Prince Cruise

Prince is a wooden junk of four cabins on Bai Tu Long, the quiet bay east of Ha Long, run by Indochina Junk. Four cabins changes the trip in both directions. The crew will know who you are by lunch on the first day, and there is nowhere on a boat that size to be left alone if that is what you wanted instead. On the originvietnam.com high-season sheet read on 14 October 2026, the Deluxe cabin for two was $499 for one night: from $250 per person, two sharing.

Four doubles make eight guests. Ask when the rooms were last done.

What are the cabins like?

Small. Listings put the Deluxe at about 10 m², and the operator lists sea-view windows; its facilities are a sundeck with eight sunbeds, indoor and outdoor dining areas and a lounge. The three bathroom photographs on the operator’s Prince page show teal tiles, a brass rain shower behind a curtain and a round porthole window, and no bathtub in any of them. There is no Wi-Fi out in the remote parts of the bay, the operator warns.

What does Prince cost?

On the originvietnam.com high-season sheet read on 14 October 2026, a Deluxe cabin for two is $499 for one night and $845 for the whole three-day trip. The same seller’s summer sheet, read on 6 August 2026, had $461 and $817, and halongbaytours.com had $410 and $725 that day. Two people sharing pay $250 each on the October sheet.

Book direct and the operator’s package includes the van from Hanoi, collecting in the Old Quarter between 08:20 and 08:45 and returning by way of Yen Duc village, along with meals, a welcome drink, a guide, kayaking and a water puppet show. Agency fares usually leave the van out; originvietnam.com sells it at $49 a guest return. Drinks are extra, and card payments carry a 4% fee. Indochina Junk’s guide for solo travellers puts the single supplement on its boats at 70% to 85%.

On a boat this small there is a better question than the cabin rate. Ask what the whole thing costs for your dates; four cabins is close to a charter already.

Where does Prince go?

Into Bai Tu Long, on the operator’s timetable. Check in at the Indochina Junk lounge at 11:30, and a buggy takes you to Ha Long International Cruise Port, where you are aboard by 13:00 and lunch is at 13:15. At 14:30 you climb into Thien Canh Son Cave and at 15:00 you kayak, with a cooking class before dinner. At 07:45 the next morning a bamboo boat takes you round the floating village at Vung Vieng. You check out at about ten, have brunch, reach the port at 11:30 and Hanoi between 16:00 and 16:30.

The two-night trip goes further. The first afternoon is spent kayaking at Cap La. The middle day takes in Thien Canh Son Cave, a kayak round Hon Co island and a barbecue lunch on the beach at Cong Dam, at the far end of the bay. Vung Vieng is the last morning. Our guide to Bai Tu Long cruises sets this against the other boats on the bay.

Where do you board?

At the Sun Group terminal in Bai Chay, Ha Long International Cruise Port, by way of the Indochina Junk office lounge; the operator and two agencies name it. Give the driver the port’s full name, because the harbours here are easy to confuse.

What if you cancel, or the weather does?

The operator’s booking conditions apply across its boats. More than 30 days out, cancelling costs $10 a booking; from 30 to 14 days 15%, from 14 to 7 days 25%, from 7 to 2 days 50%, and inside 48 hours the full fare. The bay authority decides on weather by 15:00. If it cancels before you leave Hanoi you get a full refund; if it cancels once you are at the harbour, you pay $15 for lunch and the transport is free. Children under four sharing their parents’ cabin go free, and children from four to twelve on their own bed pay 75%.

Who it suits

Two or three couples travelling together who would rather have the boat close to themselves than have a pool, and who will ask for a whole-boat price. The empty bay suits that kind of trip. If you are still choosing between bays, the differences are real.

Who should look elsewhere

Anyone who wants space or new fittings for $250 a head. The cabins are small and the boat is old, and the small-boat category has the other small boats to compare.

Facts on this page come from indochina-junk.com (read 6 August 2026) and the originvietnam.com and halongbaytours.com listings read on 6 August and 14 October 2026.