boat to relax, followed by a similar evening program.

On Day 3, there was an optional cave visit, but we chose to spend our final hours enjoying the view from the boat as it cruised.

The food was good — not exceptional — but about what we expected for a cruise in Vietnam. It was beautifully presented, and the service was excellent, especially from our waitress Maya. The crew were happy to adapt the set menus to accommodate allergies, dietary needs, and preferences.

The boat was comfortable, with a sundeck at the top and a small jacuzzi available for use. The views from both our room and around the boat were spectacular.

In terms of pollution and crowds, we saw little rubbish in the water — no more than you’d expect on most beaches. The water near the boat wasn’t ideal for swimming, but after kayaking a short distance, it was crystal clear and much more appealing. There were plenty of other boats, which is to be expected in such a popular destination. We felt most secluded during the day boat cruise, where we passed through quieter parts of the bay.

Overall, set reasonable expectations and you’ll have a wonderful time. We would recommend Peony and thoroughly...