Mon Cheri Cruise

Mon Cheri is an eighteen-cabin steel boat on Lan Ha, and every cabin has a balcony. She was completed in January 2018 and works the Cat Ba side of the bay: an afternoon in the Tra Bau area, then a morning walk through Trung Trang Cave on Cat Ba Island. On the halongbaytours.com listing read on 6 August 2026, the Ocean Suite for two was $330 for the night: from $165 per person, two sharing.

For most of your trip, though, she will not be moving. Reviews are filed under the operator’s shared terminal, so they cover both Mon Cheri boats, and this complaint comes from guests writing in English, German, Spanish and Dutch who otherwise liked the trip. One puts the sailing at one to two hours a day. Another estimates a mile or two in total. A third describes the shape of the day: across from Tuan Chau to the north of Cat Ba, an hour of cruising, kayaking, then another hour to the overnight anchorage where twenty-odd other boats are doing the same thing. None of those people are complaining about the boat. They are complaining that the word cruise is doing work the itinerary does not.

Which cabin should you book?

The Ocean Suite, on the first of two cabin decks, at 35 m² with a balcony. The deck above holds the Elegance Suites at 40 m², and the two Mon Cheri Suites at 55 m², each with a 14 m² terrace on top of that. Families get a 35 m² triple version of the Ocean Suite, 70 m² connecting pairs on the first deck, and a 70 m² Elegance Family on the second.

The operator runs a second, larger boat, Mon Cheri 2, with 24 cabins, and the deck plans put the President Suite on her. If you are quoted a President Suite, check which boat it is on. Up top there is a sundeck with a jacuzzi, which the operator calls a four-season mini pool, and the boat also has a spa and a 24-hour fitness room.

What does Mon Cheri cost?

The halongbaytours.com sheet read on 6 August 2026 prices each cabin for two on the one-night trip: Ocean Suite $330, Elegance Suite $370 and Mon Cheri Suite $470. The triple Ocean Suite takes three at $500, almost exactly what the double costs per head. The two-night trip is priced for the whole stay, from $600 for the Ocean Suite to $890 for the Mon Cheri Suite. Two people sharing the Ocean Suite pay $165 each for one night.

The operator’s fare covers meals, a welcome drink, entrance fees, an English-speaking guide, tai chi, squid fishing, swimming, the jacuzzi and travel insurance. Drinks, the spa, tips and the road from Hanoi are extra. If you bring your own bottle, corkage is $30 for wine or spirits and $5 for a beer or soft drink. The operator’s limousine collects from the Old Quarter between 08:00 and 08:50; agencies sell the shared shuttle at $35 to $39 a person for the round trip. Children under four sharing with their parents go free, one per cabin; children from five to eleven on an extra bed pay 75%.

Where does Mon Cheri go?

Into Lan Ha Bay, by way of Ha Long. Lunch is at 13:00 as she leaves Tuan Chau. At 15:30 she reaches the Tra Bau area, where sheltered water between small islands makes the kayaking manageable for beginners, and there is time for a swim. Back on board there is a cooking demonstration with happy hour, then squid fishing.

The second morning starts with tai chi. Breakfast is served as she sails to the jetty at Gia Luan, and from 07:30 to 09:00 you are ashore at Trung Trang Cave inside Cat Ba National Park. Cabins are cleared at 09:30, brunch follows, and you are back at Tuan Chau between 10:30 and 11:00.

The two-night trip adds a day on a smaller boat. You ride a bicycle or an electric cart through Viet Hai village, eat lunch on the day boat, swim near Ba Trai Dao, and are back aboard at 16:30. Our guide to two days or three weighs the extra night.

What do guests complain about?

The three-star reviews are where the useful reading is, because they come from people who liked the crew and still would not book again. Rooms clean in some accounts and tired in others, including a balcony dirty enough that a guest’s socks came away black, and insects in the cabin. A buffet that runs out if you arrive late. Kayaking in company with about twenty other kayaks in a small area. A cookery class that amounts to rolling a pre-made filling into rice paper. Squid fishing that one guest found was two bamboo rods propped on the rail. One guest fell ill overnight, tried reception three times without reaching anyone, and was then looked after properly at breakfast: good people, thin systems.

Two failures deserve more attention. A guest arriving with a group was assigned to a different boat from the others and only got it fixed because their agency intervened, which is a real risk with an operator running two boats from one lounge. And a guest whose flight was cancelled by Typhoon Ragasa in September 2025 reports sending three emails and being refused a refund, a reschedule and any credit.

What holds up is the crew. Guests name individual staff far more often than they mention the ship, a solo traveller writes about not being made to feel odd for being alone, and a halal request was handled without fuss.

What happens if the weather stops the trip?

The operator publishes its rules. If the port authority cancels before departure, you get a full refund. If it happens during the trip, you pay only for what you used, and a two-night trip cut to one is charged as one. For days when the boat cannot sail, the operator sells fall-backs: lunch on board for $25 a person, lunch and the shuttle for $50, or lunch with five hours in the bay for $85. One guest who paid for a 24-hour trip had it cut to six hours by the authorities and was offered $20 back after an hour on the phone. Late cancellations and no-shows pay the full fare under the operator’s terms, so get the ladder that applies to your booking in writing. Our cancellation guide explains what to ask.

Lot 34, and why it can cost you an hour

The operator’s lounge is No. 34 at Tuan Chau Marina, which it shares with the Big Bay group’s other boats, Peony among them. Two separate guests report that “Lot 34, Tuan Chau Marina” did not resolve as a point on Google Maps; one had a Grab driver with no idea where to go and had to ring the office to have a pin sent. Ask for the map pin when you book. Check-in opens at 11:30 and the tender goes out between 12:00 and 12:30. Guests describe the lounge as crowded and hot, with no order to the payment queue and a thirty-minute wait for the return transfer. Which harbour you leave from covers the rest.

Who it suits

Couples who want eighteen cabins on the Cat Ba side, who are booking a night at anchor with a good crew, and who will pin down the pier and the boat name first. It sits on the small boats and best-value lists.

Who should look elsewhere

Anyone who wants to be sailing. If seeing the bay from a moving deck is the point, a day boat covers more water for a fraction of $330, and the difference between the three bays will matter to you more than the difference between boats. One guest reached exactly that conclusion and recommended a day trip instead.

Facts on this page come from monchericruises.com (read 10 August 2026), the halongbaytours.com and originvietnam.com listings read on 6 August 2026, and the bestpricetravel.com deck plan read on 14 October 2026. The exterior, pool and dining room photographs on this page are guest photographs.