How to choose a Ha Long Bay cruise: stars, cabins, pools and what is included

Vietnam does have an official star scale for overnight boats, but it stops at five. Article 50 of the Law on Tourism (09/2017/QH14) lists tourist accommodation ships alongside hotels, villas and apartments, and grades them 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 stars against the national standard; registering for a rating is voluntary. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism appraises and recognises 4 and 5 stars, and the provincial tourism department 1 to 3 stars, the procedure Hai Phong publishes for its own boats. There is no 6-star grade in the law.

On GetYourGuide the stars in a cruise’s title are written by the seller. Of the thirteen overnight cruises on this site, three call their ship 6-star and six call it 5-star; the Bai Tu Long cruise sells standard, 5-star and 6-star options, and the three cruises on classic boats use no stars at all. None of the listings we read quotes an official rating certificate, so treat the label as a guide to the price band and check the features you care about: the cabin, the deck, what the price covers and the reviews.

In practice the labels sort themselves by facilities. The 6-star ships add a panoramic pool, a spa or sauna and a gym to the balcony cabins; the 5-star ships have a balcony and a bathtub in most cabins and a pool or jacuzzi on the sundeck; the classic boats have ensuite cabins with windows and no pool.

Here are all thirteen overnight cruises on this site, cheapest first, including the two 3-day Ninh Binh combinations, which spend one night in a hotel and one aboard. The price for two is GetYourGuide’s lowest price per adult on 15 November 2026, doubled, for two people sharing a cabin; it does not include an optional Hanoi shuttle where the listing sells it separately. Ratings and review counts are GetYourGuide’s on the same day.

Three stand out. The balcony and bathtub cruise is the cheapest balcony cabin at €199.58 for two, with taxes included. The Elite ship with a panoramic pool has the best rating of any overnight, 4.9 from more than 3,100 reviews, for €27 more for two. And the 5-star cruise from Hanoi or Ninh Binh has the most reviews, more than 6,300, and is the only balcony cruise here that also stops at Sung Sot Cave on the Ha Long side.

A private balcony and a bathtub facing the bay are now standard on the 5-star and 6-star ships rather than a luxury extra. Nine of the thirteen overnight cruises include both in the price, from €99.79 a person on the balcony and bathtub cruise, which also moves you to the second floor free when there is space (GetYourGuide, 15 Nov 2026). The Bai Tu Long cruise has them only on its 6-star option, and the budget cruise with cycling sells a separate private-balcony option on a different boat, so pick that option when you book.

Pools vary more. The Elite ship has a four-season panoramic pool, a spa, a sauna and a gym, and the 6-star balcony ship adds a pool, spa, gym and mini golf. The balcony and bathtub cruise, the most-booked 5-star ship and the quiet-anchorage cruise list a pool on the sundeck; the 5-star cruise from Hanoi or Ninh Binh says pool or jacuzzi, and the 3-day cruise with Viet Hai cycling says jacuzzi or mini pool. The classic boats, including both Venezia boats, have no pool: you swim off the boat or from a beach stop instead, which in summer is the better swim anyway.

Most of the big ships do not publish their cabin count on GetYourGuide, but the listings do tell you how cabins are shared and where the better ones are. On the Elite ship and the 3-day 6-star Ninh Binh cruise each cabin takes up to three guests, so four adults need two cabins, and young children share their parents' bed. On the Ninh Binh 6-star listing one child aged 0 to 4 stays free per room, a child of 5 to 10 pays 75% of the adult price, and from 11 a child pays the adult price and gets a bed.

Higher floors cost more, and the upgrade is usually paid on top. The most-booked 5-star ship charges US$10 a person for a senior suite on the second floor, US$65 for a VIP cabin and US$110 for the President Suite; the 6-star balcony ship charges US$25 a person for the second floor and US$135 for one of its two VIP rooms. On the balcony and bathtub cruise the second-floor move is free when available. The first-floor cabins on all of these already have the balcony and bath.

If you want a small group, the Venezia boats on the Lan Ha small-group cruise are the clearest choice: GetYourGuide limits each departure to 15 guests, and the operator runs one 5-cabin boat and one 10-cabin boat.

The core of every overnight cruise we list is the same: the cabin, all meals on board (two lunches or a lunch and brunch, dinner and breakfast), an English-speaking guide, kayaking or a bamboo boat through the caves or lagoons, the sunset party, a cooking class and squid fishing, with a welcome drink and bottled water. Ten of the thirteen listings name the entrance or sightseeing fees as included, and the two 3-day Ninh Binh trips promise no hidden fees with taxes included; the most-booked 5-star ship’s listing does not mention them either way, so it is worth asking.

Those fees are real money. On Ha Long Bay the Management Board’s published fee for a day visit on route 2 (Sung Sot, Ti Top and the caves) is 250,000 VND a person, and an overnight on route 2 is 550,000 VND a person for one night or 750,000 VND for two, as the Board publishes them. Hai Phong sets its own, lower fees for Lan Ha Bay: 120,000 VND for a day and 400,000 VND for a night from 1 August 2024, as reported in the press (VnEconomy). The Venezia small-group cruise says outright that all government fees are in the price and nothing is collected on board.

The transfer from Hanoi is where cruises differ most. Both 3-day Ninh Binh combinations include all transport, and the budget cruise with cycling includes Old Quarter pick-up on its Hanoi options. Five of the 5-star and 6-star ships sell the shared return shuttle from Hanoi or Ninh Binh for US$25 a person; the others sell it as an option or include it only on some options.

Most of what you pay on board is your own choice. Drinks at the bar are extra on every cruise, settled with any other bill at check-out on the balcony and bathtub cruise; the balcony and bathtub cruise, the 6-star balcony ship and the 3-day cruise with Viet Hai cycling run a buy-two-get-one-free happy hour at sunset. Massages and spa treatments are booked and paid on board on most of the 5-star and 6-star ships. Tips are not included anywhere.

Two extras are set by the date or the booking rather than by you. Travelling alone, you pay a single supplement, from US$45 to US$125 depending on the cruise and class. And Christmas, New Year and Tet carry surcharges on most listings. The Elite ship includes the peak-season surcharge for bookings made from 1 July 2026 but still adds a holiday surcharge on 24 and 31 December and at Lunar New Year, 5 to 8 February 2027.

First, how many nights. One night gives you the afternoon, sunset, dinner at anchor and the morning kayak; two nights add a full day on the water and on Cat Ba with no road, and suit travellers who want to slow down.

Second, which bay. Most of our overnight ships sail Ha Long and Lan Ha in the same trip; the Venezia boats stay in Lan Ha, and the Bai Tu Long cruise heads north-east for fewer boats around you.

Third, the cabin. For a balcony and a bath at the lowest price, the balcony and bathtub cruise from €99.79 a person; for a pool, spa and the best rating, the Elite ship from €113.39; for the most reviews and Sung Sot Cave, the 5-star cruise from Hanoi or Ninh Binh from €114.30 (GetYourGuide, 15 Nov 2026).

Fourth, the extras. Add the US$25 shuttle at booking if your option does not include it, check the holiday dates, and budget for drinks. Prices change by date, so look at your day in each cruise’s calendar; all thirteen have free cancellation up to 24 hours before.