Vietnam’s First Luxury Boutique River–Maritime Cruise Line™
By Travel + Leisure
In Saigon, the river has always come before the city. Long before boulevards, towers, and traffic, the Saigon River carried traders, pilgrims, colonial fleets, and revolutionary journeys from the sea deep into the delta. It shaped commerce, culture, and identity. Yet for much of modern history, the city gradually turned its back on the water—treating the river as scenery rather than substance.
That relationship is about to change.
In August 2026, LuxGroup will introduce Amiral Cruises for Presidents®, a purpose-built, Art Deco–inspired urban river yacht carrying just 99 guests. Conceived not as a floating restaurant or a retrofitted dinner boat, but as a cultural flagship, Amiral represents a new chapter in Vietnam’s luxury travel story—one that is quieter, slower, and profoundly more intentional.
A New Definition of Luxury on Urban Waterways
Amiral Cruises for Presidents® was designed from the keel up to establish a new cruise typology: the Urban River Yacht. This distinction is fundamental. Dense, living rivers like the Saigon demand an entirely different design intelligence from open seas. Bridge clearances, tidal rhythms, skyline harmony, safety margins, wake control, acoustics, and light pollution all directly affect the quality of the experience.
Amiral responds with long, low, and elegant proportions that glide beneath bridges, preserve sightlines, and minimize wash. The vessel does not dominate the river; it belongs to it. Its presence is composed by day and softly luminous by night, never competing with the city’s skyline.
Capacity is intentionally capped at 99 guests—not as a technical limitation, but as a strategic design philosophy. At approximately two square meters per guest, Amiral offers a sense of personal space rarely found on urban cruises. This enables privacy, dignified hosting, and cultural programming curated with the precision of a salon rather than the scale of a banquet.
Here, luxury is not defined by size or spectacle, but by space, restraint, and meaning.
A Cultural Flagship for the Vietnam Waterways® Vision
Amiral is the flagship expression of the Vietnam Waterways® Vision 2045, LuxGroup’s long-term ambition to revive Vietnam’s river–sea civilization through culture-led, sustainable luxury travel. The vision is rooted in a simple truth: Vietnam is a nation shaped by water. Its rivers and coastlines carried belief systems, trade routes, and cultural exchanges long before highways and airports existed.
Rather than treating waterways as shortcuts between destinations, Vietnam Waterways® reframes them as destinations in themselves—slow, reflective, and deeply narrative.
Each Amiral voyage is curated as a “time-travel journey” along Saigon’s historic river corridor. The route flows past Ba Son’s industrial legacy, Bach Dang’s colonial promenade, Nha Rong Wharf—where Nguyễn Tất Thành embarked on his formative journey into the world—and the Thu Ngữ Flagpole, a quiet marker of maritime memory. From the water, colonial facades, modern towers, and riverside neighborhoods align into a layered story that cannot be understood from the road.
Designed for Leaders, Tastemakers, and Connoisseurs
Amiral Cruises for Presidents® is designed for guests who value discretion as much as distinction.
Its core audience includes entrepreneurs, senior executives, and UHNW individuals; curated MICE groups of no more than 99 guests hosting board dinners, leadership salons, or brand storytelling events; diplomatic and cultural institutions seeking a neutral yet meaningful setting; and artists, chefs, and cultural tastemakers drawn to spaces where conversation matters.
For international luxury travelers, Amiral offers a rare perspective: Saigon by river, not by road. A way to encounter the city slowly, ceremonially, and with context.
Experiences Curated Like a Stage, Not a Show
On Amiral, experiences are choreographed with restraint.
Sunset cocktail and dinner voyages unfold as refined social rituals rather than noisy banquets. Live music is acoustic and intentional. Lighting is designed to soften rather than dazzle. Tables are generously spaced. Guests are invited to linger, converse, and observe the city as it transitions from day to night.
Premium day cruises extend beyond the urban core, tracing the river north toward the Củ Chi Tunnels or south toward the mangroves of the Cần Giờ Biosphere Reserve, where Saigon gradually dissolves into nature and memory.
In the evening, Amiral presents Sông Show® – Urban Edition, a late-night cultural journey celebrating Saigon’s river identity through music, narrative, and restrained performance. Think chamber concert rather than spectacle—art that listens to the river as much as it performs upon it.
Engineering Precision Beneath Quiet Elegance
While the guest experience feels effortless, Amiral’s engineering is exacting. The vessel is optimized for low-speed, low-noise, low-vibration cruising—essential for dining, conversation, and live performance. Its hull geometry ensures stability across currents, tides, and crosswinds, while propulsion and power systems are selected for reliability, efficiency, and long-term service.
Classification under Vietnam Register’s River–Sea SB standard allows Amiral to operate seamlessly across inland rivers and near-coastal routes, extending its narrative reach while maintaining urban refinement.
Every technical decision supports a single goal: calm.
Spatial Composition: Architecture as Atmosphere
Amiral’s spatial design balances gravitas and lightness. Enclosed volumes provide safety, stability, and a sense of presidential presence. Panoramic glazing frames the river while preserving privacy. Open decks are calibrated to offer outdoor experience without obstructing skyline views.
Guest flow is ceremonial and intuitive. Midship boarding leads directly into the main lounge, setting tone and tempo from the first step aboard. Service circulation is fully separated from guest movement, ensuring hospitality that feels seamless rather than staged.
By night, the vessel becomes part of the river’s reflection—present, elegant, and understated.
Gastronomy, Sustainability, and Sense of Place
True to LuxGroup’s philosophy—Luxury Is Culture – Delivering Happiness—Amiral’s culinary program focuses on Vietnamese flavors interpreted with contemporary finesse. Menus emphasize regional produce, seasonality, and storytelling through food, rather than theatrical excess.
Sustainability is embedded, not advertised. Low-wake cruising protects riverbanks. Efficient power systems reduce emissions and noise. Design choices favor longevity over trend. The objective is a net positive cultural and environmental footprint—leaving the river richer, not poorer.
A Benchmark, Not a Volume Play
Amiral Cruises for Presidents® is not designed to maximize capacity or throughput. It is designed to set a benchmark.
In a global luxury landscape often dominated by scale and speed, Amiral offers a counterpoint: intimacy, restraint, and meaning. It invites travelers to rediscover Saigon from its original vantage point—by water—where the city’s past, present, and future flow together.
As Vietnam’s first luxury boutique river–maritime cruise line™, Amiral is both a beginning and a declaration: that the most powerful journeys are not measured in miles, but in memory.
Discover. Dream. Explore. Learn. Respect. Celebrate. Enjoy.