Elite of the Seas

Elite of the Seas puts a private balcony or terrace on every one of her 35 cabins, and her fare covers almost everything but drinks. She is an 85-metre steel ship, double-hulled, launched in 2022 and run by the Aclass Cruises Group, which also runs Stellar of the Seas, and she takes up to 99 guests. A speedboat carries you out from Tuan Chau Marina at noon, and by three you are at Ao Ech on Lan Ha Bay. On the operator’s 2026 tariff, read on 10 August 2026, the Junior Suite for two was $803 for one night: from $402 per person, two sharing.

That rack rate is the second-highest one-night fare among the 82 boats we hold a price for. Agencies sell below it. On halongbaytours.com, read on 6 August 2026, the same cabin was $630.

Where does Elite of the Seas go?

Through Ha Long and across into Lan Ha, on a timetable the operator publishes. Lunch is at 12:30, soon after you board, and cabin keys come at 14:00. From 15:00 to 17:00 she anchors in the Ao Ech lagoon, where you can swim in open water or use the pool on board. A cooking demonstration and squid fishing fill the evening, with live music, and on Saturday and Sunday nights there are fireworks.

At 07:30 on the second morning you go through Dark and Bright Cave by rowing boat. Keys go back by 09:45, brunch is served as she heads in, and the speedboat lands you at Tuan Chau between 11:15 and 11:20.

The two-night trip adds a day ashore. At 11:00 a speedboat takes you to Viet Hai, where a guide leads a cycle ride past village houses and farms, and lunch is in a bamboo house. An electric car brings you back, and there is a swim off a natural beach at half past two. The cave moves to the final morning. The operator also sells three- and four-night trips. If you are still choosing a bay, the three differ more than the listings admit, and our Viet Hai guide covers the village.

Where do you board, and at what time?

At Tuan Chau Marina, Lot 24 on besthalongcruises.com, where you check in between 11:15 and 11:45 for the noon speedboat. The operator, halongbaycruises.com, halongbaytours.com and originvietnam.com all name Tuan Chau. Say the marina name out loud to whoever is driving, because the harbours here are easy to mix up.

The operator’s shared limousine collects from the Old Quarter between 08:15 and 08:35 and drops you back between 14:00 and 14:15, and its site was offering the shared van free in 2026. A private Sedona people-carrier costs $50 a car each way, and a 2025 Toyota Alphard $200 one way or $390 for the round trip.

Which cabin should you book?

For two people, the Junior Suite. At 28 m² it is larger than the Senior Suite, which is 26 m² and $186 dearer; the Senior’s extra money buys a place on the third deck rather than the first. These are the operator’s 2026 and 2027 rates, read on 10 August 2026, with sizes and counts from its room pages:

The single Junior Premium is the bargain on the sheet: 43 m² for $71 more than the Junior. The Executive Premium Suites, with sun terraces, are on the fourth deck, and the President Suite is on the third.

The second night is cheaper here than on most boats: on halongbaytours.com, where 66 boats show both prices on the same day, she ranks fifth-lowest. On the operator’s Junior Suite rate, two nights cost $1,486 against $803 for one, so the Viet Hai day adds $683, about 85% of the first night. Two days or three weighs it up.

A solo traveller pays the operator’s single rate, $523 for the Junior Suite, about two thirds of the double. Children under 4 are free, one per cabin; from 4 to 6 they pay 50% of the adult fare and from 7 to 11 they pay 75%. A cot is free, and a cabin takes two adults and two children under 12, or three adults with an extra bed.

What is in the fare?

Nearly everything but drinks. The operator includes all meals, room service around the clock at no charge, unlimited bottled water, morning tea, a welcome drink, the cooking demonstration, entrance fees, tai chi, the gym, the pool and library, kayaks, the bamboo boat, squid fishing, fishing and golf equipment, Wi-Fi, an English-speaking guide and on-board insurance. Drinks and tips are extra. Below the four passenger decks a basement holds the wine cellar, the kitchen and the crew.

What happens if you cancel, or the weather does?

Cancel by email more than seven days before you sail and there is no fee. Inside seven days the operator keeps the whole fare, and a no-show is not refunded. Confirming takes a 50% deposit, and card payments carry a 3% fee that is not returned. If bad weather cancels the cruise on the day you check in, the refund is 100%; if it cuts a two-night trip to one, you pay for the shorter trip and the services used. Read how cancellation policies work here before you pay.

Who is Elite of the Seas for?

Couples and families who want a big modern ship on the quieter bay, a pool and a balcony, and a fare that covers room service, Wi-Fi and the gym. Families can fit two children under 12 into a cabin with two adults. She is on the Lan Ha list.

Look elsewhere if the rack rate is the price you would pay and the total matters to you; the best-value list starts far lower. Look elsewhere too if your dates are not fixed, since the seven-day rule leaves no room.

Where these facts come from

The ship’s size, capacity, decks, hull and launch, the timetable, both programmes, the cabin sizes and counts, the rates, the inclusions, the transfers and the cancellation, weather and child terms come from eliteoftheseas.com, read in August and on 14 October 2026; the same rates appear on the group’s aclasscruises.com tariff. Lot 24 is from besthalongcruises.com, and the $630 agency price from halongbaytours.com, both read on 6 August 2026. The price rank is across the 82 boats on this site with a one-night cabin rate.