Paloma Cruise

Paloma sails Bai Tu Long, the quietest of the three bays in our view, from Hon Gai. The two-day trip takes in the cave at Thien Canh Son and the floating village at Vung Vieng; the three-day trip spends a second day further out. The operator, Paloma Cruise, runs its own website and sells both trips directly, and it describes a boat of 20 cabins, 46 passengers and 38 m in length, styled on a traditional boat with wooden details.

The company was founded in 2010 by Nguyen Manh Thuc, who later built a second ship, Mon Chéri, in early 2017, and who calls Paloma his first. Listings date Paloma to 2009, so this is a boat with years of service behind it. The questions in how old is your boat are worth asking, the most useful being when the cabins were last refurbished. The operator puts the crew at 30.

The cabins

The operator and one listing break the boat into the same four grades, and they nearly agree on the sizes. Eight deluxe ocean-view cabins sit on the first deck at 14 m² on the operator’s figure, 13.5 on the listing’s. Eight premium ocean-view cabins sit a deck higher at 16 m², or 15. Two Paloma suites of 23 m² have a panoramic window. Two family suites of 27 m² take the front of the boat, each with a private terrace, and sleep three adults.

That family suite is the best room aboard, and the only one either source describes with outdoor space. The standard cabins are small: 13 to 16 m² depending on grade and on who measured, with a window. If a balcony matters, book the family suite or look at another boat.

The cabins take up the first two decks, the dining room the third, and a sundeck sits on top. There is a spa, and the operator says plainly that there is no Wi-Fi on board, which some guests will count as a selling point.

Paloma is built to look like a traditional wooden junk, and the operator describes a composite hull shell. Wooden hull or steel sets out what that difference means once you are aboard.

The route

Everything happens inside Bai Tu Long. On the two-day trip lunch is served as the boat heads out past Hon Gai and Cam Pha, with the cave at Thien Canh Son and kayaking at 15:15, then a sunset party and squid fishing after dinner. Next morning starts with tai chi at six. Vung Vieng follows at 07:45 by bamboo boat rowed by villagers, about an hour, with a stop at a pearl farm. Cabins are cleared at 10:00, there is a cooking class before an early lunch, and you are back at Hon Gai between 11:30 and 11:45. On the three-day version guests cross to a smaller day boat for the second day, for the lagoons of the Cap La area and a barbecue lunch on board, and return at 16:00, so ask about the transfer if stepping between boats worries you. Our guide to Bai Tu Long cruises covers what the quieter bay gives you.

Paloma leaves from Hon Gai, where the operator has its office in Ha Long City; one listing gives 6A Le Thanh Tong street. On the one-night trip you check in there at 12:30 and lunch is at 13:30. The operator’s shuttle collects from Old Quarter hotels between 08:00 and 08:30. Hon Gai sits across the Bai Chay bridge from the main cruise port, so confirm the pier in writing and give it to your driver; which harbour you leave from explains the difference.

What it costs

Paloma is priced on request. Ask for the price of a named cabin, for your dates, in writing.

The fare covers meals, an English-speaking guide, kayaking, the bamboo boat, the cooking class, the sunset party, two bottles of water, service charge and insurance. Drinks, tips and the shuttle from Hanoi are extra; one listing sells the shuttle at $15 a person return. The operator adds compulsory surcharges on 24 and 31 December and at Tet. The operator’s child policy: a child under four shares a bed free, one per cabin; from four to eleven the rate is three quarters of an adult’s with an extra bed; twelve and over pay in full.

The operator’s terms take a 30% deposit. Cancel more than 15 days before check-in and there is no charge; inside 15 days, or as a no-show, you pay in full. If the weather stops the trip before you leave Hanoi you get a full refund, and a three-day trip cut to two is charged as two.

Who it suits

Couples, or a family of three in the family suite, who want the emptier bay for a night and will get the cabin grade and the pier in writing. If you have not settled which bay you want, the three differ more than the brochures let on.

Small standard cabins, and a strict cancellation

The entry cabins are small, at 13 to 16 m², and the only grade with outdoor space is the dearest. Add a price on request and a cancellation that turns to 100% at fifteen days, and the booking needs more questions than most. The other Bai Tu Long boats and the wider small-boat list include operators who publish cabin rates you can check.

Facts on this page come from palomacruise.com (read 10 August 2026), the halongbaytours.com and originvietnam.com listings read on 6 August 2026 and indochinatour.com, read on 14 October 2026.