Mekong River Cruise

I recently attended a famil (Cruisefusion) on board Croisi Europe’s RV Indochine II, a brand new ship on the Mekong Delta. We only did a 4 night cruise (of what is usually a 7 night cruise) starting in Phnom Penh and finishing in Ho Chi Minh City.

Flew
I flew with Malaysia Airlines, and was lucky enough (on the way over at least) to be seated in their new Extra leg-room seats. This is a separate little cabin with only 2 rows (2/4/2 configuration), between business and economy class. Highly recommended, the service is fabulous, this small cabin has access to it’s own bathroom and the extra leg room was great! Having said that, normal economy also is really very good, service and food options great!

Stay
The RV Indochine II was a lovely ship. 31 cabins, and although they are quite small, all have lovely furnishings and expected amenities with private balconies. The outside bar and lounge area is really classy and elegant, alongside a well sized pool on the upper deck. A pool is a must on the Mekong, as being able to have a dip in South East Asia is a must! Not many ships have good sized pools on the Mekong. The panoramic Lounge/Bar area is also really nice, and this is where wi-fi is available, although a bit unreliable. All meals were included, and mostly quite delicious and plenty of it!

Activities

We did sightseeing in Phnom Phen, including The Royal Palace, some temples, the National Museum and Genocide Museum and local markets. Lunch in a local restaurant on the river was fabulous. While cruising down the Mekong, we also did some tours (in Chau Doc and Sa Dec) including ‘more temples!!’ and local markets. On arrival in Ho Chi Minh City, we had a ½ day sightseeing tour before a great lunch at the Majestic Hotel, then headed home in the evening.

Recommendations
I would suggest that starting the Mekong cruise in Vietnam and finishing in Cambodia is the better way to do this. The Vietnam part of the river is very busy, with lovely, interesting scenery, then the Cambodian part becomes quiet and serene, and I would imagine it would be really nice finishing in Siem Reap.