Orchid Classic Cruise

9.2

Wonderful

83 Guest reviews

9.2

Wonderful

83 Verified Reviews

Read all reviews

Cleanliness9.2/10

Service9.6/10

Comfort9.6/10

Condition9.2/10

location10/10

Neighborhood9.0/10

Amenities9.0/10

Fantastic from start to finish. One of the rare occasions when the photos do not do the experience justice.

Excellent service and lovely people / staff. The boat itself was great, but a little’tired’

Top marks

Highly recommended. Fantastic service, food. Activities and comfort. Special mention to Elle.

What a fantastic trip. The service from the staff from start to finish was exemplary. Pick up was a shared limousine van. Pure luxury for the 2.5-3 hour transfer. When we got to the main boat we were served lunch which was beautiful. A great selection for all tastes. Happy Hour was twice a day and the bar man Alex was extremely generous with his portions. My partner doesn’t eat seafood (choice not allergy) and they always provided an alternative without a problem. Tim also served us and he was very helpful, friendly and attentive. I would say they struck the balance perfectly. Emmanuel was our cruise director and a very charismatic man indeed. You’ll certainly enjoy his patter. Our cabin was absolutely amazing. We upgraded to the executive suite and was not disappointed. Although the standard cabins looked amazing too. Finally, what I really liked was there was probably only about 15 people on the boat. It seemed like they spread capacity across their fleet so it did not seem overcrowded. Now to mention the bay. Beautiful. What a vista to enjoy. Could not recommend Orchid Cruises highly enough. BRAVO ALEX, TIM & EMMANUEL Thank you

Cruising on Orchid Cruise 3 through Halong Bay has undoubtedly been the highlight of our Vietnam trip so far. The cruise's exquisite interior, spacious and comfortable room with a balcony offering stunning views, impressed us from the moment we stepped on board. While I anticipated good food and service based on reviews, the actual quality provided by Emmanuel, Elle, and the entire crew far surpassed our family's expectations. It was truly a 5-star experience. Despite our family not being the active type, the well-planned activities were thoroughly enjoyable. Orchid Cruise 3 comes highly recommended by our entire family of six, spanning from teenagers to elderly parents.

Weather was perfect, boat and staff were amazing. Great 2 night stay

Staff were terrific especially Jimmy and Ginny. The big problem was a faulty air conditioner in iour room. When you are paying $900 a night, you expect a working air conditioner. The a/c was off in our room when we arrived. What a terrific greating. The dining room was hot also. Our a/c failed during the night and I woke up in sweat. When we returned from iur day trip (which was good) our room was hot again and I needed to stand on the bed to get cool after restarting the faulty a/c ……do better Orchid! Very poor

The cruise was amazing. Staff were next level in service and nothing was any trouble. The rooms were beautiful. We were so happy with our choice.

My boyfriend and I had an amazing 1 night stay on the orchid premium cruise. The food, service and activities were exceptional and exceeded our expectations. This trip was the highlight of our travels in Vietnam and is a must if you visit. The only thing we would change would be to stay an extra night!!

We did the 2-night cruise, which included a bike ride (or electric cart transport if you prefer) to a village and kayaking and/or swimming from a day boat (while 1-night cruisers were swapped for a new group of 1-night cruisers - very efficient operation!). Overall, the cruise was lovely, the scenery magnificent, the food was good, the staff/service was excellent, and the bike ride was great (nice chance to stretch your legs while seeing some beautiful rural settings on Cat Ba) and the kayaking fun (again, a little chance to exercise, and fun to go through some arches under the limestone islands/structures). We were very sad to see the pollution and garbage in the water near Cat Ba - like big chunks of styrofoam and other visible garbage - which made us stay in the kayaks and forego the swimming. Not sure about the origin of this pollution …perhaps an eco-tourism cruise could be offered to help with clean up to preserve this incredible natural beauty?

Would definitely recommend rooms were amazing and the food was in point, so much food!! Was great to relax after the busy cities

Amazing cruise, service by Lily and Martin was fantastic. We always feel well taken care of.

Excellent cruise with wonderful staff

We were in a suite and there was dirty knickers someone had put on a light shade above the bed from last guests.

A wonderful way to see the beautiful Halong Bay. The crew were excellent and worked hard to ensure we had a special experience

Disappointed

Too much touristic. Trying to be club med but it’s not… The staff is not professional. The food is ok but not more than this. The activities is not like they promise. One night was ok but 2 nights is much to much for this experience. The schedule is not with attention to the guests.

Halong Bay is an amazing place to visit. Service in the cruise was good! They lacked attention to details. However the bed was very uncomfortable, we couldn’t sleep the whole night…

Amazing cruise, rooms were beautiful and food was great. My only complaint is there was not nearly enough time for swimming and kayaking.

Amazing. The Orchid Cruise was so luxurious and relaxing for our 2 night boat cruise around Ha Long Bay. The suits are absolutely beautiful, the staff are all so lovely and will go above and beyond for you. The food was sensational and the whole cruise ran like clockwork with no delays or hiccups. The views are out of this world. Would definitely recommend.

Worth every penny: great boat, great scenery, great service all contributing to an amazing experience.

Excellent cruise. The staff welcomed us like we were family.

Great way to explore Halong bay!

The room was fantastic, service was impeccable, and food is good.

The cruise was absolutely excellent. The staff from the booking process through hotel pickup and the entire cruise were attentive, kind and helpful. The Orchid boat was lovely and the cabins were very large, clean and all had balconies. Halong Bay has stunning views so there is no bad cabin or bad view. The food was also delicious and the onboard service was impeccable from dining to massages to day time activities (bike riding, kayaking, cave dwelling). I wish we could have stayed one more night on the cruise. Special thank you to Anthony, Ana, Andy! It was certainly 5 stars in Vietnam. Now that said, some westerners on the trip did have more complaints but their expectations were a little outrageous as this company did everything to make our experience great. My recommendations to ensure a great time: go during the summer when the weather is better (January was gloomy and rainy the whole trip), use the cruise line’s hotel pickup/drop off service from Hanoi, and sit outside at the waiting facility on the way to the cruise line (the inside smelled bad).

It was an amazing experience made perfect by the quality of the facilities and the professionalism and friendly demeanour of the staff

Wonderful Orchid

Weather was amazing, the boat was extremely luxurious and a pleasure to stay on. The room was spacious and clean and had a wonderful balcony to watch the amazing landscape go by. I was also kept entertained by wonderful activities from kayaking, swimming in a secluded beach to biking through wonderful scenery. The boat did not feel overcrowded but rather just the perfect number of people on board to give it a perfect feel for a few days travelling.

Exceptional cruise, staff are amazing , attentive and cannot do enough for you! The food was plentiful and delicious. The rooms are spacious , modern and well equipped. Everything is very well organized, they really go above and beyond. The cruise itinerary is perfect and scenery is breathtaking! I highly recommend this cruise company!

Cruise

Weather was perfect, Had an amazing trip from the minute we got on the boat 5 star service, Would 100% reconend

Great cruise

Excellent customer service and well scheduled activities for the 2 days 1 night cruise. However, at the caves we were rushed to go through it and it would have been nicer if we had taken time so we could marvel at the caves and take photos. The room was excellent, the views amazing and food quality was well done.

Amazing Experience !!

The most amazing overnight cruise through Halong Bay, the staff were outstanding, our room was divine, overall we had a great time, This is a must see when visiting Vietnam!!

Great Cruise with Large Cabins

Twin room was large and with balcony to get outside and view ha long Bay. It was raining most of our trip but it was undercover so still good to use. Meals were terrific and staff very attentive. Activities we're ok but probably not suited when it is raining like on my trip. Overall woul recommend it to anyone. Singles, couples and families.

Terrible customer service with booking department

The luxury van we paid was not the one advertised on the website that shows a white luxury van with Orchid logo on the side tan seats and armrests, wood panelling and TV screen. It was just an ordinary crammed van that turned up 20 mins late and didn’t have enough space for our luggage so one of the cases ended sitting with me at the front with the driver. When we arrived at the lounge, it was extremely crowded and a bit chaotic. The Orchid Exclusive Suite, which was the top cabin, was below standard, in need of refurbishment and was not particularly clean. The cleaning staff knock on your door to leave the room even though it’s not time to check out yet and enter he room with all their cleaning equipment whilst your still trying to get your suitcases out the door! Prior to booking with Orchid Cruise, I paid extra and confirmed with Ms. Pham My and Ms. Le Nga online sales executives for Orchid Cruise, that I needed a private van transfer from the boat to Hanoi airport. It turns out that a French and German couple had also paid extra for private airport transfers to the airport and that the Orchid Cruise office had decided to put all the airport transfers into one van without informing the clients who had all paid and confirmed for separate private transfers. This company misell and promote false advertising and are not to be fully trusted. There are far too many other cruises to choose from to put up with this kind of treatment. The final outcome is I got a refund.

Happy couple

3 days / 2 night was amazing. Private transfer from halong to haiphong and back was excellent. The boat , the room , the staff ,the food and activities was above expectations. Over all it was an excellent and amazing experience. Highly recommended Orchid Cruise. Thank you.

Great cruise!

Great overnight cruise. Kind of lonely doing it by yourself as everyone else were coupled up. Otherwise it was wonderful.

Good way to see beauty of Halong Bay

The whole experience was really excellent. From the transport from hotel room from Hanoi to up the cruise and check in, everything goes very smooth. The food prepared by the chef from buffet breakfast to 5 course meal for dinner was really good in taste and presentation. I highly recommend the 3 days 2 nights trip (which I took) cause it’s more relaxing and can enjoy the facilities more. My husband loves the bike ride to the fishing village and I love that it have an option of electric car. Will definitely recommend friends Orchid Cruise. The staffs were all very professional and very friendly.

Great Stay!

The boat was very nice & we had great service from everyone on the crew the whole time. They kept us pretty busy with activities - multiple chances to kayak, a bike ride (on brand new bikes) & visit to a local village, multiple cooking demonstrations, squid fishing in the evenings, and a visit to a cave. There were a few periods of downtime you could use to relax around the boat or take an opportunity for a spa service. The food was excellent for all the meals. The wifi was pretty poor but we had a local sim card & used our phone as a hotspot for the other phone in the late evenings. TV channels were pretty good. The room & balcony were nice & clean, fun to sit on your own balcony when cruising around. Initially the floors on the boat seemed a bit dusty (everyone tracked in dirt from the harbor area) but they cleaned up the floors quickly. We used the shuttle service - it was great, had a break stop for bathroom/snacks, great wifi on the bus, and was ~2 hrs so you save on travel time vs other cruises (you go to a different port than most of the Halong bay tours i think).

Cru-zy

Excellent cruise. Staff food boat top notch. Halong bay is beautiful but covered in plastic!

Orchid cruise Halong Bay

The orchid cruise is amazing. The staff is wonderful and the rooms are top notch. It's also great that you sail through an area where many other boats are not allowed. It was the second day though that we noticed lots of trash near the touristy boat areas. That's unfortunate but the cruise itself is amazing.

A great cruise experience on the Orchid

Overall we had an amazing time. The crew tries REALLY hard to accommodate every request. The boat we were on was basically brand new and beautiful. The 2 only (minor) improvement opportunities: 1. The food wasn't great (though definitely fine) 2. At times, the staff was trying too hard (too many questions, too many chair pulls) Overall, we had a great time and would definitely recommend.

Well worth it

Amazing, 10/10, from the room to the staff there was nothing that we could fault. The cruise stuck to the much more peaceful section of the bay. Which created a nice and friendlier feel .breakfest was buffet, lunch and dinner was a 5-7 course fine dinning. Got to also meet some amazing people on the cruise. Want send thanks to all the staff Thomas, Lana , Justin, Sunny, John and all the behind the scenes staff of the Orchid 3 cruise.

Well worth it

Beautiful boat, great food, definitely do a two night stay for the bike ride through the island to the village. We booked the executive suite and it was goregous and definitely worth the money. Friendly and helpful crew! Ive done other Ha Long cruises and this is the best one. It also takes you a different route than most so it much more secluded and feels very private versus other cruises.

Amazing cruise, great for couples and friends - you get what you pay for!

Luxury and comfortable cruise

Comfortable luxury cruise in Halong bay. Overall very positive experience, the bay itself is amazing (shame it was foggy/rainy), the rooms were impeccable and dinner was great. The staff were very attentive but spoken English hard to understand at times, which is not an issue as such but we missed some important points of the cruise probably because we didn't understand it. I have to point out how helpful the staff was in a few occasions - we organised the transport from Hanoi at the last minute and they replied quite late in the evening, the kitchen prepared a bespoke meal for me (vegetarian) with no notice and, apart from hearing "check you have all your belongings with you" several times I still forgot my camera in the transport van on our way back to Hanoi and the driver brought it to our hotel within 15 minutes, so we were very thankful. We did the 1 day cruise, it's a tight schedule as it takes a couple of hours to get to the bay after you board the cruise vessel, expect to wake up early to make most of the morning, which can be hard after the evening happy hour. We met some nice people on the cruise which made it more enjoyable. Wi-fi is very poor and did not work in our room at all - another reason to meet people and enjoy the breath taking views of the cruise. There are plenty of jelly fish, so I didn't swim.

Great experiences!

This was my first cruise. The overall service was excellent, especially the fine dining they served for our lunch and dinner. We had a great wonderful and memorable time with the cruise.

One of the best cruises

Great luxury cruise along halong bay with great staff!

Lovely Ha Long

Amazing staff really fun time! Only complaint was they fed us TOO much!

24 Hours of Sheer Pleasure!!

Great location from Hanoi. Staff all superb. Food wonderful. Halong Bay well worth the visit!

Excellent boat, staff and trip

I would wholeheartedly recommend this cruise. It was superb in every way.

The best cruise in Ha Long Bay

The cruise is amazing! The views are spectacular and the food.. so delicious! The staff is so attentive and kind. Shout out to Win for serving us the best coffee and service. And Hoang for going out of his way for us to have the best experience. I really recommend this cruise!!

Fantastisk service og personale. Det kneb lidt med maden - men pris og kvalitet hænger fint sammen.

Entorno espectacular pero barco muy decepcionante

Habitación excelente. Cama muy cómoda. Buffet desayuno y comida/cena muy poco variado, no se repone y de calidad mejorable. Actividades muy mejorables y mal organizadas, aunque parece que es algo generalizado en los cruceros de Halong. Atención de baja calidad: un ejemplo es el feedback que se solicita al final de la estancia (algo común en Vietnam, a veces con algo de presión para votar con un 10). No demostrar interés en las críticas indican la despreocupación, lo hacen para cumplir el trámite.