How to get a perfect cruise trip - Wake up, and Enjoy - with These Tips

The best way to enjoy the first day of your cruise is to be 'in the cruise groove' from the moment you wake up on sail away day. Some unlucky cruisers arrive at the cruise pier tired, harried, and frustrated. Others miss out on making the most of those first few hours of their cruise by making the mistake of thinking that nothing really begins until the ship is out at sea. Sadly, these folks end up short-changing themselves, by losing out on almost a whole day of sheer enjoyment.

I'm in the magical cruise groove before arriving at the pier, and make the most out of every moment of the first day of my cruise. Here's how I do it. As an experienced cruiser, I always advise those planning a Halong luxury cruise to use a good travel agent, one who specializes in cruises. Yes, I know... you're an experienced traveler, used to booking your own travel. So am I. I travel a lot. And you really believe you can save yourself money and get just what you want by calling and booking directly with the cruise line yourself. I thought that at first, too. After a few cruises, I learned better. For more details, see contact@graylinehalong.com. Whether you are driving or flying to your port of departure, do yourself a favor, and arrive at least one day before the start of your cruise.

Think of this: If your ship sails at 4:30, and your plane that was scheduled to arrive at 1:45PM is delayed by just a couple of hours, you could end up missing the ship entirely. Delays DO happen.
Not only that, you'll eliminate the stress of a tight schedule by arriving on Saturday for a Sunday cruising. Just find a hotel with a fly and cruise or park and cruise package. Your parking will be free, and they usually have a free or no cost shuttle to and from the airport and your ship's pier.

Read More

Approval of national tourism promotion program period 2013 - 2020

Prime Minister has just signed Decision No. 2151/QD-TTg, dated 11.11.2013, approving the program of national tourism promotion period from 2013 to 2020.

Accordingly, the objective of the program is to promote marketing activities, promotion of destination countries, local destinations and products with excellent services of Vietnam travel abroad to promote international passenger traffic health, increased length of stay and spending of international visitors.
By 2020, for each key international tourism market ( Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, North America, Western Europe and Eastern Europe), the organization deployed from 3-4 promotion activities to promote the tourism potential for each market (South Asia and Middle East), organizations are deploying at least one activity for the promotion of tourism, ensuring at least 50% of promotional activities, promotion tourism is expanding in scope, scale and diversity of form, content, compared to the previous period.
In addition, the promotion of propaganda, advertising and promotion of tourism in the country is to raise awareness about preserving the environment and protecting tourism, cultural behavior with tourists and promoting domestic tourists by 2020. Every year, participating organizations and from 3-5 travel events (or related) in the local tourism potential and coordinate with 15-20 units reported major media propaganda promoting domestic tourism, construction, leasing and maintenance to maintain from 15-20 large billboard panels, marine electronics to introduce, promote the image of Vietnam's tourism in the big cities.
Specifically, the program is organized to promote Vietnam tourism destinations to abroad such as the Organization of tourism promotion program, the introduction about Vietnam with large scale in the key markets in the region Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, North America, Western Europe and Eastern Europe; organize tourism promotion program, introduce to Vietnam in the country on the occasion of some political events, foreign communication, culture, sports important between Vietnam and your country and organize the participation of international tourism fairs in key markets and the potential to expand the scale, form and content diversity rich; promote Vietnam tourism on a number of international media, including television, magazines and entertainment tourism, large advertising panels, advertising online. In addition, the organization for tour operators and media agencies, foreign journalists in Vietnam to survey location, products and services tourism organizations, participation in conferences and seminars abroad to promote Vietnam tourism; affiliate advertising activities, promotion of tourism between the central agencies and local programs and events to promote Vietnam tourism abroad.

Besides promotional activities and Vietnam tourism promotion in overseas, this program is to promote propaganda activities, promotions, promote tourism in the country. Specifically, the Organization of the major tourist events in the country as "National Tourism Year" cultural events, major sports, communication, tourism promotion on these types of press in the country, organizing conferences and seminars to promote tourism to strengthen the links between the ministries, branches, localities, regions, links between the state and business, organizing seminars on tourism development tourism, tourism promotion of the international organizations and the region to propagate and promote Vietnam tourism. Construction, leasing, maintenance, and maintenance of large sheet billboards to promote the image of tourism in national parks, national attractions, international border, in a station with a flow of visitors great history, major traffic junctions in major cities, jointly organized the fair, international tourism event in the country; welcome caravans, the international press.
Another task of the program is focused on developing e- marketing for the promotion of tourism organizations such as producing publications, articles for tourism promotion. In particular, options, sample items designed to promote tourism, production of publications, articles tourism promotion in various forms, materials and different languages; documentary film production, advertising and other categories of tourism Vietnam as videotapes, discs, removable memory card...

Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Culture - Sports and Tourism is responsible for leading and coordinating mechanism, policy management, administration and implementation of the program guide ... ; annual aggregate, report to the Prime Minister as well as the implementation of the proposed issues arising beyond its authority, the People's Committees of provinces and cities directly under the central government initiative to mobilize more resources and to integrate operations related to achieving the goals of the program..

Read More

Lan Ha bay - Explore Lan Ha bay in Vietnam cruise

Being an island which link  Ha Long Bay to Cat Ba tourism archipelago, Lan Ha Bay (Hai Phong) looks like a lovely range of silk,  embroidered by lush greenery and blue water with various flora and fauna system.

In the area of management of Hai Phong city but Lan Ha Bay is a unique beauty, attracting many tourists visit every year due to belonging to the complex of  Halong Bay. From Beo wharf - a small marina on the island of Cat Ba, tourist can easily rent a small motor boat or big boat, depending on demand, the price is not too expensive. We rented a small boat with high speed to move easilier. Canoes runs  head to the north, the wind blows  immensely  in the salty taste of the sea that brings refresh feeling incredibly.

Water  in Lan Ha Bay is blue and silence pure which reflects the shining white clouds and blue sky pieces. Many  scattered Limestone with various shapes is floating on surface as to evoke the imagination one’s mind. Sometimes, canoes hit a flock of smaller fishes, they jump out of the surface with a look of pleasing crunch.


The fishing boats and nets in military staging lights, small boats carrying heavy goods necessities of traders across the bay. The two rowing boats of fisherman and many modern ships with variety of modern sizes ... carrying tourists up and down the busy creating vivid images that are incredibly poetic. A swedish accompany with our group constantly broth, take continuous shot as  afraiding of missing the beautiful frames which are not easy to have the opportunity to meet again. The cages village raises many kinds of seafood  is garthering to Beo wharf boat  about five minutes or ten minutes. However there are some scattered individual cages around the bay which are not hard to meet. Visitors often have their feet in the floating cages and eating fresh seafood. The specialty seafood are attractive comedy such as a very tasty mollusks having in the water area of Quang Ninh, Cat Ba.

In addition, shrimp , crab , fish ... always waiting ... freely frolic to serve tourists. In recent years,  religious comedy have been successfully raised on the floating platform and become specialties are most people's favorite here. Fresh food, lovely scenery, service and acceptable price should come here.  We are hardly to  refuse a fabulous meal like this. This charming foreign friends in my group is the natural sand scattered on the small island in Lan Ha Bay. The sloping white sand, blue water and rocks naturally invites ... that we decided to stop at a small island waving spoiled the name . We could not deny  hawkers offering overboard, not uncomfortable scrutiny before the insensitivity focus where overcrowding, this place really brought a very comfortable feeling by privacy where there is rare .


In recent years, Gulf of eco-tourism trends was being invested.  From Beo wharf boat run just 5 minutes north of the island is met Pineapple Cat (also known as Monkey Island ), with many tourist services is exploited for decades, attracting a large number of foreign visitors to stay nursing . To find more fresh feeling, we run another ten minutes more to the island canoes Like Turtles. Beginner investors marine eco-tourism, services virtually nothing but a new floor storage for temporary accommodations, offset scene here pretty amazing. If traveling by small boat to come and take about 40 minutes . Just opposite the Turtle Island is a small island with beaches of Van Boi, heart of Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve, one of four biosphere reserves has been recognized by UNESCO. A great many tourists go there not only for bathing , sun exposure, but also to kayaking, snorkeling coral. Like Turtle Island frontage with two sandy beaches and pandanus shrubs decades old, surrounded by mountains surrounded by a pool of closed form. Water is drawn in the early morning can easily catch the sea cucumber, a marine specialty but you have in this area .

Early morning sunrise can pick up at beach , watching a new day dawn when the sun begins to illuminate the natural coral reefs. It can even walk across the island is facing the sprint. In the afternoon, when the sun sets, from beach front could see the pink clouds reflected trying to sparkling water, as scenes from an existing poem.

At Night, we can just lie on the floor and listen to the sea breeze caress, every crunch softly whispering waves, straight  boats from far and pandanus trees silhouetted flutter down to the small lamp emanating from the solar system on the island.
No Internet , no TV and  not the everyday hustle ... Just  be close to nature to appreciate your life in this very accumulation moments...

By Gray line Halong

Read More