Viking China

[travelsfun]

Emily...I agree that you should skip the Snow Jade Cave and do the Fengdu city tour. It was one of the highlights of our trip! You get a feel of how the people really live...and the farmer's market is an unforgettable experience. I even let the "bearers" carry me down the 220-plus steps from the town to the ship..it was a blast! Have a great trip.

Dorothy

[Harry Cane]

Hello all. I’ve been reading the forum for several months now and hadn’t joined because y’all did such a great job providing information, but now that I’ve been on my trip, I’m seeing questions on here I can answer and thought I should share info the way it was shared with me.

First, for the question above about Macau, I didn’t do it on this trip. I went to Hong Kong and Thailand a couple of years ago and did a side trip on my own to Macau. It was extremely worthwhile. While I found Hong Kong fascinating, and it was my first stop ever in Asia, after a while, in many ways it felt like a large western city. Macau was totally different, except perhaps the casino area. I’m not much of a gambler, so I didn’t hang out there. The historical part of the city was really interesting. So much Portuguese architecture contrasting with the Asian setting. And all of the street names were in Chinese and Portuguese, yet no one spoke a word of it. I took two years in college, and you would have thought I was speaking, well, Greek. I also thought the shopping was a little more interesting than in Hong Kong.

The trip is totally doable in one day—not even a really long one. You do immigration and customs before you get on the hydrofoil. The dock in Macau is a short and cheap cab ride from the old city. Just tell them to drop you at the old church (I think it’s Sao Pedro). I think the hardest part was finding the ticket counter to buy the ticket in Hong Kong.

Unlike most of the board visitors I did the Roof of the World tour that includes Tibet. I recall an earlier poster here that was going on the same tour, but alas, I was on the trip when the post was made. If you have any specific questions, let me know.

[hondorner]

Whew! I just finished reading most of the 1,477 posts on this thread in one swell foop. I don't have any questions -- a testimony to all those who provided so much great information!

 

We have just booked the Imperial Jewels trip on Viking Century Sky starting in Shanghai on August 28, 2008 (which also happens to be our anniversary). I started a roll call for this trip in the "other cruise lines" section of roll calls.

 

We're really excited about this trip!

 

...Don

[WIT]

MSEm

Emily, we used US dollars for souvenirs, for hotel maid tips, water on the bus, for the bus drivers and local guides. They accepted these (as did all street vendors) quite eagerly.

Our "escort" when asked by one of the persons in our group, replied that he preferred gratuities be in Chinese Yuan.

About the Ceramic Museum, we found it interesting and yes it was a full day. All of the tours are nicely described in the brochures - suggest you review the materials - the description covers things like meals, length etc.

I do believe that you can arrange to download your memory cards while on-board the ship. Perhaps someone watching this post can help you with confirmation and costs.

WIT... do you know??

Jerry

MSEm/Jerry - Given the cost of memory cards I would just bring enough to hold plenty of photos. I traveled with 6 2GIG cards each holding 800 5megapixel pics. (be sure to copy old photos to fill the card to verify its ability to hold photos - then wipe it clean) Our guide Ruiqi Wang traveled with a small laptop which he used to help people unload cards onto CDs, but I don't recall any ship service that would do so. Even the PCs off the VC Sun stair case had no burners on them - plus the boat internet was so spotty as to not be worth the trouble. Hotels at the beginning or end of the trip would have copying services. So also would FOTOMAT-type shops which are occasionally around. Was there one in Wuhan?

 

We are halfway down the Danube on the Amadeus Amalegro, 144 passengers. The boat is fablulous, but China compares favorably to Eastern Europe.

WIT

[coasters]

WIT,

Thanks for your reply...

enjoy the Danube, let us know where you will post about Amadeus please.

Jerry

[WIT]

WIT,

Thanks for your reply...

enjoy the Danube, let us know where you will post about Amadeus please.

Jerry

Jerry - Got something up already. It is under River Cruises.

Bill

[Pam in CA]

I agree with just buying memory cards. I bought several 2-gig Sandisk cards for about $17/each, including shipping, from eCost. They frequenly have "flash" specials and you can get the cards pretty inexpensively. A memory card takes up a lot less space and weight than even several CDs. As has been said, test all of the cards before leaving.

[couchking]

First, I would like to thank everyone, especially Jerry for all of the great information. It was really helpful.

I will give an overview of our trip, not as detailed as many, because it would only be repetitive.

We left Newark on Oct. 7th. We were supposed to travel Newark/Toronto-Toronto/Shanghai. One week before, Air Canada cancelled the Toronto-Shanhai leg, so we had to go Toronto-Vancouver,Vancouver-Shanghai. Not only did this add time to the trip, but there was more of a chance we would miss a connection(one hour between connections) and that our luggage wouldn't be there We were lucky, and everything went well.

We arrived in Shanghai, were met at the airport and went to our hotel where we met our escort for the week. Our hotel was the St. Regis which was beautiful. Our escort was Matthew.

I would like to tell you about Matthew. As everyone reports their escort was the best. Matthew was a wealth of knowlege and very funny. His English was subperb. He told us that many people request certain escorts since they have been recommended by their friends. Viking will not honor these requests. The only requests they will honor is to make sure you are in the same group as your traveling companion. This request cannot always be met if the others in your group made their reservation later than you did since Viking books your rooms and flights at the time of your reservation.

Getting to the trip,

Shanghai was not as great for us as for others since we arrived just before a Typhoon hit north of Shanghai. We only got the tip, but it poured during our time there. It didn't affect the museum tour, but did affect the trip to the gardens. It POURED the whole time and we were soaked. After the gardens was an opportunity to shop at the market, but everyone opted for coffee or tea instead. We were disappointed, but that's life. The Bund was scheduled for that day, but postponed for the next day due to the weather.

I will speak about the meals later, but we had dinner and went to the fabulous acrobat show.

The next day we went to the bund instead of free time in the morning. Interesting to see the difference between old and new Shanghai. We then ate lunch and went to the airport to fly to Yichang to get to our river cruise.

Arrived at the boat, found our cabins and went to dinner. Our luggage was delivered while we were eating. Everyone on the boat was so nice. They were a pleasure.

The next morning we went to see the Three Gorges dam. It is indeed an engineering marvel. The only negative is our local guide(at every port there is a local guide in addition to your tour guide) was very monotone and not interesting at all. He was full of numerical facts that most of us didn't care about.

We returned to the ship for lunch and started cruising through the Three gorges. One note-I had a massage on the boat which was the worst massage I have every had. Seemed like he was just tired or something-but was poor. I spoke to others that liked theirs. Guess I was just unlucky.

Rest of the day was leisure.

The next day the boat was divided in two and we traveled on smaller boats to tour the Lesser Three Gorges. The sights were beautiful. The weather was "iffy". Just drizzled a little and overcast. We stopped and had a picnic during the trip. Nice day-they had about four guides on the boat-they were very good.

When we returned to the boat, we had lunch and continued sailing through the gorges.

Next day we had a choice-Snow Jade Caves or visit the new city of Fengdu.

I wanted to go to the caves, but wife and the others we met on the trip(great people) wanted to go to the city. A lot of step for both, but less for the city tour. If you have trouble climbing steps, there are people that will carry you up for a fee.

Another problem with this trip-it was raining again. It was interesting to go to the town square where seniors were there to perform for us. We then went to a shopping area. This was not a souvenier area, but to show us shops that are typical for locals to shop in. We then went to the market. Chinese tend to shop for their meals everyday for fresh food. Very interesting to see the fruits, vegetables, chickens, ducks, etc. Once you bought a chicken or duck their is a butcher area to handle that part.

The local guide was very funny and informative. It would have been much better if the weather was better.

That evening we attended a crew show after dinner. The crew in the show practiced in their free time. I don't see where they had much free time since they all worked very hard. They show was pretty professional and wonderful.

The next morning after breakfast we left the boat in Chongqing. Took a bus to the zoo to see the national treasure-the Pandas. Guess what. Raining again. The Panda were a sight to see. We were told earlier that they may be out, and they may not be out. They were all out, and fun to see them.

After lunch, we flew to Xian.

We checked into the Shangi-La hotel which was beautiful. We were told in advance not to expect it to be as nice as the St. Regis. We thought it was every bit as nice.That evening we went to the Tang Dynasty Dinner and Show. It was great. Very professional and entertaining. We were one of the last groups to arrive, but our seats were reserved close to the front. It seems that Viking has alot of influence in China.

The next morning after breakfast we went to the site of the Terra Cotta warriors. One of the hightlights of the trip. Our guide Michelle, was great.

Seeing the warriors was an unbelievable experience. You cannot believe it unless you see it. We were there for quite a while, having lunch in the middle, then saw the rest.

We then proceeded to the airport and flew to Beijing. We arrive at the Westin-financial district after 8:00 and ate dinner there.

Some of the groups had left earlier to see the Terra Cotta warriors and took an earlier flight and arrived at the hotel at around 3:30. We had left the hotel around 8:45 a.m. Even if they had left at 7:30, that would have meant they only left 1 hr.15 min. before us, but arrived at the hotel 4 1/2 hours before us. That means to me that they didn't stay as long to see the Terra Cotta warriors. That would have been a shame, because we needed that amount of time to absorb it all.

Beijing-sunny and beautiful. We were off to the great wall. It would have been miserable in the rain, but was beautiful The wall is indescribeable. It is beyond imagination. Something that you need to see to believe. It was a great day. We didn't climb all the way to the top, but you didn't need to to appreciate it. We then walked down to the "junkarias" in the area. It seemed that almost every booth sold the same items.

When we left the wall we went to the ming tombs. It is a walkway that is about 1/2 mile long that is adorned with massive stone sculptures and animals.

We returned to the hotel. By the way, the hotel was very nice, but in my opinion the rooms in the other ones were a bit larger and nicer. It is a very new hotel. The area has just been developed so there is not much you can walk to in the area.

The next day-the last tour day we went to Tianamen Square and Forbidden City. There was a little concern if we would have a problem since there was a national Chinese meeting that is held every five years in Tianamen Square. We had no problem-and in reality there were less people there because of the meeting. The only thing that showed there was something going on was more police and army-They were everywhere.

Both the square and the Forbidden City are very large. One suggestion that many had was that Viking should schedule one more day in Beijing since there really is not enought time to adequately see both.

After lunch we took a trip to the Summer Palace, where we took a boat ride both ways across the lake. I think there are times when they only take the boat one way, but we were running late so we took it both ways since it would take at least 1/2 hour to walk back.

We then returned to the hotel and went to a Farewell Peking Duck dinner and Peking Opera.

We were fortunate on our departure day since our plane didn't leave until 5:20 PM. There were some that had to leave the hote at 5:30 a.m. It just depends on how Viking does your flights.

My wife wanted to purchase pearls, and we went to the Pearl market. She did purchase at Sharon's store where she felt she got a good deal. Some just hung out. Some did additional sightseeing. It was great to have an additional 1/2 day. Our bus left for the aiport at 2:20 and we arrived in Newark at 10:30 PM

Conclusion and evaluation:

The trip was wonderful. Our tour guide was great. All transportation, including the inter China flights went off without a hitch. All luggage was picked up outside your room and delivered to you next room without a problem. There were 8 groups of about 30 in each group on this trip. There were diffent flights, and our group seemed to have the later ones, so we never seemed to leave until around 8:30 a.m. which was good for us.

We got a lot of insight on China, and a great history session. You have to take alot of the information that you get with a grain of salt. It is still a communist country, and they tour guides and local guides are "ambassadors." They are not going to say anything negative about how the government is run, and in fact tell you why it is good. But everyone's dream that I talked to was to come to the United States. It is very difficult to accomplish this, especially if you are a young family. They are hesitiant to give you a Visa for fear you won't return.

The only negative of the trip was the food.

All of the breakfasts were great. They were buffets, making omlets and a large selection. We felt-if you have to grade them the Westin was the best.

The dinners on the boat were very good, except the night that they had Chinese. That one was poor.

The dinner at the Tang Dynasty show was good.

The other Chinese dinners were fair.

The last night Peking Duck dinner and Opera was poor. I have had far better Peking Duck at home and the Opera,even thought it just lasted 1/2 hour was bad. This was not representative of what a "real" Peking duck restaurant would serve in Beijing. One couple went for Peking Duck the next day for lunch, and there was a big difference. If we knew in advance what this was, we would have gone out to dinner on our own.

The night before the last, our guide told us that if there was one meal to miss, this was it. Well, we didn't have to be told twice. Only 8 people went with him for dinner. We went to TGIF. The hamburgers were great.

The lunches(except on the boat) were poor. They were all pretty much the same. Chinese served family style. Three or four were at factories i.e. rug factory, jade factory, silk factory-and I am sure that for bringing groups there with $$$, the lunches are gratis.

I would rather Viking charge a little more per person and take us to better resaurants. It would have been great in Shanghai if they would have taken us to a Soup Dumpling restaurant which is a specialty there.

One more thing-neither of us got sick-we were pretty careful. I don't think anyone in our group had digestive problems, but several had respiratory problems.

Our group was very cohesive, and no one caused any problems. We didn't have the probem of ever waiting for the stragler.

I would recommend this trip to anyone. For the price and the itinerary, it can't be beat. I wish I had taken the Hong Kong Extension. It seems like the people that did had a great time.

I will try to post my photos withing the next few days.

Hope I gave a good overview.

Larry

[coasters]

Larry,

So very happy to hear that you enjoyed the Viking China trip!

Jerry

[arlenez]

Thanks for a great review of the trip we have booked for next May.

 

Regards,

Arlene

[Dale]

Thanks for a great review of the trip we have booked for next May.

Regards,

Arlene

Arlene,

My wife and I are on the Viking Century Sun, 5/30/08 sailing. It looks as if we have both picked a winner.

[couchking]

My photos are posted on Shutterfly.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AcuGjZu1YuGLi4

[coasters]

Larry,

Thanks for sharing your photos. It was like being there again, delightful!

Jerry

[arlenez]

I thoroughly enjoyed your photos and I can't wait to go and see it all for myself.

 

Thanks & regards,

[coasters]

For those of you seeking information and photos of Viking River Cruise China Cultural Delights, I'm re-posting the links from our April 2007 trip.

Tried to cover many of the questions we read on this site, as well as those that we had that went unanswered prior to our wonderful visit.

Enjoy.

Jerry

http://picasaweb.google.com/JerrysWebPage/VikingBeijing

http://picasaweb.google.com/JerrysWebPage/MtJiuHuaBuddistTemples

http://picasaweb.google.com/JerrysWebPage/VikingBeijingToShanghai

http://picasaweb.google.com/JerrysWebPage/PorcelainFactory

http://picasaweb.google.com/JerrysWebPage/HongKong

http://picasaweb.google.com/JerrysWebPage/Guilin

http://glevitz.com/ebayimages/vikingjournal.htm

[MSEm]

We are thinksing we will skip the Acrobat Show.

We have attended several Cirque shows and several Chinese Acrobat show.

We went to the "Splendid China" park and shows in Orlando about 5 times and always saw all of the Acrobatic shows at the park during each visit. (Visiting with In-laws)

 

(They kept losing the performer near the end of their time in the USA)

Also we still can go see Chinese and Russian Acrobat shows in our area at the casino's. Thinking we might skip the VR Acrobat show and doing other sightseeing.

 

Did enjoy the "miniature" China" Walk by the "Great Wall", Tombs, and other temples and geological sites. Now we get to see many of the actual sites.

 

We depart Atlanta, 1 Nov 2007.

 

Emily

[WIT]

Larry - I agee completely with your remarks about the Chinese Opera and Peking Duck dinner. I felt the same way last April and said so here. Viking misses the point by making what should be authentic food less so. Everyone should have a choice at meals, not a compromise.

WIT

[AMG2703]

While this could in a sense be an addendum to Larry's very thorough summary of the "Jewels" trip we must add one important item. Recognizing that many people hit this site after they have already made their reservations we must urge all of you who have not finalized your plans to think seriously about the Roof of the World offering by Viking.

 

We saw and enjoyed thoroughly almost all of what was on the regular itinerary but there is no question that Tibet was a major highlight of our trip. Most of us will never get back to that part of the world again and without going into details it is a not to be missed opportunity.

 

Getting back to the trip as a whole we can only agree with all the positive things said about these trips and we would agree with most of the negatives. The Peking duck dinner could have been better and although I'm not sure about how much better we needed lunches to be, I resented having to eat in factories and retail outlets most of the time. I must, however, say that the meals we had at the two Westins we stayed at were superb.

 

We are not frequent travelers relative to many of the pople who have posted on this site but we had some uneasiness about the tipping policy. I think that, looking at the daily cost, Vikings price is on the high end compared to others but I'd just as soon pay a little more up front and not have to worry about tips.

 

One final suggestion: In place of the Hong Kong add-on spend one more day on your own in Beijing and Shanghai. The length of the stay in these two cities is terribly insufficient. "Seeing" Tieneman (?) square, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace in one day was ludicrous.

 

All in all an absolutely amazing experience and "Hats Off" to Viking.

 

Arnold & Susan Gross

[couchking]

Emily,

We have seen other Acrobatic shows, but I would urge you not to miss this one. This is a government run show and the performers were excellent.

Larry

[MSEm]

Are robes furnished in the cabins on the river vessel?

 

I know that robes will be in each of our hotel rooms.

If there are robes in the cabins, that would be one less item to pack.

 

Thanks for all of the great info and advice.

 

We leave in just over 1 week. Beginning to get the Packing panic, "I am packing what I really need?"

 

Checking the weather.com site. So far Hong Kong and Shanghai are the warmest in the upper to mid 70's during the day. Beiging is the coolest with temperatures in the mid to upper 60's during the day. Also we should be "dry" with little rain.

Thanks again,

Emily

[coasters]

msem,

here are all the amenity details about the ship we were on... Viking Century Sun.

http://www.yangtzecruiseships.com/vikingcenturysuncruise/overview.htm

Jerry

[Harry Cane]

Wow, Arnold and Susan, my thoughts exactly. While the Tibet portion might have been the toughest, it might have been the most rewarding. I also thought that if I was to ever get to Tibet, this would be the time. We were all glad we did it, though not sure we would ever go back.

 

Also agree on the Peking Duck dinner. It sucked. We made jokes all trip long about how they if they could cut it up to 10,000 pieces, imagine they could feed all of China on a turkey.

 

I also wish more of the meals had been at the hotels. Those were the best.

[MSEm]

Thanks Jerry, that's a great link.

 

Great to know there are bathrobes. 1 less thing to pack.

 

Emily

[MARRYREV]

Please note that anyone thinking of going to China next year during the Olympics or near 1 October. You will be swamped at all the tourist spots by the local people. Oct 1 is the National day (like the 4th of July). We were restricted by the size of the crowds at the Great Wall, Summer Palace Forbiden City, Tinamen Square and the Terracotta Warrior exhibit in X'ing. We also found that the food at the Jade and the Silk factory was very ok but when I asked for another glass of water it cost me out of pocket money.

However, the trip met all my WOW expectations. The cruise on the Yangtze was amazing. I took 525 pics and Wonder Spouse took about 50 or so more with the "old digi". We met some wonderful cruise companions and enjoyed every minute of the whole experience. Our guide ShanShan was very experieced and took great care of us. I don't think anyone in our group had stomach problems but a few of us did have colds. The only rainy day was at X'ing. But luckly most of it was indoors. I am still processing the whole trip.

Our hotels were all 5 Star. The Boat was very clean and the staff was wonderful. Good Show Viking!

 

"Never confuse ignorance with malice"

[MSEm]

When was your China River Cruise?

 

Thanks,

Emily