Orchid Trendy Cruise Halong Bay

Orchid Trendy has 02 main decks, one basement, and a sundeck as the public area.

The first deck: All 12 deluxe cabins and connecting rooms are arranged next to the reception and spa. Each cabin overlooks the bay with private balconies.

The second deck: 06 premium deluxe cabins, including 04 of them, can be connected to create 02 family cabins with separate bathrooms. The remaining 02 exclusive cabins are on the back of the vessel; a restaurant and swimming pool area are on the front with easy access.

The sundeck: The relaxing luxurious space is used mainly for sunbathing and letting your hair down, but on special occasions, the deck can be redecorated to host events on request.

Orchid Trendy Deck Plans

Sundeck

Extremely large and airy with a magnificent panoramic view of Lan Ha Bay - an ideal place to sunbathe without worrying about running out of sunbeds, practice Tai Chi in the early morning, and gather to enjoy onboard services.

Outdoor Pool/Jacuzzi

It can be a big pool or jacuzzi based on guests' request with warm water - a more relaxed choice for tourists who want a safer swimming experience or only need to soak in the water.

Restaurant

Featuring Indochina-themed decorations and a view of the pool, the boat has approved and praised chefs who will serve travelers scrumptious Vietnamese meals.

Bar

A small bar is located on the sundeck to serve basic drinks and cocktails, mostly for chilling in the late afternoon and at night.

Unique table set in Orchid restaurant

On the 2-day-1-night, you will follow the route throughout Lan Ha Bay: Gia Luan - Trung Trang Cave - Tra Bau. The next day will start with heading to the Ao Ech area for more activities before returning to the quayside in the South of the bay, where visitors disembark.

Taking the 3-day-2-night, you will have more time on the second day to visit and explore Viet Hai Village with interesting excursions like biking and swimming before continuing the mentioned itinerary.

Kayaking

Orchid Trendy allows tourists to try kayaking in the less touristic Ao Ech area on the 2nd day of the 2d1n itinerary or the 3rd day of the 3d2n itinerary.

Kayaking in Ao Ech area, Lan Ha Bay

Cycling

Only applied for a 3d2n itinerary with the 2nd day visiting Viet Hai Village on Cat Ba island - a chance to practice and the best way to enjoy light breezes and a fantastic view of Cat Ba.

All meals on board are included, including welcome drinks, water in each cabin, and fresh fruit baskets. The cruise offers a culinary experience with a delicious Vietnamese taste and the freshest local ingredients, especially seafood.

• The 2-day-1-night includes 01 breakfast, 01 lunch, 01 dinner, and 01 tea ceremony
• The 3-day-2-night includes 02 breakfast, 01 lunch, 02 dinner, and 01 tea ceremony

Enjoy great cuisine with Orchid Trendy

Except for boiled water, tea, coffee, juice, and milk in the buffet breakfast (may be changed due to each day's menu), other beverages will be ordered and served upon request and charged separately at the end of your trip.

Phoenix cocktail at Orchid Trendy's bar

To travel with Orchid Trendy, every tourist must depart from Hanoi soon enough to arrive at Tuan Chau Harbor on time. Usually, you can choose to book the transfer with BestPrice or get to the port on your own. However, it is recommended that to avoid scams and have the best transfer experience, you should book with us to enjoy a 5-star shuttle service.

By BestPrice Travel’s luxury shuttle bus

The transfer transport will pick you up in the Hanoi Old Quarter at around 8.00 - 8.30 and take the highway to get to Tuan Chau Harbor before 11.30. After having check-in procedures, passengers will transfer to the cruise by speedboat.

Orchid luxury limousine from Hanoi

On your own

Passengers who travel by themselves from Hanoi will need to show up at Tuan Chau Harbor before 11.30 for check-in procedures before transferring to the cruise at 12.00.

Waiting lounge at Lot. 26, Tuan Chau Harbor

BestPrice's Reviews: 9/10

• Inspection date: 19 & 20th, November, 2022
• Cruise: Orchid Trendy 1
• BestPrice Travel inspector: Minh Dao & Nhung Dang

After a 2d1n inspection trip, it is quite easy to see that Orchid Trendy is one of the best options for anyone who seeks a luxury cruise at affordable prices. Known as Azalea Cruise - a hot boat cruising through Lan Ha Bay before COVID, Orchid Trendy at present seems to be an almost perfect upgrade version of the glory Azalea in the past. It still keeps the elegance of the old boat but is also mixed up with some “trendy” factors as its new name.

Facilities & Amenities: 8.7/10

The boat is equipped fully as a 5-star accommodation standard with deluxe full amenities cabins, a swimming pool, and a gym. However, as a small boat, there are still some disadvantages.

Pros

• Big outdoor swimming pool (also can be a jacuzzi) with warm water - a totally new facility to keep up with the trend of “boat-with-pool” on all 5-star cruises in the bay.
• Smart design cabins make good use of cabin space (especially for Deluxe Suite and Premium Deluxe cabins) with no door to divide bedrooms and bathrooms, the blind rollers are used instead with the same effect as doors but take up less space.
• Elegant decor with orchid paintings in every room - an impressive way of branding.
• Extremely large sundeck with an alfresco bar, stunning panoramic view for the early morning Tai Chi class, and more than enough space for sunbathing.

Cons

• The water in the swimming pool does not warm enough on cold windy days.
• Small cabins with narrow private balconies make it hard to move around there, even for thin people.
• Tiny en-suite bathroom for Deluxe Suite and Premium Deluxe cabins with hard-using vintage showers.
• French balcony in the restaurant prevents dinners from enjoying a full stunning view of Lan Ha Bay.

Foods & Drinks: 8/10

In fact, culinary is not a highlight of Orchid Trendy as there’s almost nothing impressive about the taste of foods and drinks here.

Pros

• Asian cuisine strongly affects on-board foods in every meal - a good choice for anyone who is a fan of Asian food and wants to experience local Vietnamese taste.
• Interesting performance in the middle of dinners with mysterious pineapple lanterns and traditional music, all performed by cruise staff
• Must-try foods: Stir-fried Vegetables with Prawns, Deep-fried Crab Spring Rolls, and Vietnamese Coffee

Cons

• Western food is a strong weakness of the cruise, with fewer options and nothing special.
• Compared with buffet lunches and delicate set menu dinners, breakfast is too simple with only a few options for food and drinks.
• Except for Vietnamese Coffee, there’s nothing impressive with drinks on Orchid Trendy, especially cocktails at the sundeck bar.

Activities: 9/10

In general, Orchid Trendy’s itinerary is quite interesting with many activities that suit both elders and youngsters.

Pros

• Swimming thrillingly with no beach but enjoying the clean and clear water right in the middle of the ocean (Tra Bau area).
• Enjoyable Tai-chi class on the sundeck in the early morning with sunrise and cool breeze - many tourists skip this class to sleep late but it’s really good for health, especially for anyone who has pains in the shoulders and belly.
• Joyful cooking class with the humorous cruise manager who directly instructs guests to make authentic Vietnamese Spring Rolls - an exciting connecting people class from a wonderful instructor.

Cons

• Guests are not notified about the squid season for night squid fishing which causes a strong disappointment for anyone who joins this activity in summer when there’s almost no squid to fish.
• Trung Trang Cave (on Cat Ba island) is taken out of the itinerary which makes the itinerary less interesting to anyone who expects to explore Cat Ba with a 2d1n cruise.

Service: 100/10

The service on Orchid Trendy is exceptional with an outstanding crew from cruise manager to normal staff. There is nothing to complain about the way this cruise delivers services to its customers. Everyone here is super nice, careful, and enthusiastic. There is no tour guide like other boats, but most of the employees here, especially the manager, are very knowledgeable when it comes to information about Halong Bay, Lan Ha Bay, and Cat Ba Island.

In addition, the cruise crew cares about their guests. On the day the BestPrice Travel team inspected Orchid Trendy, this boat welcomed a couple on their honeymoon trip, and the cruise staff organized a surprise ceremony in the dinner to celebrate the newly-wed - what a touched, cared, and emotional activity that no one on the boat that night can forget.

Orchid Trendy on TripAdvisor

• Number of reviews: 688
• Excellent: 600/688 reviews

Compared to other cruise boats on the bay, Orchid Trendy seems to have fewer reviews. However, as the boat was renovated by Azalea Cruise, tourists should research more about this boat by its old name for more objective opinions.

Generally, Orchid Trendy on TripAdvisor is highly recommended for excellent services, with many compliments on the cruise staff and the food.

In contrast, there are still some complaints about the cruise, mostly about its facilities which are mixed between old and new ones, bad Wi-Fi, no Telephone in cabins, and boring activities.

However, as all terrible reviews are available only in the last year, from around July to October of 2022, it seems like most of the bad factors were fixed at the end of 2022 and the cruise has received excellent reviews continuously up until now (March 2023).