The tour operator texted us the night before the cruise to confirm our hotel. They then picked us up from our hotel in a bus and was slightly late as they had gone to the wrong hotel despite earlier confirmation.
We picked the one day tour to Ha Long Bay, and after the pickup, the ride was smooth. We stopped by the Pearl museum, which was a rest stop of sorts. Then we got to the harbor where the day cruise group separated from the overnight cruise group, and we were handed over to another guide. Everything here was generally seamless and moved along really fast.
The cruise itself was nice-- the boat had a deck where people could sit around and talk. We stopped at 3 main attractions: Titop island, Sung sot cave, and a kayak/bum boat area to check out a low cave. We had around 40min at each place, which gave us enough time to walk and see the main attraction. There was food on the boat for lunch and afternoon tea of biscuits and tea. Ha Long Bay was beautiful and it was nice being able to see a part of the bay as we cruised along.
The biggest downside overall would probably be the hard peddling of goods (accessories, drinks, souvenirs) on the boat. It was mildly uncomfortable especially when we were tired at the end of the trip. Otherwise, the transfer from our hotel to the cruise and back was great.
