Great Expectorations of a Yangtze Cruise (A Review)

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The website does not have an "Other" option for reviews of companies that don't appear in the drop-down list, which is why this review appears in the Forums section.

A diary of the same title describing the experience will be published later.

Introduction:

This was a 3-night cruise from Chongqing to Yichang (20-23 December 2013) which afforded the opportunity to fulfil a long-standing ambition of sailing the Yangtze River through the amazing Three Gorges.

The Boat:

Yangtze Gold Cruises Golden No. 8 (can you guess what her siblings might be called?) is a luxury, 446-capacity, 6-deck boat that was built as recently as 2012. It is a friendly, easily navigated boat offering a relaxed river-going experience. There are plenty of public spaces both inside and out including wide viewing and promenade decks. It has a clean, white exterior and an elegant, tastefully decorated, clean interior.

Announcements were in Chinese (or perhaps Mandarin to be strictly accurate) and English, and the passengers were all Chinese apart from two exchange students from Germany, and this reviewer from England.

Embarkation and Disembarkation:

These were quick and efficient, the former particularly so as my taxi driver did it for me. The passenger safety drill was, I think, conducted as we moved away from the port, but strangely, I can’t remember. Perhaps it was a series of announcements rather than a drill.

Cabin:

My clean and comfortable balcony cabin was well-furnished with an adequate en-suite. It was made up twice a day and sitting out on the balcony drifting past spectacular scenery was a delight.

Dining:

All meals were served at single sittings in one restaurant at assigned tables for ten (the table plan was posted up outside the restaurant). There was no dress code, even for the last night banquet, but sober, sensible dress was the natural order of the day anyway. There was a huge variety of buffet food although vegetarian meals were made specially, even though there was much vegetarian food available from the buffet. I brought a travel kettle, coffee and shortbread biscuits with me to ensure that the experience was as perfect as possible.

Entertainment:

There were shows in the lounge which were very entertaining but no night-life as such because the Chinese seem to favour early nights. Pay films were shown as alternatives to optional excursions and there was at least one lecture on Chinese medicine, but I missed it. There was a KTV (karaoke) lounge that surprisingly, was hardly used. There were no port lectures but the English-speaking guides were very informative.

Public Rooms and Spaces:

The boat has a small library although you are advised to bring your own reading material unless collected essays of Chinese leaders is your thing. They’re not as boring as they might appear though, for those wishing to get an insight into Chinese leaders. There is a small cinema room, a bar and lounge and plenty of deck space, and a couple of small pools.

The only inside space where I saw people smoking was the KTV room.

The onboard shops sold interesting souvenirs but little in the way of clothing or bathroom necessities so you’d be advised to make sure you bring whatever you might need with you.

Ports of Call:

I did not take any of the optional shore excursions but those that did seemed happy with them. The included shore excursions were hugely enjoyable. None of the excursions lasted more than three hours.

The included shore excursions were:

1. The ghost city of Fengdu

2. The Lesser Three Gorges

3. The Three Gorges Dam

The optional shore excursions were:

1. The Shi Bao Zhai Pagoda

2. The White Emperor City

Summary:

This was a terrific cruise to see the iconic Three Gorges which are still dramatic even though the water level has been raised by as much as 90 metres. There were few English-speaking tourists but the international language of smiling and nodding went a long way with the Chinese guests. Previous visitors to the country will know that the Chinese suffer terribly from catarrh but apart from one ugly expectoration episode this was not a problem on such a fine boat. It was cold and misty but dry so the weather hardly detracted from the experience. A final word for the staff, all of whom spoke some English - they were pleasant, friendly and helpful. In short – an experience not to be missed.

That sounds excellent! We are looking into a tour package of China that includes a 4 night Yangtze Cruise. I had a question about onboard purchases is it with your room card as with major cruise lines. What is included? And in our tour description it states that tipping onboard is extra. How did this work?

Thank you!

Chris:)

Hello Chris,

Yes, it's the same system - just show your room card.

At the end of the cruise I gave a tip to both the table waitresses and left a tip for the room steward who I never saw.

On my trip three meals per day were included but other lines may be different.

You can read my diary at -

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2025230

which will give you much more information about the whole enjoyable experience.

I hope you have an excellent time.

Best regards

Jak