Yangtze River Cruise and China Tour with Gate 1 - Full Review with Photos

What a nice surprise to see this thread alive again. I am glad I could assist others going with Gate 1 on this trip with information and details. Hindsight is 20/20...and we would do this trip all over again. :)

I don't know if I wrote it in my review or not (maybe I did?) but the people we traveled with on this Gate 1 tour/cruise were very well traveled.... many had visited countries we have not even considered... Egypt, India,Africa etc... one couple had traveled to more countries than they could possibly count and this was their third time, at least, with Gate 1. Gate 1 Travel really is about people who want a great deal and a good experience - not the same o' same o' - and not 5-star luxury when you are in a poor country like China. We will probably return to China years from now to see the Xian warriors as my in-laws say they are a "don't miss" and who knows... if Gate 1 is around... we'll be using them. We are already planning to use them again next year for a different trip.

We just got home from a this similar trip with Gate 1 but we also went 2 days to Xian to see the terracotta warriors. What a great deal for the price! Check it out!

2 days before we were to get on our Yangtze River cruise we heard the story on the news about the boat that capsized on the river. We found out later it was on a lower flatter part of the river and also a smaller boat than we would use but had way more people on. Not a good situation but also a freak storm that blew it over.

Just a some comments about a few changes on the ship since the original post - now all Gate 1 people get to eat together in the upper dining room. There was also a group there from Wendy Wu tours. The China people ate in the other dining room. The buffet was very good but we did get to fill out a menu for the evening meal with many great choices to pick from. The food was amazing! Mostly American but always some Chinese foods to pick from.

Also the upgrade has changed. No free laundry anymore. Probably not worth the price now. We did get a nice basket of fruit but we were always too full to eat it. The 'free' internet included was actually pretty good - you need to access it in the bar or lobby but considering where we were in the world it was good. It would only cost $25 for the 4 days otherwise. There is also a free happy hour before dinner but not much else for the money.

Definitely do the excursions. Not only the ones from Gate 1 but the ones from the ship were good too.

Our ship was Victoria Lianna - the ship wasn't new. It was an older furbished ship but it was clean and the crew was great.

We tried a product called No Jet Lag and it worked great - we didn't have any trouble adjusting to the time change. The flights there and home again are LONG though.

Thanks for the review!

It's over 10 months old, but the most up-to-date and comprehensive one I've read. Thanks for leaving the pictures as well, sometimes old threads no longer have them. Thanks for reviewing more than just the cruise. Was that enough thanks? :D All of the information for us new, uninitiated China travelers is very useful.

MDW and I are going on a very similar tour with Gate 1 in March (sounds more like Kylie's with a stop in Xian). I agree the prices were appealing which is why we booked.

Sounds like flight options have changed where I could book Delta flights from Indianapolis through DTW to/from China. We are flying into Shanghai first and end up Beijing so I guess we'll get acclimated a little there before we see the 'real' China.

Judging from the Victoria Cruise website, we are going on the Victoria Anna. Hopefully, this boat will be in a little better shape than the Sophia since it was built in 2006 vs. 1994.

CupKayke, your review of the trip is incredible. We're taking the same trip on Gate 1 next month. Thanks for all the info!

Paul

CupKayke, your review of the trip is incredible. We're taking the same trip on Gate 1 next month. Thanks for all the info!

Paul

Please provide updates or your own review. We'd be very interested.

I did a similar trip with Gate 1 last month. Did the 14 day that included Xian and we started in Shanghai and ended in Beijing. Absolutely amazing and Gate 1 really exceeded our expectations!

If anyone has questions I would be happy to answer!

Seems this review is helping others. I am glad. We are going to use Gate 1 for a land trip this year. We have already discussed returning to China to see Xian Warriors. We have so many other places we want to see but in hindsite, this trip with Gate 1 was our 2nd best trip together ~ ever ~ and we've been around a bit. Perspective comes in time for me. A stress-free vacation in good hands far outweighs the little things.

Where are you going this time, CupKayke? Gate 1 has several trips I have been eyeing for awhile. Can't beat the price for what you get.

ICELAND is the plan..... but I keep looking at Central Europe/Baltics with Krakow. We'll decide for sure after the holidays. What are you eyeing??

ICELAND is the plan..... but I keep looking at Central Europe/Baltics with Krakow. We'll decide for sure after the holidays. What are you eyeing??

If we go back to Africa I'd like to go to South Africa or Gate 1 has some nice South America/Galapagos Island or Amazon trips that look really interesting to us. Machu Picchu is on my bucket list too! Fun to dream!

I did a similar trip with Gate 1 last month. Did the 14 day that included Xian and we started in Shanghai and ended in Beijing. Absolutely amazing and Gate 1 really exceeded our expectations!

 

If anyone has questions I would be happy to answer!

Great to hear this, sounds like the same itinerary that we'll have.

What was your impressions of the cruise? Which boat did you have?

I enjoyed your review as it gives me some insight as to what to expect. We are considering a similiar tour/cruise this May from Vancouver with a company called Sinorama.

 

http://www.sinoramavancouver.com/tourpage/index.php?id=ch_15d_b_en_2015&office=vancouver&theyear=2015

Lamchops,

Did you do this trip with Sinorama?

CupKayke. Thank you so much for your review. We are taking Gate 1's 15day China trip with Yangtze River cruise in late March 2016. I've been looking for reviews and having trouble finding any. You provided such great pictures and terrific hints that we will definitely use. Our ship is the Century Sun. Hopefully it will be similar. BTW our first trip with Gate 1 was to Macchu Picchu. It was phenomenal and Gate 1 was one of the reasons. We would highly recommend Peru including Cusco, Macchu Picchu, Lima & lake Titicaca. Life changing !

You are welcome. I looked everywhere for a real review prior to our leaving and found nothing so I'm glad this review has helped others. Macchu Picchu is on our list but Iceland with Gate 1 is next!

We left for this trip a year ago Sunday and the longer it has been, the fonder the memories. China was a great trip!! We will put it on our "revisit" list for sure!!

THANK YOU for this informative and comprehensive review! We used Gate 1 to Brazil and did not like the hotel but the trip was so cheap we moved to and paid for another Hotel and still came out great. Maybe it was just Brazil so after reading your review, we will definitely give Gate 1 a look.

You are welcome. We just returned (Sunday) from Iceland and even though we ended-up booking a trip there on our own, had we booked Gate 1 in advance, we would have saved a lot of money - and we saw the Gate 1 mini-Coach and buses at the same places we were at!!! We loved Gate 1 but we've decided to return to cruises.

Thanks from me as well.

We went in late March/early April this year and your review helped to understand what to expect. Going to China seemed like going to the moon with how different everything was. Our Gate 1 tour manager was Ahwen and he was absolutely terrific. I was truly impressed how well the tours were organized and how well Ahwen made sure that we were comfortable and not lost :) I would definitely do Gate 1 again. The only downside with them (or any tour company) is that they take you souvenir shopping for upscale goods and this is not our cup of tea which seemed like a waste of time - but on the up side, they take you to all of the advertised places and gave you plenty of time at them.

We are back doing cruises as well, much more relaxing than living out of a suitcase in a hotel for a couple of nights at each place. I found the China trip to be exhausting but this mainly was due to getting the flu (from fellow travelers) in the middle of it.

My experience, in SEP/OCT'16, with Gate1 14 day Shanghai to Beijing with 4 day Yangtze & Xian, was a total surprise - the hotels were 1st class, the ship - Victoria Lianna - was fine, (it needs new carpeting & is a little musty but the rooms are comfortable, staff very nice, food was varied & plentiful) the itinerary full & extensive. BIG bang for the buck, wonderful trip, but the highlight was the Gate1 guide - just made sure everyone had a great time, knowledgeable, personable, just could not have done a better job. Thanks Au Win you're First class. It was my first trip to China, (4th trip to Asia) & first organized tour I've taken, (usually organize my own thing) so good I've booked Gate1 for 15 days in Europe & the Danube for this spring. I hope it's 1/2 as good.

A little advice: know the price of pearls, jade, silk before you go, so as to not overpay in the shops, as I did. I did better with street vendors paying 10 to 25 % of their asking price. (You know what you're getting on the street - Dollar store quality)

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CupKayke. Thank you so much for your review. We are taking Gate 1's 15day China trip with Yangtze River cruise in late March 2016. I've been looking for reviews and having trouble finding any. You provided such great pictures and terrific hints that we will definitely use. Our ship is the Century Sun. Hopefully it will be similar. BTW our first trip with Gate 1 was to Macchu Picchu. It was phenomenal and Gate 1 was one of the reasons. We would highly recommend Peru including Cusco, Macchu Picchu, Lima & lake Titicaca. Life changing !

First I want to say a big THANK YOU to Cupkayke for this review. It is most informative.

We are going on the 14 Day Yangtze Rive cruise in Oct 2017 and our ship will be the Century Sun. Sharpe, I would love to hear any comments or suggestions that you might have about this specific ship. Also, for anyone who has done this trip in Oct comments on what temperatures to expect and/or suggestions regarding clothing would also be appreciated.

This will be our first River Cruise, our first trip with Gate1, and our first trip to Asia. We have done several ocean cruises and traveled several times in Europe and Australia.

Thanks in advance for any advice!