The SunDeck

With its comfortable lounge chairs, fresh breeze and dazzling views, the Sundeck invites guests to lie back and relax. Featuring an impressive range of cocktails and an easy, relaxed ambiance, the Sunset Bar is a delightful place to socialize and watch the sun sink behind the bay’s myriad islands.
Spacious rooftop sundeck
Sundeck chairs and umbrellas for sunbathing and relaxation
Daily Happy Hour (21.00 - 23.00)
Professional and Charming service

The indochinasails Bar and Lounge

Located in the Restaurant, this cozy bar features silk chairs, embroidered décor. A wide variety of wines and cocktails is available.

The Massage Room

Infused with the scents of lemongrass and fresh herbs, the bay view massage room provides the ultimate escape, allowing guests to enjoy a traditional Vietnamese massage in the midst of the bay’s beauty.
Sunrise Tai Chi classes
Greet the day with a morning Tai Chi class, held-weather permitting-on the open-air Sundeck.

Kayaking

Explore the bay’s uninhabited islands and sea caverns in our imported Canadian Seaward kayaks.

Snorkeling

Discover the colorful coral and fish that lie beneath the surface of the bay’s clear, calm water.

Cooking classes (bed weather only)

Learn more about the ingredients and techniques used to create mouthwatering Vietnamese dishes.

Special events

Traditional dances and musical performances, fashion shows, and other events may be arranged upon request.

“Indochina Sails v Bhaya Cruises”
Reviewed August 13, 2011
7 people found this review helpful

We have been to Halong Bay several times and have tried different cruise companies each time. So far our favourties have been Indochina Sails and Bhaya Cruises. For Luxury, and that extra touch, Bhaya come out in front. The boat is large and has several areas to sit and enjoy the Bay. It has a massage area for those who wish to fully relax, great staff and little extras like roses petals dropped onto you from above as you arrive and scattered on your bed. The dinner is many courses long consisting of great food and the staff are just excellent. They cater for children very well and made dishes which my children devoured. Happy Hour at dusk meant we could sit and enjoy the suset with a cocktail.
Indochina Sails on the other hand was less luxurious (but more expensive) however the bathrooms were very big in comparison to the Bhaya. Rooms very similar, food lovely but not as extensive in terms of range of food. Only one outside area to view the bay (which was fine but not enough seats for everyone and many of us had to stand for hours). Staff were unable to bring up chairs from the dinning room or another area to cater for all the passengers. Indochina had a wine tasting hour which was fun and in comparison Bhaya had a spring roll making(and eating ) session. Happy hour was also after 9pm on Indochina Sails which was dissapointing as it would have been nice to sit on the deck at dusk and have a drink or two. Did not cater well for children in terms of food and the vegetarian options were a bit light weight. Kayaking however was wonderful and the location was stunning. Only problem was that you have to miss out on the floating fishing village (which is included in your package) to take advantage of the kayaking. Bhaya Cruiases had these activities seperately when we travalled with them.
Overall, both offer great value for money and very similar packages however, my personal preference was for Bhaya Cruises which made the extra effort in certain areas and made the overall experience first class.
Visited August 2011

“Cruise with Paloma - great experience, a few reservations”
Reviewed August 11, 2011
3 people found this review helpful

We took an overnight cruise of Halong Bay with Paloma in July. Overall, we enjoyed the experience - Halong Bay is absolutely amazing and not a place to be missed, and an overnight cruise is certainly a great way to experience it. The boat is very nice, the rooms are small but that's to be expected, but they are in great condition and we got a fruit platter in our room was a nice touch. The cruise was pretty packed with activities, which isn't to all tastes, although we didn't mind it, and we've heard that for longer cruises, there's more downtime for relaxing, swimming, etc. The food was very good, not the best that we had during our visit in Vietnam but still good. We were a little annoyed that you have to pay for all beverages, even soda or water, and the boat only provides 2 small bottles of water... so during meals, coffee/tea was provided afterwards but if you wanted anything to drink during the meal (including coffee/tea) then you had to pay for it. It felt a bit like nickel and diming considering that we paid a significant amount for the trip. This may be standard practice among all of the cruise ships but just something we noticed. We enjoyed kayaking around a floating village, and they took us to an amazing cave (although it seems like a lot of different groups do all of this so it may not be that unique to this trip). The drive from Hanoi is 3-4 hours, and we stopped on both ways at what we thought was an irritating, enormous tourist/souvenir trap. Seems like every bus going from Hanoi to the Bay goes there so might be unavoidable. The real draw is of course the Bay, so these little annoyances are worth it, but I'd still recommend bringing your own water/other beverages.
Visited July 2011

“Quite disappointed, choose the tour/boat carefully”
Reviewed August 11, 2011

Ha Long Bay is the first reason that we go to Vietnam. However, our taken boat has very short trip. The boat started at 12 pm and stopped for lunch at around 1.30 pm. We though it would continue after lunch but it didn't. The tour and staff on boat always urged us to pay more during the trip like to buy the fish from fish farm and they will cook for you . When you finish the eating, they will charge you the cooking and service fee. And also advised tourists to hire small boat to look around which also need additional cost.
Visited July 2011

“Princess Junk - Tears of joy!”
Reviewed August 11, 2011

How lucky my partner and I were to experience such a great trip (we'd booked for 3 nights but a tropical storm was on its way so only had 1 night). Our guide picked us up in Hanoi on time with a nice clean car and a very competant driver (always a good start!).
We arrived on our junk and was so impressed... all to ourselves with our own Chef, Mechanic, Guide and Housekeeper/Barman. Lovely food - accommodation good although bit of a problem with the shower but we got there in the end!
The highlight was dinner in a cave... we arrived with our guide, the lights were off then we went through an entrance to a path lit by candles with our table set up, complete with white table cloth, flowers and crystal glasses! It was magic - the whole cave was lit by candles, with music in the background and even a fan (as it was a bit steamy!) - what a magic night.
Definitely worth the extra money to be on the Junk with just your loved one! So romantic and so private.. it was great
Visited July 2011

“Paloma Cruise Ha Long Bay - Simply The Best”
Reviewed August 8, 2011
10 people found this review helpful

2 couples from Australia. Retirees but VERy fit and active. Where do we start? The expectations we had were far and away exceeded bu wonderful staff and fantastic food. yes there were minor hiccups but that is all part of the journey.
We were collected in an airconditioned 'super mini bus' from our hotel in Hanoi absolutely on time. Travelled the 4 hours to Ha Long Bay with a stop at the most wonderful and I mean wonderful community centre for disadvantaged people where they work and create the most amazing marble sculptures, silk artwork of world standard, clothing and laquor work second to none - this is not a junk shop. It has very clean toilet facilities and after you have spent 1/2 and hour here you are ready for the onward trip to Ha Long Bay.
All the while you have an English speaking tour host who makes sure that you have everything you need. Arriving at the boat dock, you are taken out to the 'mother ship' where you are welcomed with a full briefing and drinks/food.
We had the thee day/two night cruise and you definitely need this to enjoy what the area has to offer. The rooms have superb amenities.
At this stage I have to say there was one AWEFUL woman and her family from Adelaide in South Australia who was an embarrassment to our country. She was a buffoon and extrememly ILL MANNERED and did nothing but complain - we think she was just a miserable fat toad who would complain about anything. She went on and on and on and in the end we told her to just shut up and stop annoying everyone.
So, back to the trip. FANTASTIC staff, food and activities capped of with a 'formal' BBQ on a deserted private beach - fully catered with wine (all drinks are extra's but at very reasonable prices)
Kayaking, walking, swimming - all available and of course a great limestone cave walk.
All in all 110% - we will be back.
And lastly special thanks to the team: Star, Loan (Kate), and the GM Mr Phuc