Designed by Saigon-based architectural firm Noor Design, the Aqua Mekong is the first five-star small luxury cruise ship to travel up and down the Mekong River between the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and the Kingdom of Cambodia. The Aqua Mekong is also the first cruise ship on Southeast Asia’s greatest river to offer a fitness center, library, screening room and observation deck.
Measuring 62.4 meters (205 feet) in length, the matte-black hulled Aqua Mekong brings Hodkinson’s Indochine influenced aesthetic to the Aqua Mekong’s interiors which are built entirely of local sustainable materials and incorporating natural fibers of the surrounding environment with artisanal touches of the Mekong’s multifaceted cultures.
Across the first and second decks, the Aqua Mekong is home to 20 Design Suites, each one a generous 30 square meters (320 square feet). Floor to ceiling windows allow guests to gaze upon the Mekong from the pillow top bed and a Mekong River facing day bed, placed indoors, or outside among the eight Design Suites with a private balcony.
This understated elegance, realized in the most modern, natural materials continues in the ship’s social areas. In the sun lit dining room, fresh tropical flowers add a subtle pop of color against the polished wood floors and natural woven fibers. Here as well, the Mekong influenced cuisine of our Michelin starred Executive Chef David Thompson of Bangkok’s Nahm restaurant is served on fine china with our sommelier selected wines in crystal glassware.
Upstairs on the Observation Deck, slide onto sleek contemporary interpretations of this region’s woven cane planters chairs, found in the air conditioned Indoor Lounge alongside plump couches finished in a cool grey so as not to distract from the engrossing panorama constantly streaming in through floor to high ceiling walls of windows. Tropical wind and fresh air on the Outdoor Lounge encourage unwinding on cushioned loungers or easing into the river facing plunge pool. This shimmering oasis takes the edge off that equatorial swelter after an Aqua Expeditions excursion shopping for ingredients with our chef in Cambodia’s wet markets, watching traditional silversmiths at work, or among snakes and crocodiles at a Vietnamese riverside farm.
