Viking China

[jcrandle]

When we went to the Peking duck dinner and opera, we enjoyed the food, thou several members of our cruise felt that they were shorted on the duck. When they complained, more duck was brought out. The acrobatics in the opera were something that anyone could appreciate, IMHO, but the vocalizations were subject to cultural appreciation. Another issue that was expressed by some of our cruisers was that the venue was nothing special. Basically, the opera was held in a large hotel conference room, rather than a theater. It could have easily been in NYC, SFO, etc, except for the actors. On the other hand, I'm not sure most westerners could have stomached a two plus hour of screeching, pantomines, and limited dialogue in a language that that they couldn't understand. If the opera had been presented in a theater setting rather than the hotel conference room, it would have probably been better accepted. The complaint from some about the skimpy peking duck serving should probably be balanced with the fact that the duck was only one course, and there were multiple courses served.

 

I, for one, would not have skipped the duck/opera night for an evening browsing in a local bazaar. but I wouldn't condem someont who did. That's why we all have different values.

[no fuss travel]

I think the reason why so many people do not enjoy it is because they are too tired to appreciate. I know that I fell asleep due to time change and all the walking that we had done that day. I enjoyed all that I saw except for the ladies singing, but then I am not a fan of opera either. The acrobatics were incredible. I discovered later that the Chinese wine was better hot than cold. I enjoyed some of the dishes better than others. But one must remember when they travel, they are traveling to experience new things be they cultural or food. I can think of some other trips where I did not really like the food at all times and some shows that I went to that I would never go back to, but at least I can say that I tried it and experienced it. To be honest I have gone to restaurants in my own city and not liked the food, so how can I like the food 100% of the time when I travel. As said before, each person reacts to each situation differently. One must remember that a lot of the best Chinese chefs now no longer are cooking in China, but elsewhere in the world and that does make a difference. Here, where I live we have a chef who has won all of the cooking competitions in China. I must admit when I go to that restaurant I thoroughly enjoy the food, but there has been a couple of dishes I can say, I tried it, and once is enough.

:D

[dpump]

The Opera sort of sticks in one's head like the ride It's A Small World in Disney(World).

The best part of the opera to me was that I had a table at the end and watched how many heads were bobbing as folks were falling asleep. One table, all 6 were asleep and bobbing away! Hey, at least we can all say 'been there, done that.'

[no fuss travel]

The Opera sort of sticks in one's head like the ride It's A Small World in Disney(World).

The best part of the opera to me was that I had a table at the end and watched how many heads were bobbing as folks were falling asleep. One table, all 6 were asleep and bobbing away! Hey, at least we can all say 'been there, done that.'

 

 

Yes we can.:D If I was ever to go back again, this is one outing I would definitely miss and find something else to do. Mind you,if I was offered a ticket to Convent Garden to see an opera, I would probably go to say that I had been there and done it.:) I can relate to "Its a small world", that is one ride that I will never ever go on again. We got stuck on it for 30 minutes when the ride broke down and they did not turn off the music.:eek: And yes it was fun to watch the heads bobbing, there was plenty in my tour group including me.;)

[jcrandle]

Yes we can.:D If I was ever to go back again, this is one outing I would definitely miss and find something else to do. Mind you,if I was offered a ticket to Convent Garden to see an opera, I would probably go to say that I had been there and done it.:) I can relate to "Its a small world", that is one ride that I will never ever go on again. We got stuck on it for 30 minutes when the ride broke down and they did not turn off the music.:eek: And yes it was fun to watch the heads bobbing, there was plenty in my tour group including me.;)

I'd compare it to my trip up Pikes Peak. I'm glad I did it once, but I'd question the sanity of anyone who did it twice. Or, to quote Mark Twain, "I'm glad I did it, not so much because it was worth it, but because I will never have to do it agein."

[annchan]

October, 2008 on a trip from Kong Kong to Beijing was just about perfect. It was tropical in Hong Kong but not too hot for the horses and we went to the track on Sunday, our one totally free day. It was a real treat. We got to people watch and were pampered all at the same time. Neither of us are gamblers. There were just two days out of the twenty when I wished we had brought decent rain gear. Even in Beijing there were blue skies but it was cold enough on the Wall to make us share our one pair of gloves and buy hats. I went to China to learn what I could about the country, the people and their culture. This trip provided a very comfortable introduction. Surely we got to see many things that would have been difficult to manage without the help of Viking. Shopping and food were not high on my priority list. In fact, many people from China were shopping in Honk Kong, and that is where most of the free time is scheduled. There were always long walks, over 5 miles on a couple of days, fairly steep inclines, and high step entrances to museums. When they suggest this is a trip for people in fairly good shape, they are not kidding.

[no fuss travel]

Annchan

 

Glad you enjoyed your trip.

[gr8lakes]

Well our journey has begun. We currently are in the beautiful Shangri-La Pudong hotel in Shanghai. We flew into Hong Kong and spent a couple of days enjoying that wonderful vibrant city! Flew to Shanghai yesterday and checked into the hotel here on our own. This morning we will switch rooms to the Viking assigned room and we will start our tour tomorrow. A letter was waiting for us this morning from Tina Yu who will be our tour escort. The hotel is gorgeous and we had a Bund View room that we booked through AMEX Platinum for last night. Spectacular! Love Shanghai - weather is high 50s and sunny!

Off on our own to explore today.

More later.

[gr8lakes]

Today was the first full day of our China Cultural Delights tour with Viking, starting in Shanghai. We started out with a trip to beautiful Yu Gardens with a tour of the rock garden and a short time to shop. Then we were off to a silk carpet factory for a tour. Then back on the bus for lunch at a silk embroidery building. Lunch was excellent and we enjoyed viewing the intricate embroideries. Then it was off to Shanghai Museum where there were incredible jade, bronze age and costume exhibits. Could have used more time there, but it was wonderful. Then we had a trip to the Bund with time for viewing the area and river historic buildings. Then off to dinner and an acrobatic show. A long day but full one.

 

The most amazing part is that Tina, our excellent tour guide announced that there will be a total of 20 people on the ship for the River Cruise. We do not even fill up one bus! There are 18 of us currently and two more people will join the ship tomorrow! Kudos go to Viking River Cruises for keeping this particular sailing going with only 20 people total. The crew of more than 125 will be waiting for us tomorrow when we reach the ship. We all said we were amazed that we will have the ship to ourselves! We all have been moved to one deck - the fifth deck for the cruise!

More later - we're off early in the morning for Suzhou and the ship!

[alexva]

I posted a long and somewhat critical review of our China trip, focusing primarily on the national holiday crowds and certain of the the logistics arranged by Viking. I wrote Viking a longer and more detailed letter a few weeks ago expressing both those criticisms and some praise. On the same day, I wrote to Northwest Airlines to register a complaint about the entertainment system in business class being inoperable on the flight from Detroit to Tokyo (part of our trip from DC to Beijing). I received a response from Northwest in about a week. I have heard nothing from Viking, and that silence is more disappointing than the problems with our trip. A company that doesn't care is a company that doesn't deserve any of my future business.

[Dale]

I posted a long and somewhat critical review of our China trip, focusing primarily on the national holiday crowds and certain of the the logistics arranged by Viking. I wrote Viking a longer and more detailed letter a few weeks ago expressing both those criticisms and some praise. On the same day, I wrote to Northwest Airlines to register a complaint about the entertainment system in business class being inoperable on the flight from Detroit to Tokyo (part of our trip from DC to Beijing). I received a response from Northwest in about a week. I have heard nothing from Viking, and that silence is more disappointing than the problems with our trip. A company that doesn't care is a company that doesn't deserve any of my future business.

Alexia, I can feel your frustration. Don’t feel as if you are the only one not getting a reply from Viking. We also had problems leaving for our trip in late May early June. We purchased out air through Viking. Our originating flight was canceled because of a breech in security. I know Viking had no fault in the problem but when I ask them for assistance in rescheduling the flight they were of no help at all. They said next flight was fully booked. I was fortunate enough to speak to a supervisor for Northwest Airlines, explained my predicament and seats were found. I wrote Viking after our return expressing our disappointment with their being of no help to us. And just as you, we are still waiting for a reply. As you say their lack of response has been disappointing.

[Travel&Shop]

Alexia, I can feel your frustration. Don’t feel as if you are the only one not getting a reply from Viking. We also had problems leaving for our trip in late May early June. We purchased out air through Viking. Our originating flight was canceled because of a breech in security. I know Viking had no fault in the problem but when I ask them for assistance in rescheduling the flight they were of no help at all. They said next flight was fully booked. I was fortunate enough to speak to a supervisor for Northwest Airlines, explained my predicament and seats were found. I wrote Viking after our return expressing our disappointment with their being of no help to us. And just as you, we are still waiting for a reply. As you say their lack of response has been disappointing.

 

Interesting that 2 people have not heard from Viking after writing about some problems/concerns. I wrote them when I returned with praise for a great tour, and they responded within 2 weeks. I am disappointed to hear that they would respond to positive comments only. They certainly gave the impression they cared about return business, but this doesn't support that very much.

Did you try emailing directly to the Viking office in Beijing? Here is their email address: beijingoffice@vikingchina.com

[susietb]

You may have some luck if you get your travel agent to be your advocate and call them directly.

[alexva]

What a coincidence. Three days after I berated Viking here for not responding to my letter with some valid criticisms of our China trip during the Chinese national holiday, they write a reply, which I received yesterday. The first sentence begins with an apology for the delay. I guess they read this thread. Of course, they value my comments, explain that the crowds during the holiday are beyond Viking's control (although when they schedule trips is not), regret that I found the food on the ship to be well below expectations, and will forward my comments on the logisitics--which got us to two destinations well after any reasonable dinner time--to the "management team." Finally, as a laughable "gesture of goodwill," they sent me a voucher for a whopping $25 per person shipboard credit for my next Viking cruise. But only if it's in the next year, an incomprehensible restriction. I guess in Viking's mind goodwill has a 12-month shelf life and its passengers can afford a trip a year. My disappointment will last far longer than 12 months, so I expect that I will return the voucher with a request that they donate the $50 to charity, as a real "gesture of goodwill." Of course, they'll know all of this before they receive my reply. But I thought that other readers here should know it as well.

[gr8lakes]

Hello from Xian. We have just disembarked the ship and flown here and checked into the Shangri La. Sorry we haven't been able to post but the computers on the ship did not work most days and I was unable to get to the cc website at all.

Well there truly were 20 of us on the entire ship. 18 passengers and Professor Fei, one of the lecturers and his wife. This was the last cruise of the year.

We had a fabulous time with just 18 of us, all on the 5th deck so the crew could clean up the lower floors for drydock of the ship. We had unbelievable attention from the crew, who never gave an indication that they were about to end their year aboard. Cabins were lovely and the weather has been sunny and warm. We viewed the Goddess in the lesser easily. Having just one bus has been great and saved us time as we can all travel in one vehicle easily.

Food on the cruise has been uneven, with the Chinese meals begin good, but many of the dinners being less than expected. Desserts were almost universally unappealing with two exceptions. Breakfasts were excellent.

 

But, we have an incredible group of travelers here who have bonded and shared a wonderful experience so far in Shanghai and on the Yangtze.

Tonight is the Tang Dynasty show and tomorrow the Terra Cotta Warriors and the flight to Beijing.

Long days but full of wonderful sights sounds and smells.

More later.

[dpump]

Isn't Xian just so cool? We didn't get there until late and were rushed everywhere-would of loved to of been able to spend more time there to look around and explore.

[coasters]

What a coincidence. Three days after I berated Viking here for not responding to my letter with some valid criticisms of our China trip during the Chinese national holiday, they write a reply, which I received yesterday. The first sentence begins with an apology for the delay. I guess they read this thread. Of course, they value my comments, explain that the crowds during the holiday are beyond Viking's control (although when they schedule trips is not), regret that I found the food on the ship to be well below expectations, and will forward my comments on the logisitics--which got us to two destinations well after any reasonable dinner time--to the "management team." Finally, as a laughable "gesture of goodwill," they sent me a voucher for a whopping $25 per person shipboard credit for my next Viking cruise. But only if it's in the next year, an incomprehensible restriction. I guess in Viking's mind goodwill has a 12-month shelf life and its passengers can afford a trip a year. My disappointment will last far longer than 12 months, so I expect that I will return the voucher with a request that they donate the $50 to charity, as a real "gesture of goodwill." Of course, they'll know all of this before they receive my reply. But I thought that other readers here should know it as well.

 

After a delightful Viking River Cultural Delights China cruise, we wrote to comment positively on the staff, food, ship etc. To thank us, Viking sent us a lovely "Thank You" letter and a 25.00 on board coupon - as yours was, with a 12 month expiration.

Having booked another Viking trip (booked before the coupon expired) I wrote to ask if they might be kind enough to extend the date of the coupon to that of our next trip.

Never an answer, I called...only to be told "sorry".

Doubt that Viking executive management knows how their representatives are responding to these wonderful opportunities to build customer loyalty. How easy it is to deminish the good-will gesture by refusing to extend the useful date of the $25 on board credit.

Jerry

[gr8lakes]

I've posted photos of the China Cultural Delights Viking Cruise Nov. 19 to Dec. 4 Shanghai to Beijing. This also includes photos of Hong Kong, which we visited three days before the tour.

Please click this link to view:

 

http://www2.snapfish.com/shareereg/p=126311230765848838/l=443900719/g=157015786/cobrandOid=1000131/COBRAND_NAME=comcast/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB/testflag=Yes/pns/share/p=126311230765848838/l=443900719/g=157015786/cobrandOid=1000131/COBRAND_NAME=comcast/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

[Off2China]

We've booked a Panama Canal cruise for early November 2009, round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale. It's the 10-day partial crossing itinerary on the Island Princess. Is there someone out there who can tell me whether or not I'll be missing something if I don't take the ferry excursion all the way through the locks? We did the Viking Cruise in China last October and after a while, going through the locks was no big deal. I'm thinking maybe I should just save my $$$ and not do the ferry trip in Panama.

 

If you've done both the Panama Canal and the Yangtze River, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

TIA,

Debra

[no fuss travel]

Completely different. The scenery in the Panama canal is well worth seeing. There should be no pollution as well. I found the locks in China to be tame in comparison to the locks at Panama canal. Also, you will get a daylight trip in the locks versus nighttime in China.

[jcrandle]

Our Viking China cruise traversed the locks in daytime. We've also been on a partial tranis of the Panama Canal. I would rate the experience similar. The first time thru a lock is awesome. Additional trips are very interesting. My opinion only, your mileage may vary.

[coasters]

After a delightful Viking River Cultural Delights China cruise, we wrote to comment positively on the staff, food, ship etc. To thank us, Viking sent us a lovely "Thank You" letter and a 25.00 on board coupon - as yours was, with a 12 month expiration.

Having booked another Viking trip (booked before the coupon expired) I wrote to ask if they might be kind enough to extend the date of the coupon to that of our next trip.

Never an answer, I called...only to be told "sorry".

Doubt that Viking executive management knows how their representatives are responding to these wonderful opportunities to build customer loyalty. How easy it is to deminish the good-will gesture by refusing to extend the useful date of the $25 on board credit.

Jerry

 

One day after emailing Viking a copy of my above comment, I received a very nice phone call from their management and a promise to issue a new coupon to be used during our upcoming Ukraine voyage.

Such attention renews my faith in Viking customer service!

Thank you Viking!

[Guest VikingRiverCruises]

What a coincidence. Three days after I berated Viking here for not responding to my letter with some valid criticisms of our China trip during the Chinese national holiday, they write a reply, which I received yesterday. The first sentence begins with an apology for the delay. I guess they read this thread. Of course, they value my comments, explain that the crowds during the holiday are beyond Viking's control (although when they schedule trips is not), regret that I found the food on the ship to be well below expectations, and will forward my comments on the logisitics--which got us to two destinations well after any reasonable dinner time--to the "management team." Finally, as a laughable "gesture of goodwill," they sent me a voucher for a whopping $25 per person shipboard credit for my next Viking cruise. But only if it's in the next year, an incomprehensible restriction. I guess in Viking's mind goodwill has a 12-month shelf life and its passengers can afford a trip a year. My disappointment will last far longer than 12 months, so I expect that I will return the voucher with a request that they donate the $50 to charity, as a real "gesture of goodwill." Of course, they'll know all of this before they receive my reply. But I thought that other readers here should know it as well.

 

To AlexVA and also Dale:

 

Thank you both for taking the time to post your comments about your recent experiences traveling with Viking. We do appreciate your business, and the time and effort it took to contact us about your experiences and to share your comments with the CruiseCritic community. I would like to make several points in response:

 

• About the scheduling of an Imperial Jewels itinerary during the Chinese national holiday week – The crowding you experienced in and around Beijing is indeed unfortunate. We do take steps to schedule around the ebb and flow of travel demand, but this was a “perfect storm” caused by local and international post-Olympics tourism. We are sorry you experienced this kind of volume and hope it never recurs. All that said, Beijing is always a rather crowded place and the many destinations we visit during our relatively short time in Beijing do often make for a brisk pace.
  
• We try to provide a pleasing range of food choices on our ships and we are sorry we did not meet your expectations.
  
• It is indeed regrettable that your late arrival precluded spending more time in Guilin. The timing of your arrival for your Guilin/Hong Kong pre-trip extension was determined by availability of appropriate air travel; we are always on the lookout for more amenable and convenient travel arrangements. The fact that people were tired during their Li River cruise does not surprise us—this can be partially attributed to jet lag. Guests who begin their trip in Beijing or Shanghai often comment that they feel tired during their first day or two. The China itineraries are action-packed and the first few days can be difficult, wherever you start.
  
• The main thing we would like to communicate is how sorry we are that we were not able to reply to your letter sooner than we did. Our new year’s resolution is to become better at this; we are taking steps to streamline our procedures in order to reduce response time. We are also sorry you were disappointed with the shipboard credit for your next journey and we must agree that this entire matter could have been handled better. Our customer service staff were applying generic rules, which we are now in the process of reviewing. We do care, and would very much like to have you join us again.
  
• One final comment directed to Dale, who had difficulty with air arrangements while on their journey. In many such situations, the airline will be much better equipped to provide an immediate solution to air travel problems than the tour operator. As you experienced, the airline was able to “find” seats for you where Viking could not. You did everything right under the circumstances—presented your issue to a Northwest Airlines supervisor who was empowered to resolve the issue, and later reported the problem to the tour operator (Viking) so we could take note of it when making future air arrangements.
  

Thank you once again for your comments, and best wishes for health, prosperity and travel in the coming year.

 

Stephanie Horn

Vice President

Viking River Cruises

[Dale]

To AlexVA and also Dale:

 

Thank you both for taking the time to post your comments about your recent experiences traveling with Viking. We do appreciate your business, and the time and effort it took to contact us about your experiences and to share your comments with the CruiseCritic community. I would like to make several points in response:

 

[*]One final comment directed to Dale, who had difficulty with air arrangements while on their journey. In many such situations, the airline will be much better equipped to provide an immediate solution to air travel problems than the tour operator. As you experienced, the airline was able to “find” seats for you where Viking could not. You did everything right under the circumstances—presented your issue to a Northwest Airlines supervisor who was empowered to resolve the issue, and later reported the problem to the tour operator (Viking) so we could take note of it when making future air arrangements.

Thank you once again for your comments, and best wishes for health, prosperity and travel in the coming year.

 

Stephanie Horn

Vice President

Viking River Cruises

 

Ms Horn,

 

Thanks so much for your reply. I do hope that in the future Viking will be able to be of more assistance to passengers that have problems such as mine.

Unfortunately, twice before I have had similar problems but was able to resolve them much easier with the help of the cruise lines involved.

Viking does have a great product but I do feel their customer service is lacking.

 

Thanks again for your reply.

 

Dale

[Harry Cane]

Well there truly were 20 of us on the entire ship. 18 passengers and Professor Fei, one of the lecturers and his wife. quote]

 

Wow. 18 passengers is not very much. I remember when we went they commented we were one of the smallest groups of passengers on the ship--and there were about 130 of us. Kudos to Viking for not cancelling the trip.

 

The economy has to be taking its toll. I guess this explains why I've been getting those email offers. Now if they would only discount India on Viking Tours. It's still running about $2000 more than China, for about the same length of time.