sailaway5

We bought the 10 bottle silver package on our 14 day Panama Canal cruise in January of last year. We bought four bottles that cost greater than $29. In each case, we paid the for the cost of the higher price wine (without gratuity) and our on board account was credited with $29. Most of the wines be bought were between $28 and $38.

How much is the 10-bottle silver package for a 14 day cruise? I could not fine that information as I read back thru this thread.... Where are these packages and prices listed? Thank you for sharing the information...

We are trying to get a stateroom for a May sailing, but we may not be able to get a H/C stateroom.

 

My husband uses a mobility scooter and although he can walk a little he cannot step up to use a shower over a tub.

 

What is the bathroom configuration for the regular staterooms?

Our regular deluxe stateroom on the back of the boat had a very large bathroom, with tub and shower. I do not know what the other staterooms are like. There were two other H/C with mobility scooters on the boat and everything seemed accessible. The elevator was very convenient.

Enjoy your cruise. We sure did.

We are trying to get a stateroom for a May sailing, but we may not be able to get a H/C stateroom.

 

My husband uses a mobility scooter and although he can walk a little he cannot step up to use a shower over a tub.

 

What is the bathroom configuration for the regular staterooms?

We just gave up a H/C stateroom (#305) for the May 5th sailing a couple weeks ago. Check it out --- it may be available. We are now going the end of February. We can comment about the showers after the end of the month as we are not in a H/C room now. Maybe someone else can share that information with you.

Have fun on your travels..

On the New Year's Eve cruise we weren't able to dock at Vicksburg due to water contamination (all water had to be boiled) so we docked at Natchez for 2 nights. They bused us to the Vicksburg Battlefield (90 min ride each way) which made for a long day, but OK by me rather than miss the tour (which is the only one I signed up for). There were signs up everywhere in Vicksburg not to drink the water, but the AQ provided lots of bottled water.

 

When I looked out the window on the morning we were suppose to be in Vicksburg, I wondered where the flood wall with the murals was, then I noticed the buildings and thought "This looks like Natchez", and it was!

 

Ironically, when we were on the Delta Queen in 2005, we weren't able to dock in Baton Rouge due to a chemical spill so did 2 days in St Francisville.

 

The AQ went into drydock for 3 weeks after our cruise, so hopefully they were able to address a few things that needed some attention. Worse part for us was that the paddlewheel was broken. They used auxilliary screws to propel us but had a tug lashed to the stern for any emergencies. Took away a bit of the charm of being on a paddlewheeler but since it was too cold to sit outside at the bar, we didn't really miss it too much.

Thank you for sharing your experiences. We have also booked the Vicksburg premium tour...and no matter what, we will look forward to seeing this area. Hope the water problem is solved by the time we go!!!

Cheers...

That's high praise. Have you done a river cruise in Europe, and if you have, how does this compare?

Hope you don't mind me jumping in.....

We have done a river cruise in Europe (Vienna to Basel, Switzerland). We loved it. We will be happy to do a comparison upon our return from this cruise the end of the month. We are really looking forward to this one.

Resort casual. For the Captain's Reception some men wore sports coats and the ladies cocktail dresses.

Thank you... Just received our travel documents for our Feb 23 sailing. I notice they add the gratuities directly to your account.

We are getting excited about this cruise!!! Hope the river levels are okay and the oil spill in Vicksburg doesn't hinder stopping here.

Sorry - double post....don't know how to remove it..

Resort casual. For the Captain's Reception some men wore sports coats and the ladies cocktail dresses.

Thank you... Just received our travel documents for our Feb 23 sailing. I notice they add the gratuities directly to your account.

We are getting excited about this cruise!!! Hope the river levels are okay and the oil spill in Vicksburg doesn't hinder stopping here.

What was the dress code in the evening -- for dinner?

Thanks Sailaway5 for the update on the cruise! Sounds like you both had a great time! Awesome to hear that as well as the tendering process.

 

I just sent your update to my DH via e-mail so he'll have R/T report on a POC user with a Travel Scoot.

 

As of right now, DH is doing really well, but I'm pushing him to get a rollator that can double as a transport chair if he doesn't want to go for the Travel Scoot. (I told him it's for peace of mind for me more than for him).

 

Happy Cruising!

Good luck on whatever you decide to purchase. Just an FYI, DH was able to walk to dinner on the ship rolling his small Inogen (also has wheels -- or can be a backpack). He preferred to pull it when he was "dressed" up and now favors that way for short distances. It fits nicely on the Travel Scoot when he needs to go further distances, so he doesn't run out of breadth. I think you mentioned he was on oxygen too?

Cheers,

Just returned from a 7-day Coastal Cruise and DH used the Travel Scoot for the first time cruising. Thought we would report back how well it worked for him. The hotel we stayed at in San Pedro shuttled us to the Cruise Terminal. Since DH can walk short distances, we folded the Travel Scoot up into the canvas bag it came with and let them pack it with our luggage. Once at the cruise terminal, we reassembled it (just in minutes) so DH could ride it into the terminal after the luggage was taken by the porters. DH is also on oxygen, so it was necessary to carry his concentrators on the scooter. It worked great. We got to our room, unloaded the extra concentrator and my carryon and went to lunch!!

We also purchased a basket and put it on the front. We only attached one "strap" and it seemed to hold on pretty well. We did not have a HC room, so we needed to tilt the scooter sideways a little to get it in the room. We also removed the seat when we did this. The scooter fit nicely on the floor of the closet in our standard size balcony room on Princess.

We were particularly pleased that we could "TENDER" off the ship in two ports (Catalina Island & Santa Barbara). DH could walk on to the tender and the crew just lifted the 35 lb scooter onto the tender. The crew was great.

We were very pleased with the use of both the scooter and oxygen concentrators (Sequal & Inogen), which we brought on ourselves. Hope some of this information helps. We have learned so much from these boards and are so happy we are still able to cruise.

We just returned from the Mar 27-Apr 13 China Cultural Delights cruise. We don’t cruise a lot so I registered with CC and gained some wonderful insight from all the postings on this thread. I didn’t want to give a detailed day to day experience but thought a general summary of our experience might be beneficial and a means of returning the favor to other future cruisers. I apologize for the length in advance but hopefully a lot of information in one place will be helpful.

 

1. This was the trip and experience of a lifetime. You’ll see the great, good and not so good. The Chinese and their culture are fascinating. We Americans could learn a lot from them and vice versa. This will be something I’ll remember forever.

 

2. We started our cruise in Shanghai. There's a lot of debate as to whether Shanghai or Beijing is the better starting point. At the end, most of us would have dreaded starting from Beijing. Some specifics:

 

a. The Yangtze River is incredibly polluted. If you’ve cruised in Europe you’ll be shocked. The lower Yangtze is nothing more than thousands of smoke belching ships running on a cargo shipping highway. West of the Three Gorges Dam it all changed to beautiful scenery and the water was a nice emerald green.

 

b. Everyone was suffering from serious jet lag and the three days in Beijing are the by far the most physically demanding. The Great Wall is a strenuous climb. As tired as we were the first couple of days I would have hated to start in Beijing.

 

c. For most of us the highlights of the trip are in Xian and Beijing so the scenery and experiences gradually got better each day and it was good to end the trip on a high.

 

3. To say Viking is organized is an incredible understatement. After going through Chinese customs (quick and easy) it was the last time we would have to physically move our luggage. Viking collected our luggage and it was waiting for us at the hotel. Viking pre-checks you in at each hotel and gives you your room key while on the bus from the airport. When flying from city to city, they pick up your luggage from your room, take it to the airport, and put it through security. They take it off the carousel once we land and transport it to the next hotel. It was incredible.

 

4. On the bus from the Shanghai airport we were given our guide assignments. This person will be your “mother” for the entire trip and they are wonderful. Consider yourself VERY lucky if you get Larry.

 

5. The excursion to the school was touching. Don’t miss it.

 

6. Take a small bottle of hand sanitizer everywhere you go and wash your hands frequently.

 

7. Take some toilet paper with you every time you leave the ship. There’s not a Western sit down toilet everywhere you go and toilet paper is a luxury. Also be prepared for no paper towels at sink and the hand blowers are useless. It was comical to see everyone leaving the toilet shaking their hands or wiping them on their jeans.

 

8. We went to the both the Tang Dynasty Dinner in Xian and the Peking Opera and were glad we did. It was a beautiful experience.

 

9. I used Google Translator on my iPhone and it came in very handy. Type it in and show them the Chinese translation.

 

10. Ignore the Viking instructions about the 44 lb luggage limit and 11 lb carryon limit. It’s not enforced. They stated they can’t change their literature as these limits are China law but it’s never enforced. While on the planes we saw Chinese passengers bringing on carryon luggage so big it would have never been allowed in the States.

 

11. Leave the converters and adapters at home. The hotels and the ship have plenty of them and most outlets now are “adapters” and accept multiple types of plugs. The bathroom on the ship and every hotel has a 110v plug.

 

12. The ship and all hotels have umbrellas. We should have left ours home. We were VERY lucky as it only rained one day. My poncho came in very handy as I didn’t have to hold an umbrella and take pictures.

 

13. The air pollution is staggering. I had expected it but never anticipated it would be as bad as it is. If you have any type of breathing issues be sure to bring your meds. Visine is also a must.

 

14. Bring every type of over the counter medication you can think of…heartburn, nausea, diarrhea (bring an entire bottle of Imodium), constipation, allergies etc. We had Cipro which I would encourage you to do. On our 4th day on the cruise about 20 guests, including myself, came down with diarrhea. Nothing real serious for anyone. My wife was fine but I spent the day in the room. 36 hrs later most of us were about 75% and getting better.

 

15. Unlike in Europe, Viking doesn’t own the ship rather they lease it from New Century. The “Officer” level staff and Tour Escorts work for Viking but the food servers, room attendants etc are employed by New Century. From the outside, the ship is not overly exciting but the inside is beautiful and the crew keeps it spotless.

 

16. The food on the ship is good but not great. We did the Viking Grand European Tour two years ago and the food was significantly better. You’ll eat several meals in Chinese restaurants and again, some were good, but most were ok…just like in the U.S. Real Chinese food is not like what you get at your local place. It’s new dishes, flavors and textures we’re not used. Go with an open mind and try it. The ship wait staff is an entirely different story. They are the hardest working people on the ship and they will do anything to help you. Again, consider yourself lucky if you get Maggie or May as your server. They are sweet hearts.

 

17. The street food is beautiful. Photograph it but don’t eat it…ever. I read that some posters have but Larry strongly advised against it.

 

18. A number of the excursions are nothing more than getting you into a sales room (silk, jade or pottery and rugs to buy something. You’ll go on a 10-15 min tour of the factor then spend the next 30-45 min in the showroom. While some liked to shop I thought the tour portion was interesting but the shopping was a huge waste of time and would have preferred to go walking and exploring. We skipped the ceramic tour not wanting to endure a 4 hour round trip bus ride.

 

19. Pick pockets are everywhere. It won’t take you long to recognize the likely culprits. Leave your wallet and documents in the safe. I put money in my front pocket. I carried a fanny pack and kept it in front of me. If you wear it in the back it’s too easy for them to unzip it and take something.

 

20. The internet is hit or miss but MUCH better than the European cruise. A number of people complained about no or slow access but it wasn’t a big inconvenience.

 

21. Our time in Xian was just too short. Viking, if you read this, many of the passengers would have gladly given up one of the other days (especially one of the shopping excursions) to have an extra time in Xian. It’s a fascinating city and we didn’t have much time to go explore.

 

22. The hotels were a surprise. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Shanghai. It’s quite a way from the Bund and we would have preferred to stay in the Shangri-La with another group right in the middle of the city. In Xian we stayed at the Hilton and in Beijing the Westin. The last two were new 5 star hotels. You will not be disappointed.

 

23. The Chinese people are so friendly. When we skipped the ceramic tour a group of us took off to explore the local city. I would strongly encourage you to do this. Be brave and adventurous. My iPhone GPS worked like a charm but you really don’t need it. Chinese stopped to stare at us and wanted their picture taken with us. We learned later that very few Viking guests do this so we were likely the first live Westerners they had ever seen. It was one of the most memorable experiences of the cruise. The Chinese are very proud of their children. We took hard candy from the ship and gave it out which was a huge it. Always “ask” if it’s ok to take their picture. Just point to your camera. They get it. I would suggest getting a short set of phrases like “May I take your picture”. Also on your first or second day learn to say “Please”, “Thank You” and “You’re welcome” in Chinese. (The ship has a basic Chinese class but it’s not till about a week into the cruise.) The Chinese are really surprised and appreciative when you extend these basic courtesies in their language. They are taught English starting in the first grade so don’t be surprised to run across some that speak very good English.

 

24. Dress on the ship and daily excursions is informal. You did see a couple of sports coats but it was the exception. Jeans were the norm and many wore shorts daily. Don’t try to pack for all 17 days. We used the ship laundry several times and it’s reasonable.

 

25. You’ll be provided an unlimited supply of bottled drinking water every day. On the ship, they serve water from pitchers but it’s from bottles. We had no concerns about the ice on the ship or in the hotels and were assured it was very safe and we had it every day with our water and drinks. The bus has plenty of bottled water for the excursions. In the local restaurants you are provided bottled water but stay away from the ice.

 

26. My debit card worked fine everywhere. Just be sure to use the ATM in the hotels or the big international banks like Bank of China. Bank of China ATMs have an English option. The ATMs in smaller local banks won’t work and you may not get your card out of the machine. The money is all RMD. On the ship they can't exchange money but can give your change for larger RMB bills.

 

27. Money. We read several posts about taking $150 in $1.00 bills for tips. I think $100 is more than enough. On our excursions we gave the local guide $3.00 and the bus driver $2.00.

 

28. Local venders. You love them or hate them. Some just won’t leave you alone. If you’re going to return to the same place after an excursion NEVER say “later” because they have a great memory and when you get back they will just not leave you alone. We were advised not to make eye contact with them. If you start talking to them saying you’re not interested then they don’t understand a lot of English so they think you’re bartering with them and they persist. Some of you may not agree with what I’m about to say here but so be it. It was fun bartering. It’s amazing how far they will come down in price. It’s a game and always smile. But don’t take it to an extreme. These people are poor beyond your imagination. Sure I could have worked them even more to get the price even lower but I might only save $1-$2 more. We’ll spend $6-$10 on a glass a wine and not give it a second thought. These people are trying to scrape out a meager living and if I give them a couple of dollars more then I was ok.

 

In closing be prepared for the experience of a lifetime. Be flexible and and you’ll be warmly welcomed by the Chinese. We are hooked on Viking and hope to go back to Europe next year.

Thank you for your great review. We were going to be on exactly this trip one year from now. However, unfortunately, we have had to cancel this river cruise due to DH's respiratory problems and Doctor's orders. We had put our deposit down with Viking and they charged us a $200 cancellation fee, even though our trip isn't until April, 2013. I was quite surprised at that. We have never had this happen before when we had to cancel or change one of our cruises so far in advance. We were taking the Diamond Princess from Beijing to Vancouver after this Viking Cruise and Princess did not charge us a fee. We will be replacing our cruises with ports that have better air quality (probably Europe). We have previously sailed Uniworld in Europe and were anxious to try Viking. We do regret we will be unable to walk on the Great Wall.

This thread has been most informative and I wish all who are yet to cruise safe travels and bon voyage...

Hi Carol. Forgive me for butting in to your thread, but we're on Star Princess from Valparaiso to San Francisco (the second segment of a Rio/SFO cruise) in March, and there seems to be significant interest in the Viking pre-cruise for the May 3/13 sailing of Diamond Princess, upon whose board you and I are already posting. Some of us on the Star have already set up a discussion group of about 14 or 15 couples that will meet to discuss the China tour. We have both folks who have done it and those who are contemplating it.

 

Thought you'd be interested to know that one of the CC folks posted your comment above on the March 3 Star board (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1311864&page=97). We might be seeing several Star travellers on the Diamond next spring!

 

Cheers -- M&M

Hi M&M -- no problem at all in sharing this great idea of the river cruise first -- then the ocean trek across to Vancouver. And --- a big thank you again to you for discovering this could be done in the first place. I'm happy my comment was of interest and used by others..

I love cruise critic and like the idea of receiving and sharing great ideas.

How great -- you may know a lot of people on next years Viking cruise!!! Is there a roll-call started for the Viking segment?

Looking forward to meeting you!

Cheers,

Carol

We have booked the - 12-day Imperial China (Shanghai to Beijing) for next April, 2013.... This will be our "pre-cruise" for our Diamond Princess transpacific from Beijing to Vancouver. We had originally had an 8-day land tour with Princess to the Terra Cotta Warriors, Great Wall & Panda Bears..but discovered this 12 day river/land cruise would coordinate with the ocean cruise. What a great idea for us!! We picked up 4 extra days and the price was hardly any different. We were very pleased to see that the dates would coordinate together!!! We also wanted to cruise on Viking and have read some great things on these threads. We had previously taken a European River Cruise on Uniworld and enjoyed it alot.

We are really looking forward to sailing this new ship where every room has a balcony.... Can't wait to experience China this way.

Will look forward to reading everyones comments about their experiences.

Cheers,

Carol

It's finally here! Tomorrow we leave for Shanghai. We're both so excited I doubt whether either of us will sleep a wink. Thankyou everyone for all the helpful information posted here' date=' we've used most of it to plan our China adventure.[/quote']

 

Wishing you a safe journey. Can't wait to hear about your adventure when you return..... Please post your review.

 

Cheers,

Carol

We went to China during the national holiday and were not particularly bothered by the crowds. The Terra Cotta warriors display was a bit difficult in the museum part is all. The actual display was no problem. The Great Wall was no problem either . There were two directions to take and on the direction we took I managed to get some pictures with no people ! Viking gets you around really well.

That is encouraging to hear that Viking gets you around quite well thru the crowds on their National Holidays. I don't think that the Princess ocean voyages get you around so well on their tours (at least that is what I read).....so, I am strongly considering booking this river cruise!!!

Thanks for any and all suggestions.

I started a long document of tips from here that I cut and paste together as I read. However, after a while I just stopped doing it. I found that most of the information I had copied was repeated over and over again in the year prior to my sail date and by the time we sailed I pretty much had it all memorized.

 

 

Jim, BTW, nice sig file ;)

 

 

 

I didn't really use any of the drugs I brought either, but my S-I-L was quite glad that they had bought a C-pak(?)when she developed a bacterial rash on her leg during the trip. When the ships doctor prescribed oral antibiotics, she already had what was needed. Personally I would rather have the drugs with me and never need them, rather than vice versa.

I have been reading your "journal" and it is helping us decide which type of cruise to take next year (river or ocean with land tour).... We find your journal extremely helpful in giving us more information as far as the river cruise experience on the Yangtze and your day by day account. Thank you for sharing this valuable information. The Shutterfly pictures are a plus too.

Also, thanks to everyone else on this thread with all the great reports and hints. It will take me a while to get thru it all. We are definitely leaning towards taking this Viking Cultural 17-day trip either in 2012 or 2013. We had a Princess trip booked out of Beijing with a 8-day land tour in Beijiing, Xian & Yangtze River next October, but we decided to cancel & change it as it was over the first week of October (Golden Week - National Holidays) and we did not want to get caught in those type of crowds.. So, now I decided to research the river cruises and discovered this monster thread...

Thank again..

We were in Nha Trang Vietnam last week and our family group of 9, plus others to make 23 went on a wonderful day tour for US$50 ea (including lunch & river trip etc) with Mr Dung Pham (Website: www.nhatrangrivertour.com Email: nhatrangrivertour@yahoo.com).

 

We would recommend this tour 100%. The only trouble is Nha Trang is a tender port with Diamond Princess and in order to get a full day tour, it is important to get off in the first tender. So send someone to get the tender tickets at 7.30 am - and get tickets for the whole group at the same time (take turns to wait). Be organised! and you will have a wonderful, interesting day.

Thank you for your hints. We will be on the Diamond Princess next year and have already added our names to Dung Pham's tour. Can one person pickup the tender tickets for your whole group of 30 plus people???? Do you need anything special to do that? Did anyone bring any gifts for the orphans?

Thanks again for your suggestions.

Thanks for a very nice recap of your tours. Your experience with Tong was very much like ours. She does provide an unforgettable experience and probably one of the best tours we have ever had.

We were also on the same tours as Little Britain. Because of you, Mike, (& the great review which you posted), we personally booked this tour with Tong over a year ago. She was everything you said --- as a matter of fact, my DH and I think she is the best tour guide we have ever had. She was resourceful, energetic and full of laughs. She provided water to all of us and cool cloths frequently. We also said "hello" from you as you had requested we do in a previous post. She remembered you and even thought one of our tour buddies (Gary) looked like you (which she teased continuously)...I think being able to book "Tong" herself is key to having an outstanding tour.

Thank you again for writing a most complete review on these ports. It certainly has been helpful to us and other CC members to plan accordingly.

There is only one pier - Black Falcon.

Let us know what your vision for your day in Boston is. For example, the T runs a water taxi from Long Wharf (Aquarium) to the Constitution and back for $2/pp each way. There is also a Harbor walkway that extends along the waterfront. The walk between Long Wharf and the South Station area (Northern Ave) is particularly nice, but the walk from Northern Ave to Black Falcon is not as nice.

How far is the Long Wharf (Aquarium) to where the ship is docked? Can we start the Freedom Trail from the Constitution? All your recommendations are welcome. Thanks for all your input.

Where is the visitor center located where we could pick up a map for the walking tour??

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. Has anyone had any experience with the ship tour and any comments about it?

We will be on the Princess New England/Canada cruise this October and are now planning our shore excursions. Is it easy to do Peggy's Cove on your own? or a private tour versus a Ship Tour?

Any suggestions will be appreciated. Is it best to tour this area in the morning?

We were in the Azores on a TransAtlantic Cruise in April on RCL's Voyager. Although we don't usually take ship excursions, we did do the excursion to Furnas Lake and the Walk around the lake. The Furnas Lake area is interesting as the area has all this boiling mud and boiling water coming up from underground. The best part was the bus ride there and back is probably 1.5 hours each way so we got to see alot of the island and countryside and it is so pretty there and we went through several very small towns.

 

If you want to see my pictures of our day in the Azores, please check the following link:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/MartyReep

Thanks for the info and especially your pictures of the Azores -- really enjoyed them. Thanks for sharing. Were you able to walk around the town? Anything interesting?

We will stop at the Azores Island (Ponta Delgada), Portuagal on our upcoming cruise. Looking for any suggestions on visiting this port.