Athena Premium Cruise

Athena Premium keeps a Japanese-style onsen and three kinds of sauna on its basement deck, and three of its suites carry a private onsen as well. Athena Group, which runs the ship, sells it as “Vietnam’s first onsen cruise”; that is the operator’s claim, and we have not tested it against other boats. The ship is 110 metres long, with 41 cabins over six decks, and sails from Ha Long International Cruise Port at Bai Chay on Ha Long Bay. The cheapest cabin for two was $390 a night on the per-cabin rate sheet we hold, read on 6 August 2026.

What is on board Athena Premium?

A wellness deck, a pool and a top-deck lounge, by the operator’s pages. The onsen area takes about 100 m² of the basement deck. The sauna rooms are on the same deck, five of them in three kinds (dry, steam and Himalayan salt) on the operator’s facilities page, and so is a spa with eight treatment beds. The infinity pool on Deck 3 opens from 6:00 to 22:00. Dinner is in the Ambrosia Gallery Restaurant, also on Deck 3, which the operator sizes at 400 m² with seats for 300. On Deck 6 the Observatory Lounge is open all night and sized for 30. There is also a gym the operator says never closes and a 3D golf simulator.

Look at the bow from the pier. It slopes backwards. Athena Group made a point of that reverse bow when the hull was floated out on 29 October 2025, at a Hai Phong yard run by IBS Viet Hai, according to its own news page.

Which cabin should you book?

The cheapest class on the sheet is the Executive Balcony, 43 m² on Deck 1, with a double or twin beds, at $390 a night. Sizes here are the operator’s, read on 6 October 2026. Another $40 buys the Premium Balcony, 45 m² on Deck 2, where the operator describes a freestanding bath and a separate walk-in shower in a stone-lined bathroom. One listing counts 12 Executive and 18 Premium Balcony cabins, 30 of the 41 between them. A Triple Balcony for three adults costs $580.

The private onsens come with the suites. The Captain’s View Suite is 55 m² on Deck 4, beside the bridge, with a Japanese-style onsen of its own. The Elite Suite is 70 m² on Deck 2 with a terrace and an outdoor onsen, its mineral water modelled, the operator says, on the Kusatsu and Yessentuki springs. The same listing counts two of each. The Imperial Athena Suite takes 400 m² on Deck 5, with a private onsen, a pool on its balcony and a butler.

Two classes are missing from the sheet: the 30 m² Ocean View, whose description mentions neither a balcony nor a terrace, and the 70 m² Connecting Balcony, which joins two rooms for a family. Both are on Deck 1.

Is the onsen included in the fare?

Nobody publishes a clear answer. The onsen is missing from the operator’s not-included list, which does name the spa, and its onsen FAQ calls the onsen a core part of the cruise. The same FAQ says access can vary by programme, and the one-night schedule puts a pricing note beside the onsen, sauna and spa together. If the onsen is why you are booking, ask the seller in writing whether the shared one is free and whether sessions must be booked. A suite settles it: at $930 a night for two, the Captain’s View is the cheapest of the three that have their own.

None of the 115 guest reviews we collected mentions the onsen, the sauna or the spa, so we cannot tell you what they are like in use.

How big is Athena Premium?

Big by Ha Long standards, and for anyone who pictures a quiet boat that is the drawback. Its 41 cabins put it fifth of the 66 boats in our data, where the median is 22.5 cabins. Most of those cabins are sold for two adults, and Athena’s own events page gives the ship’s capacity as “100+ guests”, so expect company at dinner and in the caves. How many people are on board compares cabin counts across the bay and what guests say about crowding.

How does the one-night cruise run?

Check in at noon in Athena’s lounge at the port, board at 12:30, and the buffet lunch starts at 12:45 as the ship pulls away. At 15:00 you reach Luon Cave, by kayak at no charge or in a rowed bamboo boat for VND 50,000 a person. Titop Island follows at 16:00, for a swim or the climb to a viewpoint more than 100 m up. Sunset Hour starts at 18:00 with a third drink free for every two you buy, then come a cooking demonstration at 18:30 and dinner at 19:00, and after 20:30 a film, squid fishing or the golf simulator.

Day two opens with tai chi on the sundeck at 6:30. Sung Sot Cave fills the hour from 8:00, you check out at 9:00, brunch is served at 9:30, and Athena gives 11:30 for arrival at the port. The road from Hanoi is extra, and Hanoi to Ha Long covers it.

What changes on the three-day trip?

Most of the middle day is spent off the ship. At 8:15 you move to a transfer boat bound for Bai Tu Long Bay: Thien Canh Son cave at 10:00 with kayaking and a beach, lunch on the transfer boat, a bamboo-boat ride around the fish farms of Vung Vieng at 13:30, and a pass by Trinh Nu cave. You are back on Athena Premium at 16:30. The last morning matches the one-night trip. Two days or three weighs the extra night.

What does a cabin cost?

A cabin for two runs from $390 to $3,500 for one night, or $770 to $6,900 for the whole three-day trip, on the halongbaytours.com sheet read on 6 August 2026. That sheet records the highest rate the listing showed, so a lower quote is possible.

Of the 57 boats for which we hold a one-night sheet, read between 6 and 11 August 2026 from different sellers, the median cheapest cabin is $310, and Athena Premium’s $390 is joint tenth dearest. The second night barely discounts: three-day prices run 1.95 to 2.00 times the one-night price, against a median of 1.95 across the 51 other boats with both sheets on halongbaytours.com.

What is in the fare, and what is extra?

Athena’s list for the one-night trip covers the meals in the programme, a welcome drink, the excursions, squid fishing, tai chi, tea and snacks in the cabin, a guide who speaks Vietnamese and English, entrance fees, and a free set-up for a honeymoon, anniversary or birthday. Extras on the operator’s list are the road transfer from Hanoi, drinks, the spa, laundry, the bamboo boat, tips and VAT, and one listing adds a surcharge at Christmas and New Year. Ask whether a quote includes VAT; terms belong to the seller, so read what is not included and cancellation policies too.

What do guests say about Athena Premium so far?

Mostly that the crew are good. The earliest guest review we collected is dated 30 March 2026, and the fuller English reviews, from early October 2026, dwell on the staff. Three name Vinny, who runs the cruise, and two name Thuy Anh. A guest writing on 4 October described buffet breakfast and lunch with a plated dinner, a tour of the ship and a bracelet-making workshop, and liked the bathtub with a view outside. Another, on 6 October, picked out the five-course dinner. In April a Vietnamese guest who usually gets seasick wrote that the ship barely rocked.

Who is Athena Premium for?

Couples who travel for wellness and can pay for a suite with its own onsen, in our view. Travellers who like a big ship’s facilities get a pool, three kinds of sauna, a golf simulator and a lounge open all night; the luxury category lists the other high-end boats. Families get the Connecting Balcony, and on Athena’s own terms one child aged 1 to 4 sleeps free in the parents’ bed; listings differ, as set out below.

Who should look elsewhere?

Anyone who wants a small boat; the small boats category lists them. Price-led travellers too, since the $390 entry cabin is joint tenth dearest of 57 and a second night costs almost as much as the first.

Where do the sources disagree?

On the launch year. Athena’s site says 2025, and its news page dates the hull’s floating-out to 29 October 2025. One listing, read on 6 August 2026, said June 2026; the earliest review we collected is from 30 March 2026.

On capacity. Athena’s cabins page gives 158 guests and its events page “100+”. With 41 cabins mostly sold for two, we would plan on the lower figure for an overnight sailing.

On sizes. One listing swaps the Executive and Premium Balcony, giving 45 m² and 43 m², and prints 200 m² for the Imperial Athena Suite in its spec line against 400 m² in its text; the operator and the rate-sheet listing give 43, 45 and 400. Athena’s own pages give the sundeck as 900 m² and as over 1,000 m², and the pool as 105 m² and as 250 m².

On boarding and order. One listing says guests board by tender; Athena’s own programme describes boarding at the port and does not mention one. The same listing puts Sung Sot on the first afternoon; the times on this page are the operator’s.

On children, the rate-sheet listing lets under-fours sail free and charges 75% from 4 to 11; Athena charges 75% from 5 to 10. Ask which applies.

The length and deck count come from the operator alone. The per-person figure one listing advertised was $195 for one night, read on 7 August 2026, and no second source matched it. Athena Group also runs Athena Royal, a different ship; nothing on this page describes it.