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Malta-flagged Celebrity Solstice carrying 3,044 passengers from the U.K., U.S., Canada and China docked at Ha Long international port in the northern province of Quang Ninh on Sunday, around two hours from Hanoi.
On Monday, the first day of the New Year, they took a city tour to explore Ha Long and experienced a seaplane tour to see Ha Long Bay from above before visiting Hanoi.
The same day, Portuguese-flagged cruise liner Vasco Da Gama also carried 711 tourists, mostly Germans to Quang Ninh. They visited Hanoi and Hai Phong’s Cat Ba Island before returning to visit Ha Long Bay.
Last year, Ha Long Bay welcomed 2.7 million tourists, up 35% year-on-year, with foreign tourists accounting for 800,000.
On Tuesday, Netherlands-based Westerdam cruise ship carrying 2,000 foreigners docked at Tien Sa Port in the central city of Da Nang.
The tourists were mainly from the Netherlands and other European countries such as France, Italy, Denmark and Hungary.
They are scheduled to visit the Marble Mountains, a cluster of five marble and limestone hills with pagodas on top and hidden caves with Buddhist shrines, Linh Ung Pagoda and Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture.
Last year, the city received 22 cruise ships with a total of 18,000 tourists.
This year, it expects to welcome 45 cruise ships with 40,000 passengers.
Vietnam witnessed an influx of international cruise ships last year as the country received 12.5 million foreign arrivals, surpassing the initial target of 8 million.
This year Vietnam targets 18 million arrivals.
