La Regina Grand Cruise

La Regina Grand is a 27-suite steel boat that sails Lan Ha, the water south of Cat Ba, and the smallest cabin on her is 45 m² with its own balcony. She boards on the Ha Long side. You check in at the La Regina Welcome Lounge on Lot 24 of Tuan Chau Marina, and a tender takes you out to the ship at 12:15. On the halongbaytours.com listing read on 6 August 2026, the cheapest suite for two was $310 for the night: from $155 per person, two sharing.

Listings date her to 2019. The operator, La Regina Cruises, runs her alongside La Regina Royal on Ha Long Bay, and her sister La Regina Legend shares the same cabin plan.

Which suite should you book?

Twelve of the 27 cabins are Bai Tu Long Suites on the first floor, 45 m² each, and they are the cheapest. The operator stacks two more 45 m² grades above them: five Ha Long Suites on the second floor and five Lan Ha Suites on the third. Each floor up costs more. The grade names are marketing, so a Lan Ha boat selling a “Bai Tu Long” suite is no clue to the route.

Above those sit the larger rooms. There are two Junior Grand Suites at 60 m², a single Lan Ha Trio Suite of about 54 m² for three, and one Duplex Suite of 90 m² across the second and third floors, which sleeps four. The top room is the Lan Ha Grand Suite: 135 m², a round king bed and a jacuzzi inside the suite. The ship also carries a spa, a gym and an outdoor jacuzzi on deck.

The triple is listed with single beds and a balcony. If you are three adults, ask to see a photograph of that room before you pay for it.

What does La Regina Grand cost?

The halongbaytours.com rate sheet read on 6 August 2026 quotes per cabin for the one-night trip: Bai Tu Long Suite $310 for two, Ha Long $335, Lan Ha $360, Junior Grand $410, and the Duplex $630 for four. The two-night trip is priced for the whole stay, at $600, $650, $680 and $780 for the doubles and $1,210 for the Duplex. On originvietnam.com the same day the doubles were within a few dollars of those figures, and the Trio Suite was $464 for the night.

Halve the Bai Tu Long Suite and two people sharing pay $155 each for one night, or $300 each for two nights. Rates on this boat move with season and agent, so take the date on any quote as seriously as the figure.

The fare covers your meals on the programme, a guide, entrance fees, the cave visit, the rowing boat, squid fishing, a welcome drink and two bottles of water. Spa treatments, drinks and tips go on your bill. Our guide to what is not included explains the usual extras.

Where does La Regina Grand go?

Into Lan Ha Bay, on a timetable the operator publishes hour by hour. Lunch is at 13:00 as she sails south from Tuan Chau. The afternoon stop is Ao Ech: a notice on the operator’s site dated 31 March 2026 replaces Dark and Bright Cave with a longer stop there from April. The itinerary page still shows a bamboo boat at that cave at half past three, so ask which your date gets. At seven the next morning there is a stop at Tra Bau to swim, then brunch on the way back, and the tender lands you at Tuan Chau at 11:00.

The two-night trip keeps those two days and puts a full one between them on a smaller day boat. You cycle for about half an hour through Viet Hai, a village inside Cat Ba National Park, eat lunch there or on board, and spend the afternoon at Ba Trai Dao, the Three Peaches beach. You are back on La Regina Grand at four. One listing notes that you cannot get into your cabin until then. Our guide to two days or three weighs the extra night.

Where do you board, and at what time?

At the La Regina Welcome Lounge, Lot 24, Tuan Chau Marina, on the Ha Long side of the bay. The operator and three listings all name it. The operator’s timetable has you at the lounge from 11:30, and its FAQ asks you to be there by 12:15 at the latest. The tender leaves at 12:15. Coming back, you are ashore at 11:00 on either trip length. Give your driver the full name, because the harbours here are easy to confuse.

The road from Hanoi is not in the fare. La Regina’s transfer pages, read on 10 August 2026, list a shared limousine at $18 a person each way, picking up in the Old Quarter between 08:00 and 08:30, and a private four-seat car at $95 each way. Wi-Fi is free in the public areas and the cabins, the operator says, and the signal drops among the karsts.

What do guests complain about?

The hotel side, and the complaints are concrete. One guest describes bedding that appeared neither washed nor ironed, dust on the furniture, water marks in the bathroom and ants in the room, on the bed among other places. One reports that both of them were badly ill after a dinner of cold food. A guest giving three stars expected something higher up the market and got food that was average and fittings that were occasionally tacky, with check-in half an hour late and Wi-Fi that never worked. Another found the bar prices closer to central Manhattan than to Cat Ba. One four-star guest, who otherwise enjoyed the trip, describes the tender striking the ship hard enough to bruise people.

The good reviews are consistent about the crew. Staff are named individually in review after review, and guests in the top suites write about the windows and the size of the bathrooms. Our guide to what guests complain about sets these against the rest of the fleet.

Who it suits

Couples and families who want the archipelago behind Cat Ba on two nights, in a big suite, and who will check which floor their room is on before paying. It is on the Lan Ha list and the best-value list. If you have not chosen a bay yet, read how the three bays differ first.

Who should look elsewhere

Anyone paying a suite premium and expecting suite execution. The cabins are large and the route is the strongest thing about the booking, in our view. Housekeeping and the kitchen are where it drops, and no cabin grade fixes either of those.

Get the cancellation terms in writing from whoever sells you the cabin. Facts on this page come from lareginacruises.com (read 10 August and 14 October 2026) and the halongbaytours.com and originvietnam.com listings read on 6 August 2026.