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Diana and I had the
privilege of being invited on the New Mekong Princess for a 7 night
cruise up the Mekong River in September. Before I write about the
cruise I should more than likely introduce Haimark to you.
 Haimark is a 3 year
old company comprised of some true industry veterans with firsthand
experience in building, operating and selling 5 star River Ships in
exotic destinations. Their fast growing fleet includes numerous
vessels that they operate for other big name river cruise brands.
Just added to their fleet is a 210 passenger ship doing Great Lake
summer cruises and starting in January of 2016 Cruises in Cuba
(m/v St. Laurent) an ideal charter size. Their river cruise fleet
has quickly become the 5 star go to option on the Mekong, Ganges,
Irrawaddy and Amazon Rivers.
(Click on images to enlarge)
This
review really is about two ships as the Mekong Princess with 12
staterooms for 24 guests plus a single staff cabin is very similar
to the Mekong Navigator which has 34 staterooms for 68 guests plus a
single staff cabin. The attached pictures really do not do justice
to the suites and staterooms for either of these two ships. In
displaying photos of several cabins at the recent IMEX show with no
explanation we were constantly asked what hotel is this. The 2
Grand Suite are 496 sq. ft. with a private oversized balcony, 2 Jr
suites as I call them are 306 sq. ft. with a French balcony and the
remaining 8 staterooms are a generous 234 sq. ft.
The Grand Suites
feature a soaker Jacuzzi bath overlooking the river, he Jr Suite
has a stand-alone soaker tub as well plus walk in marble rain shower
showers. All the bathrooms are marble and of a very generous size
with Spa quality robes, slippers and bath amenities. All suites and
staterooms feature premium pillow top mattresses and 500 count
linens. Mini bars are stocked daily and fresh flowers and fruit are
awaiting in your suite or stateroom. Flat-screen satellite TVs and
complimentary wireless internet in all public areas keep you current
and up to date. The cabins on Mekong Navigator are basically the
same but 15% larger. These are truly some of the largest and
grandest accommodations on any river anywhere.
Each ship features a
dining room that is single seating, reception area, spa and fitness
room and a single main lounge that comfortably holds the entire
guest capacity. The Mekong Princes has a covered outdoor area with
overhead fans and overstuffed furniture for comfortably watching the
world and the Mekong River go by. The Navigator has an additional
area with large umbrellas and table and chairs. All of the public
areas on both ships easily handle the whole passenger count. For
small vessels they are surprising spacious.
Dining on the ship is
a pleasure especially if you like Asian food in particular.
Breakfast and lunch are served buffet style. Breakfast features an
egg station and western standards with a few Oriental surprises
daily. Lunches are a nice variety of Asian and Western selections
with a Chefs special of the day being individually made for each
guest. Dinner is ala a carte featuring Asian selections but always
with stand by options of steak, chicken, and fish along with Western
specials nightly. We thought the food was fantastic and more along
traditional lines than the trendy Pan Asian cuisine many seem to
feature now.
 The crew, while new
to the ship, did a very nice job and were undergoing training
daily. It is easy to see why their other ships are known for their
5 Star service. The crew is a mixture of Vietnamese and Cambodian
and works very well. Lots of smiling faces. Most interestingly the
tour guides, which were great and extremely knowledge, both only did
tours in their country meaning a Vietnamese guide for Vietnam and
Cambodian for Cambodia. Each had a real passion for their country
and answered endless questions. The guides cruise with you so they
are always available if you have any questions.
The real highlight of
the cruise however are the itinerary and the tours provided by
Haimark. I was able to meet with one of the principals of Haimark,
who is from Vietnam, and learn how some of the tours we were taking
had taken well over a year to get local approvals. This cruise is
not an eco-cruise nor was it a cruise with daily lecturers and
speakers.
Each day we generally
had a morning and afternoon tour which allows for ample time to take
a break from an otherwise busy schedule. Our transportation was 3
coach trips one each for embarkation and disembarkation and one for
visiting the “Killing Fields” of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. Otherwise
we used sampans, canoes, horse drawn carts, Rickshaws, Tuk Tuks and
of course walking. This might give you an idea of the places we
explored as the roads and walk ways wouldn’t take larger vehicles.
 During the week we
visited only two places that I would call “tourist attractions”
otherwise we saw Vietnam and Cambodia from a local’s eyes. Walking
in villages and being the center of attention was common and being
followed by smiling fantastic children was truly a delight. If
there are any bad feelings about the war we never saw it and in fact
Vietnam looks like it is doing very well, thank you very much.
Every day was a
different experience and I would call it Cultural Emersion Lite. We
saw real floating markets and learned how they operate and why.
Real floating villages with schools, churches, stores, bars,
baskeball courts and anything you would expect a village to have and
learned why some have to move up to 10 times a year. We visited a
coconut candy factory, a rice noodle factory and a scarf factory all
of which were being made by hand in houses or very small businesses.
At the scarf
“factory”, which is the bottom floor of the
 owners house, we were
invited to come up stairs to see how they live and meet “grandma”
who is not well. Needless to say we were all not only impressed but
humbled a bit by this hospitality so the ladies wanted to buy some scarfs. The owner had no idea what to charge as all of his
merchandise is sold and goes up river to another “wholesaler”.
With our guides help a price of $1.00 each was agreed upon. I
honestly think we might have screwed up his next up river shipment
by purchasing too much.
The next day was
Sunday and we did our typical morning tour and walking back to the
ship were quite a few children wanting their picture taken, the deal
is you have to show them the picture (Ah the digital age). We soon
found out that we are in the middle of wedding reception waiting for
the Bride and Groom. As we see them approach we figure its time get
in our sampan and head out however the young couple made us stop and
invited us to the reception. I have never seen so many pictures
being taken by
 amateur and professionals in their reception and on
our sampan. All I can say it is a day everyone in our group will
talk about forever.
I hope you are
getting the idea of how unique this trip is. I could go on and on
about what we saw and experienced and each was unique. As I
mentioned the trip starts in Saigon or Siem Reap when going down
river. The only “town” that you’ll remember is Phnom Penh which is
the capitol of Cambodia and a very big city with a fantastic Palace
among other things. What you’ll remember the most are the small
villages and people you stop and visit who honestly welcome you.
Last but certainly not least is Siem Reap and the Angkor Wat ruins.
This was my second trip there and can’t I wait to visit again. This
is an incredible site and should be included on any trip to
Southeast Asia.
You will find a link
to what you might think are too many pictures but please have a look
and you can contact me for full details-you’ll be glad you did.
Mekong Princess Images
Destination Images
Steve Bloss or +1 954 663 8800 ext 226 |
