Cruises to Vietnam

Hi, new to Cruises Critics. Have cruised six time, Baltics, Alaska, Med, Caribbean. We would now like to take a cruise that would cover Vietnam & Cambodia. Best cruise line to travel with? Best time to travel? Many thanks. Martin.

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The best cruise line is the one that goes to the ports you want & fits your budget

Princess goes there. We have been to Vietnam several times with them.

Celebrity has a 14 night cruise that stops at Da Nang, Ho Chi Min City (formerly Saigon) and two days at Hanoi. These cruises begin or terminate at Singapore (overnight stop) and Hong Kong (overnight stop), and also visits Bangkok. We took this cruise in late January, early February and the weather was quite nice the entire trip.

There may be cruises that stop at Cambodian ports, but I am unaware of them. I suggest you do Cambodia on your own either before or after a cruise, especially if you want to visit Angkor Wat, which is not near the coast. We flew into Siem Reap, close to Angkor Wat, before boarding the ship in Singapore. We spent 3 nights there, giving us 2-1/2 days to visit the temples in the area with a private guide. That was barely enough time.

Best way to see both Vietnam and Cambodia is to take a river cruise on the Mekong with a land portion in both Vietnam and Cambodia. We did this with AMAWaterways and the overall itinerary was similar to:

7-NIGHT CRUISE WITH 2 NIGHTS HO CHI MINH CITY PRE-CRUISE AND 2 NIGHTS SIEM REAP, 2 NIGHTS HANOI, 1 NIGHT HA LONG BAY, 1 NIGHT HANOI POST-CRUISE

The Mekong cruise itinerary is here. With about 80 cruises/land trips in the past twenty years or so, this one ranks in the top three experiences. Several years prior we had stopped in Ho Chi Minh City and Halong Bay on an ocean vessel, and wanted more. This was much, much more.

Best way to see both Vietnam and Cambodia is to take a river cruise on the Mekong with a land portion in both Vietnam and Cambodia. We did this with AMAWaterways and the overall itinerary was similar to:

 

7-NIGHT CRUISE WITH 2 NIGHTS HO CHI MINH CITY PRE-CRUISE AND 2 NIGHTS SIEM REAP, 2 NIGHTS HANOI, 1 NIGHT HA LONG BAY, 1 NIGHT HANOI POST-CRUISE

 

The Mekong cruise itinerary is here. With about 80 cruises/land trips in the past twenty years or so, this one ranks in the top three experiences. Several years prior we had stopped in Ho Chi Minh City and Halong Bay on an ocean vessel, and wanted more. This was much, much more.

I am booked on this one in 2020 :) Can't wait!!

The best cruise line is the one that goes to the ports you want & fits your budget

Agreed.

But to add .........

Check the hours / overnites in port.

Most ships berth in Phu My, about 90 mins from Saigon (HCMC). And are there for just a day - and that's ridiculous. You need at least an overnite. And preferably on a ship which berths in the city, though that means a ship small enough to sail up the Saigon River such as Azamara.

Much the same with Bangkok -most ships berth at Laem Chabang, about 2 hours from the city.

For both, consider booking an overnite hotel in the city - inexpensive, avoids doubling journeys, and gives you an evening in the city.

Most ships overnite in Halong Bay "for Hanoi". But Hanoi is over 3 hours away. Instead, consider a junk cruise amongst the eerie limestone karsts of Halong Bay.

JB :)

Go to http://www.cruisetimetables.com and choose the ports you want to visit fromm the Ports of Call list, and the times you can go. It will tell you who calls there and their itineraries. EM

If you do narrow it down to a specific cruise I would recommend spending some time to determine what you want to see, and secondly, understanding how far are the actual port stops from these locations. How long will you actually spend sightseeing vs travel time to and from the ship.

We considered a cruise but after travelling through Vietnam and Cambodia for six weeks we realized that most of the sights we visited were simply too far away from a cruise ship port to make them worthwhile for us. But, we tend to be slow travellers and spend several days in each city or area.

I am booked on this one in 2020 :) Can't wait!!

Just a few tips:

Book a tour in advance with hanoikids.org

Take a stack of US $1's. Great for tuk-tuk rides, tips, etc.

In Hanoi, eat at the Green Tangerine

In Saigon, take a Back of the Bike tour. They will provide a private car for a token amount if riding on the back of a bike isn't your thing :)

Don't just eat at the hotel in Siem Reap. They have fantastic restaurants. Try the Nest downtown. Best duck ever. Also in Siem Reap go the Phare, the Cambodian circus. Nothing like the precision of the Shanghai circus, but lots more heart.

Have a cocktail and a burger at the rooftop bar of the Rex Hotel in Saigon. If you're old enough, you'll know the significance.

In Siem Reap, see

So much more you will never experience on a typical ocean cruise port stop. Now I want to go back! (Again!)

Personally I would not do a cruise for those areas.

I would set up land tours. Too many things to do and see. Many of which are not close to the ports.

AMAZING countries.

We feel the same about cruise stops in Thailand as we do about cruise stops in Vietnam. Not a great way to truly see the country.

We have spent four winters in SE Asia. We are always on the lookout for a good last minute cruise. This is one area where we no longer bother looking for cruises.

We toured Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietmam on our own and spent far less money and far more time that a cruise. Prices are low, people are very friendly and there are lots of agencies to help if you wish. We used an agency in Myanmar but made all our arrangements for Cambodia and Vietnam on our own.

We had our own tuk tuk driver for four days in Siem Reap which included a day on Tonle Lake. It was not quite enough time to see all we wanted but way more than you get on a cruise. We had a one day private tour in Phnom Penh with a guide who had lived through and lots family in the Khmer Rouge era.

We had a boat cruise on the Perfume River in Hue and toured the Citadel. We had several days on our own in Hanoi and took a walking tour with Hanoi Kids. We took a two night boat cruise in Halong Bay and got away from the crowds. We spent six days in Hoi An, which included a cooking course. I had silk and cotton shirts made to order.

In Myanmar we went to places river cruises cannot go such as Hsipaw and driving (hired private driver) into back roads and a winery visit. We spent time in Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake.