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Cruising on the Mekong River Haimark Style

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

This revue is solely the opinion of Steve Bloss and does not necessarily reflect those of Worldwide Travel & Cruise Assoc., Inc. October 2015