Sinorama Gold 8 Yangtze River cruise & Imperial China Tour

we are on the 5/27/15 out of los anges

we are on the 5/27/15 out of los anges

sbobsbob start a roll call on "all river cruises" roll call boards. Maybe you can find some others traveling the same date as you.

Hi,

We are also leaving on the 27th but from Sydney. Are you on the above tour as I know they have several different tours? We arranged our own airfare as we wanted to stay longer in China so meet up with the tour at the Lijingwan hotel on the 28th. Not long now. :):):)

Hi,

We are also leaving on the 27th but from Sydney. Are you on the above tour as I know they have several different tours? We arranged our own airfare as we wanted to stay longer in China so meet up with the tour at the Lijingwan hotel on the 28th. Not long now. :):):)

Double check your itinerary from the Sinorama package. The hotel we stayed at was different on the itinerary than the Lijingwan listed on their website. A lot of Aussies though different tours were staying there with us as well as on the ship.

Have a great trip!

we are on the 5/27/15 out of los anges

The adventure begins!

Have a great trip and give us your take when you get back.

With all the questions and answers I realized that I had not posted my itinerary for "The Dream of China Tour" and Shanghai extension which we had booked on the discount site and not the Imperial China Tour. This is important as it shows how the guide adjusted the tour from their original web listing.

Vancouverflight to Beijing

BeijingBeijing West International Trade Hotel

BeijingGreat Wall + Cloisonne Factory + Summer Palace

BeijingTemple of Heaven + Beijing Hutong + Tianamen Square + Forbidden City

Beijing-Xi'anPearl Factory + Olympic Park + China Eastern flight to Xian + Holiday Inn Xi’an Big Goose Pagoda Hotel

Xi'anBig Goose Pagoda Park + Jade factory + Terra Cotta factory + Terra Cotta Army

Xi'an-WuhanChina Air flight to Yangtze cruise at Jingzhou City

Yangtze cruiseJingzhou City + Museum

Yangtze cruiseOptional Excursion: Water Village + Excursion: Three Gorges Dam and five locks project

Yangtze cruiseExcursion: Shennv Stream, tributary stream of Yangtze River, Lesser Three Gorges

Yangtze cruiseExcursion: Shibaozhai, “Precious Stone Fortress” + Captain’s Farewell Dinner

SuzhouDisembark in Chongqing. Transfer to the airport and fly China Eastern to Shanghai, transfer to Suzhou by coach.

ShanghaiLiu Garden + old town of Suzhou + the Bund + shop at Nanjing Road, transfer by coach to Shanghai.

ShanghaiSilk Factory + Shanghai Museum + City tour + chinatown market + Acrobatics Show

Shanghai/YVRtransfer to Pudong Airport for China Eastern flight home

Thanks again for so much great info! However, we don't know what the original itinerary looked like. Is it possible to post that one as well?

:)

Thanks again for so much great info! However, we don't know what the original itinerary looked like. Is it possible to post that one as well?

:)

.Day 1: Canada – stops – Beijing

Depart to Beijing on overnight international flight.

Day 2: Beijing

Arrive in Beijing, transfer to hotel. Refresh and relax at leisure.

Hotel: Beijing Lijingwan Hotel or similar (5 stars)

Day 3: Beijing (B L D)

After breakfast, visit the Tiananmen Square, then enter the imperial-red walls of the ornate Forbidden City, the emperor’s palace - off limits to commoners for centuries. You will also visit the Temple of Heaven. Think of the processions of incense-bearing priest at the Temple of Heaven, where the emperor went to humble himself in prayer to guarantee realm’s good harvest.

Day 4: Beijing (B L D)

Enjoy your day excursion to the ancient Great Wall, originally built as a protection for the Hans against the Nomadic tribes and never completely fulfilled its purpose. Lunch at local restaurant.

Day 5: Beijing – Xi’an (Flight) (B L) (Dinner on the flight)

Visit Summer Palace, the Imperial Garden in the Qing Dynasty, then take the rickshaw to visit the old Beijing Hutong. Fly to Xi'an in the afternoon and transfer to the hotel.

Hotel: Xi’an Grand Soluxe Hotel (5 stars) or similar 　

Day 6: Xi’an (B L D)

Spend a thrilling day to explore the excavation site of Xi’an resident army of 8000 Terra Cotta Army. Each soldier appears to have his own individual personality and many equipped with chariots and horses.

Day 7: Xi’an – Wuhan (Flight) – Jingzhou – Cruise (B L D)

Take the morning flight to Wuhan and transfer to Jingzhou. Embark the cruise in Jingzhou.

Cruise: Sinorama Gold 8 (5 stars)

Day 8: Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)

Visit: Jingzhou city. Captain’s Welcome Party at night.

Day 9: Yangtze River Cruise – Three Gorges (B L D)

Excursion: Three Gorges Dam - the world’s largest hydroelectricity project. Passing Three Gorges Dam and 5-stages Ship Lock.

Day 10: Yangtze River Cruise – Three Gorges (B L D)

Excursion: Shennv Stream, tributary stream of Yangtze River, embark smaller boats to enjoy a closer encounter of the beauty of Three Gorges landscape and natural beauty. Continue to the Wu Gorges and Qutang Gorges.

Day 11: Yangtze River Cruise – Three Gorges (B L D)

Excursion: Shibaozhai, literally “Precious Stone Fortress” is a hill along the bank of the Yangtze River. On the river side of the hill is a red pavilion of nine floors which leans against the side of the hill providing a walkway to the temple at the top of the hill. Captain’s Farewell Dinner.

Day 12: Chongqing – Shanghai (Flight) – Suzhou (Coach) (B L D)

Disembark at Chongqing. Transfer to the airport and fly to Shanghai, and then transfer to Suzhou by coach.

Hotel: Suzhou Gusu Jinjiang Hotel (5 stars) or similar

Day 13: Suzhou – Shanghai (Coach) (B L D)

Visit the Liu Garden. City tour and some free time in the old town of Suzhou.Transfer to Shanghai.

Hotel: Wyndham Bund East Shanghai (5 stars) or similar

Day 14: Shanghai (B L D)

First visit the Shanghai Museum, then you will have free time to shop at Nanjing Road where there are plenty of large stores and boutiques. Then visit the bund, where you can experience the modernity of Shanghai. Following the dinner is an exciting Acrobatics Show in the evening.

Day 15: Shanghai – stops – Canada (B)

Free time in the morning, then transfer to Pudong Airport for the international flight back to Canada. End of trip.

Thanks' date=' Lamchops. I've been reading it over and over to get a feel for the tour and to look up places we are going. My kids bought me a Fodor's book and a Mandarin language set that I'm listening to in the car. Hopefully I'll be able to say more than Hello and Thank you.

 

Quick question (more later, I'm sure) Tour description mentions robes and slippers...just on the ship or in the hotels? Thinking ahead to that 44 lb limit...[/quote']

 

The robes and slippers are provided for use in all the hotels and cruise.

You may take the slippers home but the robe will cost you if it goes missing.

I've been told by my tour mates that they use there own slippers and take the hotel ones home for when guests visit.

For anyone who is traveling on the Sept. 29, 2015 Imperial China 15 Days Tour, I've started a Roll Call on Cruise Critic, under "All River Cruise Roll Calls"

 

We'd love to here from others who may be traveling with us!

 

Nancy

I'll be travelling solo on the Sept 29 departure.

Lambchops, thanks so much.

FYI, I understand the week of October 1 is the big national holiday in China. Expect very large crowds all over. Expect the Great wall to be impossibly crowded.

I'll be travelling solo on the Sept 29 departure.

FYI, I understand the week of October 1 is the big national holiday in China. Expect very large crowds all over. Expect the Great wall to be impossibly crowded.

Hi Elliot, we're well aware of what's coming, but this was the only date we could book, so we're basically stuck with it.

We're hoping we have a guide who can be flexible and get us to the sights at the best possible times to avoid the hoardes. It would be great if they could bring us to another section of the Wall other than Badaling (or as I keep calling it ...Badabing...sorry, too many Soprano's episodes).

I did find a review from someone who traveled the same week last year, and they said it wasn't as bad as they expected, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Hi Nancy. I deliberately picked this travel week, thinking the fireworks on Oct 1st in Beijing will be the best ever. I might take a pass on the Wall (and the travel time to and fro) and do a personal tour of modern Beijing. I would like to see the University, and the large Silk mall, and have time to enjoy both. There may be other sights in the city that are modern wonders.

For what it's worth, I hope to take a tour of the Jewish Quarter in Shanghai. If you or anyone cares to do this, I will be happy to make the arrangements. To that end, I will post this note in your Roll Call too.

Regards, Elliot

Hi Nancy. I deliberately picked this travel week, thinking the fireworks on Oct 1st in Beijing will be the best ever. I might take a pass on the Wall (and the travel time to and fro) and do a personal tour of modern Beijing. I would like to see the University, and the large Silk mall, and have time to enjoy both. There may be other sights in the city that are modern wonders.

 

For what it's worth, I hope to take a tour of the Jewish Quarter in Shanghai. If you or anyone cares to do this, I will be happy to make the arrangements. To that end, I will post this note in your Roll Call too.

 

Regards, Elliot

You may want to contact Sinorama about your "alternate" travel plans as there are waivers to sign. They do not want to be responsible for you when you strike out on your own during scheduled sites. After they drop you off at the hotel or if you're "sick for the day" ;), you're on your own.

Thank you. I will certainly co-ordinate my plans with the guides at least one day before. After all, my plans are 1/2 day tours.

Hi All, We had a great trip with Sinorama, our guide Mi Nan travelled with us for the whole trip and looked after us well. All the guides that we picked up in the various cities were very informative, overall I thought it was a well organised tour. Some days were really tiring but we saw so much in such a short time you have to expect that. I would take insect repellent for the cruise as we did have mosquitoes, not a lot but you don't want to get bitten. Lamchops review was excellent, it covered so much and really helped us in our preparations. We thought the food was reasonable, they try to cater for the westerners so you get lemon chicken, sweet and sour, french fries, watermelon, also amongst that you do get authentic chinese. I was mostly worried that I wouldn't be able to eat anything but that wasn't the case. Sinorama offers two optional momentos that you can purchase, One was a souvenir book on Beijing with a group photo in it of your group at the Temple of Heaven and the other was a personalised Jade Stamp. We purchased the book but didn't purchase the stamp, when we saw them they would have made good gifts to take home. The jade was in the shape of the animal of whichever year you nominated, some nominated the year they got married others the year they were born. Just thought I would let you know. Also on the cruise there is an optional tour to the Water Village we did this. It was very scenic with a waterfall and Monkeys, great photos but it was geared for tourists. We enjoyed it. Our ship left from Fengdu and we were supposed to leave the ship at Jingzhou but with the Eastern Star Ferry disaster we were unable to get to our last stop so they stopped at Yichang port and arranged Coaches so we didn't miss out on visiting Jingzhou. Some of you will be on the upstream tour. WiFi is free in all the hotels we stayed. On the ship we just paid the 30rmb per hour for the internet. You can pay to have internet for the whole cruise which was quite reasonable. You can't have it in your room but there is a reading room on the 6th floor where you can access it in comfort rather than the lobby area. We also bought a map from the shop on the boat for 10rmb and plotted our course along the Yangtzee, you travel over 800 klms. With the walking on the Great Wall we were given the choice of Badaling or JuYongguan, our group chose JuYongguan, quite scenic and less crowded. Generally the factory visits were interesting and there was no pressure to buy. Just follow that red flag and enjoy. We are pleased we went with Sinorama.

Sinorama offers two optional momentos that you can purchase, One was a souvenir book on Beijing with a group photo in it of your group at the Temple of Heaven and the other was a personalised Jade Stamp.

We were offered 2 books with 2 different group photos. One at the Great Wall (Badaling) and the other at Tianamen Square. The books that we were offered were regarding those sites and the surrounding areas. Our friends bought them for $100rmb each. The jade stamps were $150rmb and had your Chinese zodiac sign and your name spelled phonetically. (unless you have a real chinese name)

It was very scenic with a waterfall and Monkeys, great photos but it was geared for tourists. We enjoyed it.

We enjoyed it as well. We were told that this excursion is only offered in the spring as parts of it would be underwater in the fall when the water level rises.

Thanks for all the good knowledge that you have provided. We are on the Nov 28 Tour.

You are a wonderful writer. Safe journeys in the future.

WB

Hey! My husband and I are from the Detroit area... we'll see you on the 11/28 tour! (And we're adventuresome souls.. we'll always be looking to break out from the crowd)

Hi lamchops. I'm just getting ready to leave on the Sinorama tour next week. I was curious if you or anyone else knows the cost of WIFI on the Gold 8? Also is it available in the cabins or just in a public area? Thanks

Hi lamchops. I'm just getting ready to leave on the Sinorama tour next week. I was curious if you or anyone else knows the cost of WIFI on the Gold 8? Also is it available in the cabins or just in a public area? Thanks

We didn't use the wifi at all. I seem to think that it was only available on a certain deck in a public area. Have a great trip!

Hi lamchops. I'm just getting ready to leave on the Sinorama tour next week. I was curious if you or anyone else knows the cost of WIFI on the Gold 8? Also is it available in the cabins or just in a public area? Thanks

:confused: Just a few posts before yours (#65):

"WiFi is free in all the hotels we stayed. On the ship we just paid the 30rmb per hour for the internet. You can pay to have internet for the whole cruise which was quite reasonable. You can't have it in your room but there is a reading room on the 6th floor where you can access it in comfort rather than the lobby area".

Hi lamchops or anyone,

Tell me about the excursions off the Sinorama Gold 8.

Are they worth getting off the ship for?

Thanks

Hi lamchops or anyone,

I have bad knees and cannot squat.

So how often I'm going to encounter a situation where a squat toilet is the only option?

Thanks

Hi Lamchops,

You mentioned tipping the national guide.

How about the local guides?

Thanks

Hi Lamchops,

You mentioned tipping the national guide.

How about the local guides?

 

Hi lamchops or anyone,

I have bad knees and cannot squat.

So how often I'm going to encounter a situation where a squat toilet is the only option?

Thanks

Thanks

Someone in our group passed around 2 envelopes (driver & local guide) for each city that we toured. You were free to add an additional tip or not. Our group generally added $5rmb per person for the driver and $20rmb pp for the local guide. In the overall scheme of things that's just $1cdn for the driver and $5cdn for the local guide. We happily gave the national guide $100rmb each as he was outstanding and always looking out for us. Tips are included in the tour package but they all deserved a bit more. :)

Our guide always took us to places that had a few western toilets. Sometimes nature calls and you can't wait for one to become available. I had one of those incidents and I was fortunate to be wearing shorts. ;) I wouldn't call what I did squatting, more like hanging on for dear life! :eek:

Hi lamchops or anyone,

Tell me about the excursions off the Sinorama Gold 8.

Are they worth getting off the ship for?

 

Thanks

Yes, all excursions had some value. No one in our group of 8 regretted going on any of the excursions. Do not miss any of them unless you're ill or unable. The ship is not like an ocean cruise with organized activities if you decide to stay onboard. You will be on your own to entertain yourself and have no access to food or snacks.