Viking China (Part 2)

[Peregrina651]

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']

 

LOL. Not sleeping tonight might make it easier to sleep on the long flight to China.

 

Have a great trip. We look forward to hearing from you on your return, if not sooner.

[nlond]

Hi all - my parents - ages 84 & 80 are thinking about taking this trip from the US. They have traveled extensively - have never been to China and would love to have that experience. They are concerned that it might be too strenuous for them. Any thought would be appreciated. Thanks, Nancy

[caribill]

Hi all - my parents - ages 84 & 80 are thinking about taking this trip from the US. They have traveled extensively - have never been to China and would love to have that experience. They are concerned that it might be too strenuous for them. Any thought would be appreciated. Thanks, Nancy

 

How active are they physically? There is a lot of walking on the tours and sometimes a number of steps (for example at the Great Wall). Tours in Shanghai and Beijing are all day long. Tours from the ship are a half day.

 

I would definitely suggest going in the spring or fall when the heat is not overbearing.

[sailaway5]

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

[Turtles06]

Hi all - my parents - ages 84 & 80 are thinking about taking this trip from the US. They have traveled extensively - have never been to China and would love to have that experience. They are concerned that it might be too strenuous for them. Any thought would be appreciated. Thanks, Nancy

 

As Caribill says above -- how active and fit are your parents? Not only is there a great deal of walking and standing for extensive periods, but much of it is on hard and uneven surfaces. There are places where porters with wheelchairs can be used (e.g., Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City), but you should know that China is well behind the U.S. when it comes to access for people with mobility issues.

[NivCruise]

Definitely the Tibet trip is difficult even for the those who are younger. The steeps are steep or very numerous.

 

In some cases only a squat type toilet was available in China and an older gentleman could not get up and needed assistance from another tour member.

 

Getting on or off the boat will require the assistance of one or two porters . There are many stairs and unsteady gang planks. The porters were not available at every stop.

 

I seem to recall that the forbidden city has stairs.

 

The great wall is quite steep and uneven but you can at least get to it ( after a several block walk)

 

The pagoda stop would have been difficult because of a suspension bridge.

 

Perhaps folks of the same age on this board could reply. China is doable but probably a private custom tour would be better. Thanks

[roothy123]

I would pretty much agree that the Viking China trip (we did Imperial Jewels) is not an easy one from a physical standpoint. The docking situations in China are not ideal (i.e., lots of steps up to town level, and not always with rails or porters), and the amount of walking is indeed pretty daunting in places. In Shibaozhai, however, you can at least see the pagoda from the ship, even if you don't make the long trek through town, across the bridge and then up the pagoda. There were stick men willing to take you through the town for ten dollars, but our tour escort was hesitant to recommend them as occasionally one will leave you part-way through town and ask for more money! Also, they cannot take you across the bridge or up in the pagoda, so Shibaozhai is definitely a difficult stop for anyone who can't walk a lot. That being said, my husband just took it easy and managed all but the trip up through the pagoda. He used the easier, back way (the way down) to get up there, but missed many of the things we saw on the way up.

 

In Shanghai, we left the group after a half day and made our way back to the hotel. If you know what you're doing, a person with mobility issues can do that and still see a good amount of Shanghai. For the wall, there were people with wheelchairs who would push you up to the gate (working for tips) - but then there was still a little way to go, fairly steep, to actually get to the wall. Again, however, even if your parents weren't up to going the whole way, they could at least see the wall from the bus drive up, and with a little bit of effort, see it from the gate.

 

For Beijing's Tian. Square, and the Summer Palace in the afternoon, we rented my husband a wheelchair and pusher for the whole day for $80. That saved a LOT of walking, and Howard never missed anything and never held anyone up. The guy was wonderful at navigating a crowded, huge square, including Forbidden City with stairs and ramps and tons of people.

 

In the airports, you can usually find a wheelchair and pusher. Getting to the ship docked in Wuhan was not fun - tiny steps going downhill with no porters and no railings. Some people were freaking out, especially since we had our carry-ons with us, adding a little bit of a challenge.

 

Chongqing zoo has a shuttle that takes people around part of the way, so that helps. There was still a good amount of walking, though. Yueyang (school) and Lesser Gorges boat trip and the 3 Gorges Dam are reasonably easy stops. That leaves Xi'an, Terra Cottas, where we rented a wheelchair. I don't know how much it was (but much less than in Tian. Square) but it may not have been needed there, as the walking wasn't too bad, and it was all pretty level and well paved.

 

Even though there's a good amount of walking, it is not usually fast-paced.

 

SO - a lot depends upon how physically fit your parents are, but even if they aren't really fit, I suppose they could always just sit out certain portions of the tours.

 

I was hoping to get my photos posted by now, which might give you a better idea of things, but my external drive crashed big-time and I've had a delay in retrieving the pictures. However, I should be posting soon, as our genius friend was able to save them.

[nlond]

Thank you all for so much information. I will pass it along to my parents.

[caribill]

Thank you all for so much information. I will pass it along to my parents.

 

Please let us know what they decide.

[NivCruise]

"Even though there's a good amount of walking, it is not usually fast-paced.

 

SO - a lot depends upon how physically fit your parents are, but even if they aren't really fit, I suppose they could always just sit out certain portions of the tours. "

 

Great response from Roothy123.

 

I guess it depends on expectations. If the older or mobility limited traveller expects to have the same trip as those that have no mobility issues they will be disappointed. If they open to just having the best trip possible despite their limitations they will have a great time. They will find their fellow travellers to be friendly and helpful and the boat and tour guides to be terrific.

Thanks

[TMLAalum]

When will Viking's 2013 itineraries be published?

 

We are hoping to use ff miles- what would be the logistics of getting from the airport to hotel in either Beijing or Shanghai?

[Turtles06]

 

We are hoping to use ff miles- what would be the logistics of getting from the airport to hotel in either Beijing or Shanghai?

 

If you are booking your own air (we used ff miles for our China trip), you can either take a taxi, or splurge on yourselves and book a car in advance from your hotel. We did the latter and were very glad we did. It was nice, after such a long flight, to be met at the jetway by someone who then took us to immigration and baggage and got us into a car with water and cool towels. It's a long ride from the airport in either city, and we didn't have to worry about whether the taxi was taking us on some circuitous route, or anything else. We haven't done that before, but it was very nice to do on this trip.

 

If you take a taxi anywhere in China, be sure to have your destination written out in Mandarin (your hotel will provide a taxi card with this info for you).

[roothy123]

I've posted some of my photos from our recent (October) Imperial Jewels trip from Shanghai to Beijing here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/china_oct_2011

 

Feel free to take a peek. There's no sign-in required (i.e., no emails coming your way!!) and once you pull up the gallery, you can either run a slideshow, just look at the little thumbnails, or double click on any photo that you'd like to see full-sized. I recommend the slide show!

 

I have to admit that before I went on this trip, I was a little afraid I wouldn't get great photos due to smog/fog spoiling pictures, and possibly limited time in each place to take good pictures. However, I'm very happy with my photos. China is such a colorful place, and while we didn't have a lot of the free time I love so much on normal river cruises, we DID have time to take great photos on the trip and still not hold anyone up!

Edited November 3, 2011 by roothy123

[ruthlynn]

We are booked on this tour for next October. My question is: Is only one (1) piece of luggage allowed? What if you have more than one piece of luggage?

 

Would appreciate any advice....our trip is from Beijing to Shanghai and then the extended trip to Hong Kong.

 

Thanks.

[H2Otstr]

Roothy, really enjoyed your photos. Beautiful. Brought back lots of memories.

[Barrheadlass]

Roothy,

Gorgeous pics! We'd been planning on going 9/12 but my husband decided he couldn't take the long flights to and from. So I'm taking the trip by reading everyone's posts and looking at pics. Loved yours, Roothy! Made me really disappointed not to go...

[Peregrina651]

I've posted some of my photos from our recent (October) Imperial Jewels trip from Shanghai to Beijing here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/china_oct_2011

 

Ruth, magnificent!!! The light was with you the whole trip! I am most amazed/jealous at at how crisp your telephoto shots are. Did you use a tripod? Your Warrior pictures are stunning.

[Peregrina651]

We are booked on this tour for next October. My question is: Is only one (1) piece of luggage allowed? What if you have more than one piece of luggage?

 

Would appreciate any advice....our trip is from Beijing to Shanghai and then the extended trip to Hong Kong.

 

Thanks.

That is one per person plus carry-on. The truth is that you just don't need that many changes of clothing. Most people don't dress for dinner so that is one less set of changes you have to worry about. You don't need formal wear and the men don't even need a sports jacket for dinner. It is October so you won't be melting in the heat. Bring stuff that can be washed out in the sink easily. There is laundry service on the ship--but no dry cleaning. You can send clothing out to be laundered when you get to Shanghai; it should be ready before you leave for Hong Kong.

 

[Romeosc]

We are booked on this tour for next October. My question is: Is only one (1) piece of luggage allowed? What if you have more than one piece of luggage?

 

Would appreciate any advice....our trip is from Beijing to Shanghai and then the extended trip to Hong Kong.

 

Thanks.

 

They are VERY liberal about lugguage. We carried 2 large suitcases with a suitcase inside of each plus a carryon each. We came back with 4 large suitcases 3 carryons and a silk rug carried on!

 

Our guide, Iowa, told us as long as we supported the Chinese economy, not to worry! We did have our FedEx bill of Ladonna ready just in case!

[caribill]

They are VERY liberal about lugguage. We carried 2 large suitcases with a suitcase inside of each plus a carryon each. We came back with 4 large suitcases 3 carryons and a silk rug carried on!

 

 

Some people have posted that the flight to Hong Kong is very strict on the weight limit.

[Turtles06]

Some people have posted that the flight to Hong Kong is very strict on the weight limit.

 

In May, our guide told us exactly that --- that while the weight limits weren't strictly enforced on the internal, non-Hong Kong flights, they would be on the flight to Hong Kong. We didn't go on that extension, so I can't personally confirm that.

[recyclelady]

I've posted some of my photos from our recent (October) Imperial Jewels trip from Shanghai to Beijing here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/china_oct_2011

 

Feel free to take a peek. There's no sign-in required (i.e., no emails coming your way!!) and once you pull up the gallery, you can either run a slideshow, just look at the little thumbnails, or double click on any photo that you'd like to see full-sized. I recommend the slide show!

 

I have to admit that before I went on this trip, I was a little afraid I wouldn't get great photos due to smog/fog spoiling pictures, and possibly limited time in each place to take good pictures. However, I'm very happy with my photos. China is such a colorful place, and while we didn't have a lot of the free time I love so much on normal river cruises, we DID have time to take great photos on the trip and still not hold anyone up!

ARRG....this is the problem with trying to look at these at work:(. The site is blocked at my office!

 

I'll tune in tonight from home and check out your photos!

[Romeosc]

Some people have posted that the flight to Hong Kong is very strict on the weight limit.

 

We did not do the HK extension. We had no problem on internal or international flights.

 

The backpack weighed over 50 pounds, since it contained the terra-cotta "army" (lol). I was worried that the customs inspector in Chicago was going to break them to make sure they didn't include drugs, he called over a supervisor to look at the collection and after I explained they were for gifts, he shook his head and smiled and said "Welcome Home!"

Edited November 4, 2011 by Romeosc

[ruthlynn]

They are VERY liberal about lugguage. We carried 2 large suitcases with a suitcase inside of each plus a carryon each. We came back with 4 large suitcases 3 carryons and a silk rug carried on!

 

Our guide, Iowa, told us as long as we supported the Chinese economy, not to worry! We did have our FedEx bill of Ladonna ready just in case!

 

 

Thank you for this information about the luggage....I cannot go for a weekend with just one bag!!!! Any other advice concerning this trip: what TO do and what NOT to do???? Would appreciate any help.

[Peregrina651]

Any other advice concerning this trip: what TO do and what NOT to do???? Would appreciate any help.

 

The best way to learn about this cruise is to read what has already been written about it. Lots of do's and don't's have already been posted in this thread and in its predecessor, Part 1. Some of us have posted journals and pictures. Some of us have written cruise reviews here on CC.