luvvacations

We are on Imperial Jewels, Beijing to Shanghai, in November. We arrive the day before Day 1 of the tour, so have a "forced overnight" in Beijing. From the basic itinerary that was sent with our confirmation months ago, it looks to me like there is no touring scheduled for Day 1, just arrive and check into the hotel for those arriving that day. I was thinking that we therefore may have at least part of that day free to tour on our own. Can anyone tell me, from your experience, if this is correct? There are a couple of places we'd like to see that are not on the Viking tour.

 

These two Viking China threads are a great source of information. Thank you to all who have been contributing to them. I have particularly been enjoying the recent trip reports.

Yes Day 1 is just checking into your hotel. We did our own flight and transfer and on check-in, we were given an envelope from our guide, stating the meeting time for the next morning. We also did get a call in our room from our guide that same day.

It's also a good opportunity to go to a great restaurant, I found the Chinese restaurants Viking takes you to were not great, they were just ok.

Mtlycew1: thank you so much for your details! I forwarded the whole thing along to my husband (who never reads CC, but will love this!)

 

One question: This is of concern to me as a female. How often did you encounter the non-Western toilets? I am not skilled at the whole-in-the-ground models!

Just flying back from China tonight. I encountered many squatty toilets during the trip. Most have been pretty clean. In most cases, there was a western toilet, but with a long queue, so I opted for the squatty ones. Just remember to bring tissue with you everywhere you go, some provide them, others do not.

Did not go to Peking opera and Peking duck last night. People thought the duck was greasy and a lot of fat and meat tough. We went on our first night to Made in China. The duck there was crisp and not greasy at all. Plus they said they could not see the show very well due to the positioning of the tables. Off to Xi'an today!

In china right now, camera charger and iPad charger just goes into outlet as is, no adapter or converter needed. Staying at Ritz Carlton Financial Street, really nice hotel. Our tour guide is Huang. Day 1 of our tour, so far so good!

We handled our own air and transfers and so I had the same question. Our Viking escort called us in our hotel room on the Viking arrival day, and told us when and where to be the next morning. To ease your mind, when you check in to your hotel, you could also mention to them that you need to connect with your Viking escort.

 

Have a great trip!

Thanks for your info!

For those who have gone on this trip, if you didn't book your flight with Viking and are doing their own transfers, how did you meet up with your guides for the tour the next day?

We booked our own flights. We plan to just take a cab from the airport to Beijing and from Shanghai hotel to the airport. Looks like to cab ride will be less than 200 rmb for each trip (around $30 CAD).

Last year, I don't recall Viking saying we needed a multiple entry visa. At any rate, for U.S. citizens, if I recall correctly, the (hefty) cost of the visa is the same regardless of whether it's for single or multiple entries, so no reason not to get a multiple entry visa. I see, however, that you are in Canada.

 

If Viking really is saying you should have a multiple entry visa for Imperial Jewels, I would call Viking and ask them directly why. It may have to do with some "just in case things," in which instance, it would be up to you to decide whether the lower cost of getting a single entry visa is worth assuming whatever potential risk they have outlined for you. (I think that even with a multiple entry visa, you'd still be paying less than US citizens do.) But again, I think the first thing to verify is whether this is really what Viking is saying.

 

Have a great trip!

Just called Viking today, they said single entry visa is good enough for this itinerary, didn't know why they sent the form for multiple entry visa. Advised TA of this. For Canadians, the multiple entry visa is double the price of the single entry visa. Thanks for all your help! :)

Does anybody know why Viking wants you to get a multiple entry visa that is valid for 12 months from date of application? I'm on the Imperial Jewels of China tour starting Apr 5. Looking at the itinerary, it looks like we enter China in Beijing, stay in China the entire trip and then leave in Shanghai. So I'm confused why I need a multiple entry visa, since we won't be exiting and re-entering China at any time.:confused:

We are booked on Air Canada (LAX to Vancouver to Beijing). I know there are non-stops from LA for similar prices to what Viking is paying, but Air Canada is configured 2-3-2, and we are in one of the 2's, so I thought even stopping might be better than the 3-4-3 on most of the other carriers.

 

We flew KLM (3-4-3) on our last cruise, and it was miserable. The food was good, and the AV system was great in coach, but the TV screen was almost touching my nose, because the passenger in front of me had his seat all the way back. When I asked him to move it forward a bit, he said, "NO!" He finally did, after I kept kicking his seat, and telling him it was because it was too close, and I couldn't help it. Not only did it make it more comfortable, it was also a bit of fun--sorry, but it really was....

 

Hoping Air Canada is better. Anyone know about their planes?

Check out http://www.aircanada.com/en/about/fleet/index.html that will give more information depending on what type of plane it is. Air Canada is generally not too bad. I used to complain about the airline, until I went on some American airlines, such as AA, United, US Airways, terrible! Now, Air Canada doesn't seem bad at all. They have your own inflight entertainment, so you can choose whatever you want to watch. The food is usually not that great. The best airlines, are Asian, eg Singapore Air, there is no comparison with the service, comfort, food...