Viking China (Part 2)

I seem to recall that there was a reasonable amount of spare time around the lunch visit after the Warriors, you might consider asking your guide if they could help you arrange a car from there to the Museum and then back to the hotel.

Great suggestion - thank you Mark! I will definitely ask our guide about this option. Sounds like a better plan time-wise (versus leaving directly from the hotel).

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g294211-s606/China:Tipping.And.Etiquette.html

Good article. Thank you for posting the link.

..

Another report from shipboard.

 

The optional excursion to the Summer Palace is not even shown in the color brochure of excusions we were given on shipboard' date=' nor was it mentioned by our tour escort when he was encouraging passengers to sign up for excursions. When I asked about the Summer Palace, the tour escort very definitely discouraged me from doing it, saying that because of traffic it would take an hour to get there and an hour to get back. Another guest was told by her tour escort that those who wanted to go to the Summer Palace would have to wait until everyone was finished with lunch after the Forbidden City to gather those who were doing the Summer Palace tour, which could mean waiting for an hour after the guest had finished lunch.

 

It was strongly suggested to me that if I wanted to visit the Summer Palace I should make my own arrangements. Since I'm staying on in Beijing after the tour I was able to do this, but I suggest that anyone who wants to visit the Summer Palace should contact Viking in advance and see what is going on with this.[/quote']

 

I haven't gotten through all the pages, but does anyone have an update on this? Thanks - leaving in less than two weeks!

Can only give you info on our March Cultural Delights. The day before the tour began an optional Viking tour to the Summer Palace was offered. Since we did not arrive until that night I do not know how much it was.

We had no problems in October last year, the Guides offered the trip willingly, there was no excessive delay after lunch and it didn't seem to take that long to get there either.

I had spoken to Viking beforehand and told them about the report you quoted, so perhaps the guides had been 'reminded' :)

BSK restaurant

We finally received confirmation for dinner August 14th. Does any one have a suggestion on where to sit?

This are the options we have:

"the main room with an open kitchen,*while the second dining room has a cozy, living room feel and seats".

Any suggestions for transportation?

they mentioned they are 30 minutes from our hotel, the Westin Choayang. Thanks for any input.

Thanks Mark!

I haven't gotten through all the pages, but does anyone have an update on this? Thanks - leaving in less than two weeks!

We took the subway system, very easy to get there, it did take @one hour.

Steep hills to climb to the temples, but an easy walk around the lake. Young people speak good English and are helpful finding subway entrances.

Enjoy.

If I travel with only US dollars, I am assume the following:

1. In the majority of places all denomination of USD will be accepted and I will have only Chinese Yuan returned to me if change is needed.

2. I will be able to change all denominations of USD for Yuan at the hotels.

3. Small USD ($1's, $5's and even $10's) are acceptable for guide/driver daily tips.

4. Visa, MasterCard and Discover are accepted most places.

Please correct me if I am assuming incorrectly.

Your assumptions are correct. I wouldn't expect to get change back from the guides/drivers. It is usually pretty hectic at the end of the day. I did not see anyone getting change. You can figure 6 Yuan per dollar. I don't know about change other places either. The people in the street were quoting in dollars. I did get a small amount of Yuan which we used in the airports and at cheap vendors. We used 1 dollar bills and credit cards. I had an envelope with larger bills to pay the guide at the end of the trip. The envelope at the end of the trip could be made up of mixed currencies.

If I travel with only US dollars, I am assume the following:

1. In the majority of places all denomination of USD will be accepted and I will have only Chinese Yuan returned to me if change is needed. No. There will be many places that US $ are not accepted. Shops and restaurants aimed at tourists will accept them. Some street vendors will and some will not. When paying in US $ in a store, make sure you are getting a good conversion rate.

2. I will be able to change all denominations of USD for Yuan at the hotels. Yes

3. Small USD ($1's, $5's and even $10's) are acceptable for guide/driver daily tips. Better than no tip, but in some of the places visited it may be difficult for the recipient to change into Yuan.

4. Visa, MasterCard and Discover are accepted most places. Where credit cards are accepted, Visa and MasterCard will usually be accepted. Sometimes only one of these. Discover will not be. When making charges, make sure that the merchant is not doing "dynamic conversion" of the Yuan price into US $ as the exchange rate will usually not be favorable to you. Insist that the charge be made in Yuan.

Please correct me if I am assuming incorrectly.

see above in red

Thank you!

We are planning on visiting the Pearl Oriental TV Tower on our first day in Shanghai any advise? Also, would like some insight into traveling by taxi to and from our hotel.

We are planning on visiting the Pearl Oriental TV Tower on our first day in Shanghai any advise? Also, would like some insight into traveling by taxi to and from our hotel.

If Viking is not providing the transportation to the hotel from the airport, go to the hotel's web site and get the name of the hotel and it's address in Chinese and give that printout to the Taxi driver.

At the hotel you can get a hotel business card in Chinese to give to future taxi drivers.

For taxi's from the hotel, ask the hotel to write down in Chinese the destination(s) you will be going to. If possible, have the doorman tell the taxi driver where you want to go.

Do not expect taxi drivers to understand English.

If I travel with only US dollars...

Why not use the Yuan and acknowledge that you are not in a country that uses the US$?

Use your card to withdraw from an ATM at the airport when you first arrive and then as and when needed. We do this wherever we travel and it avoids any possibility of a 'foreign' currency not being accepted.

With the right card you get wholesale conversion rates and no conversion charges.

BSK restaurant

We finally received confirmation for dinner August 14th. Does any one have a suggestion on where to sit?

This are the options we have:

"the main room with an open kitchen,*while the second dining room has a cozy, living room feel and seats".

Any suggestions for transportation?

they mentioned they are 30 minutes from our hotel, the Westin Choayang. Thanks for any input.

Are they still operating out of the Orchid Hotel?

The description of the dining area doesn't seem to match, which is why I ask.

If I travel with only US dollars, I am assume the following:

1. In the majority of places all denomination of USD will be accepted and I will have only Chinese Yuan returned to me if change is needed.

2. I will be able to change all denominations of USD for Yuan at the hotels.

3. Small USD ($1's, $5's and even $10's) are acceptable for guide/driver daily tips.

4. Visa, MasterCard and Discover are accepted most places.

Please correct me if I am assuming incorrectly.

Make sure that any USD you bring with you are clean, new and unmarked, also preferably unfolded.

It would be courteous to tip drivers and local city guides in Yuan, the amounts they get are small and it always seemed unfair to us to make them go change the dollars before they could spend them.

I would second this. The local guides and drivers each day should be tipped in local currency. However the main guide you have for the entire trip can be tipped in USD, yuan, or a combination. They all more than earn the suggested tip amounts.

Make sure that any USD you bring with you are clean, new and unmarked, also preferably unfolded.

 

It would be courteous to tip drivers and local city guides in Yuan, the amounts they get are small and it always seemed unfair to us to make them go change the dollars before they could spend them.

But why would you expect anyone (other than a bank or a currency exchange) in another country to change your currency into theirs to enable you to pay your way? We have always travelled on the premise that the sensible and decent thing to do is to use a country's currency throughout.

But why would you expect anyone (other than a bank or a currency exchange) in another country to change your currency into theirs to enable you to pay your way? We have always travelled on the premise that the sensible and decent thing to do is to use a country's currency throughout.

Personally I wouldn't, wherever we go we always use the local currency, except on those rare occasions (like Cuba) where the locals express a distinct preference for something else.

We only used Yuan throughout China, it was easier to do so to be honest.

Personally I wouldn't, wherever we go we always use the local currency, except on those rare occasions (like Cuba) where the locals express a distinct preference for something else.

Exactly what we do!

We only used Yuan throughout China, it was easier to do so to be honest.

Far easier whatever country you are in and, to use your word, the 'courteous' way to travel.

We have just returned from our Imperial Jewels, Beijing to Shanghai, trip and it was marvellous! Thank you to everybody who took the time to post comments on this forum. We really felt like we were knowledgeable travellers and encountered very few surprises along the way. Viking does an amazing job and everything went very smoothly. I do have a few comments based on our experience.

First, do not plan on using US dollars in China. ATMS were readily available, at least in the cities, and easy to use. Yes, some stores and vendors do accept dollars but most places accept only Yuan. Yes, drivers and guides will accept dollars with gratitude but I expect it is quite useless to them. There are no places they can use it, after all they are not buying souvenirs, and unless the bill is pristine, the banks will not accept it. Please tip them in their own currency.

Second, we were never offered the opportunity to do the optional Summer Palace tour with Viking, although I understand some people did do a tour on the day before the official tour started. We did go to the Summer Palace, but we did it with a private guide before we joined the Viking group. We also went out to the Great Wall at Mutianyu, a side trip I strongly recommend if you have an extra day in Beijing. It was the highlight of our trip and fabulous to experience the Wall without the crowds of Badaling Hills.

As other cruisers have commented, the trip is very casual, but people did tend to dress a little for dinner, especially on the boat. You certainly don't need formal clothes or a suit, but I would recommend, ladies, that you take a couple of dressier tops so you can dress up a little in the evening.

We did not take anything to distribute at the school, which I regretted. We ended up visiting the school on Saturday morning and, although there were lots of children at the school, there were very few teachers! People in our group who had brought stickers, small gifts, etc. we're able to hand them out to the group we visited with. The children seemed delighted! Yes, they did collect money as we were leaving, but I wished I had taken something for the children as well. Check and see what day of the week you will be at the school.

If you have any questions about the trip please post them here and I will try to answer them. You will have a wonderful trip!

We have just returned from our Imperial Jewels, Beijing to Shanghai, trip and it was marvellous!

Thanks for your report.

Very glad that it was a great a trip as you expected it to be.

Good advice on using Yuan. I hope some of the recent posters who asked about $ vs. Yuan do read your report.

We have just returned from our Imperial Jewels, Beijing to Shanghai, trip and it was marvellous!

 

Thank you Dweller on the Bluffs! Very helpful - we leave in a week. We will try to do the Summer Palace ourselves and now I'm off to buy stickers! Very much appreciate the update.