Filipina sets sail on a new adventure in Halong Bay

Anne Sadang on board Emeraude Classic Cruises.

HALONG BAY, Vietnam—Anne Sadang in mid-September joined Emeraude Classic Cruises as the vessel’s Chief Purser. On board, Anne’s principal responsibilities include management of all food and beverage activities, guest relations and housekeeping.

Prior to her work in Halong Bay, Anne served as food and beverage manager at the Timberland Sports and Nature Club outside Manila. But for a three-year stint as a sales agent for a real estate company in the United States, all of Anne’s work in the hospitality field has focused on restaurants, resorts and golf courses in the Philippines.

“The Emeraude is a whole new adventure for me,” said Sadang. “When you can take on a new appointment with that spirit, embracing the adventure, looking forward to the unknown, then your posting is much more than a job.”

Sadang graduated from university in the Philippines with a degree in hotel and restaurant management. She speaks English and Filipino, and she visited Vietnam for the first time in May 2011.

Since its maiden voyage in late 2004, the Emeraude has set the standard for upscale passage on Halong Bay. Modelled on a paddle steamer of the same name that cruised Halong Bay from 1906-1937, the Emeraude accommodates 74 passengers in 12 superior cabins, 22 deluxe cabins and three suites.

The vessel evokes the romance of the nautical age with classic architecture, polished wooden floors, beadboard wainscoting and brass fixtures. The Restaurant specializes in western fare and freshly caught seafood. Each cabin features outdoor seating, as does the sun-deck up top where the crew screens a movie nightly.

Emeraude Classic Cruises is owned and operated by The Apple Tree Group, a French-owned, Ho Chi Minh City-based company with interests in tourism and hospitality, real estate and construction and import and distribution all over Southeast Asia. Its hospitality properties also include La Residence Hotel & Spa in Hue and the Press Club in Hanoi, as well as the Kamu Lodge on the Mekong River near Luang Prabang and the Villa Maly, a boutique hotel in Luang Prabang.