Doris Cruise by HAG

The ship was amazing. An older style renovated cruise with a lovely nostalgic atmosphere. It had much more character and charm than the newer style cruise liners. Everything was clean and comfortable with sizeable balconies in all rooms to watch the beautiful scenery. A lovely spa and a large top deck to watch the sunrise and sunset with cocktails. The food was great, nice and fresh and a good variety of Western and Vietnamese options. I stayed for two nights which I recommend. The full day spent on an excursion on the second day was fabulous, with bike riding, kayaking and also swimming in a secluded location were we could jump off the deck of the boat and swim to a lovely beach with no other boats. This is not an option if you only stay for one night. The staff were brilliant! So attentive to every need and also made adaptions for allergies/intolerances. Huong (Brian) was fantastic and took care of our every need over the 3 days. Thank you Huong!

We did a 2 day 1 night trip with Doris Cruise and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The pickup with the limousine bus was smooth and the bus was indeed comfortable. We were then transferred to the cruise via a tender boat. The main boat itself was lovely. Clean, spacious and had a great ambience. The service provided by the staff was deserving of high praise. Jessica, Nicky and the rest of the team do go all out to make our stay a memorable one. The views of Halong Bay rendered us speechless. This should really be on your bucket list. It is also really worth waking up early in the morning before the sun rises just to soak in the view. The food was nice - we had a full course meal for lunch and a buffet BBQ dinner. Breakfast and lunch were buffet style as well. All rather pleasant. There were lots of activities which I think is pretty standard no matter which cruise line you choose. We had kayaking and swimming the first day. Be aware that the currents can be quite strong and can go unnoticed as it looked calm from the surface. We loved the sunset party where there were happy hour drinks (pretty reasonable prices). Snacks were provided and this was a hit (absolutely loved the warm sweet/salty peanuts, cream puffs, prawn crackers and fruits). The squid fishing was just a little bit of a show as I don’t think there were any chance we were going to catch squids. The morning adventure to the caves via locally rowed boats were another chance to soak in the view from up close. A good trip all round and if you were to head to Halong Bay (and you should), do give Doris cruise a try.

Views from room were amazing. Decent variety of food and activities were well organised. Staff were particularly lovely and always willing to help, thank you Jaytee for looking after us :)

Beautiful room

Firstly, Jennie, Michael, Cherry and James (Dat) are rockstars! They made every effort to ensure all guests felt valued, heard and seen throughout the entire cruise. Special shout out to Jennie who spoiled us during meal times by reserving the best and most scenic views for our family. If you join Doris, do yourself a favor and ask for Jennie! I loved that the cruise had so many activities on offer but none of the pressure to join. We had the luxury to spend time relaxing on our own or engaging in the cooking demos, squid fishing, karaoke parties, etc if you so inclined. They understand the concept of a holiday and gave us time, space and options - what more can you ask for? Though, I would highly recommend doing the "caves" tour on the 2nd morning of the cruise - be sure to bring some cash to tip the rower. Though there were a few other cruises around, we did not feel overcrowded at all. I've been on previous Ha Long Bay cruises and it felt quite overwhelming with hoards of people. Tranquil, serene and relaxing! The transfer service through Doris will set you back $35 USD return trip but it's very well worth it. They pick you up and drop you off wherever you are in the Old Quarters. The reclining luxury leather chairs on the "bus" were super comfortable and with the blasting aircon with scorching 40C/95F heat outside, don't opt for any other mode of transport. Communicating with Anna post booking.com confirmation was seamless and straightforward. WhatsApp #FTW Overall, fantastic time!