Smbruner

We just returned from this exact trip about 3 weeks ago. These are my tips!

1. Be ready to not only walk quite a bit each day (especially when in Beijing) but you will also do quite a bit of stairs. It's not for the weak or disabled.

2. At the Wall Viking used to use a cable car to get from the parking to the Wall entrance, they no longer do this as the line could last over an hour and the cable car isn't very reliable. So be ready to walk up a VERY STEEP incline. And it goes for about a half a mile - so get yourself into shape to do this as well. I was not ready for this and it was difficult.

(I had a bad knee and it took it's toll on the entire trip - so much so that I'm getting a partial knee replacement in 2 weeks!)

3. Take some pocket size Kleenex with you - I had enough for our entire group. Stuff them into your shoes when packing. At home, I also would save toward the end of my toilet paper rolls for weeks before our trip - smash the rolls down and put into zip bags. These were very handy when toilet paper was not available.

4. Bring wet wipes - hand washing when out and about is hard and hardly ever do you have towels to dry your hands.

5. Don't worry about your prescriptions you bring. I fretted over this for quite a while as we always take small zip bags (2"x2") with our daily dosage in them. I had heard that you must bring the original bottles. We used our small zip bags and never had a problem with this issue.

6. Have your doctor give you a z-pack and a Cipro prescription (just in case) These we did leave in their original containers in our carry on bags. Also bring chew able pepto bismo and Imodium (just in case).

7. Don't bring ANY scissors in your carry on luggage (especially when you fly inter China) - they will be taken. Even the smallest ones will be lost.

8. Don't worry about exchanging USD into RMD as your first hotel in Beijing will do this for you. But be sure to bring bills that are not ripped, torn or too worn. I brought $500 new $50's and $100's and they were fine. We never had to go to an ATM and I came home with about $100 worth of RMD (which I will sell to a friend or use if we go again or to Hong Kong).

9. If possible go to Beijing on the Viking Extension. So worth it. You will be able to see the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven - which is not included in the regular tour. Also you will be able to acclimate to the time zone and the crazy that is Beijing. We had one free day which we took a taxi on our own to the Lama Temple. Very interesting and moving. Taxi there and back was about $7 USD total.

10. Also, if you have that spare night there before the tour book a night tour of Beijing with Tour Beijing http://www.tour-beijing.com/. We got to see a lot of the lights and sights of Beijing that the tour group missed.

11. Skip the Peking Duck dinner with the group. They all said it was just "so-so". If you are at the Kerry Hotel (love their toilets) then you can make a reservation with their concierge at their Horizon Restaurant. VERY good Peking Duck and if you are at another hotel make one with Made in China https://beijing.grand.hyatt.com/en/h...deinChina.html. We didn't eat there but I read very good things about it. When you make your reservation be sure to tell them that you want the Duck as it takes over 75 minutes to prepare.

12. Save some $$ for Shanghai and buy a picture at the Silk Art Gallery. Unbelievable pictures made of silk and they will haggle with you. We received ours just today, shipped beautifully.

13. On the ship - if you are a drinker (like us) buy the drink package. We were definitely ahead by doing this before we left. That way you get the better wines with lunch and dinner as well. The wait staff and bar tenders will even remember you and what you want to drink.

14. Also on the ship - have the tailor make you something in silk. I got a lined silk jacket made for just $118. Then I wanted a robe and that was $200! A bit more - but worth it. He works very fast and does great work.

15. Bring some $1 and $5 bills. You will use these at times for tips etc. and they come in handy.

16. Go well rested - you will need a vacation after this one as you are up early almost every morning. But it will be the most memorable vacation you will ever have.

Also, bring hand sanitizer and USE IT. Almost everyone in our group got a cold toward the end of the trip. Probably from handrails on the bus and not using it after we got in or out.

I hope this helps - please let me know if you have any other questions.

One last (I think) question - we fly out tomorrow AM!

I have read reviews here about the Peking Duck Dinner at both the Horizon and Made in China.

Right now I have reservations at both on the night that Viking has their duck dinner. We're staying at the Kerry and since the Horizon is right there and it's the last night in Beijing after a full day of touring (it's the Great Wall Day). I'm thinking we should just stay at our own hotel and eat at the Horizon.

I'm also wondering if I should wait to cancel the Made in China reservation in case I meet another couple on our tour who might want our reservation. I had told both restaurants that we wanted the Duck for 2 people.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks so much - still packing!

For those of you who have been on the Viking China trips - when we tour a bit before getting on a plane or arriving at our hotel what did you do with your carry on bags?

Leave them on the bus? Take them with you? We plan to have in our carry on's our prescriptions, our larger camera, iPad, chargers and possibly other high price items.

I'm wondering if they should be locked if we will be leaving them on the bus?

Thanks for any answers - we are leaving in 3 days! YIKES! It's taken me weeks to go through this tread and it has been very helpful.

Before traveling, we ask our pharmacy to give us properly/fully LABELLED Rx bottles of the smallest size that will accommodate "x days" of each med. (We add a few days to the planned trip length, in case of delays, etc.)

 

The main "problem" is that the smallest bottle is still "too big" for small pills that are needed once or twice a day. But those are pretty small, so they aren't the main problem like containers for 90 day supplies of multiple pills/capsules per day!

 

That way, there is a valid and up-to-date prescription label on each little bottle.

 

We give them a week or two, so there is no rush, and they can do this during non-rushed hours.

Well, unfortunately our mail order pharmacy (Express-Scripts) told me that they will NOT do this for me. They suggested I get my doctor to write a letter stating what drugs we take and take that with me instead.

I have done this on my many trips to China and they don't care.

Actually it has never been an issue anywhere in the world over my many years of travel.

You put them in the small zip pouches?

This information helps a lot. We are not taking in large quantities - only our 17 day supply.

Thanks again for all of the hints and comments!

We fly into Beijing and have 5 nights there touring. Then we fly to Xian (to see the Terra Cotta Warriors) and from there we fly to Chongquig where we board our ship.

I guess we depart from the ship at Wuhan and fly from there to Shanghai where the tour ends and we fly home from there.

We're only in mainland China.

Thanks for any help on this. Our bottles hold 90 day supplies so they are large and bulky.

I was thinking of taking a copy of the prescriptions from our mail order company if they have any questions.

We're taking a Viking cruise next month and will go into Beijing and out of Shanghai.

Viking says to pack our prescriptions in their original containers. We usually pack them in daily doses in small zip bags.

Bringing them in their original containers will take us so much space. We only need 16 days worth!

Has anyone had issues with China customs if their prescriptions are not in their original containers?

Thanks for any advice on this.

Linanbob2 - we are on the same exact cruise as you but one year later. Ours begins on 10/20 as we are doing the 2 day extension to get rid of any jet lag.

First - thank you for your detailed report - it really helped to read about what we might be able to see and do. I'd love to see the Panda's but it's not critical to our trip.

This is a bunch of firsts for us - first river cruise, first time to Asia and first land cruise combo. But, we're very excited. We've been on many cruises but just never any kind of organized tour which I knew we would need to do in China and so we thought Viking would be a great place to start.

We're at the Kerry Hotel in Beijing and I'm just wondering if we'll be able to brush our teeth with the tap water? Do you have any knowledge about this? I'm sure we can ask once there but I want to get mentally prepared.

Thanks again for your information - we're under 40 days before we leave and starting to get very excited!

Susan

We do have to mention that the front portion of the balcony can be seen by anyone who wants to look down from the public deck 9 and from the side by anyone on the so-called "secret balcony". We had people look at us several times. Could be a bit disconcerting if you want private sunbathing or just plain privacy.

Thanks for the tip - if people want to look they can look. It's not like we are nudist or anything! LOL

I'm not sure there are any true private balconies on the PG - are there?

We have stayed in a Grand Suite. The balcony is divided into two parts. One is on the side of the ship. The other is across the front, which you access through a rather heavy metal door where the side of the ship curves around to the front. It is rather windy up front when underway, but great while anchored. There is a front-facing window in the living area of the suite in addition to the glass doors to the balcony, but the sofa/loveseat under the window does not face the view.

Thanks for the clarification, I think we'll stay with the Grand Suite this cruise. It's either this room or the Owners Suite and I like the front balcony use even if limited to when not sailing. The ideal location for us, is a suite on the very back of the ship but PG doesn't have any of those, just balcony rooms.

Has anyone ever gone to the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles in person to get their Visa to go to China?

I'm a bit confused about sending out the paperwork to a company when I don't know all the particulars.

I know I need to wait until we have our flights and hotels assigned but then I'll be in a mad dash to get the Visa's.

We are due to depart on October 19, 2016 Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

We really like to be on our balcony and have enjoyed in the past being at the back of ships to enjoy the scenery pass by unobstructed.

So, a large balcony is preferred.

Any thoughts on the Grand Suite on the PG? So, far I like the thought of it being a wrap around deck but wondering about if I can see out when it it moving or if it would be too windy in front, might have to sit on the side deck?

Thanks for any advice or tips. We're celebrating my husband's 60th so we're trying to do it in style!

Wow! How disappointing! What a terrible experience! Im surprised they didn't email you as well. I assume you didn't bring your cell phone? They should have had alternate ships and rooms already assigned! Not sure I would have wasted the miles and flown home, but from what you say, you didn't have much choice. My voyage on the Midnatsol is quickly approaching. March 2. I think the clothes I'm taking would work elsewhere in Scandinavia, other than the shoes (boots) which I'll consider now adding a more light weight pair. And as you or someone said, surely the must have known weeks if not months ago they were going to need to swap out the engines and cut the cruise short, if nothing else. Well perhaps you'll do a mainstream cruise up the coast in the warmer months.

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Yes, I DID have my cell phone and I gave them my number. Not to mention they knew what room we were in at the hotel since they booked it for us. I understand that the company had been sold or there is new management, I don't know. I just know that after spending all of that time researching and shopping for this "trip of a lifetime" we were VERY disappointed, and the Hurtigruten representatives in Bergen could have cared less!

As for your clothing, I would just plan on layering as when you go into a room or hotel or any place else in Norway (at least Bergen) they have the heater on full blast so you have to start peeling off your clothes to breathe. Good luck with your trip! Hope they don't disappoint you the way they did us!

But, given a little more time, perhaps they would have?

 

They did have an answer for friends we made, only to later recant and say "that was never an option". It was obvious that the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing and what's more, they didn't care! Apparently, any rooms available on other ships went to a group from France, not any individual travelers.

 

"If I had traveled that far, and my clothing really was unsuitable, I would have bought a minimal amount of suitable clothing rather than return home with nothing to show for my hours in the air."

 

Unfortunately, we didn't know where to go after this huge let down. We had traveled to unpack ONCE and stay on board for 11 days. Not to travel from country to country and so our luggage and clothing did not suit the change of plans. Had we known where to visit or had friends in Europe then that might have been an option. As it was, we had to go with what was given (or not given) to us.

 

As I said before. There was no one from Hurtigruten who had one solid answer in 3 days or could even offer an apology for what had happened. It was quite obvious that we were not given a thought.

 

In all of my travels I've never seen anything so mismanaged.

 

I only posted the original post as a warning to others who might be planning their special trip and traveling far to perhaps check with the line before they leave home and make sure that THEIR cruise will indeed be on schedule.

What happened to you was not good, you appear not to have been treated well, and I sympathise, but you say 'We had reserved the Expedition Suite (highest category on this ship) and we were unwilling to now had an inside cabin'. Why not take the offer of a cabin on another ship rather than lose the trip completely? We spent minimal time in our cabin on each of our trips: it is, after all, about the landscape and the ports of call.

They couldn't even tell us if we COULD get on another ship for sure, as there were 3 people writing down what people wanted to do and none of them spoke to each other or were on a computer. So, when you walked away you didn't know what they were going to place you.

And as it turned out we found out that many of the people who did ask to be put on another ship were told "now there is no room" or "we don't have that option". THEN they needed to find flights home. It was a very unprofessional way to take care of their cruise guests. It just didn't leave us feeling like they were going to really take care of us.

Had it been done where as we walked up, said what we'd like to do and they could say "okay, you will be on THIS ship and have a cabin" then we might have done that. BUT, none of the representatives had a solid answer.

If we had brought different clothing, and not for the Arctic we would've just stayed in Europe and traveled for a few weeks. As it was we had only very cold weather clothing and not conducive to travel to France or Germany.

Needless to say, I cried for days and lost my faith in this company - that's for sure!

We were scheduled to sail on the Midnatsol on January 29 - Feb 9.

We arrived in Bergen on January 28 and were notified that evening that there was a "problem" with the Midnatsol and the sailing would be delayed.

After moving all of the cruise guests to one local hotel they told us it would be a one day delay because they had to exchange out one of the engines and it still wasn't working (found out later this was so they could take the ship to Antarctica this summer). Then on Saturday, the day they told us we would sail we were informed that our trip was flat out CANCELLED!

We had to line up for over 2 hours to see what could be done for us, we were told we had 3 options. 1. To fly home 2. To join another ship already at sea 3. to Join a ship that would be leaving in a few days. It was so mismanaged, none of the representatives had computers, they couldn't tell us what stateroom category we would be in or if we would even get on. They were just writing notes on pieces of paper. So, my husband and I decided to cut our losses and fly home to Los Angeles, CA.

We had reserved the Expedition Suite (highest category on this ship) and we were unwilling to now had an inside cabin. After talking to others at the airport in Bergen we found out that one couple was going to take option 2 and when they went downstairs to find out about timing to get to the airport for the charter flight to catch the other ship, the representative said "That was never an option!"

Never ONCE did anyone for Hurtigruten say "I'm so sorry" - not one word of apology We were never treated with any respect!

And as one fellow passenger pointed out they had to have known about this before many of us even left home as you can't arrange for a hotel to accommodate over 350 people at the last minute! Once home, I could tell that Hurtigruten called me on Thursday AM (we flew out on Wednesday AM), but they didn't leave a message. They did call back on Saturday AM but by then we were in Bergen staying at the hotel they provided.

We arranged our own flights home (we had used miles to fly first class to and from Norway). I don't know if they will reimburse me for my 200,000 miles

We returned from dinner to find flight arrangements for us to get to Green Bay, Wisconsin! We had met 2 sisters on the bus city tour that day who live in Wisconsin so I knew it was supposed to be for them. I found them on Sunday and showed them the E-ticket and even though they understood what had happened the stupid lady from Hurtigruten didn't understand.

There was a fairly large group from France who we found out did get to go on one of the ships. But, my husband and I were not with a group so we were basically on our own.

I would NEVER attempt to sail with Hurtigruten and if any of you are planning on doing a sailing I would be very cautious. One couple was from Australia on their honeymoon and had to turn around and fly back home!

I've been on over 10 cruises and never in my life have I been treated like this before. We had booked this in June 2015 and the disappointment much less the frustration has been so overwhelming.

We just had an informational meeting and were told that the ship was in dry dock to replace an engine and they thought it would be ready for tonight's sailing. But to check the software they had German engineers on board and they got seasick so the ship had to go north to calmer waters! We are hoping to board tomorrow afternoon and as your link said we will miss one stop.

They have put us up at a very nice hotel with all meals covered. And a city bus tour tomorrow.

I just hope we can get going tomorrow!

Thank you for the quick reply! We are actually in Bergen now and our 12 day coastal cruise on the Midnastol tonight but has been delayed one day due to weather (we think). We found that the hotel has the same bathroom configuration so that's why I asked. We will try to shop for our needs today. Thank you again!

Does anyone know if there are washcloths provided for showers in your bathroom? Also, shampoo & conditioner or is it an "all of n one"? Trying to figure out if I need to bring my own. Being from the states and having traced in Europe previously I know not all places provide "face flannels". Thanks

Thanks for your quick reply, I think I will bring the one light that can go around my neck just to be safe. It will be interesting being in the dark a lot. If nothing else, I'll have to just wing it! Thanks again.

We have traveled in a suite on the Midnatsol and Trollfjord. On our last trip we could access wifi from our suite.(It is free on the ship). Wine glasses were supplied in the room. We bought wine before we boarded at the Vinmonopolet in Bergen. There are stores all over Norway; it is the only place to purchase alcohol on Norway. (Vinmonopolet.no) Enjoy your voyage....I have been on the ships in all seasons, except winter.....it's on my bucket list!

Janetcbl - since you have been in the suite on the Midnatsol perhaps you can answer another question for me. I knit and wanted to bring my knitting with me and wanted to know if there is adequate lighting in the room to knit. If not I can bring some kind of light with me. Thanks for letting me know. We leave Los Angeles a week from this Wednesday so I'm in a panic.

Susan

We will be on the Midnatsol January 29 for the 11 day Norway Coastal and I'm wondering about internet fees onboard. Anyone know?

Also, we are in a suite and I saw from pictures that we have glasses for drinks as well as a refrigerator in our room. So, wouldn't we be able to have cocktails or wine in our room? I understand there is no room service. I'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this or not.

Thank you for any information. Getting quite excited.

We will be on the 10 day Coastal Norway "In Search for the Northern Lights".

We are scheduled to cruise on January 29 - getting quite excited! But, I can't find anything on tipping. Do we need to plan on tipping or is it added to our account or how does it work? Thanks for any advice.

We are scheduled to be on the astronomy cruise from January 29 to February 9 - I can report after that. But might not be in time for you to book.