Signature Halong Cruise

I was staying during the coronavirus issues so ended up being bumped to a bigger cabin on board one of their other boats (the Athena ones so I unfortunately can't speak to the Signature cabins though the one i had was as true to the photos as the rest. The staff were for the most part exceptional on the journey. Felix our cruise manager was great and kept everyone apprised of plans as appropriate. The food was delicious and plentiful and all care was taken to provide you with an alternative if you were allergic to a dish. 95% of this journey was one of the best experiences of my life but... see below

I had one glaring major issue on this trip that really needs addressing by the company. I wouldn't mention it in the review but never really good a solid answer from anyone as to my concerns. During our shore excursion on day two one of the (somewhat rickety, they appear to hire locals with their own boats) shore boats started taking on water and sinking while we were at the cave. I'm fairly sure this happened while they were trying to rock it off the other boat in shallow water which they were doing while passengers were on board and nearly flipping it... At a certain point we were ordered off the boat and the guide told 'the young ones' that we'd have to Kayak back. This was an option I'd already been considering but it was a lengthy kayak trip and quite windy. In the end we weren't given a chance to put our bags on the second boat that was going back so the 6 of us who were kayaking had various phones/cameras/wallets etc with us in the Kayak. The second boat did not escort us but went back to the day boat in order to return and pick up kayakers after. There was no suggestion that if we wanted to we could stay at the cave and wait for the remaining boat to make two trips. More worryingly this was a crossing on a windy day and I'd been warned the currents could be very strong around some of the islands. 3 of our 6 people were very much novice kayakers, there is no way they should have been out in this area on a windy day with no support boat. Our guide didn't seem to be a particularly skilled kayaker either (he clearly didn't expect to be in one.) Had someone flipped I don't think we were getting them back in the kayak. In that situation at best we were likely trying to tow their kayak away from the rocks as they held on in the waves and hoped the boat would be back soon. At worst more of us would flip trying to help and then......

Foods, room, staff,locations

The time is so limited. It's better to get some more time in cruise.

Excellent staff, excellent food&breakfast, very clean (despite of the cockroach!) room, wonderful trip. I recommend.

They forced us to change the boat, telling us that there was a problem on the boat (looked like it was more a logistic problem, not enough passengers to make it profitable. And we found a cockroach in the bathroom, this should not be acceptable in this kind of trip.

The staff's overal attitude was great.

nothing, all good

The cruise manager and crew are friendly and nice. The interior of the cruise has been refurbished and clean. Great schedule of right amount of relaxation and activities.

The food could be served better with the luxury branding.