Ha Long Bay sunset cruise with La Casta (Amethyst) - We had a wonderful experience with the La Casta day cruise. Recently taken over from Amethyst. It was the perfect length of time and great balance of adventure and relaxation. Traveling closer to Ha Long bay’s 1500+ islands was so worth it! The boat had 3 floors with the top deck open with very comfortable seating. With weather changes having the option to go indoors was a necessity. The staff were very friendly, efficient and professional. The overall guide did an excellent job of providing information with each of the areas we passed and all ports where we stopped for further exploration. The boat’s captain was excellent - he was able to maneuver into very tight and popular sports with ease! Excellent boat handling skills. Food was very good with a good variety including vegetarian. They also offered a variety of nonalcoholic and alcoholic beverages. The weather was a little questionable when we embarked on our cruise and the day included bouts of heavy rain and clouds but we ended with a glorious sunset. We opted not to kayak given the weather but paid a little extra for the speed boat ride. It was so worth it! Very fun and we were able to get closer to the islands. Highly recommended.

Amazing cruise - we were super happy to book this tour: they arranged the pickup from the Cruise port (we had the What's app number from the driver), send pictures to make it easy. The boat was incredible - coming in, each person got a table assigned, as we were a couple we got a table for ourselves, got greeted with warm ginger tee. Some scenic cruising which we enjoyed on the top deck, followed by an amazing lunch with plenty of options - very tasty. Overall we had then three stops each one about an hour: the first was the cave: you walk up too and through it - it is huge with many stalagmites and stalagtites, narrow passage ways and huge rooms - really amazing, the boat will pick you up on the other side. Next stop is "tunnel cave" where you can either kayak or take a row boat through to the middle of one of the lime stones - we saw there a lot of monkeys. the last stop at TicToc Island, where you can walk to the top viewpoint (400 steps) - very crowded, but the view is great, there is also a beach - but there are soo many people, it didn't really entice us. On the scenic ride back we got some more fruits and coffee. Our driver already waited for us. We were very impressed - by the way the boat has nice bathrooms as well showers in case needed and provides towels.

Exceptional boat tour. Be sure to check it out. - This was the best tour on our 13 day cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore. The boat gar exceeded our expectations and was the best boat of any we saw all day. Liam was exceptional in the booking and communication and also arranged a car to pick us up and bring us back to the cruise port. The food was phenomenal and the tour guides were friendly and knowledgeable. This was by far the best value of any tour we took on the 13 day cruise. Be sure to check out this company before you book anything to Halong Bay.

Magical experience - We had a great time, everything was wonderful, great value for money and the team were so nice we could not have asked for more a great day out

We would recommend to everyone taking this cruise for a full day of sightseeing in Halong bay - Our driver picked us up at the cruise ship port for Halong Bay. It was a 25 minute drive to the dock. The ship was large, three decks, with plenty of space for all the guests. There were plenty of activities and destinations during our journey like a speed boat ride and exploring caves. Rosy, our guide for the trip, was friendly and fun. The crew made us feel at home. The food that the chef prepared was delicious.

Disturbed by last minute changes for pickup, both location and time. - The cruise staff were all wonderful. Felt pampered and peaceful. Beautiful amenities on Amethyst. Only about 20 people on the cruise (maybe because it was a rainy day). All activities went well. However the transfer from Hanoi was a different story. On Dec 2 around noon before Dec 3 cruise: I got confirmation for 7 am pickup at Grand du Lac. At 9pm when I was already in bed, got msg pick up time moved to 6:40am. At 10pm got warning hotel pickup not possible due to bus size change. At 6 am received new location. On cruise day, bus left at 6:45 and picked up throughout old quarter for 40 minutes. Around 8:10am we stopped for 25 min break. We drove past Tuan Chau, extra 30 minutes to drop off 2 passengers at Ambassador Cruise. Arrival at Tuan Chau Marina about 10:15 am. Did not appreciate last minute changes the night before early departure. Especially not appreciate 25 minute break. With 7am pickup, we shouldn't have to deal with late night messages changing plans. That's not reasonable. On the way back, left Tuan Chau at 5:15. Then Thai Artisan Shop for 30 minutes. I understand the value of a private transfer and the value of shared bus. If you can afford it, the private transfer likely will save you 90 minutes transit time.

Spectacular views of the Ha Long Bay - We booked this tour well in advance together with the Ninh Binh Day Tour. We again were contacted by WhatsApp text day/days before the actual travel day. The pick up was very punctual and the tour guide, Luan Do Hung, did an excellent job driving ahead of the bus to the next pickup, so people were ready when the bus arrived. Very efficient. Once we were on the road to Ha Long (about 2-2 1/2) hours drive, the guide did not address us at all. Didn't tell us what the program of the day would be. We have done many of these tours in different countries and never had a guide like him who didn't address us at all. Before coming to Ha Long, we stopped for a bathroom brake. Not a problem. But the stop was at a Diamond store which was a disappointment. I didn't come to visit a Diamond Store. I wanted to get on the boat and the enjoy the scenery. Not the fault of the guide but whoever organized the trip. We made it to the boat, the "Amethyst" and started the journey to Ha Long Bay. The boat was beautiful, the staff on the boat were extremely friendly and helpful. We were about 30 people on the boat which was great. We were told that in the high season about 100 people are on the same boat on the same cruise. So be beware what time of the year you are visiting. The scenery was just spectacular. During the cruise we were served a lunch buffet which was excellent. Later in the day we made a few stops. One one of the stops we could go on a speedboat (Optional) at a cost of about $ 13.00 per person). Included in the price were either Kayaking and/or go on 30-45 minutes bamboo boat ride. Similar to the boat ride in Ninh Binh, but here there were maybe 8 people per boat. Due to heavy winds, they could not stop at an island where you normally swim or sunbath on a sand beach. We were back in Ha Long by about 5pm. We boarded the bus. To our surprise there was no guide on the drive back to Hanoi. No idea what happened to the guide we had in the morning. The drop off in Hanoi was a little chaotic, since there was no guide and the driver didn't speak any English. But we managed to communicate with the driver with messages. All in all, a very worthwhile trip to a beautiful part of the country. Yes there are many boats in the Bay but it does not take away from the Beauty of the Bay. The only negative was the situation with the guide. Hopefully this was an exception and will be corrected in the future.

Successful, beautiful day trip, with cuts on the transfer - A great day trip. The crew was very helpful, the food was great and everything was very clean. The tour offers a lot, you can see and experience a lot, but also has enough time to relax. Only the transfer agreed with Hippo-Travel from the cruise port to the “Amethyst” didn’t work out - there was simply no one there. As a result, we were almost late, had to find a taxi ourselves. But it's not the crew's fault, everything worked out well on the boat, was a lot of fun.

Unorganized transportation and long, but very good cruise - The low rating is due to the transportation to get there and back, which was handled poorly by the bus coordinator/driver. I received WhatsApp message 2 days prior indicating that the pick up time was 7 AM on the day. After 9:00 PM the night before the tour, I received a message saying the pick up time was changed to 6:40 AM. The reason for the change was the bus cannot get to the hotel and they have committed to the cruise lines for other drop offs. At 9:00 PM I was about to go to bed so we could have an early start the next day, but instead I have to contact the hotel front desk to rearrange for an even earlier breakfast pickup. Anyway, the next morning just before the pick up time, although I did not receive further info about the pick-up location, my friends who booked the same tour was receiving messages about pickup location changes several times - it got changed a couple of times. All these made it so much confusing to me. At the end, the bus was not at where it's indicated. It seemed that this is the first time the operator is doing business - unorganized and chaotic. It should take just under 3 hours to get from Hanoi to Halong Bay drop off. About half way there, we had a road side stop for half an hour, which was absolutely not necessary. At most we only needed a 10 minutes stop. There is only one store there selling goods that costs 2 to 3 times more than in Hanoi. On the way back, we stopped at the same place for another 25 minutes. When we asked if we could stop for a shorter time, the driver said he has to eat dinner. So the transportation to and from was close to 7 hours - unnecessary long. The cruise itself was good. The food was great. The staff was friendly and helpful.

Rude - From the moment we boarded, the experience was poor. The woman in charge of boarding was shouting at everyone, acting rude and pushy, which made the process chaotic and stressful. Once on board, things didn’t improve. We went to check out the pool area, only to find the pool completely green and unusable. On the top deck, while trying to sunbathe, men from the cruise were taking photos of me in my bikini, which made me feel very uncomfortable and unsafe. The behaviour of other passengers was also unacceptable—people were extremely rude and even grabbed utensils out of our hands at the buffet. Additionally, every destination we visited was severely overcrowded, making it hard to enjoy or explore the locations properly. Overall, this cruise was disorganized, uncomfortable, and not at all relaxing. I would not recommend it.