Yangtze Cruise

[easy6666]

I want travel in China, people says Yangtze Three Gorges is worthy to visit. Have you ever been there?

http://www.chinatourmap.com

[Spikesgirl]

We did this cruise in August, just before the final stage of the dam was finished. Granted, the Three Gorges you would see is different from what we saw at the lower stae of flooding, it was still pretty. We cruised them on my birthday and it was the best gift I'd ever gotten.

 

We went through Victoria, which is very similar to Viking, as part of a land tour with Princess. We had friend who did the Viking Yangtze cruise three weeks before we did and they loved every minute of it.

 

If you have specific questions, I'll be glad to try and help. You might also want to check under the River Cruises boards (one is under Cruiselines a-o and then the specialty board (family cruise, wedding cruises, that one). Lots of good info on both of them

 

Cheers!

 

Charlie

[ROCruiser]

We also did it summer of 2002. Most wonderful trip also with Victoria (don't remember the name of our ship though.) One excellent thing is that all excursions were included, which made a big difference. Would like to go back, taking the whole trip from Shanghai to Chungking and see how much difference with the water level raised.

[cruisinlivin]

I want travel in China, people says Yangtze Three Gorges is worthy to visit. Have you ever been there?

http://www.chinatourmap.com

 

Hi,

 

We cruised the Yangtze from Yichang to Chongqing on the Serenity with Dragon cruise lines in Oct. 2005. We prefer to travel with local companies rather than Western. The cost was reasonable, service was excellent, cabin beautiful, and food was delicious, we like Chinese food..... all styles but they also served some Western style dishes. Breakfast and lunch was buffet style - Chinese and Western. Dinner was family style. The included land excursions were informative and interesting. It is beautiful and breathtaking scenery. We stayed at a first class hotel in downtown Chongqing for $54USD a night. From there travelled 230KM one way to Dazu on a local bus to see the amazing stone carvings, not to be missed if you are in the area.

 

I designed a 16 day custom tour of China with the guidance of an excellent Chinese agent out of IL that included planes, trains, boats, buses, transfers, hotels and guides.

 

China is easy to travel. Very unlike most reports you hear about. The people are wonderful, guiding, helping, inquisitive, talkative.... with English, hands, signs any way to make one understand.

 

I would be happy to reminisce our travels and help with any questions, my email is below or through this site.

[xanadu seeker]

Cruisinlivin I am going on a trip next summer and we are debating whether or not to use Chinese run ships or Western. What is your opinion. We are being offered a 4 star chinese run ship for a cruise from Chongqing to Yichang then a land portion. I am wondering how the comfort for a western travel would be on such a ship. Please give me your advice.

[BCHappyGal]

Dear Cruisinlivin

 

We are heading for China in May 08 and have booked the Victoria Prince for the trip upstream on the Yangtze from Shanghai to Chongqing.

 

Once we disembark in Chongqing we have a full day excursion booked to Dazu to see the Buddhist Carvings. How long (minutes) a drive is it?

 

What else is there to do & see in Chongqing?

 

At this point we fly out the next morning to Chengdu to see the Giant Pandas

[greatam]

I have done both the Victoria and the Regal cruises.

 

Victoria was very Western. It was also much more luxurious. The cruise also ended in Yichang, with a nasty bus ride to Wuhan.

 

I had more fun on the Princess Jeanie (Regal). The price was close to the same, but the ship went to Wuhan, not Yichang, so no nasty bus ride. And it was much more Chinese than Victoria.

[helga38]

We have just returned from cruise from Shanghai to Chongquin on Victoria Prince.Only have 1 complaint--oh those stairs !

Cabin was on 4th fl as was the lecture room and library,;meals were buffet for breakfast and some lunches.

Was a mixture of western and chinese.

The cabin was fine with a small balcony.River was flowing very fast;amazing to see the types of craft using the river.

The ship was very steady and the captain and officers very compertent.

We are from Melbourne Australia, there were 4 couples from Australia,big group from germany and some from the uk.

Any other questions,let me know.

haggar38

All the staff spoke excellent english and were very helpful.

Owing to a bad hip, we only went on 1 excursion,but believe they were well organised.The guides were good, a good sense of humour and they were very helpful.

[BCHappyGal]

Dear Helga38

 

Thank you for your kind words about the Victoria Prince. the lack of an elevator is my 1 worry for my DAd who is travelling with us.

 

Which deck would you suggest given that he does not do stairs well.

 

Which shore excursion did you do?

 

Do you have any photos are other comments?

 

What did you do before & after the river cruise?

 

You can e-mail me at ann at century 21 vancouver dot com.

 

We are really looking forward to this trip and have already booked our air - cruises & internal China travel with hotels, guides, etc.

 

Ann

[Spikesgirl]

Ann - I'm not Helga, but we did the Victoria star when we sailed and loved the ship. There are cabins located on the lobby entrace of the ship that would probably work for your dad. We had a lady who suffered from MS and that was how she booked.

 

We had an included excursion at every stop. At Fundu, we went up to the Gates of Hell. They do have a tram to ride to the top now, so it might be accessible to your Dad. There was a rather steep climb up to the Temple though. We took a smaller river boat, then and even small boat up through the small gorges. I'm not sure how the flooding effected this though. We went prior to the last stage. There was a tour of the locks when we reached the dam that was pretty interesting. All had English speaking and knowledgable tour staff.

 

We have tons of photos of the excursions and ship, if you'd like to see them, let me know at charliekirby@comcast.net and I'll be happy to share them with you. I also have an extensive travel diary that I kept while on the ship and would be happy to share that with you as well.

 

We had a Princess Cruise before the Yangtze cruise, which was part of a land tour that we booked with Princess. We did Beijing, then Xi'an, then flew to Chongquin for the river cruise, got off at Wuhan and went back to Beijing for another two days of touring.

 

If there are any questions I can answer, let me know!

 

Charlie