Our first port was Bangkok, we had booked a tour with "Tong Tours" and our guide was Nina - highly recommend this company, it was a good tour. Although we did arrive about 1 hour late in Bangkok which made the tour a bit difficult. The first stop we did was the "Train Market" it was very interesting, people set up their stalls right on the train track and when a train comes they quickly pull it up, let the train pass and put it all back again - check it out on You Tube - but as we were running late we missed the train!! We still got the idea of it all. Next stop was Floating Markets, very glad we experienced this as I have read about it and it is not until you actually do it you really understand it. Boats pushing each other to get through and just when you think the boat is not going to make it… somehow it does!! Definitely worth checking out. Our next stop was the Tiger Temple this was something different, although very commercial like and very touristy was a good experience. You get to walk with the Tiger and get to touch them as well. Timing is important with this as we had to arrive after they had lunch and when they were getting tired ready for a sleep. It was a long way away but if you love tigers - do it - you will enjoy it. Next stop was lunch which was at a nice little restaurant close by, had a nice meal and a relax time. That was basically all we had time for so it was off for the long drive back to the ship - you make your own fun in the van either sleep or have a sing a long - being aussies we did the sing along, was a long trip but fun. Tour with Tong can fit in what you want to do, we didn't pick a tour we created our own and then advertised on Cruise Critic for others to join us, worked well. The bus was very comfy, there were 8 of us and Nina was a good guide. The good thing about 2 days in Port, you can do a full tour like we did and then the next day you can do local sightseeing and shopping which works well. We departed Bangkok at 4pm. The next day was a sea day - a good rest day. 


Bangkok (Laem Chabang)

The next day was interesting arriving in Ho Chi Minh(formerly Saigon) arriving around midday. The sail in is what Captain Smith calls the “Saigon Slalom” as he has to sail through parts of the Mekong Delta which is a zig zag. A must to be on deck to experience this. The ship pulls in the stabilizers and then leans the ship from side to side while zig zagging up the river!! Well done Captain. I also read the other report saying it was disappointing... I think these people must have a very high expectation of most things, as this was a different experience and an enjoyable one. The first thing we did this day was the 4 of us had bags of gifts to take to the Christina Noble Orphanage. We had pre organised for some of the others to donate some things as well as filling one of our suitcases with gifts/clothes etc from friends in Adelaide. It was a real experience and glad we did it, we caught a taxi there and had a small tour of the school/hospital/orphanage – we didn’t see too many kids as they were sleeping, we did see a few of the babies which was great. It is a very good Orphanage with a very good name and we are hoping to set up something for future cruises as well. The rest of the day was local look around and try and beat the traffic – an impossible task – you can either stay in town or go back to the ship for dinner. Day 2 we had a lovely tour of the Mekong Delta – with Viet Vision Travel – all our tours in Vietnam were booked through this company – highly recommend them, they were terrific with all the pre planning, as we again hand picked “what” we did and they accommodated everything. They were well priced with good vehicles and good English speaking guides. They greeted us at every port with our name on a piece of paper and looked after us for the day. It was an early start as it was a full day and the ship was departing at 4pm. We headed to My Tho City when we hopped on a small boat that took us to a small island where we walked around and morning tea with local fruit and a cup of tea along with some traditional folk music from the locals. The next island was where we saw Coconut Candy being made, we then boarded a cart pulled by a donkey around the small town, we then arrived at the small boats that were poled along a small canal, was very peaceful and interesting, at the end of that trip we arrived back at the original boat where we sipped on a coconut while taking us back to the mainland . We then headed off for lunch at a lovely resort where heaps of people were eating. We had a large assortment of food to eat – all local – was a lovely experience. Then it was back to the ship ready to depart. Was a lovely tour and the guide was very good. Off through the zig zag once again and then another relaxing day at sea. 


Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Next port was Danang – only one day in Port here. Our guide met us ( again from VietVision) 8 of us on this tour. This was a really good tour. We drove through the heart of Danang which we were really surprised at its size and modern buildings. We then stopped at a local village where we enjoyed a walk through and experienced the real life of Vietnamese people, the market and their food, they did not know we were coming which made it even more real. we went in a lovely old temple and had the elders greet us and give us history information. we then drove to Hoi An where our guide took us on a walking tour which was very interesting and then we headed for lunch at a lovely restaurant which was all inclusive of the cost. We then had time to ourselves where we could wander around and do shopping and experience this lovely town. We met up again for our journey back to our ship. This was a lovely tour and would highly recommend seeing a local village, most enjoyable. 


Da Nang

We didn't go to Hanoi, we only stayed in Halong Bay for this tour. The benefits of having a balcony was we could sit in our own comfort and enjoy the absolutely breathe taking scenery arriving in Halong Bay, it would have to be one of the highlights of the trip. It seemed to go for ever and so many different rock formations. Was good to anchor down and do the tender to shore, was a lovely view from the ship. The first afternoon we took in the local area, market shopping and local walk around. The next day was a tour around Halong Bay on our own boat, again through Viet Vision. We choose the 2nd day to do this as we would have longer around the bay than other tours, and as this was such a beautiful spot it impressed us more than the 3 hour drive there and back to Hanoi. 10 of us joined this tour and was such a lovely relaxing day. We enjoyed a lovely seafood lunch and stopped at many spots along the way. Many photos were taken on this tour. Highly recommend doing this, it wasn't busy at all, and we still had some time after to check out the real life of local people before heading back home ready for sailing. 


Hanoi

Cruising into Hong Kong early morning was a lovely sight and worth getting up early to experience. We ventured into Shenzen China on day one to get some clothes made by Judy the Tailor. We had already pre ordered our Visas which made it a bit easier. Was a full on day but totally worth it as our clothes are perfect. We stayed in Hong Kong for another 4 days, staying at Marco Polo Hong Kong where our room overlooked the Azamara, was a great view of the ships as well as the Harbour. We enjoyed the days we had in Hong Kong, but would like to go back at another time to experience more. 


Hong Kong

We thought our room was terrific. We had plenty of room for all our clothes as well as storing the suitcases, having the balcony made it heaps better and nice quiet spot to sit with a drink/coffee or just to sit and watch the waves. Had a perfect view both at sea but more so when arriving into ports, was a comfy spot to sit and enjoy. Would definitely book this room again... no negatives..

We found the choice was good, one side of the menu being the same every night and the other side was different with great choices and always had something we enjoyed.I am not sure what cruise the last report was on but This was a PERFECT itinerary, for us and also had many other reports saying the same thing, we didn't want a Port intensive cruise which would be tiring, this had enough Ports to see the place and all but one were over 2 days as well as Sea days in between for the rest that we all needed, I don't understand the previous report saying it was a Port Intensive Cruise!!!

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