The Ambassador day cruise is a great way to see Ha Long Bay, a part of UNESCO world heritage. But it’s not the five star cruise they want to be.
You can buy a transfer from Hanoi to Ha Long. But because we stay i Ha Long we asked the Novotel staff for a taxi to the cruise terminal. Here I got a cup of coffee before I was asked to board.
The ship
The ship is okey, but I have problem to find out why it’s a five star cruise. Maybe you get a better understanding or value it difference if you rent a cabin on board. But renting a cabin for a day cruise is a little to much for me.
With this said, the ship is good offering an outdoor hot tube in the aft and a glass bridge in the bow. There is also great spaces to sit down and enjoy the view. What more to ask for at a day cruise?
Activities on the day cruise
Maybe some activities? The Ambassador day cruise offers three different stops during the day. They are al managed but to short to really give you the time to enjoy them.
Sung sot cave
This is the first of two caves you will visit during your day cruise. It’s located at the Bo Hon Island and you need to walk around 100 steps to be able to enter the cave. The Sung sot cave covers around 10 000 square meters and can be up to 10 meters high.
Sung Sot means surprise in Vietnamese and that is what you will become when you see this cave. Its big and the light is made to bring forward its true beauty.
Titov Island (Ti Top Island)
The next stop on the day cruise is just a few minutes away with the boarding boats. The Titov Island is naked after the Russian cosmonaut Gherman Titov who visited Ha Long Bay 1962. But most locals call it Ti Top Island to commemorate the sailors of a French carrier who sunk in Ha Long Bay. Here the stop is just around 40 minutes and you can choose between swimming and making a 450 steps walk up to the top toget a 360 view out over Ha Long bay. Because of the heat we decided to swim, but we didn’t see the turquoise water they was speaking about. Maybe the view from the top makes the stop worth it. But if you want to get an amazing swimming memory you will get disappointed.
Luon Cave
This cave was absolutely cool. It’s more or less a self contained lake inside a closed arch-shaped mountain. Here you ca choose between renting a kayak or get around in a bamboo boat. We tried the later one and got a good view of the lake inside the cave. The only problem here is that Luon Cave is just like the other two stops two crowded to give you the ultimate wow feeling.
Lunch
Of course a day cruise also include a lunch. At Ambassador it’s in form of a buffet making you need to queue and stress to get something on your plate. The food is not bad, but it’s not a five star experience either. So I didn’t take any photos of it. It was just a blend experience.
Was Ambassador Day Cruise worth it?
If you visit Ha Long a day cruise is almost a most and Ambassador gives you what I would say is a standard package. The program is tight because of time restriction and the service is not even close to five stars. If I will go for another day cruise I would choose to go with a smaller boat, trying to get a more local feeling. At Ambassador you are just a packet that is moved around.
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