After this trip, the second ship is expected to return to Ha Long Bay on November 18, 2024.
This event opens up positive signals not only for the cruise tourism industry, but also hopes for regular and stable connections for the Bac Hai - Ha Long cruise route.
With a 3-day, 2-night itinerary, including 2 nights on the ship, some Vietnamese tourists think it is quite suitable for their time budget, as well as having diverse experiences, such as sleeping on the ship at night, and exploring places in China during the day. One of the remaining issues is the price.
According to Mr. Nguyen Ha Hai - Vice Chairman of Quang Ninh Tourism Association, Director of Hon Gai Tourism Company - the unit coordinating the reopening of the Bac Hai - Ha Long cruise route - the current package tour price for Chinese tourists on the Bac Hai - Ha Long - Bac Hai route ranges from 1,000 - 1,500 NDT (Chinese Yuan), equivalent to about 3,500,000 - 5,300,000 VND/person. This price only includes 2 nights' stay, meals on the ship and some other services. Tourists must pay for onshore expenses themselves.
However, Mr. Hai said that this is a preferential price for tourists participating in the first trips, the actual cost may be higher but will not be too expensive compared to this tour itself as well as other tours.
“We are discussing with our partners to build a Ha Long – Bac Hai sea tour for Vietnamese tourists. However, we will study how many days the tour will last, it could be longer: 4 days 3 nights or 5 days 4 nights, of which 2 nights are on the ship and 1-2 nights on shore. Going for 3 days, 3 nights is a bit short and we will mainly be on the ship,” said Mr. Hai.
According to Mr. Nguyen Lam Nguyen - Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism of Quang Ninh province - the parties plan that if organizing this route for Vietnamese tourists, the tour can be extended by one day, so that tourists can visit more places in Guangxi.
According to Mr. Nguyen, Vietnamese cruise ship tourists entering through Bac Hai port will be exempted from visa for 15 days, but on the condition that they must exit at the same port they enter. Meanwhile, some types of tourists, including Chinese tourists, when entering Vietnam for tourism purposes by cruise ship, the visa fee is only 5 USD/person/time, but they must exit at the same port they enter at.
Previously, the Blue Dream Melody ship departed at around 3:00 p.m. on November 15 from Beihai, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, carrying nearly 1,200 passengers and arrived at Ha Long Bay on the morning of November 16, 2024. This is the first cruise ship from Beihai to return to Ha Long after a long hiatus.
The Bac Hai – Ha Long Bay cruise route was active for 10 years, starting in 1998. However, this route later stopped operating for many reasons; including epidemics such as H5N1, causing operations to be interrupted.
