We own the ships. Which is why we can tell you what will not work
Corporate programmes on Ha Long Bay, operated on our own vessels with our own crew. Two numbers govern everything you plan here — 44 guests to a hull and about 70 seated on a sun deck — and we would rather you knew them now than after the deposit.
Most people selling you a cruise here do not own one
On this bay, the majority of companies quoting corporate group programmes are agents holding an allocation of cabins on somebody else's vessel. That is a perfectly good way to sell a couple a honeymoon. It is a poor way to run a programme for ninety people, because almost every decision a group needs is a decision the vessel owner has to make.
Moving a departure by ninety minutes. Clearing the sun deck for a stage build. Holding three hulls on one anchorage. Running a rehearsal the afternoon before. We are the owner, so those are our decisions, and nobody upstream can reverse them.
The whole vessel, exclusively
No other passengers, the itinerary built around your agenda rather than the standard tourist run. Full-ship charter ›
Part of a shared sailing
Thirty to forty percent cheaper, and we list exactly what you give up rather than discovering it aboard. Cabin blocks ›
The reason most groups come
One deck, one group, sunset behind the karsts, and nobody able to drift off to a pool bar. Incentive cruises ›
Deck up to about 70, then ashore
Stage, backdrop, bilingual MC and a rehearsed run of show — within a curfew and a deck dimension we will state up front. Gala dinners ›
Short sessions, real limits
No breakout rooms exist on any vessel on this bay. We say so before quoting, not after. Conference cruises ›
Six hours, home the same night
About a third of the cost of an overnight, and the right answer for client hospitality. Day cruises ›
Two numbers decide your budget before anything else does
Not season, not accommodation grade, not negotiation. Headcount against two physical ceilings.
| Number | What it is | What happens when you cross it |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | Guests on our largest hull, twin share | Guest 45 requires a second vessel for the whole programme — crew, fuel, galley, clearance, a second coordinator and a second coach. Cost per person rises 20–30%. |
| ~70 | Seated dinner capacity of the largest sun deck | Guest 71 means the awards evening no longer fits on one deck. It moves ashore, or it splits — and a split awards dinner defeats its own purpose. |
Not just more per head. If your invitation list is sitting in the mid-forties and two of those people are optional, cutting back to 44 is the single largest saving available anywhere in your programme — larger than any rate negotiation. Nobody selling you a cruise volunteers this. The full arithmetic is here.
Start where you are
Cruise or somewhere else
The planning guide — what the bay does better than anywhere in Vietnam, what it does badly, and the group profiles that should go elsewhere.
You know roughly what you need
The service hub covers everything we operate, with a page for each service and each group size band.
You need numbers internally
Indicative rates by group size and programme length, seasonal multipliers, and the two points where cost per person goes back up.
What is contractual, not promised
| Commitment | What it means |
|---|---|
| First reply in 8 working hours | GMT+7, Monday to Friday, with an internal timer that escalates before the deadline. |
| Detailed quote in 3 working days | The hull by name, an hour-by-hour sailing plan, and a rate breakdown at your committed headcount. |
| Quote within 15% of the indicative range | Provided the brief is accurate and vessel class, programme length and season do not change. |
| Seven-day soft hold, free | The hulls and cabins held while you get internal approval. No money at this stage. |
| Deposit on a guaranteed minimum | Calculated on a committed minimum headcount, with a 5–10% shortfall carrying no penalty. |
| Manifest locks at D-14 | Full names and document numbers filed with the port authority before the final payment falls due. |
| One coordinator per hull | Not one per fifty guests. Once vessels separate on the water, a coordinator on the other ship is unreachable. |
| Contracted shore alternative | Named venue, held, with a written decision deadline — required for any programme between June and September. |
| Post-event report in 3 working days | Photographs, video, attendance list and an itemised account, formatted for internal audit. |
Questions we are asked most often
What is the smallest group you take?
Twenty. Below that a full charter costs more per head than most companies approve, and a cabin block on a shared sailing is usually the better answer — a cheaper booking for you and a smaller one for us. We will still say so.
Do you own the vessels?
Up to about 200 guests, yes — our own hulls, crew, licences and insurance. Above that we charter additional vessels in, and the quote states clearly which ships are ours and which are not. On a third-party hull we commit to the same service standard but not to the same control over the schedule.
What happens if the port closes?
Nothing sails, for us or for anyone else — the Quang Ninh port authority suspends departure clearance for the whole bay. What we control is what happens next, which is a contracted shore programme with a named venue, not a refund argument. See the port closure page.
Can we hold working sessions on board?
Short ones. There are no breakout rooms on any vessel on this bay, the indoor lounge seats about forty, and mobile coverage is unreliable at the outer anchorages. For most programmes the right structure is a working day ashore and the sailing as the evening. See the honest assessment.
When should we come?
October and November are the best of the year. April and May are close behind and better value. December to February is cheapest, and what you lose is not the sailing but the view and the outdoor evening — the season page explains why northern Vietnam does not behave like the south.
Where to go next
Four fields and you can send
Tell us the basics and we will come back within eight working hours with feasibility — including how many hulls your headcount actually needs — and within three working days with a detailed quote.