Pick up from hotel in Hanoi was 25min late, however that's better than the pick up times for other tours I went with (which was late 40min). The ride to Halong was long; 4 hours each way with a half hour rest stop. The minibus could be improved to be more comfortable.
The ship itself is quite small and cozy. I believe there are 8 cabins onboard, however during my trip, only 5 were occupied with a total of 9 passengers. It was quite nice to be with such a small group. The crew were great and they tried to accommodate all food restrictions. One suggestion is for the main guide to relay more information for each attraction, sometimes I was not sure what was the significance of the location. The cabin was spacious and the bed is average for Asian standard. Cabin and bathroom were both clean.
There were at least 10 other ships on the same itinerary as ours, but I believe due to the small size of our ship, we had a better experience.