Era Cruises

It may seem a little expensive, but I guarantee all that hard-earned money is going on one of the best services in Vietnam. It started when the minibus picked us up and all of us got individual captain’s chairs, as opposed to rows of seats, which was very comfortable!The cruise is basically new and the facilities reflect this perfectly. Our room was absolutely massive and the tub in the en-suite bathroom was very well appreciated!The staff are so nice, they really look after you, and the manager, Ms. Jenny, was just lovely, helping us with a smile whenever we needed even the slightest bit of help.The food was phenomenal, only beaten perhaps by the presentation, which was out of this world and really defied what I thought was possible on a boat.I had a great time making spring rolls the next morning, right after a tai chi session which I attended as a total novice but was taught in a very patient manner by the tai chi teacher.The excursions were also a lot of fun; they were exactly like we had seen and read about in the brochure before booking.I was incredibly happy with the whole experience and I will most certainly be back for a second cruise at some point in the future. Thank you Era Cruises and your beautiful staff!

I’m a huge fan of Era Cruises after the tour that we just had around Lan Ha Bay. We took the longest possible option of 3D2N but would happily have extended if we could have. It was great value for money in the end – costs include the excursions into the bay, all the activities on the boat and the food we well.The staff were very helpful (Jimmy in particular), especially during meal times when they discovered that me and my husband only eat halal food. They didn’t have any halal meat on board, but they made us lots of different dishes that we could eat instead. That was very thoughtful of them and the chefs are very talented people if they can cook with this kind of diversity. The drinks and spa treatments are involved in the price, but I believe that that is pretty standard procedure for most companiesYou get wifi on the luxury bus, which was a very comfortable experience. They had wifi on the boat but it was very spotty, so we gave up in the end and just decided to stay disconnected, which was probably for the best considering all of the beautiful nature around.We were welcomed so warmly on board and had lunch immediately. I really enjoyed that meal and made the absolute most of all of the breakfast buffets after that! Lan Ha Bay is quieter than Halong so we ended up staying in some very quiet areas.We had the King Terrace room and it was incredible – wall-length windows, Jacuzzi, sunbeds on our own private terrace – the complete package! We had a lot of fun on the activities, which were excellently run. I can’t swim but I felt comfortable enough to kayak, as you are provided with life jackets and the staff really look after you if you voice your small concern. For the 3 days, the staff took excellent care of us and were so warm and welcoming too. We got to know a few of them and were amazed when they remembered our (hard to pronounce for Vietnamese people) names after the first few hours of the cruise.Do yourself a favour, pay a little bit extra and get the luxury of the Era Cruise. Everything is outstanding here and you won’t regret it for a second.

We were picked up in a VIP shuttle bus and taken to the bay. It only took about 2 hours compared to the 3 or 4 that it takes to get to Halong Bay. The waiting lounge is far from a 5 star experience, but that’s not a problem. After entering our cabin, we began to call it an apartment afterwards because of the ridiculous proportions of the place. It was absolutely enormous and could fit all the modern luxuries inside it, like a Jacuzzi bath, TV, desk and sun loungers on the terrace. Outside the room, the boat seemed equally well-furnished with a cinema, sundeck, gym, spa and bar. Quite a lot of stuff considering the amount of time you spend on the boat.Lunch and dinner were consistently excellent and the staff were very nice in serving it to us the whole time.I read a lot of reviews about overcrowding in Halong Bay, but that definitely didn’t seem to be the case here. We barely met any other boats’ passengers while out on excursions and there was very little plastic floating about in the water, which we’d also read was a problem in Halong Bay. The activities in general were good but didn’t blow me away like the boat did. I think Lan Ha Bay takes a hit in the quality department when it comes to excursions, in order to have more space and freedom for cruising around the bay. We thought this was a pretty decent trade-off ad we had a very good time in the end.

A very well-run tour from the start to end. I’d certainly suggest the 3D2N tour as there is a lot to see in Lan Ha Bay.The pick-up was bang on time and we were well-looked after from that point on. We did have one pretty sticky walk from the car to the waiting lounge in the heat, but that was unavoidable.Thanh was a fantastic tour manager and his crew were so friendly throughout (thank you to everyone!). Food was especially tasty and plentiful. We finished our water-based activities on the first day and a magnificent thunderstorm kicked up afterwards, which we watched from our cabin in awe.There was just three of us on the day boat so we were spoiled by the crew. We had a guide called David for this day and he was brilliant. He showed us the village and jungle via some cycling and then we jumped into kayaks and went around the bay. We had absolutely amazing food for lunch as well.There was a cave tour on the last day but it was just okay. There were some strange attractions at the place where you board the boats – many fish floating around dirty cages – not all that pleasant to see. We also tried the squid fishing but not much was going on, so everyone headed back to the bar upstairs.Huge windows and private terraces make the rooms pretty special. Very nice sundeck and bar as well.There is a lot of plastic being used on the ship, so it would be good to see some attempted reduction, considering what’s going on in the world at the moment and the current state of Halong Bay. My only other minor complaint is that the driver dropped me off about 200m from my hotel when he couldn’t find it, meaning I had to walk with my luggage to find it myself. Not a great end, but a phenomenal trip overall. Thanks Era!

We received many, many recommendations for a cruise in Halong Bay. We also received a few for Lan Ha Bay and were told it was identical to Halong Bay but for the levels of tourists there being significantly lower. Once we settled on that, we saw the modern rooms of the Era Cruise and decided to go for that one. From that point on, it was a completely stress-free experience. The whole thing could not have felt more 5-star. We were welcomed on board and shown to our rooms, which were plenty large and comfortable enough for our family. We also had great food that even our kids enjoyed. If there was anything that they didn’t enjoy, or anything that didn’t comply with my dietary requirements, the crew would swap it immediately for something else.The weather was amazing the whole time, so the kayaking, swimming and caving were all a lot of fun! We’re very glad to have chosen Lan Ha over Halong Bay, it certainly seemed that we were enjoying a lot more space than we would have otherwise had. Our cruise manager was called Thanh – he was fantastic! Him and his entire crew are such a close-knit group and it was great to see them taking their work professionally but also taking the time to chat with customers.This was our first cruise as a family and it more than matched our expectations. We are very happy with how it went and are recommending Era to everyone. Thank you!