the boat
Paradise Grand Cruise - Halong Bay is a must do and you have to 1. Stay overnight and 2. Do it in a big luxury boat! We chose Paradise grand Cruise and didn't regret it. Amazing service, stunning boat, quite simply 10 ooot of 10!
NOTE - We didn’t have the best weather but it was still great, hence my high recommendation. If it is sunny though…then my recommendation is even higher, it would be ridiculous…enjoy!
food & drink
So here we goooo…a short story about food!
When we got on the boat we had a fantastic buffet lunch. Then went on an excursion. Back for Afternoon Tea. Then a cooking class where we made our own spring rolls. Happy Hour after that, cocktails galore! Finally we had a Michelin Star menu where we certainly couldn’t complain…I mean 6 course with lobster and fillet steak for mains, and i had both, no messing about! One plate of surf, one plate of turf. Next morning another lovely buffet for breakfast.
SUMMARY - Superb food that all comes in the price, you do pay for your drinks though, but they are not expensive.
activities
Cat Ba Island - You jump off the cruise on to a wee boat that takes you to Cat Ba island (WEE FACT: King Kong was filmed round here) Stunning scenery surrounds you everywhere as you travel on an electric car through the island to a small Vietnamese village (see picture). There you see how the locals fish and farm. ALSO you can have a seat whilst fish devour your feet, which is surprisingly enjoyable (see picture below)!
Dark and Bright Cave - Jump on a kayak through huge dark tunnel and then out into a huge secluded area surrounded by limestone cliffs. I’d tell you more, but I missed this as I was relaxing in my room, 😂. Well it was 7.15am and I thought stuff it i’ll watch from my balcony, the views there are stunning anyway!
Cooking Class - Make vietnamese spring rolls and then eat them. It’s a bit of fun, hardly the most complex. They make the filling and cook it. You just roll…but you got to have good technique! I got a certificate for mine 😂
Squid Fishing (see below) - At night you can stand at the back of the boat and fish for squid. I thought it’ll be a bit of fun but we’ll never catch one, but my good lady only went and did it! She caught a squid!
Tai Chi - This was at 6.30am…I was asleep.
