We are getting into Hanoi airport at 7:40 (am) and a potential cruise is leaving at 12:30 with a 12:15 start of boarding. Apparently there is a new toll road that brings the  drive time down to 2.5 hours. 

Provided we hire a private car with direct airport pick up would the following time line be realistic? 

 1. Arrive 7:40pm
 2. In the car by 8:40am (60 minutes for immigration, collect bags, customs and locating the driver)
 3. Arrive Halong Bay by 11:10 am

That would gives us a one hour of buffer for delays, long lines, traffic issues, etc. This would be on a Sunday morning in January, so probably not the worst rush hour.

I'd appreciate any feedback especially from people have recently arrived in Hanoi on immigration/bags/custom speed and who have used the new troll road.