Emeraude Classic Cruise

The Emeraude Classic is the boat to book if you want Ha Long Bay from the deck of a ship modelled on a French paddle steamer from the years before 1920, with crêpes served on the sundeck every afternoon. The operator gives it three decks, 37 cabins (booking sites list 34 and 22) and room for 80 guests. It costs from $118 per person, two sharing, for one night, a figure we converted from the operator’s dong tariff read on 10 October 2026.

The story comes from the operator. In 1999 a Frenchman, Eric Merlin, came across three old postcards at the Saint-Ouen flea market in Paris, and one showed a steamer called Emeraude on the bay. He found the family of its owner, Paul Roque, and had boatbuilders in Hai Phong build a new ship on the old design, launched in December 2003 by the operator’s account; one booking site says 2002. Of the 55 ships we publish with a launch year, checked on 10 October 2026, none was launched before it.

What are you booking on the Emeraude Classic?

You are booking the overnight ship of a small brand. Emeraude Cruises, managed by the TMG travel group, also sells a small private boat called Emeraude Premium and two day boats, Sayuri and Min, so check that a quote names the Classic. The Classic has two bars and one restaurant across its three decks, and boarding is at the company lounge, T7 Villa on Tuan Chau Marina, for a route that stays on Ha Long Bay proper.

The operator says the ship has a steel hull, and one booking site lists it as steel too. The claim that it was the first steel hull on Ha Long Bay is the operator’s own; nobody else we read repeats it. Our guide on wooden hulls and steel covers why the hull is worth asking about.

Guests split on the age. A reviewer in April 2025 called it a vintage boat kept in very good order; one in May 2016 found it older and less well kept than some others, though fine for a single night. Our page on how old your boat is explains what a launch year does and does not tell you.

Superior or Deluxe: which cabin suits a couple?

For a couple, the Deluxe. The operator lists the Superior on Deck 1 with twin beds only, so ask before booking if you need a double. The Deluxe one deck up comes with either, at about the same size.

Only the Paul Roque Suite comes with a private balcony, fitted with sun loungers. A February 2026 guest found the cabins small for the price and missed having a balcony. A 2017 guest said the bathroom shower takes some manoeuvring. A guest who paid to upgrade to the Captain’s Suite in 2016 thought it worth the extra.

The owner prices a single “Suite” row at VND 4,380,000 per guest sharing, about $341 a cabin at our conversion rate, without saying which of the three suites it covers. Ask which suite that price buys, in writing, before paying.

What does a night cost, and in which currency?

From $118 per person, two sharing, for one night: half of the $235 Superior. The operator publishes dong only, per guest. We doubled its double-room rate and divided by Vietcombank’s 25,690 dong to the dollar on 9 October 2026; the tariff was read on 10 October 2026. The operator’s own terms say every price is set in dong and a dollar figure is for reference only, so what you pay moves with the exchange rate on the day you pay. Two booking sites listed the Superior at $245 and $253 for two in August 2026, both above that conversion.

The operator takes bookings for two or more and charges solo travellers a surcharge. Its tariff lists VND 2,570,000 against a single Superior without saying whether that is the surcharge or the whole fare; ask for the full single price in writing. A cabin takes two adults and one child under 12; under-fives are free.

On cancellation, the published terms keep 30% if you cancel ten days or more out, 50% between ten and five days, and everything after that. Promotional and advance-purchase rates cannot be refunded at all, and full payment is due 20 days before sailing. Get the terms for your own booking in writing; our cancellation guide compares other ships.

How does the overnight run?

The first afternoon is lunch and two stops. You check in at the lounge from noon, sit through a safety briefing, and the anchor comes up at about 12:30. After lunch the ship stops at Titov Island around 14:30 for a swim or the climb to the viewpoint, and crêpes follow on deck. The pearl farm visit runs from 16:00, with kayaks for hire. A 2016 guest felt the farm was mostly a shop.

Evening starts with happy hour at 17:30, a spring-roll lesson while the sun goes down, canapés, then dinner from 19:00 to 20:30. Squid fishing (in season) and a film until 23:00 fill the rest of the night. An April 2025 guest noted that the ship anchored well away from the louder party boats.

Morning two is early: pastries from 06:00, meditation on deck at 06:30, and Sung Sot Cave at about 07:15, before breakfast. The late breakfast runs from 09:00 while the ship passes the Fighting Cock rocks, and you are back at the pier near 11:00.

What costs extra on board, and how busy does it get?

Quite a lot costs extra on the one-night trip, and the ship carries up to 80 people. Kayaking at the pearl farm is booked and paid at reception. Drinks are extra, bringing your own carries a charge, and the transfer from Hanoi is not included. A guest in September 2025 wrote that they got one free bottle of water a day between two and that further water cost 50,000 dong per 500 ml; a February 2026 guest called the bar, coffee, water and spa very expensive. Budget for it; our list of what a cruise fare leaves out covers the rest.

The same September 2025 guest found most passengers were large tour groups doing one night. Older complaints are harsher: in 2020 one guest left early over damp rooms and hard beds, and a 2019 review called the tender smoky.

Does the second night pay off on the Emeraude Classic?

For the Deluxe, yes on price. Per guest sharing, the operator’s three-day tariff is VND 5,740,000 for a Superior, VND 5,980,000 for a Deluxe and VND 8,322,500 for the Suite row, so the second night costs 90% of the first in the Superior and the Suite and 73% in the Deluxe. Across 65 ships in our price records on 10 October 2026, the second night in the cheapest cabin for two costs a median 93% of the first. One booking site listed the whole three-day trip in a Superior for two at $450 in August 2026.

Day two of the three-day itinerary is a tender day of caves and kayaking for three-day guests (Luon, Fairy and Labyrinth caves). Two 2025 guests wrote warmly about the tender day. The September 2025 guest wrote that theirs was cut and much of the first day repeated, on a trip a typhoon also disrupted.

Who should book the Emeraude Classic, and who should look elsewhere?

Book it if the look of the ship is why you are going. A ship built to a steamer design, with wood floors and old photographs of the bay in the suites, sits among our best-value cruises. Guests with special diets report that the kitchen coped: a gluten-free meal cooked separately in 2017, vegetarian dishes at every meal in 2025, halal on request in 2024.

Look elsewhere if you want a balcony at the entry price, a boat launched in the last decade, or a quiet ship with few people aboard; the operator’s ceiling is 80 guests, and one recent guest found the passengers mostly tour groups.

What we could not confirm

The operator is the only source for the guest capacity, the decks and the balcony and bed details. Booking sites disagree with it on the cabin count (34 and 22 against its 37) and on cabin sizes, from 10 m² for a Deluxe on one site to 15 m² on another; one dates the build to 2002. Nobody publishes the ship’s length, the cabin count per class or which suite the “Suite” row prices. The guest reviews we read sit on one Google listing for the whole Emeraude brand; we set aside those clearly about the day boats or the Premium boat, but a short review that names no boat could still be about another one.