Uniworld or a Tauck tour for China?

[acruisefan]

I am thinking about going to China and DH only wants to go with an organized tour. I have been looking at Tauck and Uniworld. I'm leaning towards Uniworld.

 

Both have a Yangtze River cruise and are similar in class of hotel, etc. The Tauck Tour is 16 days and includes additional time in Hong Kong, and Uniworld -11 or 14 days, depending on if Tibet is included. Uniworld offers HK as an optional extension. I actually don't care about going to HK that much, so that is one reason that I am leaning towards Uniworld. Tauck is slightly more expensive on a per day basis, but that alone would not make the decision for me. I think most all meals and many extras are included with Tauck.

Anyone see a reason that Tauck is a better way to go for this trip?

[Floridiana]

I would go with the company that includes all meals. I would also go on the longer trip to make the long flight worthwhile. We have never used Tauck or Uniworld, so I can't speak to their quality.

 

Why don't you want to go to Hong Kong? I find it one of the most fascinating cities, great sights, great infrastructure. We visited on our own at the beginning of one cruise and at the end of another.

[seabreezer]

Both Tauck and Uniworld have a great reputations as river cruise companies but Tauck excels at land tours. I would venture to say they have more experience with the land portion than Uniworld. Another fantastic option is Abercrombie and Kent. They do amazing tours in China and you can go completely private or travel in a group of 18. Everything is top notch with them.

[TrulyBlonde]

I have not been on Uniworld, but recently took a Tauck Danube cruise. Everything is included and I walked away with owing them $3.00 for some laundry.

 

Food is excellent as are tours. They do everything 1st class and I give them high marks.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I don't think you could go wrong with either. We've done Uniworld (Egypt), and were booked on Tauck in Europe but had to cancel. Both are class operations I believe--the devil's in the details, so look at them and decide what you like best.

[didicruiser]

My DH and I did China with Uniworld 2 yrs ago. Everything went flawlessly; guide was excellent. I will be happy to answer any questions.

[SuiteTraveler]

Both of these are luxury lines. Look at the ships to see what you like better as far as cabins and decor go, compare what is included, compare tour descriptions. I've done Uniworld - we owed $0 at the end of the cruise as it was so inclusive. I plan to do Tauck in the future as well. I don't think I would hesitate to go with either line. They are wonderful! Have a great time on your trip!

[acruisefan]

Thanks for all the great replies. I am going to do a day by day comparison of everything. I read a great review of the Uniworld tour on this site that got me started thinking of Uniworld. I am now also exploring the Smithsonian journeys which has a similar tour of China.

 

In re: to why I did not want to go to Hong Kong, well I would like to, but thought I might save it for another trip and did not feel that I needed the extra expense of a high end guided tour to go there. Maybe it makes sense to tack in on, either as the extra with Uniworld or if we use Tauck. As far as the ships, go, the time on the river is only 3 days, but both ships look nice and get good reviews.

[acruisefan]

Didicruiser - I do have a few questions for you: When you viewed the Terracotta Warriors in Xian, did you have a private time there? Or if there were other visitors, was it very crowded? Also, did you feel you got enough time at your visit to the Great Wall? Did you have an excess of 'shopping stops' ?

Thanks!