Mekong Princess, 7 Night Mekong River Delta (upstream) ex Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap

Welcome to Southern Vietnam…
By combining shipboard life, in elegant French colonial luxury, with discreet and fascinating shore excursions, this is the most intimate way to be ‘up close and personal’ with the people and culture of Southern Vietnam. The ultimate journey of exploration, along the lower Mekong, is to cruise from Saigon Port through the waterways of the famous Mekong Delta and then head north into Cambodian waters.

…Welcome to Cambodia…
Equally as exotic and by comparison to Vietnam, the plains of Cambodia open before you as we cruise upstream towards the nation’s capital of Phnom Penh. Along the riverbanks the oxen-carts plough their way along a narrow path, working the land, forever contributing to the cooperative, subsistence way of Life that is Cambodia today and yesterday.

HO CHI MINH CITY - SAIGON PORT / EMBARKATION
Our guide awaits you at the RV Mekong Princess docking at Saigon Port - 05 Nguyen Tat Thanh St, Ward 13, District 4, HCMC. Once aboard, you will be welcomed by your Vietnamese and Cambodian ship’s crew, before embarking on the most extraordinary journey of discovery. We sail at midday through the famed Mekong Delta on our way to the ‘Mighty Mekong River’.

Lunch, with highly attentive oriental hospitality, will be served soon after departure, as we cruise along the Saigon River. Having settled into your luxurious suites, you can relax and enjoy the new scenes and watch the world pass by.

Late in the day we anchor in the heart of the Mekong Delta, where cocktails are served as sun sets, and sampans pass by. A traditional Vietnamese dinner is soon ready, embracing a subtle fusion of dishes for the most eclectic tastes.

BEN TRE - CAN THO
This morning, sampans take you through a channel lined with mangroves to visit a local coconut candy maker. After watching the candy-making process, walking through the village to visit an orchard where fruits native to Vietnam can be seen in various stages of maturity on the vine. After a fresh fruit tasting, you continue to a pier where you board small, local boats (two guests per boat) for a trip through the narrow creeks lined with Nipah palm before returning to the ship.

This afternoon, the ship sails through an area of the Mekong Delta barely touched by tourism to Can Tho city, the capital riverside city of Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Guests will take a short and orientated city tour with visiting to the Zihuang Pagoda (Chua Ong) and enjoying the welcome unicorn dances. Explore yourself on own around the charming city before having dinner onboard. The ship docks in Can Tho overnight.

CAN THO - HOA AN
We begin our morning before breakfast aboard the sampans for a cruise through the fascinating Cai Rang floating market near Can Tho. The sampans will weave in and out of the many boats that sail into the market each morning to sell produce and other items the residents of the Mekong Delta need in their daily lives. As they weave through the market, there will be many opportunities for amazing photographs, while enjoying fresh fruit and the Vietnamese “anti-aging drink,” fresh coconut water. Before returning to the ship for breakfast, we stop at a local noodle factory, where we witness the amazing process of how they are made.

After lunch, continue excursion by boat to Hoa An village, where is untouched and well-known with flower growing and handmade craft. Our first stop at flower gardens where we will see many different kinds of flowers and learn how to grow and take care of them. Then, a short walking to a local house and chat with the host to see how they live and work in their daily life.

After a short break, continue our excursion on motor cart to another village. We stop by at the conical hat-making and mat weaving families, have memorable time chatting with local family members and learning how to create products though hands-on experience. Enjoy your walk in the peaceful village with rice fields, fruit trees in between visiting few local families.

The Princess sails and anchors near Gieng Island.

*Onboard activity: Lecture of Vietnam, the Past & Present by your local Vietnamese host.

PHNOM PENH - WELCOME TO CAMBODIA
Our Princess arrives Phnom Penh this morning and docks at the center port.

After lunch, local cyclo drivers meet you for an exciting city tour of Phnom Penh. You begin your ride along the riverfront to the Royal Palace, where a leisurely walk takes you through the grounds, with opportunities to visit the Throne Hall and Moonlight Pavilion. Upon crossing into the second section of the complex, you walk amongst enormous stupas and spirit houses, on the way to the famous Silver Pagoda, home of Cambodia’s Emerald Buddha and Maitreya Buddha, encrusted with more than 9,000 diamonds. Following a short break, your cyclos take you to the National Museum. Housing the largest pre-Angkorian and Angkorian holdings in Cambodia, the National Museum ends the morning tour with a comprehensive look at many of the artifacts excavated around the Angkor Archeological Area in Siem Reap, as well as other areas around the former Khmer Empire.

The ship docks overnight in Phnom Penh.

*Onboard activity: Fruit Carvings & Tropical Fruits Demonstration; Cooking Class Demonstration by our Executive Chef.

ANGKOR BAN
The Princess leaves Phnom Penh and sails to Angkor Ban. We start the afternoon tour with a visit to the charming and authentic town of Angkor Ban. Here, we witness the daily life of the local people, starting with a visit to the pagoda with a special blessing ceremony for our guests by local monks, then we keep going on visiting to a local family’s home, to meet them and discuss their lifestyle. We continue through the village to the local school where we join the children in their classroom and experience what their typical school day is like. Ship sails to Kampong Cham and docks overnight.

*Onboard activity: Lecture of Cambodia’s Geography and Life along the Mekong River by your local Cambodian host.

KAMPONG CHAM DISEMBARKATION
After breakfast we disembark the Mekong Princess in Kampong Cham. Transfer by motor-coach to Siem Reap. Arrive Meeting Point at the Park Hyatt Siem Reap Hotel at noon.

Built in Saigon to international design and safety standards, Mekong Princess was launched in 2015 and is considered the best constructed and most elegant vessel plying the waters of the Mekong River today. The Mekong Princess accommodates 28 guests with 14 luxurious suites. She is 63 meters in length with a 10 meter beam (width), powered by two 480 HP Doosan Marine engines and can cruise at a top speed of eleven knots (20 kms per hour). The average cruising speed is 8 knots (approximately 15 kms per hour).

The MEKONG PRINCESS was launched in 2015 and is one of the only Mekong River cruise vessels to utilise the central city location of Saigon Port, Ho Chi Minh City – Vietnam. We cruise the waters of the Mekong River from Saigon, deep into the heart of the Mekong Delta, then cross the border into the Kingdom of Cambodia. After seven nights of river cruising, we disembark in Kampong Cham, the closest port of call to Siem Reap and the legendary Angkor Wat Temple. Each journey, either upstream from Saigon to Siem Reap or downstream from Siem Reap to Saigon, is a truly inspirational sojourn.

Your hosts are a delightful combination of young highly trained Vietnamese and Khmer crew. We are humble in our approach to service. We are conscientious in our standards of safety. Our attention to detail, in all aspects of life on-board, we believe is second to none.
Bon Voyage