Starlight Cruise

Our group of 6 took to the seas on the Starlight Cruise and had an utterly fantastic time. We booked onto the Oriental Sails but received a free upgrade to the Starlight Cruise. Obviously we had seen no pictures beforehand, so we were fully blown away by the beauty of the boat. We met a group of 10 fellow Aussies and ended up merging the groups somewhat to have a really communal and fun atmosphere!The comfy bed was very well received, and the mini fridge, chairs and table added a touch of class. This was compiled in the bathroom, where we found an excellent jacuzzi. Very very delicious food served over several courses. The cave was wonderful and offered us a break from the outrageously powerful sun. We did a bit of karaoke in the evening, which was great, after a failed attempt at squid fishing. It was awesome to see the fishing village and see how people live their lives in the bay. The staff were amazing and were always smiling, even when they had been on their feet for a long time.Big recommendations for the Starlight Cruise! Thank you for making our trip.

Having read the other reviews, I realise that the free upgrade we got is not really a rarity. We had a group of 10 and were all upgraded to the Starlight Cruise to join a group of 6 already on board. Mine and my wife’s cabin was just gorgeous and the décor in the modern and wood paneled amenities really added a touch of class.6 courses for each meal and all of fantastic quality. We didn’t ever go hungry.During our time cruising, we went to an island and hiked up the viewpoint trek here (400 steps), went kayaking, visited a beach, enjoyed some pre-breakfast tai chi, did a cooking lesson, played mini golf and did a cheeky bit of squid jiggling.Drinks were a little pricey for Vietnamese standards but we had saved so much money with the free upgrade that we decided to splash out a little bit.Safety was of number 1 concern for the crew and they were very thorough in applying the rules.Excellent cruise – so happy with how things turned out!

We booked last minute with the Starlight Cruise after the cruise that we originally booked had abandoned us at the harbour, claiming they were already full after transferring us from Hanoi. The first office we saw at the harbour was that of the Starlight Cruise, so we walked in and handed our money over.There were only 15 passengers out of a capacity of 64 on this cruise, so we enjoyed some very attentive service the whole way through. We had an amazing room with double bed and some small furnishings to make life more comfortable and luxurious – particularly the air con! Having seen no pictures beforehand, we were pleasantly wowed by everything, nothing more so than the jacuzzi bathtub in the bathroom!It’s a bit of a shame that we had to choose between kayaking and swimming. I was looking forward to going swimming as it was so hot, but my husband was adamant that we should go kayaking. We did in the end and I have to admit that it was really magical. We were very lucky to see some monkeys on some treetops, and even more lucky to see some baby monkeys with them! That was a really great experience.Excellent presentation and taste to the food. The set menu opened our eyes to much food that we would never have tried otherwise and were delighted with the tasty results!The staff were very friendly and professional. Our tour guide Kent put in a real shift to learn everyone’s name during the cruise and was excellent at making conversation with everyone. He was also very knowledgeable about the bay and happy to share it all with us.We are so lucky to have been able to join this cruise as it was absolutely amazing. It could have ended in disaster but the Starlight Cruise were very welcoming and ended up saving the day!

This was a 3 day trip at the very start of our Vietnam holiday.Transfers There’s no avoiding the long transfer and Starlight Cruise make it clear that you will be travelling for about 4 hours. Luckily the private transport we booked with the company was very comfortable.RoomWe spent a little extra for the balcony suit and it did not disappoint! Great room, very spacious with a lovely balcony and jacuzzi within. We entered the room to the sight of a bottle of wine and two glasses awaiting us!FoodVery nice food and we absolutely never went hungry! My two pieces of advice would be to bring extra money for drinks (they aren’t included in the price) and take the option for a private dinner on the top deck. The crew started setting up the table for us before they realised that there was a noisy party boat behind us and that we would have a more pleasant evening at the front of the ship, so they dismantled the table and moved it to the front of the ship without a fuss.Activities There’s no chance of missing out on activities as they are announced over the speaker system. We spent the entire of the second day on a different boat with only 3 other people. There was lots of spots for kayaking and swimming and we visited a pearl farm and fishing village as well. It was easily our favourite day and we’re so glad that we chose the 3 day itinerary, otherwise we wouldn’t have had that great experience.We headed to an island on the third day and hiked to the top of it. The hike was sweaty work but the view was so worth it! The beach below was a bit overcrowded.There were some great evening entertainment activities for everyone after dinner, and some sunrise tai chi. I really did try to get up for the tai chi on both days but found that leaving the bed wasn’t really an option! All being said, the Starlight Cruise was fantastic and 100% worthy of the money we spent on it. It was such an excellent start to our trip and can’t thank Starlight Cruise enough for that!

We have absolutely no qualms with the Starlight Cruise! Considering we were on a boat, we thought the cabin was incredibly well constructed, with a big bathroom and 2-person jacuzzi! We took our cocktails into here and had a fantastic time staring out across the bay. Absolutely everyone on board gave us wonderful service and had a very high level of English amongst them, as well as several other languages that we heard them communicating in. We ended up having a lot of cocktails because they were so great and it seemed like the perfect place to do it! Great choice of food and all really delicious as well.Mr. Bean was our absolutely delightful tour guide – he was just perfect in his role and he was clearly born to be a guide! He loved to chat and share about his culture while learning of ours. He was determined for us to enjoy our time and he did everything in his ability to make it happen. He made an already fantastic trip even better!Thank you Mr. Bean and thank you to the Starlight Cruise. This was a truly memorable experience.