Cruises - Have you tried cruising at one of the most romantic destinations on Earth?

MSN has ranked Halong Bay, Vietnam as one of the most romantic destinations on Earth. Have you ever tried cruising at Halong Bay?

yes....it was a beautiful place, but not exactly romantic due to many other pax sharing.....

we got onto small boats w/~ 20 pax for the daylight trip & went on before twilight...

yes....it was a beautiful place, but not exactly romantic due to many other pax sharing.....

we got onto small boats w/~ 20 pax for the daylight trip & went on before twilight...

Try big boats and you'll find it really romantic, ex. Emeraude or Jasmine :D

It over-hype to claim this is the most romantic place on earth, primarily because Vietnam quickly got over-touristed first by the Australians, and then the Japanese sex tours even before the Americans came.

It was a lovely spot, but now unregulated tourism in this country and corrupt business practices, inadequate infrastructure and even dumping trash from the backs of boats (Hello Kim's Boats) is going to destroy this area forever.

When an unsafe tour boat in Halong Bay goes down in 30 seconds killing many tourists just a few months ago, you can imagine the hype it is going to take to get anyone to come back. Vietnam did this to themselves. http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-news/tour-company-suspended-over-deadly-halong-bay-boat-sinking-20110308-1blpl.html

Be sure you boycott this organization (Kim's tours) - we yelled at them from our HandSpan tour boat when we saw them dumping trash in the Bay and I swore I would makes sure no one ever used this company again: http://www.kimtours.net/Halong/Halong%20tour.htm

If you see the movie Indochine, you can see why it is presented as exotic and romantic but add a few decades of mass tourism to this area from the era portrayed in the movie if you want to have a more realistic impression of it today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indochine_(film)

It over-hype to claim this is the most romantic place on earth, primarily because Vietnam quickly got over-touristed first by the Australians, and then the Japanese sex tours even before the Americans came.

It was a lovely spot, but now unregulated tourism in this country and corrupt business practices, inadequate infrastructure and even dumping trash from the backs of boats (Hello Kim's Boats) is going to destroy this area forever.

When an unsafe tour boat in Halong Bay goes down in 30 seconds killing many tourists just a few months ago, you can imagine the hype it is going to take to get anyone to come back. Vietnam did this to themselves. http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-news/tour-company-suspended-over-deadly-halong-bay-boat-sinking-20110308-1blpl.html

Be sure you boycott this organization (Kim's tours) - we yelled at them from our HandSpan tour boat when we saw them dumping trash in the Bay and I swore I would makes sure no one ever used this company again: http://www.kimtours.net/Halong/Halong%20tour.htm

If you see the movie Indochine, you can see why it is presented as exotic and romantic but add a few decades of mass tourism to this area from the era portrayed in the movie if you want to have a more realistic impression of it today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indochine_(film)
Unfortunately, there was an accident in Halong recently. However, those unlucky travelers had chosen a cheap tour bought from an unknown travel agent. If you be more careful (carefulness is important in travel) and choose a well-known travel agent to buy tours, there will be no problem at all.

Pretty much as stated by sbagal.

As in places like the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, there is no US Coast Guard to inspect ships for seaworthinesses nor to enforce any safety or environmental measures (assuming they exist). It is imperative to do one's research and to choose wisely, as you imply.

(Take it from one who has cruised Antarctica on a Russian research vessel, the Galápagos twice, the Mekong from Ho Chi Minh City to the Tonle Sap and up to Seam Reap, etc. so who has no compunction about traveling - but does do extensive research.)

Unfortunately, there was an accident in Halong recently. However, those unlucky travelers had chosen a cheap tour bought from an unknown travel agent. If you be more careful (carefulness is important in travel) and choose a well-known travel agent to buy tours, there will be no problem at all.

If you want to cruise in an unfailingly romantic destination, a Paul Gauguin cruise in Tahiti is the way to do it. Top it off with 2 or 3 nights at the Four Seasons in Bora Bora -- "one of the most romantic destinations on Earth." Now THAT'S romance!

I would suggest considering a couple of Italian spots:'
1) Sorrento - from Naples
2) Venice - most ships dock there overnite.
Have fun! ;)

The sail away from Venice is one of the world's most romantic vistas. Sigh. We have to wait until September for our next one. This will be our third cruise from Venice.:D