Viking China (Part 2)

[Nvadav]

Hi everyone. We are on the Beijing to Shanghai itinerary now. Just arrived at the hotel in Xi'an. As has been said this is the first day of a 3 day Labor Day celebration. Traffic this morning in Beijing to the airport was quite a challenge. We arrived at the airport just half an hour before our flight. Rushed thru security, boarded just in time for take off. Air pollution up to this point has not been an issue. We had great blue skies all days in Beijing. Warm, but not too warm, and low humidity. Air quality here in Xi'an is very poor. Much worse than we have seen anywhere on this trip so far. Tonight is the Tang Dynasty show and dinner. We are on the 43rd floor of the Crowne Plaza hotel. Amazing view, even with the heavy smog. We have been told to please be ready to leave early tomorrow morning for the Tara cotta warriors museum to try to beat the traffic due to the holiday. We too were discouraged from going to the summer palace. reasons given were heavy crowds, bad traffic, etc. Honestly, after the 3 to 4 miles of walking around Tiannamen Square and the forbidden city, I didn't mind the afternoon to relax at the hotel. Saturday we will fly to Chongqing to board the ship. hopefully we will have continued good luck with the weather. Our guide Patrick, has been with us each step of the way. No problems anywhere. Every detail to this point has been thoroughly taken care of.

[Turtles06]

Hi everyone. We are on the Beijing to Shanghai itinerary now. Just arrived at the hotel in Xi'an. As has been said this is the first day of a 3 day Labor Day celebration. Traffic this morning in Beijing to the airport was quite a challenge. We arrived at the airport just half an hour before our flight. Rushed thru security, boarded just in time for take off. Air pollution up to this point has not been an issue. We had great blue skies all days in Beijing. Warm, but not too warm, and low humidity. Air quality here in Xi'an is very poor. Much worse than we have seen anywhere on this trip so far. Tonight is the Tang Dynasty show and dinner. We are on the 43rd floor of the Crowne Plaza hotel. Amazing view, even with the heavy smog. We have been told to please be ready to leave early tomorrow morning for the Tara cotta warriors museum to try to beat the traffic due to the holiday. We too were discouraged from going to the summer palace. reasons given were heavy crowds, bad traffic, etc. Honestly, after the 3 to 4 miles of walking around Tiannamen Square and the forbidden city, I didn't mind the afternoon to relax at the hotel. Saturday we will fly to Chongqing to board the ship. hopefully we will have continued good luck with the weather. Our guide Patrick, has been with us each step of the way. No problems anywhere. Every detail to this point has been thoroughly taken care of.

 

Thanks for the live report! I hope the May 1 crowds were bearable at the Warriors and you had a great time. We too had no pollution problems in Beijing, but Xi'an was quite polluted (not mask levels).

 

It's disappointing to hear that Viking is discouraging people from visiting the Summer Palace. I thought it was well worth seeing. But for future travelers reading this, if you opt not to take that tour, please consider using the time to see something else wonderful in Beijing, like the Temple of Heaven Park, or the Lama Temple, or Bei-hai Park. (In fact, do some reading and you may decide one of those would be better for you than the Summer Palace.) All of those are right in the city. Beijing is an amazing place, and it seems a shame to not make use of an entire afternoon. I do realize that the morning walking through Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City is a tiring one, but still, you're in Beijing! :)

 

(A good reason to fly in a bit early if you can. I realize not everyone can.)

[Chloe's mom]

Today is May 2, and we visited the Shibuzai Pagoda today. Although the crowds are somewhat larger because of the May Day holiday, they are very manageable. Today started off very rainy, but by the time we left the ship at 8:30 the rain had stopped. It was still hazy because of the rain, so views from the pagoda were not that clear. Still, it was a very nice excursion.

 

If anyone has walking difficulties, it is possible to hire sedan chairs that will take you to the pagoda, otherwise it is a 10-15 miniute walk uphill. Our tour escort handled the transaction for us, and got us a price of 80 yuan there and back (for one person).

 

I also want to add that I am very impressed with the Viking operation. There is no nickel-and-diming, the way there is on many ocean cruises. Wine, beer and soda is available at lunch and dinner, and they are happy to keep pouring. The included excursions have been well done, with very good local guides. The staff on board ship has been outstanding. It has been a very nice touch that they have staff people stationed along the path when you return from an excursion, essentially from the point you leave the bus or arrive at the entrance to the pier, saying Welcome Back. And when you actually enter the ship there are wet cloths and fruit juice and ice tea waiting for you.

 

In terms of weather, yesterday the small boat cruising through the lesser Three Gorges was incredible. Sunny and clear, and warm but not hot. Today because of the rain it was more humid, but still comfortable.

 

I don't always have access to the Internet, but will try to answer any questions when I can.

[Nvadav]

OK so today we saw the terra cotta warriors. The weather was bright and sunny and warm, but not too hot. The air quality was much improved over yesterday. What an awesome sight. Crowds today, were approximately 5 times the normal due to the holiday so that did make for some challenging photo ops, but we were persistent and got several good ones. It was a long day, the ride from the hotel was just under 2 hours, the 3 hours at the site, a late lunch and were back at the hotel just before 4pm. Dinner of Dumplings at a local rest, now getting ready for our flight early tomorrow morning. We were told that due to the early hour of our flight we will be one of the very few groups traveling in this direction that will get to see the Pandas in Chongqing. The other groups on our itinerary will have the morning free here in Xi'an while they wait for their later flights, then go straight to the ship from the airport.

[Going Coastal]

Really loving having these live reports from both of you. Thank you for taking the time in your busy schedule.

 

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[Carol From California]

We just got back from Viking's Imperial Jewel's itinerary, Shanghai to Beijing. We had a wonderful trip and I have to say it really was a trip of a lifetime. Viking has it together. They have every detail planned out and it's very organized. I know that everyone raves about their guide, but I have to say our guide Ray was incredible! What a warm and friendly guy, and with a great sense of humor. The guides really give you so much insight into how the people actually live in China. It was sad for us to say good bye to him. I would be happy to answer any specific questions as this forum was very helpful to us when we were planning. My email address is below. Also, anyone considering booking this trip who have not sailed before with Viking, I would be happy to provide a referral so you will get $100 per person discount (as we will also get). We did not use Viking air, but used mileage for our flights. We flew in one day early which I highly recommend. It gave us a chance to rest and adjust to the time change before the exhausting schedule started. Also we visited the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum that first day which is a very worthwhile museum to visit. It also gave us some time for shopping...there is very little free time on the Viking tour and the shopping was great there! At the end of our tour we also spent an extra night in Beijing which also gave us some free time for shopping. The highlights of the trip for us were the visit to see the Terracotta Warriors....which I had so looked forward to seeing. Even anticipating that it would be great, actually seeing them was incredible. I was able to buy the book in the gift shop and have it signed by the farmer who discovered the army. Also, the visit to the Great Wall was amazing. We were so lucky that the day we went it was a little breezy and it blew away the intense smog so we had such pleasant weather which made the viewing more incredible. It was so funny to have people taking our picture (I am blond) and selfie's with us. Next, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City was so much more than I thought. I always thought that it basically was that square with the photo of Mao, but it goes on and on and on. One person in our group measured the distance we walked that day, and it was over 5 miles! I will say that I am literally sick of Chinese food! Most of the lunches and dinners are Chinese food....well we were in China so that it is to be expected, but it got tiring after a while. We really liked all the hotels where Viking put us up. We were at the Portman Ritz in Shanghai, the Hilton in Xian and lastly the Regent in Beijing. I think we liked the Regent the best, and when we checked in and saw a Morton's Restaurant in the hotel, we actually skipped one of the dinners with Viking to have an American meal at Morton's. All of the hotels had Western breakfasts as a part of the buffet, and on the ship we had Western food, but the remainder of the meals were all Chinese....basically sitting at a round table with many dishes plopped on the table which are shared by spinning around the lazy susan. Some meals were better than others but most of them were not great. As part of the tour Viking also takes you to several factories such as a carpet and silk painting factory, an enormous jade jewelry store, and a tea store....all trying to get you to buy. There is a beautiful gift store at the Great Wall by the way. The 5 day river cruise portion was very nice and we loved our visit to the school. I brought some gifts for them (pencils, stickers, etc.) and they so appreciated it. Ask if any questions and I'll try to answer.

[Lola911]

I am on the April 26 Imperial Jewels cruise' date=' passing along info. For those of you who are doing this cruise. First, be aware that US currency that you exchange for Chinese money should be free of any pencil marks and the like. My hotel refused to accept a 100 dollar bill because it had a small notation of "100" in pencil. Markings like this are of more concern than whether or not the bills are crispy.

 

Second, I strongly suggest you arrive in China a couple of days before the Viling tour begins to get over jet lag. I arrived on Thursday April 24 for a Viking tour that nominally begins with checkin at the Viking hotel on April 26, and did a tour to Suzhou on the 25th. By late afternoon i couldn't keep my eyes open. I can't imagine flying into Beijing the day before a tour and being thrown in to heavy duty sightseeing.

 

Third, if you decide to come to shanghai in advance I highly recommend the guide we used. I found her through recommendations on Trip Advisor. She's in her 20s, studied in England, has good English, and is very knowledgeable and very personable. Her English name is Melody and her address is [email']melodyhml@163.com[/email].

 

Fourth, in terms of changing money, the rate is strictly regulated by the Bank of China. So we decided to bring US dollars with us and then change them at our hotel, rather than getting Chinese currency at an ATM as soon as we landed in China. This way we saved the commission and fees. If you do this I suggest you write to your hotel to find out if they charge any fees, and to find out the maximum amount of currency they will allow you to change each day. I should add that we didn't need Chinese currency to get from the airport to our hotel because we had arranged with Melody to be picked up at the airport. Cost was about $42, perhaps a few dollars more than a taxi, but it was worth it to us to have our baggage taken care of as soon

as we entered the Arrivals Hall.

 

Hope this info is useful. I will try to post again. Let me know if you have questions.

 

What highlights did Melody show you on your private tour?

[Chloe's mom]

In Suzhou we visited the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Lingering Garden. Humble is very large and extremely impressive, but I liked Lingering better because it was smaller and not crowded. So I could get a better sense of what it was like for the family to have it as a private place for enjoyment and contemplation. We also stopped in at the Suzhou Museum, primarily so I could see the architectural design by I. M. Pei. I can't tell you much about the collection. We also went to one of the river towns and walked around the old town and visited the homes/compounds of an official and a merchant, then did a ride on the canal.

 

Melody arranged for a van and driver, the trip was very comfortable.

[Chloe's mom]

We arrived in Xi'an yesterday (May 3). I don't know how people managed it when Viking spent only one night here. We got up relatively early to disembark the ship, then visited the zoo and saw four of the pandas, who were pretty active, then ate lunch in Chongqing and flew to Xi'an. Because of the time we arrived and traffic issues, we went directly to the town center, where we had a little time to walk around before our dumpling dinner. Our group was pretty tired after dinner, so they elected to go back to the hotel even though it wasn't yet dark. My husband and I stayed, and visited the Drum Tower and the night market. We were going to take a taxi back to the hotel, but as it turned out one of the groups going to our hotel was leaving the restaurant at that point, so we got a lift with them. Anyway, everyone was very tired from this day, I can't imagine how past cruisers could have done the Tang Dynasty show that night and then be ready the next morning for an early checkout. Because we have a second night at the hotel, we don't have to pack up our things until tonight or even tomorrow morning.

 

The weather in Xi'an is wonderful. Warm but not hot, and sunny. No noticeable pollution, we have blue skies and can see the mountains.

 

Although this will not be relevant for most travelers, we chose the right itinerary so that the May Day holiday wouldn't have an impact on us. The holiday was Thursday, Friday and Saturday (essentially the workers trade their Sunday off to have the 3 day holiday). As I've mentioned in previous posts, we didn't experience bad crowds on our 2 days on the river. Yesterday there weren't crowds at the Chongqing Zoo. This might have been due to the fact that we were there relatively early, and probably also because it was raining. Today the holiday is over, so the crowds at the warriors were normal.

 

As for the warriors, I agree with the comments of the other posters. The local guide that Viking provided was great. And the lunch was one of the best Chinese meals we've had so far. Tang Dynasty show is tonight.

[id4elizabeth]

If you really want to see the Summer Palace and it's not included in your tour, you can get there via subway which is pretty easy to use in Beijing. Although there's little English per se, there is Pinyin, an alphabetic phonetic transliteration of the Chinese, in the subway system, so if you know where to get off, it's actually pretty easy to navigate. Get a subway map at your hotel - most hotels have one that's superimposed on a regular street map so it's pretty easy to figure out what stops to get on and off at. Of course, this depends on what hotel you're staying at, and how close the hotel is to a subway stop. By subway, it's very fast as you don't have to worry about traffic. There's a short walk from the subway exit to the East Gate of the Summer Palace. It's VERY easy to get to the Temple of Heaven - the subway stops right outside the gates. I personally think the Summer Palace is totally different from the Forbidden City, and well worth a visit, particularly if it's a good weather day. My favorite was the Lama Temple, but not sure it's close to a subway stop - we taxied there. (We were in China this past Oct.)

[Turtles06]

My favorite was the Lama Temple, but not sure it's close to a subway stop - we taxied there. (We were in China this past Oct.)

 

Yes, you can get there by subway. In fact, we took the subway from Temple of Heaven Park to the Lama Temple.

[Bruin Steve]

Okay...just because I'm a little bored and my trip is still a little over a month away, let me ask this off the wall question...

 

First, to set this up, I was looking at the availability still remaining on my trip...and they are down to showing availability in just the "Suite" and "Junior Suite" level...

Now, the base per person price for my "Category F" cabin was $2792 per person...

The base per person price for that Junior Suite is $4392 per person...

So, same 12 night trip, same five star hotels for 7 of those 12 nights (or really 12 of 17 the way it works out for me with the Hong Kong extension and forced overnight in Beijing)...the difference in cost between a "ordinary" balcony cabin on the ship for those five nights and a "Junior Suite" is a whopping $3400!

 

Okay...on "ocean" cruises, I have booked suites before...I've gone from what would have been a 190 square foot verandah cabin to a 1,000 square foot suite on a 16 nighter on Oceania for, yeah, a considerable price difference...I moved from an ordinary cabin to a "Sky Suite" on Celebrity and gained about 1.5 times the square footage, butler service, etc.

 

BUT, looking at the Viking website, here's the description of the "ordinary" Cat F:

 

VERANDA (F) FEATURES

Stateroom size: 250 sq. ft.

Hotel-style beds 79 inches x 35 inches (with optional twin-bed configuration)

Panoramic windows that open onto private veranda

Private bathroom with shower and premium bath products

Bathrobe and slippers available upon request

Telephone, safe, hair dryer & bottled water replenished daily

Kettle and instant coffee available in the stateroom

Air conditioning

Space under bed for storing suitcases

Roomy wardrobe with wooden hangers

Voltage: 220V and 110V in stateroom

TV with premium entertainment package including CNN and other English-language programming

 

Here's the description of the Junior Suite:

JUNIOR SUITE (JR) FEATURES

Stateroom size: 260 sq. ft.

Hotel-style beds 79 inches x 35 inches (with optional twin-bed configuration)

Panoramic windows that open onto private veranda

Private bathroom with shower and premium bath products

Bathrobe and slippers available upon request

Telephone, refrigerator, safe, hair dryer & bottled water replenished daily

Kettle and instant coffee available in the stateroom

Air conditioning

Space under bed for storing suitcases

Roomy wardrobe with wooden hangers

Voltage: 220V and 110V in stateroom

TV with premium entertainment package including CNN and other English-language programming

 

Unless I am missing something, the only differences are:

250 square feet versus 260 square feet

"refrigerator"

 

And of course, the Junior Suites are precisely midship while the ordinary cabins are next to them...or all the ways as far away as down the hall a few cabins...

 

It seems no wonder that these seem to be the very last to sell out...

 

Or am I missing something? Does anyone out there rush to pay $3400 extra dollars ($680 per cruise night) for 10 extra square feet and a mini-fridge?

 

Yeah, like I said, I am bored while waiting out the last 5 weeks...

[Peregrina651]

 

And of course, the Junior Suites are precisely midship while the ordinary cabins are next to them...or all the ways as far away as down the hall a few cabins...

 

It seems no wonder that these seem to be the very last to sell out...

 

Or am I missing something? Does anyone out there rush to pay $3400 extra dollars ($680 per cruise night) for 10 extra square feet and a mini-fridge?

 

Yeah, like I said, I am bored while waiting out the last 5 weeks...

 

Okay, I'll bite! And yes, you are bored but at least you are keeping us on page one.

 

To answer your question...

1. Not in my tax bracket.

2. Who's the lucky person gonna get the on-board upgrade?

3. If ya wait until the last minute and you really want that sail date, ya takes what ya can get.

[didicruiser]

Wouldn't you also get a suite type room in the hotel instead of a regular room?

[Chloe's mom]

I don't know what protocol Viking uses for assigning hotels and tour escorts, but it is certainly possible that it assigns passengers in higher category cabins to better located hotels within cities, or more experienced and higher rated escorts. I don't think this advantage, if it exists, would warrant paying several thousand dollars more for a cabin, but it might be a consideration for some passengers who want easier access to sights during their free time.

[caribill]

I don't know what protocol Viking uses for assigning hotels and tour escorts' date=' but it is certainly possible that it assigns passengers in higher category cabins to better located hotels within cities, or more experienced and higher rated escorts. I don't think this advantage, if it exists, would warrant paying several thousand dollars more for a cabin, but it might be a consideration for some passengers who want easier access to sights during their free time.[/quote']

 

I do not think this was the case when we did the trip.

 

We were in a standard veranda cabin. Our hotels were of the highest quality and were well located.

 

In addition, our tour escort was fantastic, but everybody says that about their tour escort.

[id4elizabeth]

You don't get a better hotel room, nor different escorts with the suite. You eat in the same places, are put in the same tour groups, and get the same luck of the draw in the hotels.

 

This might make sense if you're in the ship suite for the whole tour, but not just a part of it.

[Live4cruises]

We're some of "those" people who try to get details lined up as soon as possible. We are going to use Viking's Custom Air option in order to get the flights and seats we want, and the airlines released our dates for booking this week; we are now about 325 days out from the return portion of our trip. We phoned Viking yesterday and they told us that they couldn't see the air schedules yet and we would have to wait another month. Is that consistent with the experience others have had? It didn't make logical sense to us, but the agent with whom we spoke was adamant.

 

Thanks for your input, and your understanding about "those" people! :D

[Bruin Steve]

We're some of "those" people who try to get details lined up as soon as possible. We are going to use Viking's Custom Air option in order to get the flights and seats we want, and the airlines released our dates for booking this week; we are now about 325 days out from the return portion of our trip. We phoned Viking yesterday and they told us that they couldn't see the air schedules yet and we would have to wait another month. Is that consistent with the experience others have had? It didn't make logical sense to us, but the agent with whom we spoke was adamant.

 

Thanks for your input, and your understanding about "those" people! :D

 

The general rule is that MOST airlines post flight availability approximately 330 days out...but that rule is not universal...I've found that some airlines--like Southwest, Jet Blue, Virgin--have shorter lead times...So, it all may depend on which airlines they are using. It also may be that the software system they use--searching multiple airlines--doesn't allow for the booking before a certain date...

 

That said, I just checked Air China--since that is the airline they've put us on for our flights to and returning from China...And, they seem able to make a reservation clear into April 2015.

 

You might try researching your own flights--since that appears to be what you want to do anyway--and then contact them again, armed with detailed knowledge of the flights you want.

[caribill]

You might try researching your own flights--since that appears to be what you want to do anyway--and then contact them again, armed with detailed knowledge of the flights you want.

 

Even with custom air, Viking has pricing agreements with some airlines and not others.

 

So a specific set of flights might be significantly more expensive compared to similar arragments on airlines Viking has arrangemnents with.

 

My goal is usually as few flights as possible departing/arriving at reasonable times. Although I might prefer one carrier over others, if my flight goals can be met with airlines that are not my favorite, I will be happy.

Edited May 10, 2014 by caribill

[blondemini]

Can someone tell me if you have to pack your case for collection on the night before you travel on the internal flights, only I am trying to decide if to take a holdall for carry on?

 

 

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[Chloe's mom]

On the April 26 cruise pickup time for leaving suitcases outside hotel rooms varied, depending on time of flights. For my group the times varied fro 6am to 8am. But friends who had an early flight out of Chongqing had to leave their bags outside their cabin at 10pm before the day of disembarkation. In any event I suggest you have a small bag that you carry with you for your valuables, medicines and a change of clothes in case there is any delay in getting your large suitcases to your cabin. Also, that way you won't have to get up super early to get dressed in order to get your nightclothes into your big suitcase.

[Live4cruises]

I called Viking again today at the regular number rather than the air number, and spoke with a person who was able to give me a little more information than just the "not yet" I heard from Air a few days ago. Rather than the 330 days that most major airlines use, Viking won't book until 310 days (and from the return leg, obviously), so it's early June for us. Their system won't even show flights to the agents earlier than that. The savings are substantial enough that we will wait. Yes, I know every seat arrives at the same time, but for a trip that long, we want to be as comfortable as possible (and that we can afford). :)

[blondemini]

Thank you Chloe's mom, I will take a small bag for carry on

 

 

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[Peregrina651]

Can someone tell me if you have to pack your case for collection on the night before you travel on the internal flights, only I am trying to decide if to take a holdall for carry on?

 

 

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IMHO. Regardless of when bags are being collected, you should always have a hold all/carry-on. There are some things that you should always control while traveling and never pack in luggage that will be turned over to someone else to handle. This includes your prescription drugs, your valuables and your electronics among other things. It isn't just that these items might get stolen from your baggage but also that accidents can happen--misplaced luggage, lost by the airlines, dropped in the river, etc. In addition to your drugs, electronics and valuable, add at least a change of underwear if not an entire outfit (and this goes for the guys, too)

 

You do not have to carry these bags around with you all day long. Your carry-on(s) can be safely left on the bus--either in your seat or under the bus--as the buses are always locked.

 

Viking says (and BTW, the Viking website has an excellent FAQ section called My Trip that everyone should read):

 

Pack in your carry-on baggage

We suggest you bring copies of your key travel documents (passport information page, airline tickets, credit card numbers and insurance information) and carry them separately in case you lose your originals.

 

You might also want to consider packing the following items:

- All needed medications, including prescriptions, in their original, labeled containers

- Eyeglasses, contacts, contact lens solution

- Important papers and travel documents

- Camera gear, film or extra memory cards, extra batteries

- Valuables