Viking China (Part 2)

[Viking Cruises]

Dear PatriciaF,

 

We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your inquiry.

 

You are welcome to join both the Old Shanghai & Yuyuan Garden Tour and the Acrobat Show. You will not need to choose between tours as the verbiage suggests.

 

Please accept our apologies for the confusion. We will reconsider the phrasing in the cruise documents moving forward.

 

If you have any additional questions, we would be happy to hear from you at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

 

Bon voyage!

 

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

 

Got our cruise documents on Tuesday! Hooray--we are departing on 4/19.

 

However, looking through them, I am confused--once again.

 

For example, in Shanghai, there is "Included Tour, Choice #1"--Old Shanghai & Yuyuan Garden Tour AND "Included Tour, Choice #2" Acrobat Show.

 

From reading comments here and the tour information on line with Viking--in Shanghai, you go to both--not either--but why the word Choice #1 and Choice #2

 

Same with all the other cities and the river tour. If there is "choice" do you only get one or the other--or is the wording bad?

 

The last time I cruised Viking (Paris to Normandy) I didn't get this nice little booklet--so I have nothing to compare the language to.

 

Help--I don't want to call my travel agent for it to call Viking and be on hold for 45 minutes like the last time I called.

 

No optional tours are included--I thought there was at least one in Beijing and one in Wuhan.

[caribill]

Dear PatriciaF,

 

We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your inquiry.

 

 

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

 

Thanks for the follow-up to let us know the response.

[PatriciaF]

Dear PatriciaF,

 

We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your inquiry.

 

You are welcome to join both the Old Shanghai & Yuyuan Garden Tour and the Acrobat Show. You will not need to choose between tours as the verbiage suggests.

 

Please accept our apologies for the confusion. We will reconsider the phrasing in the cruise documents moving forward.

 

If you have any additional questions, we would be happy to hear from you at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

 

Bon voyage!

 

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

 

Thank you for responding and alleviating my concerns.

[cbob3849]

Taking Viking May 5 imperial Jewels trip. Arriving on May 4th. Staying at Kerry Hotel. Hired guide for May 5 to go to Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, Confucian Temple and Summer Palace. Looking for one or two people to share expenses.

[Peregrina651]

Taking Viking May 5 imperial Jewels trip. Arriving on May 4th. Staying at Kerry Hotel. Hired guide for May 5... Looking for one or two people to share expenses.

 

 

Just a heads up. If your post for a tour share disappears from this thread, it will be because house rules permit such requests only in the roll calls. I see that you have already posted in a roll call for your sail date.

 

The 'roll calls only' rule is a catch-22 when it comes to tour shares on river cruises because there are so few passengers on a river cruise to begin with and only a very small percentage of those passengers actually participate in Cruise Critic.

 

Here are a couple of things you can do to get your message out and maybe find some tour buddies before you leave.

 

--Post again in the roll call you started, saying that you are still looking. This will bring your May 5 roll call to the front page and, at least for a short time, the number one spot on the list.

 

--Double check the roll calls to make sure that another roll call has not been started. This happens sometimes. When looking for a specific roll call, I like the belt and suspenders approach -- using the search function and then scanning the list of roll calls just in case.

 

--Finally, look for an 'all 2016' roll call for Imperial Jewels and post your request there.

[Host Jazzbeau]

For what it's worth, I treat this particular thread like a Roll Call -- but I leave it here because of the long tradition.

[Peregrina651]

For what it's worth, I treat this particular thread like a Roll Call -- but I leave it here because of the long tradition.

 

You are a good man, Charlie Brown! Thank you!

[gnparend]

Has anyone experienced long delays with GenVisa the service company suggested by Viking. We sent ours out on March 1st for our May 20 departure date. Sent them in the same Fed Ex envelope with our friends and they received theirs back two weeks ago. Called GenVisa each week for past few weeks and they keep telling us it's the consulates fault and not to worry but yet they don't seem to be able to confirm the consulate does have them or at what point in the process the passports are. It's like they fell into a black hole. We are not yet at a panic point but not very pleased with the VISA service company recommended by Viking. Don't want to wait till the last two weeks or so (only 4 weeks till we need to pack and prepare) and then have to consider them lost or misplaced and pay high fees to replace everything. GenVisa is not giving us any solid information or detail just what seems like a prepared non-committal message.

 

Anyone one else experience any delays with GenVisa who promised 3 - 4 week service. :mad::confused:

Edited April 14, 2016 by gnparend

[LadyVol1]

We live in Kansas City and sent them to Gen Visa via regular US mail on March 16 and received them back on April 6. We did not pay for expedited service.

[Going Coastal]

Back at post 4266 there begins a discussion of this issue.

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

[Peregrina651]

Has anyone experienced long delays with GenVisa the service company suggested by Viking. We sent ours out on March 1st for our May 20 departure date. Sent them in the same Fed Ex envelope with our friends and they received theirs back two weeks ago. Called GenVisa each week for past few weeks and they keep telling us it's the consulates fault and not to worry but yet they don't seem to be able to confirm the consulate does have them or at what point in the process the passports are. It's like they fell into a black hole. We are not yet at a panic point but not very pleased with the VISA service company recommended by Viking. Don't want to wait till the last two weeks or so (only 4 weeks till we need to pack and prepare) and then have to consider them lost or misplaced and pay high fees to replace everything. GenVisa is not giving us any solid information or detail just what seems like a prepared non-committal message.

 

Anyone one else experience any delays with GenVisa who promised 3 - 4 week service. :mad::confused:

 

You have every right to be angry at this point. This is taking a longer than normal and blaming it on the consulate isn't getting the job done.

 

IMHO, you are at the panic point and it is time not only to step up your phone calls from weekly to daily but time to start talking to a supervisor's supervisor or even the boss of the operation, someone who can tell you exactly what they are going to do to find your passport (with visa, of course) and return it to you--or else replace it and the visa for free by the time you have to leave.

 

And at the end of the call, always arrange for a call back-- within a few hours or by day's end --for a progress update at a specified time. If they don't call you, you call them. You don't have time to wait days between phone calls. If you have to get a new passport AND visa on your own, it is going to take time to get it done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gnparend]

Finally the passport with Visa showed up. The only thing that is annoying is we called them in the Moring about 11:30 AM then in the evening 4:30 PM a text from FedEx telling us they pickup the passports at 4:12 PM. GenVisa must have had them in there office yet the rep we spoke to still telling us not to worry. You'd think in todays word, passports each had a barcode and number, that they had tracking on the passports. I know that FedEx posted every few hours as they traveled from one point o another then into Tampa and they there Dunedin truck location and then when they actually were on the truck info all the way until it was place in our hands and then within 30 second "Beep" package delivered.

 

N0w we can sleep at night and plan the trip.

 

Wished I had known of this link I would have sent them to a visa service in Houston rather the DC and they send them to an agent or contractor in Houston. Lesson learned do my homework the next time

 

http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zmzlljs/t84229.htm

Edited April 18, 2016 by gnparend

[PatriciaF]

Waiting for our ride to LAX--then we are off to China!

 

3 days on Hong Kong on our own--then to Shanghai to meet up with Viking!

[Peregrina651]

Finally the passport with Visa showed up. The only thing that is annoying is we called them in the Moring about 11:30 AM then in the evening 4:30 PM a text from FedEx telling us they pickup the passports at 4:12 PM. GenVisa must have had them in there office yet the rep we spoke to still telling us not to worry. You'd think in todays word, passports each had a barcode and number, that they had tracking on the passports. I know that FedEx posted every few hours as they traveled from one point o another then into Tampa and they there Dunedin truck location and then when they actually were on the truck info all the way until it was place in our hands and then within 30 second "Beep" package delivered.

 

N0w we can sleep at night and plan the trip.

 

Wished I had known of this link I would have sent them to a visa service in Houston rather the DC and they send them to an agent or contractor in Houston. Lesson learned do my homework the next time

 

http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zmzlljs/t84229.htm

 

It is good to hear that you finally have your passports in hand.

 

With all the good experience from most of us who have posted about GenVisa, I am sorry to see a bad experience finally be reported and I am sorry that you are the one who had to experience it. It is a lousy way to start a long anticipated trip.

 

I think that if other travelers can learn anything from your experience it is 1) that while many report 3 - 4 week turn around, it can take longer, so, plan accordingly.

[gnparend]

I know that the dress code is casual. Did you find wearing shorts was acceptable in the warm months. Were there any dress restrictions in Government buildings or any of the Temples.

[Peregrina651]

I know that the dress code is casual. Did you find wearing shorts was acceptable in the warm months. Were there any dress restrictions in Government buildings or any of the Temples.

 

Shorts are acceptable. I don't remember any day when our guides told us not to wear them.

[PatriciaF]

Just got back.

 

Great trip-will write a longer review when I am over the awful head cold I got over there (probably allergy triggered).

 

BUT--heads up--had problems getting my on board credit--had to email tellus@vrc.com and it was resolved in less than a day (although reception told me it took over two days to hear from headquarters).

 

Bring a print out of all of your OBC to show to reservations.

 

Pat

[LadyVol1]

Just a warning to anyone that booked the Roof of the World itinerary in early 2015 and is getting ready to go on it now. Our Beijing to Shanghai trip started on May 12, 2016 and we booked it on 2/25/2015. The information we received in February, 2015 as well as on May 6, 2016 shows that the day that we tour Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City also includes touring the Summer Palace. My husband and I flew to Beijing two days early and did NOT go to the Summer Palace on our own since it was to be toured on the Viking tour on May 13. Well, guess what? Viking changed the itinerary to no longer include the Summer Palace but did NOT notify us of this cutback. The Tour Escort also said that not only is the Summer Palace no longer included but Xi'An's Big Wild Goose Pagoda, scheduled to be toured on May 16, is also no longer part of the itinerary. Nothing has been added but these two sights have been cut out without any kind of reimbursement to passengers that booked the tour when these were part of the itinerary. This is a classic case of bait and switch.

 

Our Tour Escort, Oliver Lin, told ME to contact Viking customer relations but since he's the one wearing the Viking polo shirt I requested that HE should be the one that deals with this problem, not me, the passenger. I have paper documents showing what I paid for and now that I'm not getting that, I'm ticked. Unfortunately I'm stuck in Beijing and have no phone access to follow-up with Viking about this but at least I can give you a heads up to make sure you get compensated prior to your Roof of the World tour if these two sights are no longer part of your itinerary. Good luck. This is typical Viking....... Pay way in advance and then switch it up on the passenger to make it worse and don't communicate to the passenger about the change. "It's the Viking way!"

[Mark_T]

I can certainly understand the frustration and disappointment, but your guide although wearing the shirt is not a Viking employee so it was good advice to tell you to make your own complaint directly as it has more weight than the report the guide can file via his own contacts.

 

Right now I would email Viking - TellUs@vikingcruises.com and let them know then follow up after the cruise.

 

Also if you still have that spare afternoon ahead of you, you can still easily get to the Summer Palace on your own, but treat it more like a visit to a garden as there is no 'palace' to be visited, just a pleasant walk around gardens and a few sculptures and new buildings.

[PatriciaF]

Were these tours in the cruise documents you received or just in the initial advertisement from Viking?

 

email tellus@vrc.com with your issue and expected corrective action. It helped me right away with a problem I had.

Edited May 13, 2016 by PatriciaF

[LadyVol1]

They were in both. On Feb. 25, 2015 they were listed in the daily itinerary for the May 12, 2016 tour on the Viking website and the same tour details were in the cruise document I received on May 6, 2016.

 

Thanks for the email address. I'll see what happens.

[PatriciaF]

They were in both. On Feb. 25, 2015 they were listed in the daily itinerary for the May 12, 2016 tour on the Viking website and the same tour details were in the cruise document I received on May 6, 2016.

 

Thanks for the email address. I'll see what happens.

 

Wow--I don't blame you for being unhappy.

 

There seems to be a break in communications between headquarters and the actual people running the tour.

 

Brian was our tour guide (4/23 to 5/5)--he did a great job!

[Peregrina651]

Just a warning to anyone that booked the Roof of the World itinerary in early 2015 and is getting ready to go on it now. Our Beijing to Shanghai trip started on May 12, 2016 and we booked it on 2/25/2015. The information we received in February, 2015 as well as on May 6, 2016 shows that the day that we tour Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City also includes touring the Summer Palace. My husband and I flew to Beijing two days early and did NOT go to the Summer Palace on our own since it was to be toured on the Viking tour on May 13. Well, guess what? Viking changed the itinerary to no longer include the Summer Palace but did NOT notify us of this cutback. The Tour Escort also said that not only is the Summer Palace no longer included but Xi'An's Big Wild Goose Pagoda, scheduled to be toured on May 16, is also no longer part of the itinerary. Nothing has been added but these two sights have been cut out without any kind of reimbursement to passengers that booked the tour when these were part of the itinerary. This is a classic case of bait and switch.

 

Our Tour Escort, Oliver Lin, told ME to contact Viking customer relations but since he's the one wearing the Viking polo shirt I requested that HE should be the one that deals with this problem, not me, the passenger. I have paper documents showing what I paid for and now that I'm not getting that, I'm ticked. Unfortunately I'm stuck in Beijing and have no phone access to follow-up with Viking about this but at least I can give you a heads up to make sure you get compensated prior to your Roof of the World tour if these two sights are no longer part of your itinerary. Good luck. This is typical Viking....... Pay way in advance and then switch it up on the passenger to make it worse and don't communicate to the passenger about the change. "It's the Viking way!"

 

Yes, you are upset by the changes. However, let's be realistic; it is not 'bait and switch.' Cruise lines reserve the right to make changes to the program and to do so without compensation; they say so in their statement of terms and conditions .

 

You have a wonderful trip a head of you and you should focus on that. You have spent a lot of money on this trip; don't let a minor blip ruin the whole thing.

[PatriciaF]

Yes, you are upset by the changes. However, let's be realistic; it is not 'bait and switch.' Cruise lines reserve the right to make changes to the program and to do so without compensation; they say so in their statement of terms and conditions .

 

You have a wonderful trip a head of you and you should focus on that. You have spent a lot of money on this trip; don't let a minor blip ruin the whole thing.

 

I would agree with you if this were the cruise portion of the trip--but it is the land portion. I see no reason for excursions listed in cruise documents printed only a week or two before the tour were cancelled and apparently not replaced with another activity.

 

On my recent Viking China tour, we had a 9 hour delay on the Yangtze due to heavy fog--the shore excursions were changed. Only one we were very disappointed about is that the "tour of the dam" was really a glimpse of the dam from a park in heavy fog--yes, it appeared that there was a big gray concrete structure out there.

[gnparend]

We have toured throughout the world and I would say 95% of what was promised have happened and the other 5% was due to weather or local vendors. We have come to enjoy our trips and not have any preconceived expectations which can avoid disappointment both on land and at sea. Couldn't climb Uluru the aborigines now control the structure and decide which days weather permits you to climb and it turns out usually 360 days a year the weather is not suitable, by their estimation and that of course has nothing to do with the fact the aborigines see it as a sacred place to them, Lake Nakuru boast millions of Flamingo's yet the day we arrived the water levels were low therefore the brine shrimp population was down and the Flamingo's were only in the thousands because the rest were eating somewhere else. Didn't see one of the largest glaciers along the Chile coast line after we rounded Cape horn, something to do with the 20 foot waves and heavy storm. These and more are promised in the brochures usually a year in advance but then life or local vendors who change or no longer provide what they once provided. Remember the tour company is more of an agent contracting with local vendors to provide the excursion. They will pack there advertisements with all the wonderful sights and in a perfect world you will get toe witness them. Heavy fog impaired our New England cruise one Autumn so now we are going back again but in late August early September when the fog won't be an issue. No the trees won't be as beautiful but I suspect the food ashore will be great and the scenery will still be marvelous. And we did get to see the great autumn leaves but this time from a train between Toronto and Montreal. Our Palm and oak tree just don't turn colors.

 

All in All we are blessed to be able to see what so many others we know have not and may not get a chance to see. My replacement knee and other things over the years have slowed me down a bit but by golly my new collapsible walking stick and determination will help me climb the Great Wall and the many temple steps that await us on our Jewels of China.

 

I hope you concentrate on what is ahead and what you have already enjoyed. Won't be the first time we decided a few years later to do some of it all over again with the new found knowledge of the last trip. We planned on going three days early to Shanghai just so we have time to see as much as we can. No sense traveling 20 hours and not riding the Mag Lev train or taking advantage of all we can. Besides the many Visa's we have now do not expire and last 10 years, except the one for Kenya so that means we can go back.

 

Hope you enjoy the rest of your great exploration of this marvelous world. I'm tired of looking out my window so I'm ready for some change of scenery.

Edited May 15, 2016 by gnparend