Room was big enough with lots of space and view was great.

Food was not what we expected especially when you pay 400$ per night. Its not worth the amount paid for this trip. Breakfast and lunch was a big disappointment. Fruits were very limited and bananas were not fresh. Any drink except the water and tea is paid. You pay 400$ per night in order to pay extra for the drinks. At least some soft drinks could be included. We saw other cruises had some extra water activities, where we had only kayaking for 45 minutes. Very disappointed.

Everything

I spent (what felt like) years of my life researching which cruise to go on from Ha Long Bay, and I was exceedingly pleased the research paid off, because our Mon Cheri cruise was superb. The staff make you feel like royalty and work exceedingly hard to keep the guests confortable and happy, even awkward guests with allergies and specific diets I was one of several and they really went out of their way for everyone, it seemed. The itinerary was well organised and executed and our cabin was everything we hoped for, apart from one or two very small issues. Thang and Andrew deserve special mentions. Thang kept her smile right until the end and was always extremely helpful. Andrew worked very hard to make sure our dining experiences were always excellent. Super cruise.

On arrival and departure at the marina, things were extremely frenetic, as the area for organising everyone combined several cruise bookings, owned by Big Bay group. This is a little disconcerting on arrival and upon departure (which felt rather hurried, more below). On the cruise itself, two very minor issues: lock on our balcony door could only work from the inside of our cabin and the PA speaker didn’t appear to work but that’s it. Not big enough problems for us to feel it spoilt anything, we had the itinerary to keep a check on things and a chair in front of the door kept the room door closed and room cool when enjoying the view from the balcony. If I were to be really pedantic, I might say that once the last excursion is over, staff are ready to prepare for the next guests, which is perfectly understandable, but there was a different vibe towards the end from some quarters.

The room is big and has comfortable bed. Food is okay, nothing is too special but the staffs are very attentive and promptly support anytime you need. This is perfect trip for a laidback getaway weekend in Halong Bay

This boat is the best way to see Ha Long Bay, cannot recommend it enough. Yes, we had two tiny areas for improvement but these did not take away from our overall experience. We had great communication regarding our collection time and location from the initial contact with Mon Cheri. The limo bus service arrived to collect us at our hotel at 9am as agreed and was spotless and luxurious. It even had WiFi! The transfer out to Ha Long Bay was seamless and comfortable. Our luggage was taken at the port arrival and labelled with our room number to be transferred for us - excellent service. We were transferred to our cruise boat via a smaller transfer boat and this was seamless. Upon our arrival onto the cruise we were taken to the restaurant where we were offered a lovely buffet lunch and had the activities explained before heading to our rooms. During lunch the boat was slowly moving into Ha Long Bay and the floor to ceiling restaurant windows were amazing for seeing the initial views. Our room was large, clean and had a balcony. Everything we could have needed was provided. The bed was HUGE and very comfortable. The balcony was lovely for relaxing and enjoying the view from. We did a to a bamboo boat tour of the light cave as our afternoon activity (very enjoyable) and returned to the boat for dinner, a cooking demo (the chef was so good and so entertaining!) and a sunset party with happy hour and views from the top deck. The following morning we had breakfast and the check out details were explained to us, there were more activities offered before disembarking or you could relax on the boat and enjoy the stunning views. Every single member of staff we dealt with was absolutely amazing. The boat itself is lovely and well-maintained, food is delicious and drinks at happy hour are strong! The route the boat takes is lovely and not over-crowded with other boats.

When arriving at the Mon Cheri office it was a little confusing where to go and where to check in. It would be better if guests were told on the transfer if they were on Mon Cheri 1 or 2 so they would know which office to go to, something Mon Cheri may improve on in the future, and very minor really. On the 2nd day at the brunch my food was somehow forgotten, this was resolved swiftly by staff but unfortunately my husband had to eat his meal to avoid it going cold before my meal even arrived.