Viking China

[Osnab]

Also, you get one small bottle of water per person in the cabin each day but the bus drivers will have a box with bottled water for 2/$1. We wound up doing that every day.

 

One thing I'd bring if I were doing it again is a water bottle holder/koozie. I saw someone with one and thought I'd kill for cooler water or to be able to just have the bottle accessible while walking rather than carrying it in my hand or have to get it out of my backpack.

 

They must have changed the # of bottles because in my cabin & in all 3 hotels, there were 2 bottles of water. I used one for brushing my teeth and the other one for carrying around with me.

 

I have this fantastic purse that I highly recommend, and it has 2 side pockets that are large enough to put one bottle in. It also transforms to a backpack by the pull of the straps. If anyone's interested, go to http://www.magellans.com and check it out.

 

I thought the price for the bottles of water on the bus were was great. Oh another comment about water - there was always a large bottle of Evian water in the cabin and in the rooms, but you pay about $5.00 for that. I didn't get why anyone would do that, when you could get additional smaller bottles if you used up your two complimentary ones.

 

Keep your mouth closed in the shower so none of that disgusting water gets in your mouth.

 

Felicia

[Osnab]

Hi Steve,:)

 

We had brought along 220 US dollars thinking that would be enough to shop with since I only buy little things on our trips. In reality we found that this was not really enough since we also twice rented a wheelchair with attendent for my husband which cost 500 yuans in total.

 

Plus the tip at the end of the trip to our tour guide, David, who I too would like to mention was super and a wonderful bridge between ourselves and the Chinese people, could not be put onto a credit card.

 

We found that until we reached Chongjing the vendors and even the museum in Wuhan wanted Yuans so again having our debit card with us came in handy.

 

We were on the 08/25 Cultural Delights trip and it was fantastic, really a trip of a lifetime.

 

Happytotravel

Jean

 

 

Jean:

Funny how a few days and/or cities can make a difference. I didn't go to Wuhan, but in every city I went to, I never heard a price quoted in yuan, unless you actually stopped at a stall. Even then, they seemed to prefer dollars. I paid for a couple of "Rolexes" and paid in dollars, and only once did the woman ask me if I'd give her another one, as one of the ones I presented was torn.

 

Since the portion of the ship is in the middle of the tour, you're right, you cannot add the tip for the tour escort at that time.

 

Felicia

[Osnab]

My husband and I were given only 1 red baggage tag...Our travel agent told us that was all that was provided to him by Viking River. My question is...could our other suitcase be in jeopardy of getting lost throughout our China trip without a red Viking River tag on it? Since we are entitled to bring one bag each...why wouldn't Viking River give us a tag for each suitcase? Has anyone else had this problem?

 

You're probably gone and even back by now, so it's too late to get this message to you, but in case others have this question, I wanted to let them know, it will be ok. Viking doesn't even look at that red tag. You'll get ribbons according to the color assigned to your group (mine was yellow and there was a yellow ribbon on top of the Viking flag.) You put your name & cabin number on the ribbon and tie it twice around your luggage handle. Don't remove the ribbon throughout the trip, because it helps identify your luggage from other groups.

 

Felicia

[Osnab]

Not a dumb question. I got Hep A, Hep B, Tetanus and Typhoid. The Hep A & B shots are a series of three shots a month apart so plan ahead. We also got a prescription for a broad-spectrum antibiotic and brought that along with lots of PeptoBismol and Immodium. We were warned continuously about the water so you will be very aware of that. My friend, Day, and I used the ship's water to brush our teeth but were VERY careful not to swallow any of it. Neither of us got sick. I'd gotten a package of small plastic zip bags at CVS before going and I put the Pepto and Immodium in those so that I had them with me at all times. At the slightest rumble, which didn't happen often, we popped them in since we knew that we'd be on a bus or a toilet wasn't going to be available for at least a couple of hours.

 

I went overboard on precautions, because I'd heard some scary stories about getting sick. Here's everything I can think of that I did:

 

To avoid stomach problems:

A week before, I started putting a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in water, and also did that two days while in China, but after that, I just forgot about it. (If you take it with you, double bag it in Ziploc baggies! I can't imagine what it'd be like if it got on your clothes!)

 

I got my Hepatitis shot but a bit too late and have to follow up with the 2nd one later in October.

 

I got a prescription for Cipro, but never had to use it. I took immodium with me (I took 1/2 of one only one day.)

 

I also took ginger tablets with me (to avoid nausea) but again, never had to use it.

 

To avoid colds:

I started to get a cold the day before I left the US, so my dr gave me a cortizone shot and a prescription, but I never used it.

 

I also took echinacea and vitamin C with me, and took one of each one day. My dr. has advised me not to take echinacea every day, or it won't work, so take it only when you need it.

 

On the plane, I took nasal spray with me and also Airborne.

 

To avoid muscle soreness:

Advil and also Naproxen (a prescription)

 

I also used the heck out of hand sanitizers! LOL, I was obsessed. I used some everytime we got back on the bus and periodically throughout the day. You'll also be provided wet naps with each meal. I was about the only one using the wet naps and the hand sanitizer, and I know of only one person who needed immodium and one other person who got a cold. No need to worry about it, but do take precautions in case.........

 

Felicia

[Osnab]

Our big adventure was being delayed in at the domestic Shanghai airport for 12-hours (due to a typhoon) on the day we were suppose to take a intra-Chinese flight to the ship. It was a rough start to our adventure but I am very impressed with the way that the Viking tour guides handled the situation. If we had not made it out of the airport, we would have missed the Yangtze river portion of the tour completely. As is, we missed one dinner and one evening's worth of relaxation and another night's sleep.

 

More later . . . and I'm sure Felicia will have information to share as well.

-D

 

Debi, glad to hear I'm not the only one experiencing jet lag! I keep waking up at 3AM, 4AM and then am ready to drop by 10AM! Oh well, it'll catch up eventually.

 

I am really eager to hear your experiences, as we were on the same tour but did have different guides.

 

I did get a different story than you did about the airport problem in Shanghai. First, to those who don't know:

 

We were scheduled to leave around 3:30 and got to the airport at 2:30 (or maybe different times - it's all blurry now.) Around departure time, we got the word that the flight was going to be delayed, due to a problem with the GPS system on the plane.

 

In this airport, you could hear the automated announcements every 30 seconds in Chinese, then in English, saying the flight had been delayed. Imagine hearing that continuously for hours, and hours on end! It began to feel like someone was drilling on my brain!

 

For the first few hours, people were patient, but when they provided us with airline dinners (quite disgusting, btw), some people started getting agitated. I heard that a few people were insisting that they go back to the hotel, but Viking didn't want to do that because of the typhoon. (Had we gone back, we would have in fact missed the river portion of the cruise, because the typhoon did hit later the following day.)

 

I didn't get too worried until they brought out blankets and McDonalds! Eventually, the airport had cleared out except for our 200 passengers, some people trying to catch an NCL cruise and some individual Chinese passengers.

 

Throughout the time we were there (12-13 hrs), we were updated periodically with what was going on. What was upsetting some people was that another plane sat outside our window, but it would not hold the # of people who were going to be originally on the problem plane.

 

This was an interesting insight to the Chinese government at work. Some people were really agitated because Shanghai Airlines had not offered passengers incentives to be bumped, that they didn't try to put us on another airline, and that they didn't bring in a larger plane from somewhere. I think people forgot they were not in the USA.

 

One man in particular was screaming that his daughter is a lawyer in Boston and she was going to sue, and then I was approached to sign a petition. (I just walked away.) This man was not in my group, but I understand later he was actually a nice guy.

 

One woman was in my group and was NOT nice, standing around the entire 10 days w/ her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. She kept pointing her finger in Paul's face (he was our guide), saying he should do something about it, and he should be communicating more with us.

 

Some people were yelling at the gate agents at Shanghai Airlines. Those poor young women just stood there and took it. Why people think they can get something done by yelling and acting like fools is beyond me.

 

I remembered something interesting I had read prior to leaving....the Chinese people are extremely focused on "saving face". Had Paul communicated the entire situation to us, he would have not been allowing Shanghai Airlines to save face. Viking has a good relationship with the airlines they use, and they had to keep that relationship intact.

 

Around 3:00, the group from NCL and the individual Chinese passengers got to leave on the smaller plane. (While some of the Viking passengers were angry about that, most of them understood that NCL was not going to hold the ship for them, while Viking's Century Sky would hold the boat for us!)

 

They did bring in another plane for us and we got to our cabins at 6:00A! Up at 7:15A for the excursion (the dam project).

 

Even though we missed the first night on the ship, I felt like it bonded a lot of us quicker, and again, it was insight to the Chinese government at work, something we would not have experienced otherwise.

 

Additionally, I thought Viking handled the entire situation superbly. Since this has not happened with them before, they didn't have anything "on the books" as to how to handle it, and they did a great job. 99% of the passengers were polite and agreeable.

 

Felicia

[Osnab]

Our Viking escort was Grant and he was terrific! He’s only in his late 20s but we were very impressed with his abilities to lead a group as diverse as ours. We were also very impressed with the maturity he showed under pressure at the Shanghai Airport. He added an extra dimension to the trip by sharing his own stories about growing up in China. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have been in “Grant’s Group.”

 

--D

 

Debi, I would love to hear some of Grant's stories about growing up in China. I had asked Paul to talk about 2 things - Chinese weddings and also about life before, during and after the revolution. He said he would do that on the way from Beijing airport to the hotel. But he didn't. So I reminded him and added, "just as much as you feel comfortable talking about it". He said, "It's ok now....we can talk about Communism freely, as we are a free country now."

 

But he talked only about the weddings and didn't mention anything else. I found out later that several others had asked him to discuss life in a Communist country, and he said he would but he didn't. Everyone was polite enough not to push that subject.

 

I found it interesting that so many people asked him to talk about it and although he said he would and that it was ok to do so, he never did.

 

Felicia

[Osnab]

ACCOMODATIONS

Hotels

The hotels were all luxury hotels and we had a lovely stay in each one: Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai; Sofitel, Xian; and Ritz-Carlton, Financial Street, Beijing.

Boat Room

Category E. After reading the boards, we knew that we didn’t need a higher category room to enjoy the cruise. We saved $1,000 by booking Category E and were very happy with it. It was definitely not a “luxury” room but very adequate and very clean, well-attended by staff.

 

And, even though the weather was great, there was still a dampness in the rooms. People with mold allergies may suffer on the river portion of the cruise.

 

--D

 

Here's my 2c worth on the 2 subjects........I booked my own air on United (I just have to know my over-the-water flight info before) but I did get a discount by having my TA book it for me. I paid for coach but got upgraded to business class thru a group rate thru Viking. It's a bit confusing.......anyway, I also paid for my own transfers. No way would I have attempted otherwise. Viking's rep was right there in the front of the throngs, holding up her sign, which was a relief to me. We had to stand around and wait about 30 minutes for the rest of the passengers.

 

I'm very disappointed in United's business class. Like Debi, I experienced the flight attendants to be short-tempered and was even shocked at how they were condescending to the Chinese passengers. There is no need to raise your voice when you ask them "What is your second choice?" for the meals. There is no need to tap your foot or get that exasperated look on your face.

 

The food was also pretty bad on the flights, and I usually like airline food. On the way over, my personal video system didn't work..........I thought I was going to die..........how was I going to kill 4 hours that I'd planned on watching movies? They could not move me to another seat (none avbl?) so they gave me 5000 free miles and the wonderful gentleman sitting next to me let me use his video screen. I offered several times my certificate to him, but he said all he was going to do was sleep! I was most appreciative.

 

I also found it frigidly cold in the cabin for the entire flight. I was not the only one. It usually starts out cold then warms up, but not so in this case. Even the other people were complaining, so I know it wasn't just me. The good news was that my ankles didn't swell (how could they, in 30 degree temps!)

 

Coming back, my seat didn't recline. I was upstairs, which I had switched to later, knowing that heat rises, and perhaps I'd be sitting in only 60 degree temps up there. Fortunately, there were other empty seats but they were downstairs, so after a couple of hours, I moved down there so I could recline and get some sleep.

 

Intra-China Airlines

I didn't experience the rudeness on Shanghai Airlines, but I did fall asleep pretty quickly. The other airlines we used were Sichuan Air and China Air. I thought the flight attendants on China Air were the nicest, but I had actually been more concerned about the safety. All 3 airlines felt safe and I was pleased with the flights.

 

hotels:

I was in the St. Regis in Shanghai (could I rate it higher than 5 stars?!), the Sofitel in Xi'An (also quite nice) and the Westin in Beijing (5*.)

 

On the ship, I agree about the damp feel in the cabin, but most especially in the observation lounge, where a lot of the classes were held and information is given. You could even smell it in there. (It's not bad, just moldy smelling.)

 

I would highly recommend NOT booking the upgraded rooms. First of all, you have the same size cabin as all the other rooms (except the suite.) Second of all, you are directly below the outside deck and walking/jogging area. Guess what I heard every morning at 7A and up until 10P every night? It sounded like someone stomping on metal. I had to call reception every night after 10:00 and ask them to stop it (which they were excellent about doing) and I was always up by 7A anyway, but I still didn't enjoy hearing the banging of feet above my head even when awake.

 

The patio is very cute and just the right size. It was my first time to cruise with a patio, and now I feel spoiled.

 

The ship is very nice about not screaming loud messages throughout the day and there are a lot of things to keep you busy, or you can relax quietly. There are daily drink specials, but none of those obnoxious flyers trying to push different services.

 

Dinner is open seating and starts at 7:00. Breakfast is a buffet and quite good. You can find western food and Chinese food on the buffet for breakfast and in the hotels, you can find Japanese style foods as well.

 

Also on the ship, you can have a full buffet's worth of food (salads and small sandwiches) and although that'll fill you up, you can also order from the menu.

 

Desserts were not the greatest....usually consisted of fruit. The chocolate was not very sweet. I was glad about all this, as I'm a big dessert fan and when I got home, I found I'd lost a pound since the day I left! :D

 

You won't go hungry, I promise, and the food is very good. Every place we had lunch or dinner, you could get free water (it's safe), Coke/Pepsi (sometimes diet coke, sometimes not), tea or beer. The beer is very good. Coffee was never hot. I wouldn't count on decaf, as I'm not even sure they know what that means. Our first morning in Shanghai, I joined some people for breakfast and the woman next to me asked for decaf. The waiter just continued to pour her coffee from the same pot he'd used to pour mine. None of the handles on the pots are different colors. She asked, "Is that decaf?" He said, "Yes, coffee." :D

 

I ate some different kinds of foods, but they are hard to describe. One snack on the plane from Shanghai was sugar coated dried olives - quite weird. I kept eating them, trying to decide if I liked them. I finally decided I didn't.

 

For those of you wanting adventurous foods, the opportunity is there. I don't care for duck, but the Peking duck (last night) was outstanding! If you don't like to be adventurous where food is concerned, don't worry, you will not go hungry.

 

Felicia

[Osnab]

FOOD

With the exception of the terrific breakfast buffet at the Pudong Shangri-la, the lunches and dinners in Shanghai were bland and, in my opinion, totally forgettable. Mind you, they weren’t bad...just not memorable.

 

 

The Martin Yan dinner was much better Chinese than we had experienced in Shanghai and it was better than I had expected after reading other posts. The only thing that ruined dinner that night was the 60-something woman I sat next to who had purchased the unlimited drink coupon that is now being offered.

 

Chongqing. I believe it was here that we had a really good lunch with homemade noodles. My husband thought it was Xian--they do run together after a while.

 

Xian. Dinner was at the Tang Dynasty Show and the food was quite good. I believe it was the only meal that wasn’t served family style.

 

Beijing. We had a really good Western dinner at the hotel the first night. It was nice to have a well prepared meal that didn't contain soy sauce. The last night was the Peking Duck Dinner but I can honestly say that I’ve had better Peking Duck in the States.

 

--D

 

Debi, what interesting comments about food! I actually found most of the food memorable. I cannot describe it so much, but I liked the dumplings that had the bean paste in them, and I especially enjoyed the sezchuan meal we had (they said they toned it down for us, but we were all still wiping our noses from the spices!) And I really liked the duck a lot.

 

There was never a meal I didn't enjoy, except for the first dinner in Shanghai (before the Acrobat performance). It had a "cheap" feel to it. Oh I take it back! I also didn't like that airport food they gave us in Shanghai - yall, it was disgusting! It was a leg of duck that smelled really odd, on top of white rice, some spicy crunchy things that I think were cabbage but am not sure, and also some pink meat (yes, pink) formed into medallions that smelled a lot like spam. Fortunately, no one in the future will be getting this meal, as it was only provided to us who had to stay in the airport for 12 hrs!

 

I don't know what ingredients the Chinese restaurants put in the food here as opposed to there, but I didn't find it to be as salty there. The only other difference I noticed was I saw no water chestnuts and no bamboo shoots.

 

There is a lot of "lazy Susan" type of eating. No one really wanted to be the first to dig in, but after someone got it started, you'd find that the food disappeared quickly. However, the servers continually brought out more food. Just when you thought it was over, voila! More food. My favorites were the bok choy and the brocolli, and also anything spicy. Fried rice is nothing like the kind you get here. (much lighter in flavor.)

 

I agree about the noodles. And you are right - it was in Chongqing!

Felicia

[Osnab]

TOURS and ACTIVITIES and SHOPPING

We mostly enjoyed the tours. there were some places (primarily pricey shopping opportunities--jade market, silk carpet and silk art) that we wouldn't have bothered with at all (although the discussion about the art itself was very informative). Personal favorites included the Great Wall, the Lesser Three Gorges, Fengdu Market, the Terra Cotta Warriors, the Forbidden City, the Bejing hutong we visited.

 

We also enjoyed the educational activities on the boat -- the scenic cruising narrations, the Chinese language lesson, Mahjong lessons, the bridge tour, the tea ceremony, Tai Chi. Max, the cruise manager, is an absolute gem! I had a 90-minute QiGong Massage one night after dinner (someone earlier on this board mentioned a massage his wife received that was similar to being beaten up--this was it!). I knew what to expect and found it very, very relaxing but if you're expecting an aromatherapy massage, this isn't for you.

 

Shopping. By the time we got to Beijing, however, we didn't have that much time to shop. We'd rather climb to the highest peak of the Great Wall for example, than spend 90 minutes at the open market or the Friendship Village on site. (Although, the local vendors still find you at the very top of the wall. :) ).

 

We brought $300 in 1s and 5s, $200 in RMBs, and another $200 in bigger US bills. Way too much money for us.

 

I brought way too much product in my luggage (handiwipes, pepto bismol, charmin-to-go, etc.). There were quite a few Western toilets but don't be afraid to use the Chinese toilet -- they were quite clean and easy to use, especially if you wore skirts. Blue jeans (not rippped or torn) were often seen especially in the big cities.

 

--D

 

Debi, I am loving your views and comparing them to my experiences! Here I go with my 2c now:

 

I enjoyed 99% of the tours as well. Even those I thought ahead of time I would not enjoy, I actually did when I got there. (like the silk market.) I didn't buy anything there - be aware if you do, you're probably going to be lugging around the carpet with you the entire journey. I kept seeing people getting on the flights w/ those boxes. Really, I think shipping them home is the best way to go ($50 to ship.)

 

I loved the Terra Cotta Soldiers, even though I had thought it would be minimally interesting. It was an interesting excursion (especially the movie about it.)

 

I also enjoyed the Great Wall, and am proud to say I climbed a lot. Going up wasn't hard....coming down I was scared. I don't trust my coordination much and I held onto the railings and would take a few steps then stop. Your feet are forced forward into the toe of the shoes from the sheer steepness! You'll have 2 hours here and it takes about an hour to climb up pretty high and also to come down slowly. That leaves you with an hour to shop, if you want to. I got most of my souvenirs here (baseball cap, t-shirt, mug with my picture on it - it says I climbed the Great Wall - at least I think that's what it says - a scarf, a vase, a thimble, etc.)

 

Note on vendors: You will encounter them everywhere.......you will see them along the steps in Fengdu, you get on the bus and get dropped off at the "mall" and there are the same ones that were on the steps! They are not harmful. Even if you say "no" they don't leave you alone. Don't get upset with them. Just experience it.

 

They were most persistent at the foot of the Great Wall (there is a shopping "strip mall" across from the entrance.) Sometimes they will touch you and even grab your wrist. Just keep walking.

 

Sometimes saying, "I have" means they will leave you alone; however, other times, they will say "Two?"

 

Most everything is a dollar.....if you see something you want, chances are you won't see it again. Sometimes you see vendors when you go in an entrance and you may think you'll get the chance to purchase this item from them when you leave, but often, you won't leave the same way you came in. Have a few dollars in your pocket and hand it to them, take your merchandise and keep walking. You can't hold up your group because you want to bargain or shop. It's easier to bargain if you have the bill in your hand. I decided I wanted a Gucci purse, but I knew I wasn't going to spend more than $5 for it. I had my $5 bill in my hand....a woman approached me and said, "only 200" (meaning yuan). That's about $25.00. I held out the $5, she took it and handed me my purse and I never broke stride!!! <G>

 

I really enjoyed the activities on the ship. I had taken Tai Chi classes before I left the states, but I didn't do it once on the ship.......not sure why.......I think the first day I missed it because we didn't get there till 6A, but the 2nd day I was really out of it, and then I didn't want to go the last 2 days.

 

I especially enjoyed the commentaries of the gorges (you're right - Max is GREAT) and the bridge tour. The tea ceremony/lesson was interesting and I played Bingo one night. Since this is not a large cruise ship, you won't find pool parties (no pool onboard) and you won't find a need to have constant activities, but you will never be bored.

 

I even enjoyed watching the video of our activities (Debi was in there a lot!) but I don't think the videographer did a professional job - it looked like I was holding the camera!

 

I also had a Qigong massage and I really enjoyed it. I like the beatings. LOL. (it's not painful, I promise.) I also had a massage my last morning in Beijing at the Westin.

 

It's hard to say what my favorite thing was because everything was so varied. I really enjoyed the Fengdu Market. It's not one of those that was set up to be a market, it has just evolved as a way of life. I'm not sure why those vendors were so nice to us. They had to know we weren't going to purchase anything, and here come the "Big Noses", gawking at the food they are trying to sell and taking photos because we find it so odd. It is really an interesting experience and I recommend it highly.

 

I didn't enjoy the Tang Dynasty costume show, but maybe it was because I was tired. It seemed to last a long time and was very loud. Surprisingly, I did enjoy the opera. It's not your typical opera. I loved the Chinese acrobats in Shanghai. You cannot believe what you are seeing!

 

Felicia

[Osnab]

I was just informed by my TA that my flight arrangements have been changed. Leaving next Saturday.

Air Canada says they cancelled the direct flight Toronto to Shanghai. Now I have to fly Newark to Toronto, Toronto to Vancouver, Vancouver to Shanghai.

Not Happy. What is the chance we will not make one of the connections that have only an hour between flights? What is the chance our luggage won't make the flights?

The chances of either of these happening are good. It will be a nice way to ruin the start of a vaction that we have been looking forward to for a long time.

 

 

Couchking: Even though you have that extra flight, at least you will have the opportunity to stretch and walk at a fast clip, which will help you overcome your jet lag upon arrival in Shanghai.

 

More than likely, if your domestic flight is delayed a little bit, the airlines will hold up the connection if it's for the int'l segment of the trip. They know there's only one flight a day, and they will know there are passengers who need to be on that flight.

 

Also, unless you booked 2 different airlines that were not partners, they have provided enough time for the connection. (it's called a legal connection.) If they say you have an hour to make that flight, they know that an hour is sufficient time.

 

I know it's easier said than done, but don't worry about your luggage. I would definitely pack some clothes in a carry on, but just to ease your mind.

 

If the worst-case scenario does occur, you would just miss your first day in Shanghai, which is pretty much a relax-day. You won't have any tours that day. If your luggage didn't arrive (really, the chances of this happening are very slim, especially with that Viking info on there..........Viking is extremely valuable in China. You'll see the power they have there when you do arrive.) then at least you'd have enough stuff in your carry on to get you by for a couple of days. Just don't pack any medicine or vital stuff in your checked luggage.

 

Also, I'd put a copy of the itinerary on top of your suitcase, in case it does get lost and they have to open it to see where to send it.

 

Felicia

[couchking]

Thanks, for making me feel a little better. Can't wait. 6 days. left.

[MSEm]

Thank you D and Felicia for your great reviews and reports. I have really enjoyed reading your postings.

Questions:

Beijing Ritz Carlton? Did anyone stay there? Is there shopping in the area?

Silk Factory: Could you ship purchases directly from the Silk factory?

 

Were your river vessel and/or tour completely filled?

 

Thanks again for taking the time to report back and answer questions.

 

Emily

[arlenez]

Thanks so much Felicia and D. After reading your reviews, I feel I am now ready for our China River cruise. The reviews were very informative, and I especially loved the comment about shopping for the Gucci purse and never breaking your stride. My husband would even approve of that kind of shopping.

 

Thanks again.

 

Warm regards,

[gofish]

Our friends bought duvats and rugs and the factories shipped to Hawaii and California with no problems. Makes it easier than lugging around.

[Osnab]

Thank you D and Felicia for your great reviews and reports. I have really enjoyed reading your postings.

Questions:

Beijing Ritz Carlton? Did anyone stay there? Is there shopping in the area?

Silk Factory: Could you ship purchases directly from the Silk factory?

 

Were your river vessel and/or tour completely filled?

 

Thanks again for taking the time to report back and answer questions.

 

Emily

 

Emily:

Not sure about the shopping near the Ritz Carlton, but yes, you can ship purchases from the silk factory, which I would recommend, as opposed to lugging that box around all the time.

 

The tour had only about 200 passengers total, and the crew on the ship was 158. Not a bad ratio. :)

Felicia

[Osnab]

Does anyone have any easy instructions on how to set up a slideshow using Picasa? I've been struggling with it all day. I want to label my photos so people will know what they're looking at, but I can't figure out how to save the slideshow and email it or post it on here. Please help!

Felicia

[Minnesota Nice x II]

I remembered something interesting I had read prior to leaving....the Chinese people are extremely focused on "saving face". Had Paul communicated the entire situation to us, he would have not been allowing Shanghai Airlines to save face. Viking has a good relationship with the airlines they use, and they had to keep that relationship intact. I think this was very true. We observed angry people but our group decided to "stay back" and out of it. . . wait for our guide to explain things. The Viking guides were definitely visible and dealing with the situation. Had they not been visible, it would have been a different situation entirely.

 

Around 3:00, the group from NCL and the individual Chinese passengers got to leave on the smaller plane. (While some of the Viking passengers were angry about that, most of them understood that NCL was not going to hold the ship for them, while Viking's Century Sky would hold the boat for us!) The ship wasn't due to sail until after the dam project, so knew we had a little leeway. If we would have been sent back to Shanghai, the boat would have sailed without us. I think the big concern to our small group was missing the river portion of the trip, which was the main reason we had booked travel to China.

 

Even though we missed the first night on the ship, I felt like it bonded a lot of us quicker, and again, it was insight to the Chinese government at work, something we would not have experienced otherwise. Our group did bond more quickly. Upon arrival, husband and I went in for breakfast at 5:30a since our luggage hadn't yet arrived. We each traveled with a change of clothes rolled up in our carry-ons so we were able to shower and change. And, since we knew we wouldn't benefit from a couple hours of sleep, we just went on up and participated in Tai Chi and kept moving. The day ended up to be glorious and we had sunshine the whole time we were on the boat, which is very unusual.

Funny thing, some people just have to complain. We sat next to a distinguished-looking gentlemen during the tea ceremony who complained that the river gorge was not foggy and misty as it was in the pictures he remembered from his childhood. I, personally, enjoyed the sunshine--it made the terrible situation in the airport dissolve more quickly from my memory. And, you have to remember that the water level on the Yangtze has already risen 50 ft or so with more to come in the future. So you aren't going to have the same experience as you would have even 5 years ago--the river is wider and not turbulent as it was in the past and you are 50 ft higher to the top of the peaks.

 

Additionally, I thought Viking handled the entire situation superbly. Since this has not happened with them before, they didn't have anything "on the books" as to how to handle it, and they did a great job. 99% of the passengers were polite and agreeable. I agree entirely. Our guide had already impressed us with his abilities prior to the airport situation and we knew that we were in good hands. I can't imagine what it would have been like if we had been travelling sans Viking.

 

Felicia

See my responses above in purple above. I would definitely book another trip with Viking in the future based on our experiences.

[Minnesota Nice x II]

Debi, what interesting comments about food! I actually found most of the food memorable. I cannot describe it so much, but I liked the dumplings that had the bean paste in them, and I especially enjoyed the sezchuan meal we had (they said they toned it down for us, but we were all still wiping our noses from the spices!) And I really liked the duck a lot.

 

There was never a meal I didn't enjoy, except for the first dinner in Shanghai (before the Acrobat performance). It had a "cheap" feel to it. Oh I take it back! I also didn't like that airport food they gave us in Shanghai - yall, it was disgusting! It was a leg of duck that smelled really odd, on top of white rice, some spicy crunchy things that I think were cabbage but am not sure, and also some pink meat (yes, pink) formed into medallions that smelled a lot like spam. Fortunately, no one in the future will be getting this meal, as it was only provided to us who had to stay in the airport for 12 hrs!

 

I don't know what ingredients the Chinese restaurants put in the food here as opposed to there, but I didn't find it to be as salty there. The only other difference I noticed was I saw no water chestnuts and no bamboo shoots.

 

There is a lot of "lazy Susan" type of eating. No one really wanted to be the first to dig in, but after someone got it started, you'd find that the food disappeared quickly. However, the servers continually brought out more food. Just when you thought it was over, voila! More food. My favorites were the bok choy and the brocolli, and also anything spicy. Fried rice is nothing like the kind you get here. (much lighter in flavor.)

 

I agree about the noodles. And you are right - it was in Chongqing!

Felicia

 

It's all a matter of perspective since we pretty much ate at the same place at the same times (or similar times). The Shanghai meals especially had a mass-produced quality about them. I'm not saying they were bad but more of a cafeteria dining experience than "prepared to order." Again, as we traveled north, I thought they were better.

 

The beer is light and low alcohol so you can enjoy a glass with lunch and still function afterwards. And, it definitely grew on me as the week progressed. I also wanted to experience the Chinese wines on board ship to see what they were like since others had reviewed them. The Great Wall white was not bad and good with dinner; the Chinese red (don't remember the name) tasted more like a Madeira or Port than a red wine--it was cloudy-looking and had a cask-soaked taste to it. I wouldn't qualify it as a dinner wine but something that you should experience either after dinner or prior to dinner (during the Gorge lecture outdoors, like I did). We wondered why there isn't more wine produced in the country??

 

--D

[Minnesota Nice x II]

Thanks, for making me feel a little better. Can't wait. 6 days. left.

 

I rolled up a pair of light yoga pants, a shirt and a change of underwear/socks and stuck it in my carry-on. I was glad I did after our Shanghai airport experience. It was so nice to shower and put on clean clothes. It's also a good idea to pack at least one outfit in your traveling companion's luggage and visa-versa. One person in our group lost her luggage for approx 36 hours and kept apologizing for wearing the same clothing but we were all so tired no one even noticed!

We were on the runway for 90 minutes flying from Beijing to Tokyo and almost missed our connection. We were actually hoping to so we could spend a night in Tokyo. :-) Flying into the Tokyo airport, the landscape was gorgeous!

By the way, if make-up is a concern, I purchased a tinted moisturizer for the trip and used that instead of regular makeup. It was also small enough that I could put it in my ziploc bag for carry-on.

[Minnesota Nice x II]

Questions:

Beijing Ritz Carlton? Did anyone stay there? Is there shopping in the area?

Emily

 

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton in the Financial District. There is a new shopping center just around the corner, but it is all very high dollar designer shops. We actually ended up walking 20 minutes and found a shopping district that we could have spent a lot of time in but didn't have the time. Even in the department stores, you are expected to bargain!

 

--D

[Minnesota Nice x II]

Does anyone have any easy instructions on how to set up a slideshow using Picasa? I've been struggling with it all day. I want to label my photos so people will know what they're looking at, but I can't figure out how to save the slideshow and email it or post it on here. Please help!

Felicia

 

I'm going to clean-up my pics before posting them on Picassa to share with others. I had a lot of memory with me so just snapped as much as I liked. I'll probably delete 1/4 of them before posting and will crop and clean-up others. I hope to get to it today. I haven't posted to Picassa before, but have a friend who does it all the time. If you don't get a response from anyone else, I'll ask her for directions.

[Minnesota Nice x II]

I loved the Terra Cotta Soldiers, even though I had thought it would be minimally interesting. It was an interesting excursion (especially the movie about it.) Others have reported that you can buy the warriors for cheap from the locals outside the museum. Our local guide said that some of the knock-offs offered by the locals are antiqued by way of "urination." So, that put me off buying any warriors for $1. I did end up buying a warrior and a horse inside the museum--but the way I figure it, my extra dollars went to support the museum's work. It is incredible--and they've yet to excavate the emperor's tomb-palace, which supposedly has ceilings of jade and pearl, rivers of mercury surrounding it and booby-traps to keep invaders from entering the tomb. The stuff Indiana Jones is made of. They don't have the technology yet to safely excavate it and it will be interesting to see if anything still remains. . .

 

They were most persistent at the foot of the Great Wall. I was actually told to "go away" by one of the vendors on top of the wall. I guess my bid was insulting . . . we had a good laugh out of that. We got sets of chopsticks for our kids at the Friendship Store (20% off for Viking customers) at the Great Wall. I didn't want to buy something that they'd put in their mouths from a street vendor. However, turns out we could have gotten more for our money from the airport. Ah, well. . . .

Most everything is a dollar.....if you see something you want, chances are you won't see it again. Our Viking escort told one of the gals selling to us outside the bus window to come back to the bus after we returned from one of the programs. And, she was there waiting. They had they small fabric bags, big enough for a cell phone and lipstick, 10 for $4. Nice gifts for the gals in the office. And larger fabric bags were 6 for $10.

 

I really enjoyed the activities on the ship. I had taken Tai Chi classes before I left the states, but I didn't do it once on the ship.......not sure why.......I think the first day I missed it because we didn't get there till 6A, but the 2nd day I was really out of it, and then I didn't want to go the last 2 days. You don't really absorb much in 3 days, but it was fun to watch the Tai Chi master and Owen (the asst cruise mgr) was a doll.

 

I even enjoyed watching the video of our activities (Debi was in there a lot!) but I don't think the videographer did a professional job - it looked like I was holding the camera! I was told we appeared in it alot but we were at the back of the room the night they showed it and I only saw the Tai Chi portion. We figured we were there to learn about the culture, so we did attend most of the classes offed. We didn't purchase the DVD--those things are always way too much $$$.

 

Felicia

 

It was definitely a great trip! When we told folks at home we were going to China, we got such odd comments--they couldn't figure out why we'd go to China. But, what I thoroughly enjoyed most was the Chinese people. Granted, we met people who were in the customer service field, but I loved their senses of humor and playfulness. And, walking by ourselves on a city street, we were often greeted by mothers with children saying "hello, hello" wanting to practice their English. Felicia mentioned earlier, how rude the flight attendants were to the Chinese. We noticed this as well. In fact, one of the male attendants was so rude to a Chinese couple with a child that a US passenger spoke to a flight supervisor about it.

--D

[coasters]

I'll be more than happy to help you with Picasa.

First however, I'll need to know how you want to share the pictures...

1. Via email

2. Via a CD

3. Via a web album.

Can you reply?

Would you want to call me (New Jersey) for help?

Jerry

[WIT]

Thank you D and Felicia for your great reviews and reports. I have really enjoyed reading your postings.

Questions:

Beijing Ritz Carlton? Did anyone stay there? Is there shopping in the area?

Silk Factory: Could you ship purchases directly from the Silk factory?

 

Were your river vessel and/or tour completely filled?

 

Thanks again for taking the time to report back and answer questions.

 

Emily

Emily - You can ship directly from the Silk Factory in Suzhou. We opted to carry our duvets into Shanghai (1/2 day) so we could add other purchases to the shipment. Concierge at Portman Ritz Cartton handled it all.

 

Felicia - We found that the exercise room on the Century Sun always had an iced pitcher of water (from the dining room). Refilled a few times there with no bad result.

 

WIT

[Osnab]

The beer is light and low alcohol so you can enjoy a glass with lunch and still function afterwards. And, it definitely grew on me as the week progressed. I also wanted to experience the Chinese wines on board ship to see what they were like since others had reviewed them. The Great Wall white was not bad and good with dinner; the Chinese red (don't remember the name) tasted more like a Madeira or Port than a red wine--it was cloudy-looking and had a cask-soaked taste to it. I wouldn't qualify it as a dinner wine but something that you should experience either after dinner or prior to dinner (during the Gorge lecture outdoors, like I did). We wondered why there isn't more wine produced in the country??

 

--D

 

I enjoyed the beer, and it was really nice after sightseeing, especially when it was a bit warm outside!

 

I never tried the wine........I enjoy wine but just wasn't in the mood for it. I wish now I had!

Felicia