swanny727

We were also on this cruise with another couple. You have done a great job so I don't need to rehash everything. Just a few additions:

- Peterhof was open, we were inside. However, we did not have a canal tour. I would have rather had that option after seeing Catherines Palace. Our friends made the tour reservation thru their TA. It was Shore Excrusions. All of our other stops were the same as SPB. We did not do any nighttime excursions in Russia. One of my wish list items was vodka with the locals. We did this in a bar during our scheduled lunch stop. Great bar with stuffed animal heads and a stuffed wolf. Our tour guide took pictures for us.

- Sweden: Follow the Blue line to the train for Stockholm. Be advised, no toilet on the train.

- Re: the large Asian contingent. I agree with the cultural differences as we have traveled in Asia also. But the pushing, shoving and inability to wait turns was very frustrating to experience. Our friends went to the Q and A with the cruise director. About 30% of the pax were from Asia, mostly mainland Chinese and Taiwan. Princess has recently started a heavy marketing campaign to this region and hope this large Asian trend continues. Some Chinese were also at this meeting and had complaints of their own: No Chinese - style entertainment, Desired Mandarin speaking room stewards and wait staff, Desired Mandarin speakers at front desk and Mandarin announcements. The answer was that the new itineraries out of Asia would have those things.

- The onboard entertainment was very good, some of the best I have seen on a ship. Special entertainers were brought in for various nights, such as an opera singer from London, so the entertainment won't be the same on each cruise.

If I think of anything else I will add it.

Diane

I also have a bad knee and was worried about the Great Wall which I really wanted to do. Going down the slope sections hurt more than the stair section. I saw an elderly Asian lady using the handrail and going down the slope backwards. looked silly but I tried it and voila! less pain.

Try posting this on the Viking - China thread under the River Cruising section.

Understand that you can have a jacket or suit made on the ship. Has anyone done that and what is the range of cost. I understand that they do a great job.

We went last June and there was a girl with the tailor that spoke English. Perhaps she is not on every cruise though. She said she was family. I was interested in a blouse and they only had jackets on display. I was able to draw a picture and she helped with getting the design I wanted.

Hi, If I send my jeans/pants to the laundry aboard ship will they bring them back to me wet to hang dry? Thanks!

June will be one year since we did our Emerald cruise. I was feeling nostalgic and decided to read the board again to bring back memories.

I brought along a travel size bottle of fabreeze which helped with wearing clothes for more than 1 day. I did wash my jeans, in the sink, on the ship - but only the crotch area (sorry to get so specific). It is true that the jeans will not dry if entirely wet. I then hung them, upside down, with a pants hanger. They did dry in 2 few days. Our friend washed his polo-type cotton shirts and they did NOT dry. He used the hair dryer to get them good-enough-dry to repack. If you have OBC, that can be used for laundry on the Emerald.

Only a few things also to pack ! We were able to to it in two lare suitcases containing less than 20 kg each and a one carry-on with less than 5 kg wich are the weights required for intra China flights. Since we are extentioning our trip (without Viking) and will fly two times also we need to be very careful for the luggage's weight.

 

About what to pack, le'ts say that we plan to do a little laundry or to have it done at the hotel or the ship meaning less clothes to bring :)

 

Please can you remind me where you'll go pearl shopping since there's no time for me to search for Lori's information.

 

Have a great flight and a magnificent time in Beijing. See you onboard after the first dinner at the Emerald bar or if it happens that you hear some French speaking in the dining room it'll be us !!!

 

Diane

If you have any onboard credit, it can be used towards laundry service on the Emerald.

Our cabin will be available on Emerald. The flights were just too long. My husband cannot walk a lot and seemed to be lots of stairs. I like only a couple of Chinese dishes. Really wanted to see the cultulre.

Sorry you had to cancel. It really is a great trip but does require lots of walking.

Hope you find somewhere else to explore

NO.

 

 

IMHO--PACK LIGHT, especially on the way over and especially if you are a shopper. The less stuff you have to worry about on the transfers, the happier you will be--especially in Chongqing and even more so if it is raining. The good thing about Viking is that you don't need two outfits per day. You don't need formalwear and men don't even need a sports jacket. Dress is casual and there is laundry service on-board the ship. The less you start out with, the more room you will have for shopping. If you are a shopaholic, bring an extra bag (it is easier than trying to shop for one at the last minute, when you realize that you have over done it and it won't all fit!!:eek::eek:)

 

 

 

 

I agree with Peregrina about packing light. Many days there is not time to change before dinner. I packed a lot of "travel" tops that could be washed in the sink and dry by the next morning. A cheaper option, than designated travel clothes, is to purchase workout clothes or golf clothes. On the ship however, we found the rooms quite humid and it tool 2 days for some things to dry. If you have shipboard credit, you can use it towards laundry. Travel size bottles of Downy Wrinkle and Fabreeze can help extend the life of your shorts/pants for more than one day :)

For information

We are on the Emerald now and are returning to Wuhan at the moment from the three Gorges Dam unable to go through locks and continue cruise. Tomorrow evening we fly to Xian for an extra day. Cancelled is cruising through theThree Gorges, the Lesser Three Gorges excursion, Shibaoza Pagoda visit and the Chongqing Zoo visit for the panda's. Some cruisers also missed Shanghai at the beginning of the cruise due to bad weather at Beijing which prevented their onward flight to Shanghai.

 

Sadly the extreme weather conditions have conspired to ruin the cruise.

I'm sorry your cruise experinece is cut short. Hopefully the guides will find other amazing things for you to see / do while in China. I'm sure there will be those that grumble about the changes but, it will still be fun if one can make the best of it.

Thanks Kohola for the update and pictures. I am glad the passengers are getting an extra day in Xian (wish we could have had an extra night there to see the city walls) and experiencing some street food! Glad your friend is still enjoying the trip.

These are photos a friend that lives in ShenYang in NE China sent me of the torrential rain and subsequent loss of life in Beijing on Saturday local time.

 

WOW amazing photos. How powerful storms can be! Very sorry so many lost their life. Hope your friend is OK. Thanks for sharing.

Can anyone who has done this cruise comment on how much free time is available? A group of us are going in Oct of 2013. When we booked we knew it was a very busy trip, but it sounds like there is no free time at all. I don't want to miss the tours but sometimes it is nice to just wander and yes, shop a little!!!

 

Thanks

On Imperial Jewels, Time is given at certain lunch places - e.g. Jade Gallery and Silk Tapestry - to browse in their gift shops. Also plenty of time at the Great Wall, if you do not spend the alloted time actually climbing. (It took us about an hour to walk to the end of the harder side and 30 minutes to come down. We still had time for a beer and look around the shops.) We had about 15 minutes at YuYuan garden, Summer Palace and at the Terra Cotta gift shop. Evenings are the best time to wander around on your own though. We went a day early and stayed an extra day at the end as well.

One week until our adventure begins (July 4th Imperial Jewels). Anyone else here on the same cruise? Cathy and I are getting very excited.

 

Ron

I am still excied about my trip that was Jun 4! What a cultural experience.

Hope you enjoy it too.

Thank you so much for posting menus as well as photos. A picture is worth a 1000 words it seems. I was beginning to worry just a bit with the occasional complaint but now am looking forward to the food as well as the other aspects of the trip now less than 4 months away for us.

 

Karl

Desserts were excellent and you can order more than one! Some people ordered 2 appetizers as well.

I'm not fond of any of these things. Did they serve any chicken, shrip, pork or beef?

haha, yes, I was referring to the special meal where the Chinese local food is served as shown by Kohola. I don't recall if shrimp was ever offered but, there are alternative choices every night and salmon was on that list along with chicken breast. The Lazy Susan restaurant meals always included fish, chicken or pork. However, be aware that the Chinese chicken, and fish, often included bones.

Dear Diane,

 

Welcome home from China. We hope that overall you had a great trip. We apologize for the mistake that led to you and your travel companions not initially being in the same group, but we are happy to hear that it was resolved quickly. You’re right when you say that food is subjective, but we are still disappointed that you were disappointed. We’ve asked our Customer Relations team to contact you regarding the concerns you’ve mentioned. In the meantime, you can also contact us directly at TellUs@vikingrivercruises.com.

 

We look forward to speaking with you and learning more about your Imperial Jewels of China cruisetour.

 

Best,

Viking River Cruises

Hello Viking,

Thanks for the phone call. I'm sorry I gave the impression of disappointment. I understand that food served to 250 people cannot be tailored to specific tastes. Personally, I do not care for eggplant, or tofu, which seem to be served frequently in China. This is not Vikings fault and, as I said, food was plentiful and I did not go hungry. In fact, I tried the pig ear, pig tail, jellyfish salad, chicken feet and 1,000 year old eggs on the ship buffet.

The local guides are informed and friendly. The ship crew is fantastic, helpful and friendly. I don't know if this was intentional but, I noticed that several groups had a wide age range. Half appearred to be under 65 and the rest over 65. This is a nice mix for both the passengers and the tour escorts.

Thanks again for your interest and quick follow-up.

Re: gifts at the school

 

You are specifically asked not to give to individual students because this is unfair to the majority of the school's students who don't get to interact with the visitors.

 

There is a huge container where you should put whatever gifts you have brought. This way, the school administrators can make sure that all of the classes benefit from our visit and not just the three or four classrooms on the ground floor that we actually are invited to visit.

 

Cash donations are also welcome in the same donation container.

 

P.S. I agree with caribill. Candy is not a good idea.

Actually, now the cash donation box is next to the box for school supplies. The cash box looks like plexiglass with a slot for the cash. (Maybe there was a problem with theft?) Both are at the front gate. Our guides told us nothing about donations - I had to ask our guide what to do with my stuff. Others in our group seemed miffed that they did not know about bringing donations for the school. I told them cash was always welcome ;)

Hi all, I've been off the site for a while, so just finished catching up. Question regarding bringing pencils. I remember a post a while ago where the poster said they gave the kids the pencils directly, which was fun as all the kids gathered around. Now someone posted that they have a box where these things go. Less personal, but perhaps a better idea. Thoughts?

 

I lived in Taiwan for a couple of years, and duck was always served the way someone described it: pancake, hoisin sauce, cucumber and onion. Oh yea, the duck also--lol. I could eat this dish every day of my life and not get bored!! (P.S., In Taiwan in the 60's, this whole meal cost around $1.50 US.) The other thing that was always served with it was a duck egg dish with nuts and cooked exquisitely. Did anyone get that? Anyway, thanks to all posters. We can't wait until we go in October (Same group as cruisingatsea).

Last week, at the school, I brought pencils, colored pencils and stickers. I tried to give the bag to the teacher but our guide translated that the donations should go into the box by the front gate. Someone in another group brought a bag of candy and gave them to the kids performing the songs and dances (outside when we entered). That was exciting and well liked by the kids but, that group was all girls so the boys didn't have a chance for candy. I had one piece of candy in my purse and gave it to "my" boy. Our group was not shy about interacting with the students.

I just returned from Imperial Jewels, Beijing to Shanghai. I am happy to answer any questions. As others have mentoned, Viking does a good job with transfers and logistics. Our trip started out badly though when we found out we were not in the same tour group as our travel companions - we were with Bob while they were with Simon. The Viking rep, with whom we made reservations, is no longer with the company. At the time of reservation, we were assured we were in the same group and even had cabins next to each other.

Simon said we could be with his group and he would check with the management. After a few days, Simon reported that Viking was able to change 2 of our flights, to be with our friends, but the flight from Xian to Chongqing could not be changed. This meant we were with Bob's group to see the Terra Cotta Warriors and board the ship. Both guides were excellent. If any of you are traveling with others, I advise calling ahead of time to be sure you are booked in the same group.

We stayed at the Ritz-Financial Beijing, Westin Xian and Ritz-Portman Shanghai. All hotels were 5 star and good locations for walking around.

Food on the ship was bland. We asked for hot sauce and, since we sat at the same table every meal, by the 2nd day the hot sauce was waiting for us. Lazy Susan meals were not as bad as we expected. Food is subjective of course and some of the items were not what we would have ordered if given a choice. However, food was plentiful. Someone in our group complained about all the Chinese food by the 3rd day. Why in the world would one take a trip to China if they didn't want to eat Chinese food?

Weather was hot, in the 90's. On the river it seemd like 100 degrees with 200% humidity. Air quality in Beijing was poor. "Fog" they call it but, we know it as smog. Some days we couldn't see 2 blocks and several travelers had trouble breathing. Great Wall, and river days, were misty / hazy and Shanghai was fairly clear. The day before we docked in Wuhan, there was some "mysterious yellowish cloud" which was explained in the paper as "a farmer burning straw, not a chemical explosion as reported by some".

Still have jet-lag so I'm sure I will think of more to report later.

Thanks for the update. I so hope that it will not affect my trip starting on July 20th. I've been watching several dicey situations in the last 6 months, where I was wondering if it would affect me. At any rate, I hope I get to go, the Tibet part of the trip is what enticed me to take this trip.

I will follow more closely, but really if they don't allow foreigners to enter, than I will still have the China portion of the trip.

just returned from Imperial Jewels. I will post more later but wanted to say that Tibet is cancelled for now. That group will go to a Panda sanctuary instead. This didn't concern our schedule so no more was mentioned about it.

Diane

As noted in the previous responses, you will be able to charge your electronics (cell phones, cameras, NOOK, Kindle etc.) in your hotel room and on the ship without an adapter and/or converter. If anyone is traveling with a curling iron, however, you will need a converter. Hair dryers were provided in all of our rooms.

Since we are leaving Saturday, I've been reading the Viking website. According to that, the plugs in China have the 3 flat, slanted prongs. Are you saying that US straight prongs will fit into the outlet?

As for hair dryers, website says:

Hair dryers & amenities

Your ship has hair dryers for guest use, as do most hotels. Your stateroom amenities include shower gel, shampoo, lotion, shower cap and vanity kit.

"For use" sounds like first come, first served, at the reception desk, for getting one. Are they provided in all the cabins? That would be great if I didn't have to pack mine :)

I think we took a combination of #2s and colored pencils.

That's exactly what I was planning!

Hi Diane,

We are going on the June 1st tour leaving from Shanghai. Sorry, it would have been nice to meet you.

 

Rita

Oh darn. It seems I am the only CC member going on this cruise. At least, no one else has admitted it. Have a great time - I guess we will cross paths in ChongQing.

Off topic, sorry, but, I wanted to say Stay Safe to the members of N Florida and any other SE coast. Beryl formed from the same system that hit us in Miami late last week with 58 mph winds, downed trees, 10 inches of rain and no power for several hours. Hope you aren't hit too hard.

We brought several packages of wooden pencils and gave them directly to a teacher.

 

Even though they may have been manufactured in that part of the world, we were told the ones they can get locally are of lower quality.

 

I took pens, paper and lots of craft supplies (all sorts of things like stick on eyes!) that were flat and easily fit in the suitcase. At the school we went to there was a box outside to leave things like this so that they could be checked and given out to the children fairly

 

Sean :)

Thanks for the suggestions. Pencils are easy to pack and I'm sure I can find something more fun and crafty too. I was thinking crayons but that would not fare well in the suitcases