Lan Ha Bay by private charter: suite cabin, Dark and Bright Cave, chef's table

Hai Phong, Cat Ba

1. 7:30 am1

   Limousine van Hanoi to Got Pier, Hai PhongHai Phong

   Got, not Tuan Chau. The CT04 expressway and the Tan Vu bridge put Got at about two hours forty from the Old Quarter, and boarding there drops you into Lan Ha instead of the Ha Long traffic jam of two hundred junks. Nine-seat limousine vans pick up from Old Quarter hotels between 07:15 and 07:45.

2. 10:30 am2

   Chartered speedboat tender out to the anchorageCat Ba

   The scheduled tender waits for the whole manifest and can idle at the pier for ninety minutes. A chartered speedboat leaves when you do and reaches the ship before the buffet queue forms. Arrange it with the cruise office when you book the cabin, not on the day.

3. 11:30 am3

   Check into the suite, Heritage Line GingerCat Ba

   Priced per cabin for the night, not per person, which is what makes the sums work for two. Ask for a stern cabin on the upper deck: the anchor chain runs through the bow cabins at 06:00. Private balcony baths are the point of the ship, so book a category with one or save the money and take a mid-range boat.

4. 12:30 pm4

   Lunch as the ship moves through the Cat Ba archipelagoCat Ba

   Included in the cabin rate. Eat on the aft deck rather than inside: the run out past Ba Trai Dao is the prettiest forty minutes of the cruise and everyone else is indoors looking at a set menu.

5. 2:15 pm5

   Dark and Bright Cave by bamboo sampan, then kayaksCat Ba

   The tunnel is only passable at low and mid tide; a boat that arrives at high water goes to the lagoon entrance and turns round, which is why the schedule shifts day to day. Take the rowed sampan through the dark section (you lie back to clear the ceiling) and the kayak for the lagoon on the far side. Tip the rower 50,000-100,000 VND directly; it is not in the fare.

6. 4:30 pm6

   Swim at Ba Trai Dao, then sundeck cocktailsCat Ba

   Three sand crescents that only exist at low tide and are underwater at high. Jellyfish are a real nuisance in June and July; the crew know and will say so if asked directly.

7. 7 pm7

   Chef's table dinner with wine pairingCat Ba

   A separate booking from the cabin and the one upgrade actually worth its price on a bay cruise, because the standard dinner is a hotel buffet at anchor. Six courses of Hai Phong seafood with a pairing; request it 48 hours out, and say then if you want the cha muc squid cake course doubled instead of the beef.

8. 9:15 pm8

   Squid fishing off the stern lightsCat Ba

   Free, faintly ridiculous, and nobody catches anything most nights. Worth ten minutes for the water under the lamps even if you skip the rod.