Viking river cruises to China

[Anniefanny]

We had our first cruise ever on Viking Legend Grand European Tour in November 2010 and are thoroughly spoiled by the experience:D:D. We have been receiving lots of brochures/emails about 2011 cruises. One is the Roof of the World from Bejing to Shanghai including Tibet. Has anyone gone on this cruise? There seem to be a lot of internal flights involved-does this make for a lot of wasted time at the airport etc? Are the hotels used good hotels. It looks like the time on the ship is only about 5 nights. Is the food provided at the hotels good quality. What about food allergies-can they be accommodated? Sorry about all the questions. We had such a great tour with Viking, we would like to go on another one with them(we are hooked LOL)

THanks, Anniefanny:)

[diane.in.ny]

We did Viking in China although not the one you are going on.

 

If your experience matches ours you will have no complaints over the hotels and the food provided. We stayed at the Westin and the accommodations and b'fast buffets were fantastic. Dinner was included one night in Beijing and we had carte blanche at the dinner buffet which I know (because I asked) would have cost $50 pp if we bought it ourselves.

 

We had two internal flights and everything was handled just great. This was our first Viking cruise and we took a second last year.

 

If you'd like to read about our China trip, I have postings in my blog...just click on China in the right sidebar.

[pjfarkel]

We did Viking in China although not the one you are going on.

 

If your experience matches ours you will have no complaints over the hotels and the food provided. We stayed at the Westin and the accommodations and b'fast buffets were fantastic. Dinner was included one night in Beijing and we had carte blanche at the dinner buffet which I know (because I asked) would have cost $50 pp if we bought it ourselves.

 

We had two internal flights and everything was handled just great. This was our first Viking cruise and we took a second last year.

 

If you'd like to read about our China trip, I have postings in my blog...just click on China in the right sidebar.

My mom and I are considering the Viking River Cruise on their new ship the Viking Emerald. We are big cruise ship people and wonder if you can tell me anything about Viking and China to encourage my mom to try the smaller ship? I read your blog and it sounds wonderful and if we book within the week they are including free airfare, but I am concerned about quality of food on both land/ship, tours, and the hotels they use. Would you recommend Viking for our first river cruise? I appreciate any insights you can offer and you can email me directly - my email is included in my signature. Thank you so much!

[diane.in.ny]

My mom and I are considering the Viking River Cruise on their new ship the Viking Emerald. We are big cruise ship people and wonder if you can tell me anything about Viking and China to encourage my mom to try the smaller ship? I read your blog and it sounds wonderful and if we book within the week they are including free airfare, but I am concerned about quality of food on both land/ship, tours, and the hotels they use. Would you recommend Viking for our first river cruise? I appreciate any insights you can offer and you can email me directly - my email is included in my signature. Thank you so much!

I have no problem posting my comments publicly. In general, I would highly recommend Viking for a first river cruise. I have also taken a Uniworld river cruise and I think Viking is just touch better.

 

My husband and I LOVE the smaller ships. Easy to get around. Easy to make friends. But you need to be able to entertain yourself. No bingo. No casino. No vegetable carving.

 

On the other hand, presentations have to do with the area you are visiting. There could be lectures or movies. On the China trip there was a movie about the Yangtze River valley before it was flooded. On the Holland cruise there was a demonstration on carving wooden shoes.

 

The food on board was excellent. Ditto with the food in Beijing and Shanghai. We found the Chinese-style multi course dinners, when on tour, a bit lacking. The worst one was in Xian and, if I had known, would have skipped lunch and spent more time looking at the terracotta soldiers. But everything was certainly edible and no strange food, except for some types of vegetables I'd never seen before.

 

As I mentioned before, the hotels in Beijing and Shanghai were 5 star. While other hotel stays were not up to the same level, I later did some research and determined that Viking did use the best hotel in the area.

 

As for why to visit China...that is a personal preference, of course. I found visiting the Great Wall and seeing the Terracotta soldiers fabulous experiences. I wanted to go through the locks on the Yangtze River. This was our first trip to Asia and just something we wanted to do....plus, for us, it was our 7th continent since we had previously done all the others, incl Antarctica

[Turtles06]

Folks, if you really want to tap into a TON of current info here on CC about Viking's China trips, do not miss the Viking China thread on the "Other Cruise Lines" part of CC. The link below will take you to page one of the thread (begun years ago, literally), but you'll want to head to the most recent pages for current info. People who have been to China with Viking regularly respond to questions posed on the thread. Just browsing thru (or doing specific searches), you'll see what a great time folks had, and learn a great deal about the trips. And feel free to ask your questions there.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=252201

[no fuss travel]

If you thought the service you received on the Viking Legend was good, you will be spoiled when you take your China Viking cruise. We missed the service we received in China when we were on the Viking Legend.

[Anniefanny]

Thanks to all for the info,

Anniefanny