Ambassador Namaste Launches Indian-Focused Halong Bay Day Cruise
The 99-guest vessel sails daily with an Indian chef on board, a dedicated Jain counter cooked on a separate burner, and no seafood served at any point.
HALONG BAY, VIETNAM. Vietnamese operator APC Group has launched Ambassador Namaste, a Halong Bay day cruise built for the Indian market rather than adapted to it. The vessel carries 99 guests in a single seating and sails daily, year-round, from Halong International Cruise Port.
The day runs from Hanoi. Guests are collected from Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem hotels between 07:30 and 08:00 and reach the port at 10:45 after about two and a half hours on the expressway. The ship boards at 11:00 and casts off at 11:15, calling at Sung Sot Cave before lunch, Titop Island at 14:00 and the Luon Cave lagoon at 15:00 by rowed bamboo boat or kayak. Both climbs are optional. Coaches return to Hanoi between 19:15 and 19:45.
Four counters, one seating
The buffet runs four standing counters: vegetarian, non-vegetarian, Jain and dessert, served in one seating of 75 minutes. Chapati is rolled to order at a live tawa. The non-vegetarian line sits at the far end of the room and carries butter chicken, chicken biryani and an egg curry. No pork, no beef, and no fish or seafood at any point of the sailing.
The Jain counter is the operator’s main point of difference. It is cooked in separate pots on a separate burner and served with separate spoons, with no onion, no garlic and no root vegetables, and carries its own dal, chole, sabzi, plain basmati rice, boondi raita and chapati. Covers are confirmed 48 hours before sailing.
"On most ships, Jain food means the kitchen takes something out of a dish," said Waseem Ahmed, cruise manager of Ambassador Namaste. "Here it is a separate counter with a separate cook. That is the question every family asks me before they board, and I want the answer to be simple."
"The Jain counter is cooked first, in the morning, before anything with onion or garlic comes out of the kitchen," said Dhan Singh, the Indian chef on board. "Separate pots, separate oil, separate spoons. That is the only way to say the word Jain and mean it."
Fares and what is included
The published direct fare is VND 1,200,000 per adult, cruise only, with free cancellation to 72 hours and one free date change. The return limousine coach from Hanoi is quoted separately at VND 450,000 per person.
Entrance fees for Sung Sot Cave and Titop Island, the Halong Bay sightseeing fee, the bamboo boat, kayaks, onboard insurance, VAT and service charge are inside the cruise fare, and nothing is collected at the pier. Children under five travel free sharing a seat but must appear on the manifest; five to nine pay 70 per cent.
Trade terms and charters
Agents are contracted on net rates rather than commission, with no minimum volume and no sign-up fee, and the operator says its own published fare acts as the ceiling. From 60 guests the ship goes out as a private charter, with the menu built with the chef, a full Jain or Swaminarayan buffet available, the departure time moved to suit a muhurat or a flight, and the sundeck open for a sangeet or a company presentation.
Halong Bay has one established Indian-market day cruise and several operators running Indian vegetarian sections within mixed buffets, though few state a Jain standard. Ambassador Namaste is positioned against that gap rather than on price. Trade rates, allocation and group enquiries go to info@ambassadorcruise.com.
Key details
Vessel: Ambassador Namaste, Halong Bay day cruise, operated by APC Group
Capacity: 99 guests, single seating
Operates: Daily, year-round
Embark port: Halong International Cruise Port, about 2 h 30 from Hanoi by expressway
Time on board: 5 h 50, boarding 11:00, alongside 16:30
Route: Sung Sot Cave, Titop Island, Luon Cave by rowed bamboo boat or kayak
Cuisine: 100 per cent Indian, Indian chef on board, four standing counters
Dietary: Dedicated Jain counter cooked separately, no fish or seafood on board
Onboard language: English
Direct fare: VND 1,200,000 per adult, cruise only
Hanoi transfer: VND 450,000 per person return by limousine coach, quoted separately
Deadlines: Jain and allergy covers 48 h before sailing; manifest 24 h before
Charter: Full buy-out from 60 guests to 99
Trade contact: info@ambassadorcruise.com
About the operator
Ambassador Namaste is operated by APC Group, a Vietnamese hospitality and tourism group whose portfolio includes Ambassador Cruise in Halong Bay, restaurant brands and travel operations in Hanoi.
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