Facilities & Amenities

Some travellers want to spend as much time as possible on their feet, enjoying excursions and visiting all the main sites. Others prefer to take this opportunity for a long, well-deserved rest while appreciating the beauty of the destination.

Heritage Cruises has taken all these preferences into consideration and created a delightful mix of facilities – as well as plenty of excursions – ensuring everyone has plenty to enjoy whether onboard or on tours. Wellness lovers can indulge in a spa treatment, or keep in shape at our ocean-facing gym. Arts and culture can be enjoyed at both our library and art gallery, and our sundeck is the perfect place for tanning, swimming, and star-gazing.

Sun lovers will relish time on the sundeck whilst soaking up the balmy rays of the sunshine and indulging in a foot massage or cocktail.

Sliding doors lead from the Outdoor Lounge to the inviting swimming pool on the Panorama Deck, complete with private cabanas and 360-degree views. North Vietnam has four seasons – very hot in the summer and cool in the winter – so we have designed a heated swimming pool which can be used year-round. It is also the largest cruise pool in the Gulf of Tonkin, with an area of 32m2, and a shallow end just 1,2m deep.
Sunchairs and umbrellas are available for our guests, and a fully stocked pool bar is there to everyone’s delight.

Early morning, greet the sunrise with a calm and tranquil mind by joining one of our classes: Vovinam, a Vietnamese martial art or Tai Chi, a form of yoga and meditation combined. Tai Chi animates the body and provides a practical avenue for balance, alignment and a perfect rhythm of movement.

At night, the sundeck is the place to go to study the constellations and shooting stars through our telescope, as the lack of light pollution makes the night sky a true spectacle. The sundeck is the ideal space for a wedding, birthday, pool party or just enjoy the luxury of doing absolutely nothing.

The name, L’Art de l’Annam, has been inspired from the book of the same name, published in 1933 by Henri Gourdon, who was the director of the first Indochinese University – Université Indochinoise, who offered a view of the art of Annam from the perspective of a westerner.

The book is an objective view of a Frenchman who lived in Annam for a long time, illustrated by important documentary photographs, helping readers to better understand Annam society in the early 20th century, as well as the architecture, sculptures, paintings and handicrafts in our country at that time.

L’Ecole des Beaux Arts de l’Indochine was founded in 1925 and trained the first painters such as Nghiem, Lien, Sang, and Phai and created the Indochine art style. Vietnam contributed two major art forms to the world: painting on silk and lacquer. Vietnamese mosaic is also quite unique and sophisticated, according to Henri Gourdon.

Heritage Cruises has its own floating exhibition with the first designer art gallery of artist Pham Luc, known as the Picasso of Vietnam, plus works of other famous Vietnamese artists and rare artworks of painters from the Indochina School of Fine-Arts.

In the art gallery you will also find old postcards, stamps, and original 20th-century photos collected by the owner of Heritage Cruises, for your pleasure. Guided art tours can be arranged as well as occasional auctions.

What the warm sun does for your body, the spa will do for your soul. Adhering to the ancient Vietnamese principles of Earth, Wind, Fire and Water in perfect balance, a visit to our exclusive White Lotus Spa will add another element to your vacation. A sanctuary of the senses for your indulgence.

Named after the national flower of Vietnam and the purety of the white lotus, the spa has two private treatment rooms on the Panorama Deck.

The White Lotus Spa services include everything from herbal therapy facials and body treatments, to an extensive range of massage treatments.

Spa treatments are available throughout the day and evening, by appointment. In these two specially designed spa rooms, our highly trained therapists offer a full range of holistic, restorative and energizing treatments. The full spa menu has been placed in each suite for the convenience of our guests.

Take a peek at the most exquisite floating library in Vietnam. In a beautiful cross-pollination of the arts, one of the bay’s most stunning places to read is in a library inspired by the spirit of Bach Thai Buoi, who transformed transportation on the waterways of Tonkin in the early 20th century. The well-stocked library is located on the upper deck and exceedingly comfortable, so a perfect setting for reading and relaxing.

The Bach Thai Buoi Library has a rich collection of books on subjects such as the arts, culture, architecture, artworks, literature, travel and 1930s French Indochina. Here you can find books about the inpirational entrepreneur, Bach Thai Buoi, as well as the exclusive books Red River Memories, Bao Dai Best-Kept Secrets, and The Picasso of Vietnam written by the cruise owner, Pham Ha.

As you sip a cup of coffee or tea in a very relaxed setting reminiscent of colonial times, reading about the history of Vietnam, you will be transported back in time with old photos, postcards, photo journals and art books about Annam, the Gulf of Tonkin and the Red River.

Named after a bustling ancient seaport where trade was of great importance from the 12th – 16th centuries, Van Don in the Tonkin Gulf, just few miles from the Cat Ba Archipelago, was a trading hub for precious goods with merchant ships from across the region, such as Java (Indonesia), Siam (Thailand), Japan, India, and China, docking there.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, trading centers such as Hoi An in the south and Van Don in the north gradually lost their important position in the field of foreign trade.

In our boutique on the upper deck, you will find thoughtfully selected artisanal products, silks, pearls, jewelry and signature souvenirs specially designed for Heritage Cruises.

Items featured here include original pieces we source directly from talented artisans who live and work in the communities we visit and actively support. We strongly feel that heritage tourism can promote the economic and civic vitality of a community or region.

Heritage Cruises is proud that wherever possible, high quality pieces with a philanthropic origin have been selected, allowing our guests’ pleasure to be matched by the life-changing opportunities created for these artisans.

The sales help to create new jobs in the craft villages, the travel industry, at cultural and historic attractions, and in travel-related establishments. When they can relate to their personal, local, regional or national heritage, people are more likely to be motivated to safeguard their historic resources for future generations to enjoy.

Our Central Masterpiece

Vietnamese people believe that the sky is round and the earth is square and only the most venerable people can ascend the three stairs that lead from the earth to the sky.

That’s why we celebrate the King of Cruise Ships, Bach Thai Buoi (1874-1932), the father who gave birth to the very first on-board sleeping experience and the ship, Binh Chuan, in Vietnam. Upon arrival you can admire his bronze statue sitting on a lacquerware pedestal in the middle of the atrium. We honor the spirit, ambition, and nobleness of the most respected, patriotic entrepreneur the nation has ever seen.

The two central wooden staircases lead to the Upper, Panorama, and Sun decks and are masterpieces of architecture. Like the Van Don Shop, Bach Thai Buoi Library, L’Art de l’Annam, Gym and the beautiful paintings that surround them, they are perfectly displayed in the natural light, air, and feng shui that streams through the atrium.

The clever design of the atrium ensures the air flows throughout the ship. Lit up in the evening, the crystal chandelier creates a cozy atmosphere in the reception area and lobby lounge where you can sit back, rest, and relax before you do some active excursions like kayaking, boating, or riding the speedboat at the rear of the ship.

The stairs also take you down to Le Tonkin, the restaurant, to watch the open kitchen. Here you can enjoy the floating fine-dining experience while overlooking the bay, wearing a traditional dress as the evening dress code.

Holidays are all about taking time for yourself – and at Heritage Cruises we believe you should be free to use that time for your favourite activities. This is why our gym is specially there: for those travellers who don’t want to fall out of their fitness routine even when away from home. The floor-to-ceiling windows of this air-conditioned room offer a perfect place to exercise while still enjoying the incredible views of the Halong region.

Our gym is open 24h to perfectly fit your schedule (or jet lag).