Trip report - China with Avalon Waterways

My DH and I recently returned from the 12 Day ‘Magical China & the Yangtze River Cruise’ with Avalon Waterways. I learned so much from reading these boards and I wanted to share our experience – especially since we traveled with Avalon and most of the information on the boards is specific to Viking. I won't be doing a comparison since this was our first experience with any River Cruise company. This is just our experience.

This is my first review so bear with me please. ;)

A little about us – DH is 67 and I am 56. We are both retired – DH for 9 years and me for 1 ½ years – Yahoo!!!

We are both in good health though I would like to be in better shape. We have traveled some over the years, mostly cruising, with a few land trips thrown in.

Overall impressions – it was a fantastic trip! Absolutely fascinating. The weather was very good, actually warmer than I expected. It was in the 80s everyday. We only had a couple of hours of rain through the entire trip - mostly at night. Humidity was higher than I would have liked. I wish I had brought more than one pair of capris with me.

Smog was pretty bad throughout the whole trip. We were told it was fog but the air quality app on the phone disagreed. Our last day in Beijing showed an air quality index of 250 – anything over 100 is unhealthy. Surprisingly we saw very few people wearing masks.

Our Tour Director was Annie. She was very organized and everything ran smoothly. We had a couple of changes to the itinerary – not locations but sequence. Annie was very good about keeping us informed.

We were a group of 15 – Yay!! Ranging in age from one couple in their early 30s to an 82 year old traveling by herself. Others were in their 70s.

Everything (hotels, excursions, gratuities and most meals) was included in the price except one optional excursion in Shanghai. The meals that were not included were usually at a time when we were flying to another city. We usually just skipped this meal since we had eaten enough at the previous meal and a small snack was provided on the flight.

We flew to Beijing from San Francisco by way of Vancouver on Air Canada. I booked our flights because I got a much better price for Premium Economy class than I would have gotten from Avalon. It was an 11 hour flight and I think it was pretty good. We found it very comfortable with good food and pleasant flight attendants.

We arrived a day before the tour started so that we would have more time to acclimate to the 15 hour time difference. We arrived in Beijing around 2:30 pm and the first thing we noticed on landing was the haze. The smoggy air quality would follow us through most of our trip. :eek:

I made the arrangements for our extra day in Beijing on my own rather than having Avalon book for me – saved about $100. But if I had to do it again I’m not sure I would go this route. I also arranged the transfer from the airport to the hotel. This proved to be more hassle than I thought it would be. I was a little wary of using the taxis since I had been warned by several people to be careful of the taxis.

Our hotel in Beijing was the Fairmont Beijing. I don’t think we could have asked for a nicer hotel, though the bathroom was especially interesting. The hotel was located in more of the financial area so there were not a lot of touristy type businesses around but it worked out well for us. Breakfast buffet every morning was fantastic! We could not have asked for anything more than what was provided.

Day 1 was the official start of the tour but there were no planned activities – it was a travel day.

I had arranged a half day tour to the Summer Palace since that was not on our tour itinerary. I used Trip Advisor to find a tour guide and made the arrangements for the tour before we left home.

We were met at our hotel by a very nice girl named Lily. We grabbed a cab and proceeded to the Summer Palace. The Metro would have been an option but it was too crowded. Traffic was pretty slow, something we would find to be an everyday occurrence in China no matter what city we were in.

Once we arrived at the Summer Palace Lily gave us a very thorough tour. It was amazing how much she could tell us about the history and also about life in China. Lily’s English was very good. She was self-taught rather than only learning in school. We did not find many others in China that spoke English as well.

After several hours we made our way back to the hotel by way of the Metro. It was very easy to maneuver and not too crowded at that point. After that trip I felt that we could have managed the subway ourselves without too much trouble. All of the signage is in English as well as Chinese.

Back at the hotel we waited to be contacted by someone about the start of the tour the next morning. This is probably my main criticism of Avalon. Since we had made our own arrangements for the hotel and transfer we had not met the Tour Director yet. We didn’t have a name or any contact information. When we initially arrived at the hotel there was a table set up with a big Viking banner. We thought we might see the same thing for Avalon. The Concierge assured us that we would be contacted as soon as the Tour Director arrived. At approximately 5:00 we received a note under our door with information to meet in the lobby the following morning. I would have liked to have more information sooner but it worked out fine.

Kunming Lake

Long Corridor

Longevity Hill

Day 2 - We met in the lobby to find there were only 15 of us on the tour. Yay!!!

We went to a meeting room where the Tour Director explained different things about the tour and how things would work – the headsets, the hotels, the luggage, etc.

Another criticism is that we were not given name tags nor given an opportunity to introduce ourselves to the rest of the group. It seemed like it took a few days before we had actually met all of our fellow travelers and a little longer to get all of their names memorized. I am not sure if this is standard for Avalon or just for our Tour Director. We did see Viking and Uniworld groups several times - you could spot them by their name tags.

After our meeting we proceeded to the bus, where we had plenty of room to space ourselves and proceeded to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. There were plenty of people around, but it was not overly crowded. Since the National Holiday was approaching we were able to see the decorations being set up in the Square and all around China during our tour. The government goes all out on the floral decorations at all the historical sites. I think it would look very bare without the decorations.

We went to the Temple of Heaven in the afternoon – this was originally scheduled for another day but we had a flight to Xian that was going to make it difficult so we voted to go this afternoon.

Here I will mention one of the things that I found to be a fabulous part of our trip. We always seemed to be the first group to get to any location. If we weren't first we were able to go around the line or to another entrance, but we never wasted time waiting. On a couple of occasions we were allowed into a location before the actual opening time so we had places to ourselves.

Lunch was included this day at a restaurant nearby. The food was good and there was a lot of it. During the entire trip there was always plenty of food and except once or twice we never had a bad meal. I am a pretty picky eater and while I like Chinese food, I am not an adventurous eater. I don’t eat food I can’t identify and if in doubt the DH has to taste it first. I was prepared with snacks in my suitcase but I never touched them.

That evening we had a Peking Duck dinner in the hotel restaurant. While I am not a fan of duck everyone enjoyed it very much.

Day 3 - Today we would see the Great Wall! The traffic was slow, but the ride was comfortable. The air quality was still not great but got better as we got closer to the Wall. We were at the Badaling section so it was a little crowded but not terrible. As I read several times if you go to the right it is more crowded, so we went left. Wow was that steep!! I made it to the 1st tower and then just enjoyed the scenery while DH climbed to the next tower.

We had lunch at the hotel outside the Great Wall. This was probably the worst meal of the trip. There was a small salad bar, but we had been told not to eat any fresh vegetables unless they had been cooked. There were a couple of hot dishes to choose from but didn’t look good to me so I ended up with rice and dessert. That’s ok I had a big breakfast. ;)

That evening we had a choice of the Peking Opera or the Kung Fu show. Almost everyone opted for the Kung Fu show. The show was pretty good but the jet lag was really working on us by this time. I think we might have missed the last few minutes dozing off. The 3 people who attended the Opera said that they enjoyed it.

Day 4 – We took a tour through one of the Hutongs, first by rickshaw, then walking. We were able to go into a family’s home to see how they live. The family was very open about their lives and how things have changed over the years. We really enjoyed our time there.

We then went to a tea ceremony. I am more of a tea drinker than a coffee drinker so I especially liked learning about the different teas and preparation methods.

Tiananmen Square - Not too crowded and not to clear

National Holiday decorations.

The tour guide told us that the new President was trying to save money by using silk flowers instead of fresh. This was the 3rd year for this arrangement and the people felt it was time to get a new one.

Outside the Forbidden City

Forbidden City - Hall of Supreme Harmony

Temple of Heaven

More holiday decorations

The Great Wall - Badaling

This is the view from the 2nd tower on the left side

looking out onto the right side of the wall.

I am really enjoying your report, brings back fond memories of our 4-week trip through China with Chinafocus.

I'm enjoying your report and am so happy you're including pictures. I'll probably never get to China, so I do it vicariously through trip reports and photos.

We're going in May 2017 on Viking. Just out of curiosity, which specific tour did you arrange from TripAdvisor for the Summer Palace visit. Sounds like your tour guide was great.

Mitina,

I booked the tour with 'Beijing Tours with Lily Fuwa'. She is listed on Trip Advisor. Here is a link to her website http://lilyfuwabeijingprivatetour.weebly.com/.

She was very enthusiastic and had a some interesting insights into life in China. She is the 2nd child in her family at a time when the 1-child policy was in effect.

We only used her for a 1/2 day tour but I wouldn't hesitate to use her for multiple days.

Lisa

In the afternoon we took a flight to Xian. This was a really easy experience.

Included in the Avalon tour was the handling of our luggage. We put our luggage outside our hotel door when we went to breakfast and we did not see it again until we went into our room at the next hotel.

I am not sure if this is the standard for most of the tour companies in China but it made everything so easy. This is not something that was advertised – at least I didn’t see it, but it is definitely something that I will know to ask about in the future.

We did see other groups (not sure of the companies) handling their own luggage and it was a hassle for them.

In Xian we stayed at the Shangri-La hotel. Again, it was a fabulous hotel. We had a buffet dinner in the hotel that evening. The food was very good and there were so many choices.

Day 5 - The air quality in Xian was not much better than Beijing. Today we would see the Terracotta Warriors. This was one of the locations where we were allowed to go inside before the public. We had all of Pit 1 to ourselves for about ½ hour before opening.

After visiting the different pits we were invited into a room with multiple sofas where we were served tea while listening to one of the museum curators talk about the history of the excavation.

Lunch was in a restaurant where we were able to watch a couple of chefs demonstrate how they make different types of noodles.

That evening we went to the Tang Dynasty Dinner Show. We had seats in the front and enjoyed the show and the food – except for the ‘dessert’ at the end. We were served a plate of what looked like brownies. While everyone took a square just about everyone spit them out. Not sure what they were but they were terrible.

I will say that the Chinese don’t do dessert the same as Americans. If they even have dessert it is not as sweet as what we are used to.

Day 6 – In the morning we walked along the City Wall. From there we went to an art history museum where we were able to see example of paintings and papercuttings. We also had a lesson in calligraphy and writing Chinese characters. This was very hands on and a lot of fun.

Then we were off to the airport for a flight to Chongqing.

Terracotta warriors

Terracotta Warriors & Horses

Example of Papercutting

Xian City Wall

Xian City Wall

After arriving in Chongqing our first stop was the Chongqing Zoo to see the pandas. They were out and ready to greet us. Again the weather was good but the air was not.

We had dinner at a Hot Pot restaurant. This is similar to fondue with burners built into the table to cook your broth. Then you add meat or vegies to the broth to cook. It was a great experience and we had lots of fun. This was the only dinner that had all you can drink beer, water or soda.

After dinner we went to board the River boat. We were on the Century Paragon. The boat was nice. Our room was good sized with a really good sized shower and tub.

Again we had put our luggage out that morning in Xian and didn’t see it again until we arrived in our room on the River Boat. For anyone who has boarded a boat in Chongqing you know what I mean when I say that the stairs down to the boat are a little scary. The fact that we didn’t have to take our own luggage was fabulous.

We were on a 3 night cruise on the Yangtze. Our group had a private dining room that we shared with the Uniworld group and access to the Executive lounge where there was tea, coffee, snacks and computers 24 hour a day.

I think the length of the cruise was perfect. I am not sure what we might have missed by not going farther down the river, but I was ready to move on by the end of the cruise. There were some activities going on during the day but not many and mostly in Chinese. The Sun deck was really nice but unfortunately it was the space for all of the smokers on board (though there were smokers inside occasionally).

Day 7 – Our first full day on board the Paragon. We docked and had an excursion to see the Shibaozhai Temple. The weather was a little damp but still pretty warm. There is a fairly long suspension bridge to get to the Temple. I am not a fan of suspension bridges so this was not my favorite excursion.

The Temple is built into the face of rock cliff. You are allowed to walk through the Temple, which is 12 stories, but was not too difficult. I thought the Temple was very interesting but I was put off by the fact that there were vendors inside the Temple. I expected to see them on the outside but having them inside took away from the experience for me.

We had a show that evening with the ship’s crew providing the entertainment. While the shows were not the caliber of a professional show, the crew did their best. The Chinese passengers really seemed to appreciate the performances. During costume changes the Cruise Director, Jeffrey, led games on stage. These were very funny and Jeffrey tried to make sure everyone was having fun. He was very good at his job translating everything that was going on into Chinese and English.

Day 8 – We sailed through the first 2 Gorges. After lunch the boat docked and we had an excursion on smaller boats through the Goddess Stream. This area was beautiful. Our local guide on this excursion was a woman who was part of the minority population living along the stream. She talked about her life and how they live along the stream. It was a very interesting excursion.

Chongqing Zoo

Shibaozhai Temple

Gorges

Goddess Stream

Day 9 – This was our last day on the River boat. We went through the locks in the middle of the night. We tried to stay awake to watch but it got to be too late. We were awakened however by all the noise of the locks. I’m still not sure what the noise was from but it sounded like the boat was scraping the sides of the lock. It kept me awake for hours.

In the morning we had an excursion to the 3 Gorges Dam site. It was a beautiful day and a very interesting excursion. There was not much traffic on the river but we were able to see a couple of ships in the locks.

Model of the Dam

After the Dam, we continued sailing through the Gorges to Yichang where we disembarked. After lunch we went to the airport for our flight to Shanghai.

Our hotel in Shanghai was the Fairmont Peace Hotel on the Bund.

We arrived in Shanghai on Friday, September 30. The crowds were starting to gather. We walked across the street to the Bund after settling into the hotel. The fog was coming in so it was difficult to enjoy the view. The crowd along the waterfront was about 8 people deep. This was to be the least crowded time there during out visit.

The Shanghai skyline with a holiday crowd

Day 10 - October 1 – the National Holiday. We had been hearing about this through the entire trip. Everyone we talked to said it would be crowded and difficult to see anything. It was definitely more crowded than the other cities but I think Shanghai was the perfect place to be for the holiday. If we had been in Beijing trying to go the Great Wall or in Xian to see the Terracotta Warriors we would have been much worse off.

Since our hotel was across the street from the Bund there was a great amount of pedestrian traffic going down the street. The police blocked off the traffic and directed the pedestrian traffic in only one direction on each side of the street. It was like a very crowded parade.

In the morning we took a walk along the Bund before the crowds started gathering. Then we were off to the Yu Yuan Gardens. The Gardens are beautiful but there were a lot of people there. We really noticed the crowds when we were outside the gardens walking along the shops.

Yu Yuan Gardens

Before lunch we stopped at a Silk factory for a tour. Since I am a knitter and a I sew, I found this to be very interesting. If you don't already know how silk thread is spun you should find a video that shows.

Silk pods being spun into thread

Our lunch was a traditional Dim Sum and was fantastic.

In the evening we attended an Acrobat show. This was a great show.

Day 11 – In the morning we visited the Shanghai Museum and arrived early enough that it was just opening. There are 4 floors that are divided by types of displays. We were not able to see everything but were able to find the things we were most interested in.

Our afternoon was free but we had booked the optional excursion to Zhujiajiao – a water town.

We were concerned about the crowds but decided to try anyway. It did take about 2 ½ hours to get there but the driver was very good at avoiding the worst of the traffic. There were only 3 of us that opted for this excursion so it was like a private tour.

I am so glad we decided to go ahead with this excursion. The town was beautiful and while crowded it was not impossible to move around. The return trip did not take quite as long thankfully.

In the evening we had our farewell dinner. Most of the members of the group spent the afternoon shopping or going over to the Pudong side of the river to get a view from the tall buildings. Unfortunately the wait was 3 hours to go to the top of the buildings.

Our tour ended the next morning with about half of the group going on to Hong Kong.

We have other plans for Hong Kong so we decided to go out to the new Shanghai Disneyland. We live in CA so we have been to Disneyland many times. For us it was fun to see the Chinese version of Disneyland.

Back of the Disneyland hotel

Storybook Castle

We loved everything about this trip. The history is fascinating and I think this tour was a good one to see as much as you can in the allotted amount of time. I don't think we ever felt rushed though we moved pretty fast.

China is a little challenging but we felt we were prepared so there were no issues.

As I mentioned, we had an 82 year old woman on the tour. She kept up pretty well but definitely had challenges. Her travel agent had not been to China and didn't really help find out about any difficulties.

If you have any mobiity issues or health issues I would say China can be a challenge but is doable if you are informed.

We have no current plans for a River cruise in the near future, but I would not hesitate to travel with Avalon again.

Thank you for your report. Love it! It's interesting to see the crowds which we did not have in May. We had crowds but nothing like you describe. We also had less foggy weather except in Xian where it was really bad.

Wow, what a large storybook castle with French architectural elements!

Thank you so much for your excellent review. I haven't read it completely yet, but I will.

We're doing a China, Japan ocean cruise in April and visiting some of the same ports. Your review will be a great resource!

We just did our first river cruise this past Aug-Sept. It was the Danube and we loved that itinerary! Like you we don't have another river cruise planned right now, but hope to do another in a few years.

Chris

We are headed to China next Monday, on a land tour, but really enjoyed seeing your photos and notes. Thank you.

Followed up on your recommendation to book Lily for our May 2017 visit and unfortunately she's already scheduled. I guess you have to move fast.

A quick search on TripAdvisor shows no shortage of private tour operators, but how to select one is the challenge. Lots of good reviews but others suggest some try to push shop visits, additional private car fees, have poor communication skills, or are inflexible.

In any case, thanks for the referral.

Thanks for the report.

We intend going in 2018.

Great pictures and thank you for your description even though it is a few years old.

On 4/7/2019 at 2:26 PM, TangaLinda said:

Great pictures and thank you for your description even though it is a few years old.

YES!!  These visuals and details are highly interesting.  Did not realize that Avalon offered these options for China.  A year ago, as detailed on the live/blog below, we used Avalon for the Mekong River, plus added options before and after the cruise.  All worked well.  Will check more as to the costs and potentials through Avalon and their travel partner, Globus.  This thread is a little "old", but I am glad to discover it.  

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

SE Asia/Mekong River, Etc.!  Live/blog from early 2018, first adventure through SE Asia, stops in Hong Kong and Bangkok, before exploring all over Vietnam and Cambodia, seven days sailing on the Mekong River. Now at 45,494 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591474