Athena Royal Cruise - Luxury in Halong Bay

Barco pequeño (Signature) y muy acogedor. Personal muy amable.

El día antes, la compañía nos cambió a otro barco de menor nivel y en otra bahía

Mooie ervaring

Suffe ichtendexcursie

The food was good however I ended up with an upset stomach after the first day.

The bed was hard and uncomfortable. Itinary was too rushed, stsrted too early. Not really a cruise more a boat trip then stay in same place. Too commercialised, sharing experience with lots of other boats and many people. Beach small crowded and dirty.

Rooms clean, bed comfortable. Staff friendly, Memory very happy, approachable and happy to share is local knowledge on the area. Made our trip very memorable.

NA

Thanks to Morning for his support. He did a very good Job! Also thanks to the whole crew, we had a great time!

Amazing experience. I wasn’t sure for the first few hours I’d made a good choice to visit, but an amazing experience. Do everything they have on offer. Cocktails in the evening as the sun sets, magical.

The rooms have had some work done on them. They were a little rough around the edges.

Nada, el crucero canceló nuestra reserva dos días antes de nuestra llegada alegando supuestos "problemas eléctricos". Nos señalaron que se reversaría el cobro hecho a la tarjeta de crédito dentro de 10 días hábiles, pero ya ha pasado más de un mes y no han realizado la devolución ni contestan los correos. El Equipo de atención al cliente de Booking tampoco entrega respuesta y han dejado de contestar a pesar de que les enviamos los antecedentes que demuestran que el crucero canceló nuestra reserva.

Just a wonderful boat, food was amazing, staff just lovely. Unfortunately we were unable to stay overnight due to a monsoon but after dinner we were transferred to a very nice hotel close by. The staff very accommodating and we were kept informed at all times of the changes

The monsoon.

Excellent food, great staff

Cabin was NOT the one on the picture that I booked.Cabin was dated and stuffy

Athena Royal Cruise - Luxury in Halong Bay was amazing. The boat was very clean and updated with wonderful rooms beautifully designed. The itinerary was perfect, not rushed with plenty of time to see it all and relax. You also have the option to stay on the boat. The food options were fantastic, serving buffet for breakfast and lunch then a selected menu for dinner. Everything was cooked on the boat and came out fresh. There was a lot of attention to cleanness. The staff was the highlight!! All of them were fantastic, excellent service and helpful, making us feel welcomed and happy. A special mention to Morning and Tony that went above to make out experience special. Morning especially was very fun and funny, he made the experience enjoyable. They both paid additional attention to the guest and was kind and helpful. Ha Long Bay is already beautiful so it’s hard not to love it but to have beautiful people around you makes it a whole lot more memorable. Thank you, Athena, you will forever be a part of our experience at Ha Long Bay.

The staff were amazing. Looked after us from start to finish, making sure our ride picks us up after. The food was delicious. Loved the little touches of your country’s flag on the table. The tours were good but so many people it was slow going. But that is not Athena’s problem.

Nothing

The experience was amazing and the staff went over and above to make sure everyone was treated well. Especially Mr Morning and Mr Vinnie.

Heel weinig gevaren

Clean and luxurious Michael and the staff were extremely helpful

El personal era genial, la comida muy buena y las actividades también

Nada

Bateau très bien équipé et confortable Bonnes prestations de restauration Personnel disponible, sympathique et professionnel Une belle première découverte de la baie d'Halong

The boat was cute, staff were great and food was good

The hot tub was cold, lights in the bathroom didn’t all work and there were some ugly cut outs in the ceiling of the coming that took away from the luxury somewhat

The Athena Royal Cruise ship is a very nice ship and the rooms are very nice.

The only thing that we did not like was that during dinner, they did not even provide water FoC.

Kleine Gruppe, gutes Essen, freundliches Personal und schöne Zimmer. Kajakausflug in der Früh war auch toll.

Der stop am vollen Sandstrand und dreckigem Wasser. Man konnte auch nicht zurück auf das Schiff und musste über 1 Stunde ausharren. Auch die Pausen beim Transfer mit Verkaufsveranstaltung sind unnötig.

A great cruise experience. the staff was very friendly, catering for our needs the best way possible. As we had some food limitations, they went out of their way to ensure we had a good selection and that my daughter (who is a picky eater), will find something to her liking :) The Cruise manager was extremely nice, caring both on cruise and on the side tours. The team on land was also very helpful, helping upon arrival, and also after we finish the cruise with suggestions, driver etc. The food was very tasty, varied and plentiful, beautifully presented The rooms were clean, with large windows to catch the amazing scenery, and the balcony is an added bonus that made the experience even more special.

The room was a bit small (considering we had 3 beds in it), but still comfortable enough.

Very comfortable cabin with balcony

It wasn’t made clear when we booked 3day, 2 night tour that on the second day we would have to leave the boat from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to take part in 2nd day activities while the boat returned to port to drop off 1 night customers and pick up a new group.

A well-organised and welcoming Ha Long Bay cruise, with attentive staff at the dock who handled our luggage and made everything easy from the start. As seniors, this was especially appreciated, as we didn’t have to worry or stress about where to go or what to do. It’s worth noting that this is not a traditional cruising experience, as the main boat travels only a short distance (around 4-5km ) into Ha Long Bay and remains anchored there. From that point, smaller boats are used to take guests to nearby islands, caves, and activities. While different from what we initially expected, the experience was still very well organised and allowed us to enjoy the beauty of the bay at a relaxed pace. The cabin was spotless, beautifully presented, and very comfortable. The meals on board were fantastic, and the team went above and beyond to cater for all my vegetarian and food allergy needs, which was truly appreciated and exceeded my expectations. The overall atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming, and the staff were exceptional in making our trip enjoyable and stress-free. We would still recommend this experience to family and friends, especially for those looking for a comfortable and well-managed way to see Ha Long Bay.

Disappointing as not really a ‘cruise’. We still had a great time and amazing experience.

The Royal Athena Cruise was spectacular. I cannot recommend highly enough. The staff went above and beyond, the day trips were amazing and the ship was beautiful. The meals were 5 star and the cocktails well priced and tasty. We stayed two nights and this is very much recommended, most people only did one night which meant our second day activities were privately arranged and we got to see a much quieter and more beautiful part of the bay that those who stay only one day miss out on. Do yourself a favour and stay two nights!

The only thing that could have been better was if we could have stayed longer!

Le bateau est parfait

Le séjour est lamentable.Un vrai piège à touriste.Le bateau reste à l'ancre tout le temps.Votre évaluation n'est pas adaptée à une croisière.Il faudrait séparer bateau et parcours.

Do passeio

Nao gostei do tipo de comida e box do chuveiro entopido.

Profesjonalna Obsługa i pyszne jedzenie. Kabiny duże, Bardzo luksusowe.

Bardzo turystyczne miejsce, dużo Łodzi, tlok na plazy

Ganze Crew war Spitzenklasse

Gibt nichts zu beanstanden

צוות שירותי ביותר, השתדלו מאוד להתאים את הארוחות למגבלות הכשרות. היו סבלניים, אדיבים ותמיד בחיוך.

The boat was nice, and clean. The dinner and brunch were great. The staff was helpful and welcoming, everyone spoke good English. The activities varied a lot (all optional), and were nice to explore the surroundings, however be prepared for tourists hordes.

The sounds outside the room during the night.

Tuvimos un pequeño percance y el director del crucero nos traslado al hospital, nos ayudo a comunicarnos allí y nos acompaño hasta solucionar el problema. Un detalle por su parte.

Great boat, service and staff. Loved it being a smaller boat, more personal and relaxed.

Nothing

What an absolutely awesome experience at an exceptional place! Everything was fantastic, and a very special thanks to Mr. Vinnie, the cruise supervisor. He was incredibly helpful, full of positive energy, and always greeted everyone with a warm smile. He truly made our experience unforgettable!

Program schedule can be slightly modified adding karaoke etc

Staff, service and food fabulous . Boat was good and experience was enjoyable .

Nothing wrong with the property but what’s described as a cruise is hardly that as you are moored up within sight of land within an hour. It’s the same for c 30 boats moored around you .

Lovely to have our own private balcony and interconnecting rooms with our children. Friendly crew. Lots of activities to do.

No gym. Small room. No where to put luggage bags.

La barca è in ottimo stato, lo staff gentilissimo, tutti molto puntuali anche con i transfer, le attività sono molto turistiche ma il kayak vale assolutamente la pena

Escursione alla surprise cave molto affollata

The first day was well organized and we enjoyed seeing Ha Long Bay.

On the second day, we were forced to wake up very early and move to a lower level of another boat with no rooms and no comfortable seating, where we had to stay all day. There were very few activities, the food was not good and not enough, and the whole experience was extremely disappointing. Paying for a luxury cruise and ending up on a lower-level boat made this feel like a total waste of money and time

Croisière de deux jours (sur 24h) sur un navire à taille humaine, accompagnés d’une équipe très attentionnée et efficace. Restauration locale de belle qualité et variée. Une très belle expérience dans un lieu vraiment atypique.

Ha Long bay was beaufitull and so mistical, we had bad and cloudy weather but it was very nice too. Very nice visit to the island, with the beach and swimming pause.

We didn’t like that the second day of our trip you have to get up at 6am if you want to go to thai chi or brekfast at 7, kayaking 7.30 The weather was cloudy and fresh and then it is not good to go early and be wet. You need spare clothes for kayaking if you are wet after it. It is not written anywhere. After that you have brunch around 9.30 and you have to go out at 10 That wasnt written eather, so when you sre buying this trip you have to know that you have lunch and dinner first day and esrly brekfast and brunch and checking out before it is passed 24 hour you have checked in the day before. So it is not a two day trip.

Lovely rooms, great activities and food and amazing staff.

Food and dining room service were great! Lots of variety and plenty to eat!

Two glitches: 1) I arranged for a transfer through Athena from our hotel to the boat, but no one showed up. We were able to find another driver after waiting 30 minutes, so we were able to get to the boat just in time. I called and emailed all numbers I had available and got no response until we were in the taxi I had to arrange. 2) There was water on our bathroom floor when we checked into our room. I brought it to the staff’s attention and someone came in and wiped it up. I was told to let them know if it happened again. It did happen again and it was mapped up again. It then happened a third time and it was mopped up again. When it happened the fourth time, I asked them to please do more than just mop it up; please look for the source and correct it. It was finally corrected but it should not have taken four requests.

Took the Athena Roval Cruise. Firstly the boat, the staff (particularlv Kevin in the Resturant), the rooms, the food and service was all 5 star. Excellent and couldn't fault it Activities were fun, but be prepared for crowds, its certainly not relaxed, queues everywhere and it was packed full of other cruise passengers.

Disappointing part was that this is not a 'Cruise'. We travelled mavbe an hour out of the harbour to a sheltered spot and stopped. That was it. Spent the rest of the time there taking the tender out to the activities. I found this part really disappointing considering it was advertised as c cruise. Did look like this was the norm though as many other boats did the same thing. Overall we did enjoy our selves, probably wouldn't do it again though.

Nothing really.

The cabins were outdated. They are not the same as the pictures. Food was not good. It didn’t cater to people with allergies.

the staff

the food can be improved

The staff.

Didn’t get the rooms we booked.

Excellent and so comfortable. Staff was so helpful and efficient

I liked everything

Sehr freundliches Personal, ein wirklich toller Aufenthalt

Bateau très bien agencé, propre, confortable, chambre spacieuse. Personnel extrêmement gentil et très attentionné. Les 2 nuits permettent d’être complètement seul dans la baie d’halong pendant une journée, si vous faites qu’une nuit ça ne sera pas le cas.

Toujours trop de nourriture au repas, pas toujours à notre goût en terme de qualité mais le personnel trouve des solutions et est arrangeant si besoin.

Great service and wonderful staff! The room was very nice and clean. The food was delicious. The day trips and activities were amazing. And of course the views are stunning!!

The only thing I can think of is that the mattress was hard

Amazing staff, so kind and helpful. Made the experience very personal.

Nothing

Los trabajadores siempre pendientes de que estuvieras bien

We stayed 3D2N - best decision ever! We had a seperate trip on day 2 on a day ship just for five people - a whole boat for us, because others stayed just for 1 night. The best crew ever! Thank you Kevin and Tony for the hospitallity and taking really good care of us. The food was amazing! The day trips very comfortable and good.

Staff were amazing and helpful. Food was delicious and beautifully presented.

Nothing, Athena Cruises are excellent. Ha long Bay is very overpopulated with Cruise Ships, a little overwhelming at times.

We stayed for 3 days and 2 nights, and had an excellent time onboard! I would highly recommend staying for the 2nd night, as you get to go much deeper into the bay than for just one day. The boat is beautiful, and the food was quite good. The staff were very friendly and helpful, and made sure everyone had a good time. I really appreciated that they have clearly worked hard on the schedule--everything started right on time, and we never felt rushed. The activities of the 2nd full day were incredible--the swimming, kayaking to the cave, and the visit to the pearl farm were the highlights!

We had the suite with balcony, and I don't think the balcony is worth it unless you smoke. Our room also unfortunately had a fruit fly infestation in the bathroom, which made it a bit hard to relax in the room (but of course the rest of the boat is lovely enough). Don't expect good WiFi, but that's not really the boat's fault. The activities in Ha Long Bay are of course highly crowded, so I'd really recommend the 3 days as the 2nd day was the only day we could get into the less busy parts of the Bay--the activities on day 1 and 3 were absolutely packed with people, even in the off season. But again, this is an issue you would encounter with any tour, so just to be aware.

Lo mejor fue la atencion de la tripulacion, cafs miembro es amable y cuida los detalles. Nunca vamos a olvidarlos. Todas las medidas de seguridad, son responsables, puntuales y amorosos. Gracias Mr Ha, Mr Kevin, Mr Sean, y Ms Anna, por hacer nuestro viaje una experiencia superadora en cualquier expectativa. Fue mi primer experiencia, por supuesto los recomiendo.

Esta impecable

Chin and the staff were amazing The food

Super organised and very welcoming team led by Chien and Michael.

great customer service, very helpful and accommodating. Food was nice also

Too many people at Ha long locations visited. not the fault of the tour

Buena atención y disposición de la gente

No pude ducharme con agua caliente, no sé si fue un problema puntual o algo que pasa más a menudo

Amazing food and staff. Location was also beautiful

Bed was very hard. We organised transport to and from Hanoi and on return our bus driver drove right past our hotel and we had to stay on bus for an extra hour.

The staff was very friendly, specially the restaurant manager Kelvin and the cruise manager Hà, making sure everything was good.

El personal, siempre atento y muy agradable. Las instalaciones estaban muy limpias y las actividades muy completas. La comida estaba muy buena, aunque quizá echamos de menos algo más de variedad.

Los horarios muy estrictos, con poco tiempo de descanso entre una actividad y otra… un poco atropellado todo

The boat was genuinely incredible, and the staff made the trip- all of them were so lovely and helpful, special shout out to Tony and Kelvin. My sister and I are veggie and the staff went out their way to provide extensive veggie meals for us which we are grateful for.

We went to very touristy places, there was a lot of waiting around for the ‘special cave’ but would say it was worth it. The second stop on the boat was a beach/bar/walking area and it was so full of people, we could only swim like 10m into the sea and it was quite dirty- would be good to see different places where it wasn’t mobbed with tourists.

On return from off boat activity, the welcoming staff refused to give a second glass of water despite the heat.

Croisière au top et personnel incroyable

Petit bémol sur les activités et les repas, tout est calculé à la minute.

Die Crew war locker, nett und freundlich. Das Programm war auch schön.

Ein miefiger Geruch im Badezimmer.

Really attentive staff and excellent meals.

Lack of entertainment after dinner. Everything else was perfect.

Statek okazał się niesamowity, ale obsługa była jeszcze lepsza! Od pierwszej chwili czuć, że każdy członek załogi dba o gości na każdym kroku, tworząc wyjątkową atmosferę. Pokoje są przestronne i bardzo komfortowe miałem pokój z prywatnym balkonem, co było świetnym dodatkiem. Organizacja dni i wycieczek była na najwyższym poziomie. Była to nasza podróż poślubna i już po wejściu do pokoju czekała na nas miła niespodzianka, wino i owoce od załogi plus tort :) Jedzenie było jednym z najlepszych, jakie kiedykolwiek jadłem, a menu degustacyjne było niezapomnianym kulinarnym doświadczeniem. Jacuzzi na dachu idealnie relaksowało po całym dniu, a happy hour dodatkowo umilało wieczory. Wielkie podziękowania dla kucharzy i całej załogi za wspaniale spędzony czas. Polecam z całego serca!

Jedyne co mogę napisać negatywnego to, że klimatyzacja w moim pokoju była trochę za słaba i nie dawała rady. Pokój był narożny i miał dużo okien i prawdopodobnie przez to klimatyzacja była za słaba. Obsługa dała nam wiatrak do pokój za co bardzo dziękujemy !

Le personnel de bord est accueillant et très professionnel. Tony, le manager de bord, a été particulièrement attentif et a pris le temps de s'assurer que notre « croisière » se déroule dans les meilleures conditions. Les chambres sont très agréables et les repas sont bons.

Les quantités proposées pour les repas, en particulier pour le brunch, nous semblent trop importantes. C'est dommage car cela entraîne du gâchis alimentaire. Il serait appréciable de revoir ces portions à la baisse

food is ok and service also good

location

Das Personal war sehr freundlich und vor allem Tony (zweiter Schiffsmanager) war sehr freundlich, hilfsbereit und zuvorkommend. Er begleitet alle Ausflüge und ist für alle Fragen offen und da! Das Essen war ausgezeichnet!

את החווייה

לא זזנו במהלך השייט.

Wir hatten einen sehr schönen Aufenthalt. Insbesondere Tony war super freundlich :)

Manche Mitarbeiter waren etwas aufdringlich.

Warm and Serene experience at the Athena Royal Cruise. The suite room was well set and cozy for us to enjoy a great time on board. The meals were delicious, including the lunch & breakfast buffets, with a special mention on the set menu that was metrically plated and served with the various courses. The spa team was well experienced and I enjoyed relaxing massage session. The team even planned a special movie night for kids with popcorn after dinner. What a special touch! Excellent service by staff, especially our guide Tony and managers on board, Ha & Kelvin. Thank you team Athena.

El personal nos atendió de 10. Quiero agradecer especialmente a Mr. Ha por toda la atención y amabilidad. Teníamos que bajar rápidamente del barco para coger un vuelo y lo gestionó todo perfectamente. También quiero agradecer a Mr. Kelvin por su entusiasmo y simpatía en todo momento. Gracias por el trato recibido por toda la tripulación durante toda la estancia.

Los lugares que visitábamos estaban muy masificados (un domingo de julio), ellos no tienen ninguna culpa pero hay que tenerlo en cuenta.

Food was excellent and the stuff was the best, one day trip on boat was unforgettable.

Mr. Chien, Mr. Tony, and their crew were amazingly great at their jobs. My family felt taken cared of. From the start at the HaLong International Port they moved our luggage to the boat and dropped them off in our rooms for us. By a small boat we were transported only 3 minutes to Athena Luxury Cruise boat. If you want a more intimate setting and not a crowd of people on one boat, Athena is perfect. My husband and I celebrated our 30th anniversary and they set up our room beautifully and gave us a complimentary cake. The lunch buffets along with a set dinner menu was excellent. If you have picky eaters they will customize dishes for you. Mr. Tony and his activities crew took care of us on all the expeditions. They were attentive to all the guests while we went to Sung Sot Cave, Tip Top Island, Dark and light cave. A highlight was we saw monkeys coming out of the dark and light cave. My husband and I paid for massages on board and it was the best Vietnamese massage we had. The masseuses really worked out our knots. We also paid extra to have Athena book us seats on a small bus to Hanoi and it worked out really well. They looked after us from disembarkment to getting us on the right bus. It can be chaotic at the port after all the ships disembark. The customer service from the entire Athena crew is 5 Stars.

Extra services such as massages, drinks, and land transportation are a bit pricey compared to the average costs in town. Wished that it was a bit less pricey for these things. But understand that you get what you paid for. Better customer service sometimes means paying a little extra.

Wir hatten drei wunderschöne Tage in einer traumhaften Landschaft. Untergebracht waren wir in einer schönen Aussenkabine mit einem kleinen Balkon. Besonders am ersten Abend war das Essen exzellent und mehr als ausreichend. Tony, Kevin und die anderen jungen Sevicekräfte waren stets aufmerksam und zuvorkommend. Abgesehen vom dritten Tag erfüllte das Ausflugsprogramm unsere Vorstellunge auf ganzer Linie. Höhlenbesuch, Hiking, Schwimmen Springroll Zubereitung und der Besuch einer Perlenzucht. Die 30 Minuten paddeln am Abreisetag sind leider etwas langweilig.

Perfeito. Comida boa, pessoas maravilhosas, lugares incríveis. Se eu pudesse ficaria para a segunda noite.

The captain was very hospitable with a great sense of humour, staff was very welcoming and caring ensuring our needs were catered to.