Halora Nova Cruise

Halora Nova sells a private balcony and a bathtub in every cabin of a boat that only started sailing on Lan Ha Bay in March 2026. On the halongbaytours.com listing read on 6 August 2026, a Deluxe Balcony cabin for two was $270 for the night: from $135 per person, two sharing. She is a steel boat of 40 cabins, and only six of the 92 boats on this site have more.

She also has a rooftop bar with a sound system. One guest describes sitting on their private balcony trying to hear the bay over the music from the deck above, then going down to the pool to get away from the bass. Booking this in the hope of a quiet night is the mistake to avoid.

What are you booking on Halora Nova?

Five decks, with cabins on the first four and a lift between them, a restaurant that seats up to 130, a spa, and a jacuzzi pool on the sundeck that agencies call four-season. halongbaycruises.com gives the cabin split: twelve Deluxe Balcony cabins on the first deck, twenty Premium Balcony on the second and third, six Halora Suites and two Grand Suites higher up.

Getting there takes most of a morning. You check in at the Halora Nova Lounge, Lot 29A, Tuan Chau Marina, and a high-speed boat takes you out to the ship. A one-star review gives the day in numbers: hotel pickup between 7 and 8, more hotels after that, three hours to the port on a tour company’s coach with a halt where pearls are sold, forty minutes waiting, then an hour on a small boat. Neither the coach nor the small boat had working air conditioning, in air they put at 35°C. A Japanese guest, writing positively, describes the same shape of journey without the heat. Give your driver the lot number; which harbour you leave from explains why.

Where does Halora Nova go?

South into Lan Ha. The first afternoon is spent swimming at Tra Bau in summer, or at Ao Ech in winter, followed by a cooking class, happy hour with canapés at sunset, dinner and squid fishing. The second morning starts with a sunrise meditation and breakfast, then a visit to Dark and Bright Cave by bamboo boat. Lunch is served as she sails back, and you are ashore at Tuan Chau at about 11:00 to 11:15, in Hanoi by three.

The two-night trip adds a morning ashore. At about 09:30 a day boat takes you to Viet Hai village on Cat Ba, which you tour by bicycle, and lunch is on the day boat. The afternoon is free on Halora Nova, by the pool or in the spa. Our Viet Hai guide describes the village, and the three-bay comparison helps if the bay is not yet settled. The one-star review says the ship sat still for most of the trip, which in our reading is the standard overnight anchorage rather than a fault.

Which cabin should you book, and what does it cost?

For two, the Deluxe Balcony, which is $10 cheaper than the Premium and the same size. These are the prices for two on the halongbaytours.com listing read on 6 August 2026, the highest rate that listing published for each class, with its sizes:

The listing adds 20% to the room rate on 24 and 31 December and over the Lunar New Year, 6 to 8 February 2027. Get the deck and the cabin size into your confirmation; the first deck sits near the engine room, and a guest there reports engine noise and the anchor banging.

Drinks are where the fare stops covering things. The listing includes meals, a welcome drink, water, tea and coffee on arrival, the pool, the cooking class and Wi-Fi; the Hanoi transfer, extra drinks, the spa and tips are not. One couple paid two million dong for eight bottles of water and eight cocktails at happy hour. Another guest reports a five per cent surcharge for settling the onboard bill by card, corkage on anything you carry aboard, and drinks charged separately at both dinner and brunch. One guest advises bringing cash; what is not included covers the rest.

What do guests complain about?

Wifi comes first. Three guests raise it, and all three say it did not work for the length of the trip. Treat the boat as offline.

A guest who booked through a resale platform expected a cooking class and was given a cooking demonstration. Kayaking runs about an hour and there were not enough kayaks to go round, so people swam while they waited, with jellyfish in the water. The pool, on a hot day, was warm. One water jug was put out for a whole group and ran dry faster than it was refilled. Another guest, writing when the boat was two months old by their reckoning, says cosmetic wear was already showing.

The two-star review is the most careful account of this ship, and not a hostile one. The writer praises the cruise manager by name and the handling of a seafood allergy, which was catered for outside the buffet. Then they record that the promotional photographs were taken in kinder light than the boat delivers, that the buffet on a Vietnamese public holiday was a scrum, and that the pool area is more modest than the pictures suggest. Two guests describe a bathtub in the bathroom looking out over the water.

Who is Halora Nova for?

Families and groups who want a new boat with a balcony at best-value money, and who will use the rooftop. The Premium Triple is the argument for three friends: one room at $420 for three adults. She is among the recently launched boats.

Look elsewhere if you are a couple who came for quiet; one guest on a public-holiday sailing heard the rooftop music from their balcony and found the buffet a scrum. Anyone needing to work aboard should assume no connection.

Where these facts come from

The cabin count, launch year, hull, lot, lounge, both programmes, sizes, prices, inclusions and surcharges come from halongbaytours.com, and the cabin split, decks and restaurant from halongbaycruises.com, both read on 6 August 2026. The March 2026 launch is from mytour.vn, read on 14 October 2026. Guest remarks are from Google reviews.