Viking China (Part 2)

[digitl]

Chances are unless you can do some quick math, you will pay more in Yuan in such cases than if you paid in US $. They do not have to give you a good conversion rate especially knowing you are relatively unfamiliar with their currency's value.

 

Getting a bargain has little to do with paying in US$ or RMB but is more about knowing the value of goods and having decent bargaining skills.

[Mark_T]

Getting a bargain has little to do with paying in US$ or RMB but is more about knowing the value of goods and having decent bargaining skills.

 

Agreed.

 

It really isn't hard to move between the currencies either.

 

Right now just use 6 RMB to 1 USD and you won't be far off.

 

If you are not comfortable with the maths then carry a calculator or use the one most of us have on our phones.

 

It would be a major error to assume that whatever they are asking in USD or RMB was close to the value of the product :)

[VaBoom]

Thanks for the answers to cash. What are current weather and smog conditions?

[CowgirlCook]

the entrance to the Panda Breeding Centre in Chengdu

 

do we get here????

[LSE Traveler]

Can anyone tell me how much time you have at the big three: a Great Wall, Forbidden City and Terra Cotta Army?

[caribill]

Can anyone tell me how much time you have at the big three: a Great Wall, Forbidden City and Terra Cotta Army?

 

Based on times on my photos:

Great Wall 1 hour 40 minutes

Forbidden City 1 hour 50 minutes (and 33 minutes before that in Tiananmen Square)

Terra Cotta Army 3 hours at the site, 40 minutes in the Pit #1 building

[zumaqueen]

No you won't, I believe the center is farther inland away from people for max breeding. You will see pandas at the zoo. We thought the biggest attraction there tho were the adorable and beautifully dressed children ready to pose for photos. Enjoy.

Zumaqueen

[mee]

Back a week now from the March 30 Cultural Delights. Wanted to thank everyone for the information on this thread. Had a wonderful trip despite "the incident" (Ship was hit by two barges one night, minimal damage, one rubber bumper knocked off.) Weather varied from cold and rainy to hot.

 

Many people on board became ill - usually diagnosed by doctor as bronchitis. His large package of pills seemed to help and Viking escorts were often seem supplying cough lozenges to tourists. Wonderful bartender spent mornings making hot lemonade to soothe peoples throats. Dr indicated to us that many people were ill on previous cruise also.

 

I will try to answer any questions you have.

[Live4cruises]

We were on the Cultural Delights trip immediately before you, and yes, it seemed that everyone on the ship was ill! From the sound of all the coughing on the buses, we should have been on the way to the hospital instead of sightseeing. :)

 

It was probably a little exciting when you were bombarded by barges! Did you have to do emergency assembly? Just curious, and putting ourselves in your shoes.

 

Thanks,

[mee]

The first barge hit us at about 2 am. Most people reported jumping out of bed but there were no alarms or anything so most of us were just going back to bed about 5-10 minutes later when the second one hit us. My husband and I were both knocked over that time. Still no alarms. There was a thunder storm at the time so most of us didn't know what was happening. My husband and I went back to bed and didn't know what happened until breakfast. Other people got up but couldn't get any news at that time. During the briefing the next morning the Captain was asked why there are no emergency drills and we were told that the staff have them but they are not required for passengers. No alarms or assembly were required for this as there was no damage to the hull of the ship. I should clarify that we were probably about 100-150 feet from shore, so not as serious as an ocean collision would be.

 

Most people on our cruise seemed to get ill after the visit to school and we wondered if we picked up some bug from the phlegm faucets, I mean children :). Did you notice similar timing?

[Mark_T]

Most people on our cruise seemed to get ill after the visit to school and we wondered if we picked up some bug from the phlegm faucets, I mean children :). Did you notice similar timing?

 

On our trip there was no mass illness at anytime but a few people did get a bit of a sore throat and a cough, but we put that down to air quality rather than a 'bug'.

 

How was the air quality in cities on your trip?

[mee]

On our trip there was no mass illness at anytime but a few people did get a bit of a sore throat and a cough, but we put that down to air quality rather than a 'bug'.

 

How was the air quality in cities on your trip?

 

In Shanghai we had one day of rain so air wasn't bad and on the other days it would be worse in the early morning and late afternoon - rush hours for traffic. It was raining again when we were in Wuhan so no problem and in Beijing we had the worst sandstorm in 13 years one evening and that seemed to clear the air for the next day. We were however in a "snowstorm" of poplar and willow fuzz in Beijing so people with allergies were reaching for their meds. Some people were using masks but I am not sure they helped.

[Live4cruises]

The children at the school may have gotten it from our cruisers! It was well spread by then, and we missed the school because that was the day that I was solidly down and miserable in bed.

 

It was throughly hazy most of the days of our trip. The day we went to Mt Jiu Ha (can't remember if that's decent spelling), up in the mountains the weather was clear and spectacular, so that was a very good day. The small boat trip in the Lesser Gorges was unfortunately pretty hazy/cloudy, although the scenery was still unforgettable. That was in the morning, and by the afternoon, the weather cleared quite a bit.

 

As far as safety, at our first morning briefing, they reminded us where our life jackets were, described the alarm bell, and told us to listen for instructions in case of an emergency. The day that I was sick, there was a crew drill while most passengers were ashore.

[CowgirlCook]

Hi Everyone - those who have just come back, hope you are feeling well again! Is there an excursion to the zoo? I don't see one on the itinerary, and plan to do it on our own with our day in Beijing. THANKS!

[Mark_T]

Hi Everyone - those who have just come back, hope you are feeling well again! Is there an excursion to the zoo? I don't see one on the itinerary, and plan to do it on our own with our day in Beijing. THANKS!

 

Depending on exactly which cruise you are on, time of flights and direction of travel, there is a visit to the pandas at the zoo in Chongqing.

 

The Beijing Zoo is not included as far as I know and reviews of that zoo are not particularly positive either.

[Live4cruises]

We were on the Cultural Delights departure from Beijing, which doesn't officially have any Panda stops. However, the group that flew from Xi'an very early were taken to the Chonqing zoo before they were taken to board the ship. We were not among that group, but the groups that didn't have that opportunity were given the chance in Wuhan. We went in Wuhan, and had a good time. We were free to wander with constraints as the focus was on the panda and his feeding time, and our time in the zoo was brief.

[Going Coastal]

Thought I posted this but cannot find it. We spent an hour at the zoo before boarding Emerald, which was plenty of time to see all six pandas who are near the front, and to see other things farther up the hill.

[saynay]

Hi Cruisers!

We are travel buddies Jane and Carolyn from So Cal.

Hoping to find some travelers going on this cruise/trip. Would love to trade info.

Also, if there are another 6 people, maybe we could get a private table at BSK. Tried getting just the 2 of us in, but T and F are the only days for individuals and we arrive too late on T and we leave Beijing on Friday.

 

Hope to 'meet' you soon!

[Rodie H]

Returned from Jewels cruise late Thursday evening and can't seem to adjust to time. So I will write at 2:13 am.

 

Our group did see the Pandas in Chongqing but that's because we had the very, very early departure from Xi'an.

 

I returned with my American money and used the ATM and the front desk to break down the large Yuan bills.

 

Great trip but a big chunk of time is spent getting to airports for the three flights and traffic in the city. The sights are awesome. One question about how much time given at the main stops and it was quite adequate.

 

Arnold was our tour leader and he was just fabulous. What a nice man and his English is superb. He really took care of us. Oh, crossing the streets is something else so his phrase bunch up like sticky rice when crossing.

 

Mike--hope you Janice, Paul and Jane had safe returns. His remarks on food was on the spot. If you are a picky eater, I am, rice and noodles are on each meal. Cruise ship has salads!!!!! Oh, and fruit is good too.

 

Enjoy. Any questions pop them over and I'll try to answer.

[oceanbreeze999]

Returned from Jewels cruise late Thursday ... Any questions pop them over and I'll try to answer.

Rodie H;

 

sooo glad u enjoyed thr trip (and offered to share your experience..)

1/ did u (someone in your group..) try BSK and Peking Duck? how was it?

2/ did u take any OPTIONAL TOURS? how was it?

3/ not being nosy.. but how much Yuans (REMBINI..) and HK$ would u recommend to take just for some local food/trinkets?

4/ were the toilets (holes in ground) really that bad??

5/ how were the line-ups for attractions? hrs? minutes?? bearable??

6/ hotel food compared to ship food? edible? delicious? bearable?

7/ how was smog? temperature? rain??

8/ how was "school" visit? can not put my head around the fact that one pays lot of $$ to visit school! ..there are many schools wher I live.. I did not visit since my kids graduated..

9/ how were the local flight? how much time was wasted on transfers, a/ports etc..

10/ about all that tipping.. do u carry $$ and each day tip driver, guide, local guide, his helper etc? (in my travel i am used to have tips debited last day from my acc..)

11/ were there "surprises" like ..sorry u stay yet another day in Guilin instead of hong kong..etc..

12 were there many people sick?? on boat in buses??

kindest regards

 

oceanbreeze

[caribill]

how was "school" visit? can not put my head around the fact that one pays lot of $$ to visit school! ..there are many schools wher I live.. I did not visit since my kids graduated..

 

There is a difference in visiting a school in your hometown and a school that is part of another culture.

 

The school visited is not like any of the schools where you live.

[Peregrina651]

 

4/ were the toilets (holes in ground) really that bad??

 

There is at least one western toilet at every rest stop. You don't ever have to use the other unless you choose to. But, do make sure that you bring your own tp just in case. Also note that sometimes the tp is in a dispenser on the wall outside the stall.

 

5/ how were the line-ups for attractions? hrs? minutes?? bearable??

 

Viking goes to the head of the line. There is rarely a wait at any of the venues.

 

6/ hotel food compared to ship food? edible? delicious? bearable?

 

You will be put up 5 star hotels. All of these hotels serve a demanding and upscale international clientele (including the one in Xi'an) and are among the best and most westernized hotels that China has to offer. Breakfast in those hotels will be beyond belief in terms of variety and quality; be sure to check out all of the options--Chinese, Japanese, Continental, British, Indian, etc.--before you dig in.

 

9/ how were the local flight? how much time was wasted on transfers, a/ports etc..

 

No matter what, transfers take most a day. You are up and out of your hotel in the morning and either headed to an activity or directly to the airport for your flight. You won't know which it is until it happens. Viking is pretty good at scheduling your airport arrival such that you don't spend much time waiting to board. You are already checked in and will be given your boarding pass when you arrive at the airport. After you land, you will have to claim your bags in baggage claim and hand it over to Viking to be transported to the hotel. (This is how Viking makes sure that it has all the luggage.) Depending on when you arrive, you will either be taken to an activity or to your hotel for check-in. Somewhere along the way, depending on where you are and what time your flight is, you will be given lunch--sometimes a sit-down meal and sometimes a boxed meal.

 

Personally, I am amazed a just how seamlessly these transfer day work--and there are a lot of people working behind the scenes to make it happen.

 

 

10/ about all that tipping.. do u carry $$ and each day tip driver, guide, local guide, his helper etc? (in my travel i am used to have tips debited last day from my acc..)

 

Yes, if you are planning on tipping, you must have the cash with you to take care of the local guides and bus-drivers as you leave the bus. You will not be seeing these people again and they are not included in the tips you give either to your escort or on-board the ship for the ship's crew.

 

The materials that come with your docs cover suggested amounts for tipping.

 

 

 

 

..

[Mark_T]

You are going to get different answers depending on direct and time of year so I'll toss in a few replies and I'm sure others will as well. We went from Beijing to Shanghai, in October

 

1/ did u (someone in your group..) try BSK and Peking Duck? how was it?

 

We visited BSK and it was without doubt the culinary highlight of the trip for us. We arranged our own duck dinner on the first day we arrived in the restaurant attached to the Kerry Hotel. It worked out a little cheaper than the optional duck dinner provided by Viking and I think we probably got more duck as well :) Those who did the official one did not seem disappointed though.

 

 

 

 

2/ did u take any OPTIONAL TOURS? how was it?

 

We did the Summer Palace, and the Tang Dynasty show. The Summer Palace was worth doing we felt, beautiful gardens and more of the story of the last Empress, not anything else you will see in Beijing. The Tang Dynasty show was also very beautiful and worth seeing, but the food was perhaps not the best we had during the tour. Perfectly edible just nothing special.

 

3/ not being nosy.. but how much Yuans (REMBINI..) and HK$ would u recommend to take just for some local food/trinkets?

 

I wouldn't try to guess, just take some with you and be prepared to top up from the ATM if you need to.

 

4/ were the toilets (holes in ground) really that bad??

 

The traditional toilets were never the only option anywhere that we had a planned rest break as there was always a western toilet available as well. If you needed and unscheduled stop then that might have been the only choice but the guides were very good about letting people know when they were close to western facilities. Those who used the tradition toilets seemed to manage OK, it is mostly a question of balance :)

 

5/ how were the line-ups for attractions? hrs? minutes?? bearable??

 

I don't recall having to queue anywhere other than for Tienanmen Square, everyone has to queue there and from memory it took about 30 mins to get inside. Everywhere else our guides had everything prearranged and we bypassed all queues.

 

6/ hotel food compared to ship food? edible? delicious? bearable?

 

You will generally be eating breakfast in the hotels and most other meals in local restaurants. The hotel breakfasts were all excellent in our opinion, having a range of both Chinese and Western food available. On-board ship the food was very good as well with plenty of choices for those seeking the familiar or the unfamiliar.

 

7/ how was smog? temperature? rain??

 

We were fortunate, we had no rain at any time that we were outside and we stayed one step ahead of the worst of the smog. We had masks with us but never felt the need to use them. Temperatures were good throughout, mostly mid-70s I'd say, rarely needed a coat.

 

8/ how was "school" visit? can not put my head around the fact that one pays lot of $$ to visit school! ..there are many schools wher I live.. I did not visit since my kids graduated..

 

Think of it as a chance to get a little insight into the culture, not just another school. We enjoyed the visit, it was very enlightening to see how the children are taught from the earliest ages to use both Chinese characters and our own alphabet right alongside each other.

 

9/ how were the local flight? how much time was wasted on transfers, a/ports etc..

 

I'd have to say that we didn't regard any of this time as 'wasted'. On the travel days there was always something else planned before or after the flight for most of the groups and very little time was spent just sitting at the airport as our arrivals we usually timed so we had just the right time to clear security, find the gate and board the aircraft.

 

You will get different responses on this question as scheduled Chinese flights can often be affected by the needs of military and Government, so although we were lucky, other groups on our tour were less so and did encounter delays.

 

10/ about all that tipping.. do u carry $$ and each day tip driver, guide, local guide, his helper etc? (in my travel i am used to have tips debited last day from my acc..)

 

Your guide will explain what is expected and will help reduce the number of tipping interactions for you, but for example accepting a certain amount per person from you to take care of all of those involved in the transfer of your suitcases, so you will not need to tip hotel and other porters for those.

 

Your bus driver and city guide stay with you as long as you are in a particular city so you only have to tip them when you leave the city.

 

There are other occasional special guides so it is worth keeping a few small bills on you at all times, but it is not as frequent as you may fear.

 

11/ were there "surprises" like ..sorry u stay yet another day in Guilin instead of hong kong..etc..

 

Our only surprises were good, we got an unplanned tour of the city center in Xi-an as we arrived there in plenty of time and we also got an unexpected visit to the pandas in Chongqing Zoo as we were on one of the first flights to arrive there. Others flying on later flights that got delayed did not get that opportunity.

 

12 were there many people sick?? on boat in buses??

 

No noticeable sickness on our tour. There were a couple of people with sore throats, probably due to some sensitivity to the air quality, but that was about it really.

[Rodie H]

Rodie H;

 

sooo glad u enjoyed thr trip (and offered to share your experience..)

1/ did u (someone in your group..) try BSK and Peking Duck? how was it?

 

No I didn't try BSK but know some who did and they did enjoy it. The Peking Duck at the restaurant located at the Kerry Hotel I understand was way better than the optional.

 

2/ did u take any OPTIONAL TOURS? how was it?

The optional tours I took were the Summer Palace, Tang Dynasty Show, and the Peking Duck. The Summer Palace was a great optional as was the Tang Dynasty Show/dinner. Not to be missed.

 

3/ not being nosy.. but how much Yuans (REMBINI..) and HK$ would u recommend to take just for some local food/trinkets?

 

I used the ATMs at the hotels. And at the desk changed the larger bills to smaller ones. I took about $350 American but really didn't use much of it, just some of singles for tips./COLOR]

 

4/ were the toilets (holes in ground) u really that bad??

 

I was okay with the squatty potties thanks to my gym classes. You would have to wait in a long line for the Western toilets and they were much in demand with some ladies having mobility problems. Definitely take tp, tissues, and hand cleaner.

 

5/ how were the line-ups for attractions? hrs? minutes?? bearable??

 

No lines really that I can think of. Large crowd at Tiananment Square. The tour guides keep the line going.

 

 

6/ hotel food compared to ship food? edible? delicious? bearable?

 

Hotel and ship breakfasts were my favorite. I am a picky eater, not much into meats so rice and noodles worked. Salad when they had them. Some folks got tired quickly of the lazy susan but, heh it's the experience!

 

7/ how was smog? temperature? rain??

No smog-I did bring masks but never needed them. Cool am and warm days. Wind breaker worked just fine. I think there was rain one evening and at the zoo.

 

8/ how was "school" visit? can not put my head around the fact that one pays lot of $$ to visit school! ..there are many schools wher I live.. I did not visit since my kids graduated..

 

The school visit was charming with the kids entertaining us and we in turn singing. On the way out is a box and you throw in a few dollars or whatever amount you want. The children are so sweet and so happy to see Americans.

 

9/ how were the local flight? how much time was wasted on transfers, a/ports etc..

Some of our flights were delayed most especially the one to Shanghai. The flights do take time as you have to travel a distance to the airports and there's traffic. But ....

10/ about all that tipping.. do u carry $$ and each day tip driver, guide, local guide, his helper etc? (in my travel i am used to have tips debited last day from my acc..)

 

I usually tipped in American dollars but as I had more Yuans left toward the end I tipped in that currency. You tip the driver and the local city guide. At the end you tip the tour director. I left his tip in Yuans. The ship crew you can use a credit card or cash which is placed in a box in the lobby on the next to last day.

 

11/ were there "surprises" like ..sorry u stay yet another day in Guilin instead of hong kong..etc..

I did not extend my trip but wish I had gone on to Hong Kong but was traveling with a group and that wasn't decided on.

12 were there many people sick?? on boat in buses??

 

Our group of 36 had one person sick on the very last day. Other than that no one that I am aware of. I did carry a small pharmacy--immodium, Sudafed, cough drops .... but fortunately didn't need any of it.

 

Enjoy, relax, and if you have read all the postings you will know exactly what to expect. Now that I'm unpacked and clothes washed and iron, I look forward to my trip to Scandinavia in July. Oh, one thing, the time adjustment when you return is kind of tough. I'm in the middle of it now.

kindest regards

 

oceanbreeze

 

 

Hope you can read this message.

[oceanbreeze999]

.

RODIE, MARK, PEREGRINA , CARIBILL;

YOU PEOPLE ARE AWESOME!!

 

Thank you sooo much for helping me (and hopefully other cruisers..)

to plan this trip and not to miss anything of value..

*BSK is booked,

*Peking duck in Kerry is booked

*will take Summer Palace and Tang dynasty optional tours

 

will post my experience after comming back..

thanks again

 

oceanbreeze