Mekong River Cruise

[Wayfairers]

We are looking at a Mekong River cruise next spring.  What line did you cruise with and got any pointers on booking or for the cruise?  It looks like Viking cruise is full.

[gnome12]

I sailed with Ama on the AmaDara. Started in Hanoi, a night on Halong Bay, then 3 nights in Siem Reap before boarding the ship to outside Saigon. 
 

Liked the cruise a lot; didn’t love the cabin; I don’t think the twin balcony is a great choice; both the French balcony  part and the real balcony are very small. Also the bus trip at the end into Saigon. 
 

The food was incredible. I’m a picky eater, but I ordered the normal menu every day (not the always available menu). I never did the Chef’s Table; a tasting menu isn’t my style. 

[Wayfairers]

Thank you.  Ama is one of the cruise lines I was looking at.

[Bill Y]

On 10/6/2022 at 6:16 PM, Wayfairers said:

We are looking at a Mekong River cruise next spring.  What line did you cruise with and got any pointers on booking or for the cruise?  It looks like Viking cruise is full.

A lot of cruise lines do Siem Reap to Saigon (HCMC) including the Mekong. We did a pre cruise North Vietnam extension option, two nights Hanoi and two nights on Halong Bay on a cruise junk, before flying to Siem Reap. Well worth it

 

We travelled with Travelmarvel a subsidiary of APT, do not know if they take bookings from North America.

[suspaul]

On 10/6/2022 at 1:16 PM, Wayfairers said:

We are looking at a Mekong River cruise next spring.  What line did you cruise with and got any pointers on booking or for the cruise?  It looks like Viking cruise is full.

Hello!

We did this tour/cruise with Avalon Waterways in early 2016.  We preferred the itinerary to Viking or any other.  It was excellent, very small river ship, we had a total of 28, 4 of this # only did the Mekong cruise.  Very spacious cabins and nice public area, fantastic crew and tour guides extraordinaire, I just can’t say enough good about Avalon, and with the group being small, you pretty much got to know everyone, we had a wonderful trip.  As a matter of fact, we enjoyed it so much we did a return visit to Central Vietnam on a private tour, December 2019.  
 

If you have an interest -  find an itinerary that suits you and just GO!

[TriMomma]

Just back from the 17 Day (Land + River) Tour with Emerald Waterways.   2 nights in Hanoi, 2 nights in Halong Bay, 2 Nights in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) then onboard the Emerald Harmony on the Mekong for 7 nights.   This was followed by 3 more 'land' nights in Siem Reap.  Fantastic trip!!!!

 

I do plan to write a more detailed review, but one thing that is really nice about the Emerald Harmony is that she docks right in Saigon.   My understanding is that many of the river cruises bus you from Saigon to My Tho.

 

I was worried about the Emerald cabin because it has the fake balcony and the window just comes down.   The reality is that it is so freaking hot, you rarely sit with your window down.   There are many, many nice areas outdoors if you want to find a place to sit and read.   Also, while the Mekong is interesting and there are many great villages to visit, the actual scenery is not worth sitting on a balcony watching the world as you sail by.  

 

 

Edited November 3, 2022 by TriMomma

[Wayfairers]

Great information!  Thanks so much for taking the time to provide the info. Once you get your detailed review written, I would love to read it if you wouldn’t mind posting a link.