Hello Swan Cruise! There are a few Swan Cruises of varied size and this was ours.
It is a small cruise with 8 cabins (I think).
We were ushered to the dining room upon boarding for a welcome drink before given the key to our rooms. We had an adjourning rooms; the cabins were really tiny.
The cabins were connected by a tiny door that was one side blocked by the side table and the other side blocked by the twin bed. Lol. It took some shifting of furniture before we could finally open the door and we spent the remaining time skipping around the furniture. It took skill to not knock into the furniture bcos the cabins were that small.
We were soon back to the dining room for lunch. While the lunch worked great for the adults, the kids begged to differ. Luckily for the chicken dish or Zaky would have to eat plain rice with soya sauce.
After lunch was pure chilling and relaxing. The kids explored the tiny cruise.
Soon the notion that we were really supposed to wine down and relax kicked in. We found a shaded spot to enjoy chips and music while watching the "islands" go by. There were all together 1969 uninhibited islands.
Then again, it wasn't too long before it was time for the 1st outdoor activity - kayaking. We took the tender boat to the pre-setup kayaking point.
The route was to kayak around 2 of the islands.
It was more tiring than relaxing bcos the others were going so fast; we were the only ones with kids. Lil Shauna was kayaking so hard that she barely enjoyed the magnificent views. Lol. It was only midway where our muscles were aching that we slowed down a little to enjoy the views.
We took a break at one of the islands with a tiny beach. The dip in the sea was very much welcome bcos it was so freaky hot. The guide was telling us earlier in the bus that Halong Bay would be cooler. My foot! What cooler..where? We were roasting in the sun. Lol.
We had expected snorkeling and brought the snorkeling gears but it was merely swimming at the tiny beach. It was still a nice dip nevertheless. The kids snorkeled a little but there wasn't much to look at, swam and floated a little before bugging to go back. I gladly agreed bcos I was quickly turning into a roasted suckling pig.
In the deeper sea, the kids had fun jumping into the waters to swim a little more before struggling to climb back into the kayaks. I was worried that we would all capsized at some point. Their mother cannot swim very well leh. Heng ah, nothing happened. Lol.
Back on the cruise, we bumped around to shower and rinsed up the swimming stuff. It took some skills to find space to hang and dry the swimming stuff. So small; we needed to lose some weight lah. Haha.
There was a long wait before dinner. People were mingling and chatting particularly and solos and young adults whilst enjoying the sunset. That must be how solo trips feel like. Sorry, no chance to try liao.
As the sun set, so did our kids' energy. We had a long day, early morning and plenty of sea and sun. The kids soon turned hungry and whiny, leaving the parents to enjoy the night view.
Dinner was finally ready. Hooray!
The food was good but the kids didn't quite agree. The meals were slow and with low energy, the kids found it hard. After the entertaining drunken prawns cooking performance, the kids asked to rest in the room, skipping the rest of dinner.
Fortunately their mother has foresight and bought instant noodles for such scenario. There was no kettle in the room (no TV too) but the staff was really kind to give us hot water for the cup noodle. They probably knew how picky kids can be. It was so ironical that the kids were so thrilled over the cup noodle but frown on the 大鱼大肉 that were served. Never mind, the parents eat for 4. Hehe.
The last event of the night was supposed to be squid fishing but unfortunately the season had passed. The staff said that we can still try just that we needed a lot of patience and luck. However, there was a special program in place and we were asked to specially invite the kids.
It was the mid autumn festival! In Vietnam, it is a big festival for kids; no wonder the kids were asked to make a special appearance. The crew had arranged snacks and drinks and mooncakes for the festival but we were all full from the earlier dinner.
Lil Shauna though tired, lasted a little longer than Zaky and got to watch a silly performance by the crew. Zaky just got really bored and wanted to go back to the cabin to watch his Netflix. Zzzzzz.
We didn't stay very long as well bcos Lil Shauna was exhausted. Once back in the cabin at 9ish, we happily settled in bed. The kids totally forgo the squid fishing bcos they were so tired. Lol.
The night wasn't too bad or shaky despite the small cruise. However, the sound proofing was lousy; I remembered waking up to people walking around the ship. In my half awake state, I was reminded of the Dark Waters where the mummy heard running footsteps. Hohoho.
Mummy Lim
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