Viking China

[no fuss travel]

I'm bringing colorful bookmarks for the children. It seems like everything I plan to pack was made in China!

 

Don't laugh. I brought pencils that had Canadian dollars on them and they were made in China as well as the stickers I bought. Mind you we were told at the school that a lot of items that are made in China are not available for purchase in China, so they do really appreciate them.

[cwind]

Hello Myself and my wife are booked July 15th in Beijing for Viking Imperial Jewel tour/cruise.How soon before the trip did you get doc,s.I,m curious about Visa info also.We have ton of questions and don,t know where to start.Have a GREAT trip we cannot wait

[caribill]

Hello Myself and my wife are booked July 15th in Beijing for Viking Imperial Jewel tour/cruise.How soon before the trip did you get doc,s.I,m curious about Visa info also.We have ton of questions and don,t know where to start.Have a GREAT trip we cannot wait

 

Have not traveled yet, so I can't answer the docs question.

 

Yes, you will need a Chinese Visa. You can find the proper forms on the internet site for a Chinese consulate or embassy. You will need to attached a passport type photo with the application.

 

Cost is $160/person in the USA, a charge made because that is what the USA charges Chinese for their visas to visit the USA. I do not know the cost for a Canadian citizen.

 

The cost is the same for a single entry visa, a multi-entry 6 month visa, and a multi-entry one year visa. (We obtained the multi-entry one year visa and the Viking trip will be our second use of it.)

 

Visa must be used the first time within three months of obtaining it, so do not get it too soon.

 

We live 30 miles from a Chinese consulate so dropped off our passports and applications in person and picked them up (and paid for the visas)four business days later. If you do not live near a consulate/embassy, you will need to use a visa service (for a fee). Wiking can recommend such a service to you.

 

Hope this information helps.

[gooch47]

I'm a little surprised you haven't got your info yet.

 

I use ZVS (Zierer) Visa Service. When I got my papers from Viking they recommended a different service, but I've used ZVS twice before and was very happy with their service.

 

I'm pretty sure you shouldn't apply for the visa until 90 days before the day you leave for China. The visa must be used within 90 days of being issued. We have applied for single-entry tourist visas. I think it is different if you are going to other places in China (like Hong Kong) or to Tibet in addition to the Viking Cruise.

 

Like you, I am getting very exciting about this. We've been on 46 cruises, but never anything like this.

[no fuss travel]

Hello Myself and my wife are booked July 15th in Beijing for Viking Imperial Jewel tour/cruise.How soon before the trip did you get doc,s.I,m curious about Visa info also.We have ton of questions and don,t know where to start.Have a GREAT trip we cannot wait

 

Depends on where you live in Canada. In Vancouver, the line ups are long due to the number of people traveling from here and amount of firms wanting to do business with China. We used an agency that has special privileges and does not have to stand in line to get the visas. I remember someone that was living in Ottawa I believe doing it on their own and their turn around time was very quick.

 

We received our trip documentation two weeks before we left.

[kkbay]

Fabulous! Will post more later, but I will begin here.

1. Flight - took Melatonin and slept somewhat - used Costco brand. Also sprayed my nose with salt water spray on the flight to keep it moisturized. I also am a big vitamin user and take Cooper Complete and also Cooper fish oil. I did not get sick!

2. Water and allergies: bottled water was provided at all places and LOTS of it. I never let my toothbrush touch the tap water, but bathed in it and showered with no problems. Kept my eyes and mouth closed in shower.

Before the trip, I went to Costco and purchased cans of saline nasal irrigation. They come two to a box. I brought six cans and irrigated my sinuses as directed on the package both morning and night. Never had a problem with nasal or cough symptoms and I KNOW it was due to this, as I have allergies back home. I HIGHLY recommend you doing this, because several people developed coughs. Pollution is bad in China. We took hand wipes and used them.

3. Shopping - NO TIME! We skipped the Peking duck dinner as we heard it was bad and went to the Silk Market in Beijing. Lots of fun for getting those items you hear about ( LV, C, G) It's all there!! Yes, the dinner was not worth the cost. Ate plenty of duck at the hotel buffets for free. Also went to Tao Bao CIty Market in Shanghai and bought lots of items there.

4. We DID buy terra cotta warriors for $1!!! from the street vendors at the site and they are fine!!! THey did NOT break at all! If you wish to pay more, you may do so in the museum shop. THe man who discovered them was inside the shop signing books. THis , in my opinion, is a good souvenir.

More later, as I have lots of errands to run.

This is a FABULOUS trip!

[Atlanta Cruisers]

kkbay, Welcome back. What was the weather like? Also, do we need face masks? When did you first meet your tour guide and group?

[Peregrina651]

Hello Myself and my wife are booked July 15th in Beijing for Viking Imperial Jewel tour/cruise.How soon before the trip did you get doc,s.I,m curious about Visa info also.We have ton of questions and don,t know where to start.Have a GREAT trip we cannot wait

 

 

Viking says that travel docs are delivered about 3 weeks before departure (don't know if that applies to non US pax). Also, a set of preliminary docs are sent when you book. For US passengers (I don't know about other countries), this preliminary package includes information about visas and the required forms from Generations Visa service. I did a bit of research on the topic and then decided to go with the service suggested by Viking. Some people have a visa service that are already familiar with and others live close enough to go in person to get the visa.

 

For non-US residents: the Chinese consulate/embassy in your country should have information about how to get a visa. Each consulate handles things differently. Google or ask your TA about visa agencies to use if you live too far from the consulate.

 

Remember that Viking has informed us that we are responsible for getting our own visas before we sail.

 

As for answering your other questions, page back on this thread to about last April or May and just start reading. A lot of the same information is repeated from year to year so reading the most recent posts will probably cover it all. After you read a bit, you will feel a little less overwhelmed.

 

 

Also, now that you have posted to this thread, you are subscribed to it. There is a way (probably in User CP in the masthead above) that you can set the frequency of notices. Choose daily not instant or weekly and each night a single e-mail with the last 24 hours worth of posts will be delivered to your inbox. You don't have to browse to Cruise Critic to keep up with the latest news, especially now that the first cruises are just starting to return.

[kkbay]

kkbay, Welcome back. What was the weather like? Also, do we need face masks? When did you first meet your tour guide and group?

 

The weather was cold, but warmed up as we went south. We brought face masks but never used them. The guide met us at the Beijing airport and stayed with us for the entire trip. We had Arnold and he was great! But the other groups loved their guides, too!

[kkbay]

Per doctor's advice, we began taking Pepto Bismol tablets two days before we left and continued to take two a day during the entire trip. We did not get sick at all. I highly encourage you to do the same. Also read what I had to say about nasal irrigation.

[Peregrina651]

The weather was cold, but warmed up as we went south. We brought face masks but never used them. The guide met us at the Beijing airport and stayed with us for the entire trip. We had Arnold and he was great! But the other groups loved their guides, too!

 

Can you be more specific about the temps? Were daytime temps in the 60s, 70s, 80s? What about night time temps? Did you get much rain?

[Dale]

Can you be more specific about the temps? Were daytime temps in the 60s, 70s, 80s? What about night time temps? Did you get much rain?

Check on your own. Here’s a few links to some cities you will be visiting.

 

Beijing

Shanghai

Wuhan

Xi'an

[kkbay]

we had sprinkles in Beijing and rain the last evening in Shanghai. go to weather.com and check the forecasts before you leave for a better idea. Also, the "free wine with dinner" seemed to be unlimited! Never experienced any limits!:)

[cruisegal#116]

Just found this thread today thanks to Lucky Granny. We are booked on Imperial Jewels of China for 5/5/11 on the new Viking Emerald. I'll be watching this thread closely over the next 12 months. Already got loads of information. Thanks everyone.

[wallygator]

I hope I caught you before you left - I just got back from a cruise in the Middle East, so talk about a long flight - 15 hrs, 11 mins to get back! I thought when I went to China (13 1/2 hrs) I would not be able to survive, but I broke it down like this:

 

7 hrs sleep

2 hrs movie

1 hr moving around, exercising, eating, bathroom, etc

2 hrs writing in journal and reading

1 hr TV

 

And really, I ended up with less time than I'd allotted, so I think you'll be fine.

 

I do not recommend sleep aids. You should try (it's hard, but try) to set your watch to the local time in China and approach it like it's that time. If you can't sleep, shut your eyes and stay very still, which allows your brain to slow down.

 

Sleep aids will mess up your internal clock.

 

I do recommend "No Jet Lag". I take it everytime I cross more than 3 time zones, and I hardly experience any jet lag, only a little bit of sleepiness. It's homeopathic, no side effects, etc.

 

I really hope you get this email before you leave.

Felicia

 

 

Felicia thanks for your reply. I did ask my doctor about Cipro and he was not comfortable prescribing it with out knowing more about what I may have been in contact with. I did however get sleep and anxiety prescription meds. I have done this for years and never used them, but have never been the air this long. I did pick up No Jet-Lag as well as oscillococcinum and will bring other over the counter drugs such as pepto bismal , Imodium A-D and others the doctor suggested.

Travel documents should be here any day.

 

Smiles:):):)

[caribill]

We will be on the August 1, 2010 Imperial Jewels of China.

 

Anyone else signed up for this one?

[cwind]

Myself and my wife are doing Imperial Jewels (Viking) July 15th from Beijing to Shanghai looking forward to it big time.We have tons of questions!!!!

[Romeosc]

Myself and my wife are doing Imperial Jewels (Viking) July 15th from Beijing to Shanghai looking forward to it big time.We have tons of questions!!!!

 

 

 

Just ask..... many people who went on these trips monitor the questions!

[cwind]

Ok,thanks a lot

[ReturnCruiser]

An earlier post said to treat 1 Yuan the same as 1 US dollar. I'm confused ... at current exchange rates, 1 Yuan is worth about 15 cents so why would the Chinese merchants treat it the same?

[Maddle]

... I did ask my doctor about Cipro and he was not comfortable prescribing it with out knowing more about what I may have been in contact with...

 

I was wondering about that myself - seems kind of cavalier to just hand someone a prescription for a powerful antibiotic BEFORE they have an infection. For those of you that have brought it along on your trip(s) did it take much convincing of your doctor? How did you know when you needed to start taking it? What is the benefit of Cipro over any other antibiotic you could bring along. (Perhaps you had an idea of which bacteria is in the water, or otherwise?)

 

I like to be prepared, and usually bring the usual motrin, sudafed, neosporin, etc. I would be interested in reading why Cipro? Thanks -

 

Maddle

[kkbay]

We had no problem getting it from our doctor. We had just gone in for our physicals and asked him for it. I guess he knew we were not the type to ask for meds or abuse them and wanted it only if we really needed to take something. We rarely have to take antibiotics and wanted to be prepared in the event that we felt we had high fever or became really ill. The doctor on the boat spoke limited English. One of the fellow passengers broke her leg the first day, and by the time she got to Shanghai, she took the first plane out to go back home. Her leg was in a walking cast.

[Maddle]

Thanks for your response.

 

Okay - I understand the doctor trusts you, but how would you know to take it, even if you had a high fever. I mean, I also am a pretty healthy person, and don't normally need antibiotics, but in my 50 plus years I have taken them. I have never had Cipro prescribed for me, (but my sister has.) So how would you know in advance that Cipro is the right drug? Why not Zithromycin, for instance, or amoxycillin? or any number of other antibiotics?

 

I will ask my doctor about it, so I am not totally against the idea. Lots of people have said the same thing, so there must be some good reasoning behind the practice.

 

So what happened to the girl with the busted leg? Did she have a walking cast from the doctor on the ship? Did she take anything besides a pain killer. Did you start in Beijing, and she didn't fly home until Shanghai? Ouch. How (and why) did she wait so long? ooooo ouch ouch. i can't imagine how miserable that must have been.

 

Maddle

[ReturnCruiser]

Getting ready for Imperial Jewels leaving April 22 and have some questions regarding tips for the Viking Cruse Tour Escort:

 

1. Is the "Viking Cruise Tour Escort" with you for both the land and river part of the tour?

 

2. Is their tip given to them daily or at the end of the trip, and can it be put on charge card or should it be in cash. (If given at the end of the trip, I didn't know if there was any kind of account settle up as there is on a cruise).

 

Thanks!

[wallygator]

The doctor on the boat spoke limited English. One of the fellow passengers broke her leg the first day, and by the time she got to Shanghai, she took the first plane out to go back home. Her leg was in a walking cast.

 

You state the doctor on the ship spoke limited English. That said was that an issue when using her/his services? I would think the Viking members, guides etc. would be able to bridge any language gap. Can you expound further on that issue?

 

 

Thanks:):cool: