We rode the bus up into the mountains for about an hour and stopped at a Buddist Temple. We were here about an hour. They have really good Western style bathrooms that were very clean. We found some gorgeous gardens and a lotus blossom pond and amazing views and vistas. Hard not to take a good picture here.Our next stop was to visit a local farming family. We stopped and got off the bus about 15 minutes from the temple and walked down the road where we saw a water buffalo working with a local farmer. We were told that sadly this old way of farming is slowly being overturned by new farming methods with modern machinery. We also saw local bricks being made and dried to build houses and the bamboo scaffolding they use to build the houses. We walked down a laneway with other homes and lots of brick walls separating the homes.The family we were visiting had a lovely home...a lot different that I thought it would be. The water is trucked in to be used for drinking water and is in a large container on top of the house. The home is in 3 separate buildings. The sleeping, cooking and toilet area. The sleeping area has a large common room then there were 3 bedrooms that were separated by the use of fabric curtains. only the parents had a mattress, the other beds were on flat boxes with a mat on top. They did however have satellite tv! We sat on small plastic stools at small plastic tables for our tea. Then looked around the home. They had chickens, some puppies, doves, and birds as well as a well maintained garden and banana tree. Their son lived next door which was about 10 feet away with his wife and baby son. The mom couldn't speak any English but was very inviting and willing to pose for pictures with you.We then got back on the bus to go back to Halong Bay. We made a bried stop to view the rice paddies which were on stilts. We then stopped a hotel on the hillside at Halong Bay and went up to the 14th floor where we had a cold drink (included on our tour) and a great view of the city and bay area. We then got back on the bus and drove across the new cable bridge that connects the area where the Vietnamese live and the tourist town. We stopped to view the gorgeous area with all the small islands and local boats and got some incredible pictures. Then we drove to the local Vietnamese market where they shop. We saw all kinds of fish, fresh and dried, fruits, vegetables, and just about anything fresh including all kinds of different eggs. We stopped to buy a conical hat and got separated from the tour group so missed the area they went to next as we went to the bus site and waited for them. They went and toured inside the building where I'm sure there were all kinds of fabulous things to buy. It was a great tour and we learned a lot about how local people live.

Hanoi

Our tour guide Siri was incredible. She shared all the stories and information on the various temples inside the Grand Palace area. Once you got up close and personal to buildings and realized these were created using 1" tiles...you were even more blown away by their creation. You literally couldn't look anywhere and not have some stunning building in front of you. It was almost overwhelming in magnitude.

This was a lot of fun. There were 4 of us in our boat and we drove around for almost an hour. We saw some of the poorest homes and some of the richest. We also had one of the boat ladies come over to sell us something. She was adorable.

One of the few temples that allowed pictures to be taken inside. Amazing how huge this budda is. You couldn't get him into one picture. The feet at the end are probably 8-10 feet high. At the end are 102 wishing bowls. We purchased our coins to drop into the bowls to make wishes.

This was our first tour with Celebrity. We have cruised with them before, but never gone on one of their tours. We were interested to see if we got value for our money. The tour did not disappoint.Once we left the ship, our buses were literally just waiting for us on the dock. They had air conditioning, comfortable seats and we were supposed to have wi-fi but it wasn't working on our bus.Our tour guide was great and had a wonderful sense of humor. The Cu Chi tunnels are just over 2 hours from the harbor so at about an hour into the ride, we had a bathroom break at a very nice clean stop that also sold souvenirs (great selection), drinks, snacks and had wi-fi. We stopped here for about 15 minutes. The bathrooms are clean and very Americanized.Just before we arrived at the tunnels, the tour guide showed a short film that had been dubbed into English that was probably made in the late 1960's to early 70's. Some people might be offended by this film, but it is their viewpoint...enough said.About an hour later we got to the Cu Chi tunnels where we had another bathroom break at the tunnels before we started on the tour. These bathrooms did not have toilet paper, so bring your own as not all bathrooms in Vietnam supply your toilet paper like they do in the USA and Canada.We started our tour by viewing the guns and ammo that had been used in the war. We then went to the area where we saw various ways the Vietnamese defended themselves by using various booby traps. These were created by using what was available to them locally. They were ingenious and very lethal.We then watched a guide show us how they were able to "disappear into thin air". You would have to know where an entrance was in order to locate it as they were hidden very well. He showed us how they entered and carefully covered the entrance up, then disappeared down into the tunnel. We had the chance to go down into the vertical tunnel and it was very narrow and difficult to get out of as you needed a lot of arm strength. (I'm only 5"2" so it was extremely awkward for me.) The next thing we checked out were the tunnels themselves. They have opened up the entrances to 2 of the tunnels and created an entrance with stairs to get down into the tunnel. They aren't very tall, maybe 3" high and not very wide either and pitch black. The government has added lighting inside the tunnels but it is fairly dim...I used the flashlight on my phone. The exit is basically ladder style steps that are very steep to climb out. We went into 2 sets of tunnels to get more of an idea of how they wind around.We also saw sleep areas, munitions area's and sort of what life was during that time. We came across a man making sandals out of tires. This is how they masked their footprints by using the tire treads and putting them together in such a way as to confuse anyone from trying to see where they were walking. These were available for sale for a very nominal charge. (We paid less than $5 US.)There is also a shooting range. You can buy ammunition to shoot various weapons. We shot a 30 cal gun that had been mounted to a jeep. They take you with a guide who loads the ammo and shows you where and how to shoot. You get protective earphones and the guns are fastened in a way so that they is no danger of shooting anyone. We got some great pictures...gotta say, it was kind of surreal shooting a gun at the Cu Chi tunnels and well worth the price.Included at the shooting range is a really nice souvenir shop. My husband bought an authentic lighter from the late 60's that had been dug up. We also bought some art work and statues that were handmade and very reasonably priced. It was a great tour. Our guide spoke to us about life in Vietnam on the way there and back and gave us a glimpse into the hardships they had both during the war and also once the Americans left in the 70's. Just a short way up the road we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. We received 1 drink of either bottled water, soda, local beer or wine which was included. If you wanted more, you had to pay a small price payable in either Vietnamese Dong or US dollars. We were served a meal of Crab Soup with Legumes, Ben Nay Spring Rolls (really good) Grilled Chicken with a Sticky Rice Ball, Fried fish with tomato sauce, Diced Beef, Sauteed Morning Glory with Garlic (similar to wilted greens) Fried Rice with Seafood, Grilled Pineapple for dessert and either coffee or tea at the end. The food was served family style so you got a taste of everything. The tables seated 8 people. The meal was in a very picturesque location with a small bridge over the water before you entered. This meal was included in the price of the tour.On the way back we had one last bathroom stop at the same place we had stopped at on our way to the tunnels. At every stop we were given an antibacterial wipe before we got back on the bus to wipe your hands etc. We also received a bottle of cold water on the way to the tunnels and the way back from the tunnels.We learned a lot and this was probably our favorite tour. We felt we got good value for the money. To us, this was a "Do Not Miss" tour.

Large bathroom with rainhead shower and 4 body jets. 2 shelves attached to the mirror that held a large number of toiletries. Lots of room under the bed for luggage. Two 110 Outlets by the mirror or 1 European 220 outlet located at the mirror desk. The room contains a safe. There is a couch and a coffee table. The deck has 2 reclining chairs, not loungers but comfortable plus a table.

The ship doesn't actually port near the city but at a container port so you need to look into various transportation options if you want to go into Bangkok.Unfortunately we had rough seas and the port was closed so we weren't able to go there and our excursion was cancelled and immediately credited back to us.

Celebrity Millennium Review

Great Ship Great Cruise!

Rating by category

Additional details

Cabin Review

Aqua Class

Find a Celebrity Millennium Cruise from $890