Yangtze River tour - worth it?

We are planning the Diamond Princess from Beijing, China to Vancouver in 2012 (April/May).

There is an extra land portion that comes in 8 or 5 days prior the the ocean cruise.

A) 8 days -- has land travel for 5 days AND 3 nights on a river ship/boat on the Yangtze River.

B) 5 days -- is just the land portion, no river.

Question: is the 3 days on the Yangtze River worth the time and extra money????

Thanks for any input you might have . . .

Roger Dodger

Roger, having recently returned from a (phenomenal) 12-day land tour/river cruise in China with Viking River Cruises, where we visited (among other things) the places you would be going on the land/river portion of your Princess trip (we spent 5 nights on the Yangtze, though), I was very intrigued by your question. I took a look at your two different itineraries, to see what was included on each.

Without adding the river portion, your trip of course would already be a very long one. I think only you can decide whether adding three more nights would make it just "too long." Those three nights also add about $1300 U.S. as well, as you know of course. I don't think anyone can decide for you whether it would be "worth it." But here are some specifics about the two itineraries that may help you weigh the pros and cons:

Adding three nights on the river (which also adds a night in Wuhan) would add what I call a very big "schlep" factor to your trip in terms of travel within China. The flight from Beijing to Xi'an is about 90 minutes. If you only do the land tour, you'll just have that as a round trip flight. But if you add the river part, you'll have that flight (once), plus the one-hour flight from Xi'an to Chongqing, a long bus ride between Yichang and Wuhan (according to web sources, about 4 hours or so), an overnight in Wuhan (no mention in the itinerary of any touring there), and then a flight from Wuhan to Beijing. The airports in China tend to be well outside the cities, generally a one hour bus ride or so.

In short, those three nights on the river would involve a good deal of time taken up by internal travel. Also, I suspect your group would only make up a portion of the passengers on the riverboat, not the entire boat, which could make a difference in your experience. (I also note that Princess doesn't even tell you exactly what boat you'd be on.)

I very much enjoyed our five nights on the Yangtze, and sailing through the Three Gorges, etc. But that was two nights longer than your trip would be (we sailed as far as Wuhan), and Viking of course had the whole boat. We had lectures on board, etc. Time to unpack, relax, enjoy.

I am certainly not saying you shouldn't add the river cruise option; unless you plan to return to China, it will be your only chance to experience the Yangtze. But I wanted to set out for you what that would involve.

I hope this has been helpful. If you have specific questions, please ask. Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

We travelled on our own in China after our Azamara cruise. This included a three night trip on the Yangtze which we booked ourselves for a total of $900 for the two of us plus the flight to Shanghai ($250 for both of us). This was with Victoria Cruise lines which is used by many of the tour operators. We did get to enjoy some interesting lectures on board. The ship and the food were fine. There were three tables of foreigners (US, Canada, UK, Australia and Thailand). They put on English tours at all the stops. The rest of the tourists were Chinese. This was a great opportunity to experience a bit of their culture although the language barrier is huge. The crew were very nice and we enjoyed the two evening shows they put on. I enjoyed the trip down the little three gorges the most. We went through the locks in the Three Gorges Dam starting at 10:30 at night. The dam "tour" the next day was not that great. The rain and fog may have been part of the problem. We finished in Yichang, took a car arranged by the cruise to the airport in Yichang (not far at all) and flew to Shanghai from there. We enjoyed ourselves, but for the price you are being quoted, it is perhaps not worth it.

You could consider putting together your own tour, or contacting a company such as China Highlights to organize things. You should get what you want and probably save money too.

We loved China and hope to go back to see more. Shanghai, Beijing and Xi'an were wonderful. We had four days in Beijing and it was not enough. Three days in Xi'an was about right. We spent time shopping in Shanghai. It is an amazing city and we only touched a few highlights.

Thanks for both inputs. Lots to think about.

Let me add:

1) this will be our first and last trip to China. We are both 70. Wife has walking issues. So it is now or never.

2) I feel that the land portion is nice, but the river would add interesting scenery and images not available from the bigger cities.

3) Cost is cost, $1,300, and the meals are included and transportation needs; but this is the only time we could experience it.

We have been to all seven continents now, this land portion and possible river cruise just broadens us out.

PS, we have been to Hong Kong three times, but not inside China.

Thanks again, Roger Dodger

I have cruised the Yangtze twice-the first time on the Princess Jeanie and the second time with Victoria booked direct with their NY office.

The first cruise was the best. The ship is more "Chinese", if you know what I mean. NOT specifically designed for Western tastes as some of the ships are. The Captain spoke little English, but REALLY made the effort to greet everyone at the Captain's cocktail party. Kite flying, origami lessons, caligraphy and of course, tai chi every morning. Evening entertainment much more Chinese culture than Western. The food was a combination of Chinese and Western. I don't like Chinese food anyplace (I eat at Outback in Beijing) but I found enough to eat and was perfectly satisfied.

But the REAL biggie is the Princess ships (except on some charters) go to Wuhan, where there is an international airport. NO LONG bus ride to the airport to get out of the country. You can fly nonstop to Hong Kong (hub for a LOT of flights out of Asia) or with a connection, get to NRT. If you fly into Shanghai from Yichang, you land at the city airport and have to change airports to get out of the country. Yichang only handles intra China flights as they have no provision for Immigration or Customs.

I don't know how much the extra days are costing or how much the entire trip costs, but I have found that most of the ship "packaged tours" are very much overpriced. You can do the same trip yourself, even include other things that may interest you more (Chengdu for the world's foremost panda breeding facility or even Lhasa) for a lot cheaper and NOT feel like you are on a cattle drive. Just need to contact a Chinese travel agent with a proposed itinerary to save LARGE dollars.

I have spent quite a bit of time in Asia for business the last 6 years (international shipping and logistics). I have used China Highlights successfully to plan everything from the first Princess Jeanie cruise to a banquet for 75 people at the Summer Palace, a couple of business meetings with food and entertainment and a simply spectacular helicopter ride out of Lhasa to Mt Everest and K2. I ALWAYS tell them what hotels I want to stay in (or book my own). They handle the ground transportation and guide functions EXTREMELY well and I can customize any sightseeing activity to my liking.

I think we (4 in our group) would take the total Princess package.

Being older, and very far from home (USA), and and in China with language issues all around -- just let the overpriced Princes folks worry that they must get us there, on the land/river extension, and then to the Diamond Princess to sail to Vancouver.

If we were to fly there, then do a private tour and not make the sailing -- that could be deep kim-shee.

My original question or concern -- is the river days on the offering --- nice or worth it, that is the time and money?

For instance, someone from China visiting the US, if they went to L.A., then Denver, then NYC and then to a ship for England --- and they asked -- should they take 5 day extension on a Mississippi riverboat . . . I would say that could be a nice addition and they would see a different part of America than the other larger cities.

Roger Dodger

My original question or concern -- is the river days on the offering --- nice or worth it, that is the time and money?

 

For instance, someone from China visiting the US, if they went to L.A., then Denver, then NYC and then to a ship for England --- and they asked -- should they take 5 day extension on a Mississippi riverboat . . . I would say that could be a nice addition and they would see a different part of America than the other larger cities.

 

Roger Dodger

Roger, without question, being on the Yangtze will let you experience "a different part of China" in addition to the big cities (Beijing, Xi'an) that you will be in. Since you've now added the additional information about your ages and this being your only time to experience this, those factors probably would weigh more heavily for you in doing it. But please do be prepared for how much additional travel it would be inside China (as I outlined above), and how pricey.

But the REAL biggie is the Princess ships (except on some charters) go to Wuhan, where there is an international airport. NO LONG bus ride to the airport to get out of the country. You can fly nonstop to Hong Kong (hub for a LOT of flights out of Asia) or with a connection, get to NRT. If you fly into Shanghai from Yichang, you land at the city airport and have to change airports to get out of the country. Yichang only handles intra China flights as they have no provision for Immigration or Customs.

 

Unfortunately, this is not the itinerary the OP is asking about. The Yangtze "add on" for his Princess land/cruise tour that he's asking about would have him on the Yangtze for three nights, from Chongqing to Yichang, then taking a long bus ride to Wuhan, with an overnight in Wuhan, then flying from Wuhan to Beijing to start his transpacific cruise.

Unfortunately, this is not the itinerary the OP is asking about. The Yangtze "add on" for his Princess land/cruise tour that he's asking about would have him on the Yangtze for three nights, from Chongqing to Yichang, then taking a long bus ride to Wuhan, with an overnight in Wuhan, then flying from Wuhan to Beijing to start his transpacific cruise.

There are three ships cruising the Yangtze called the Princess ships-Princess Jeanie, Elaine and Sheena, all owned by Regal cruise lines. Those are the ships I meant by "Princess ships". Sorry for the confusion. It appears that next year (2012) the Victoria Prince will also be sailing from Shanghai/Wuhan/Chongqing and reverse on an open itinerary (not a charter)

If it was my trip, I would fly USA to Shanghai and either board a ship there (9 days) or fly to Wuhan and board the ship there to Chongqing (4 days). Then work your way NORTH to Xian and Beijing. Saves a LOT of schlepping back and forth. PLUS you get the relaxing cruise sandwiched in between the land sightseeing and another cruise. AND you are in Beijing to transfer to your transpacific cruise so can't very well miss the cruise.

There are plenty of intra China flights leaving at all times of the day and night. It would be very easy to work out this itinerary with a GOOD travel agent. You would see more, have a better experience. And I personally would worry about the mobility issues on a Princess tour. Case in point: The buses going to the Great Wall-Badaling-are REQUIRED to go through the main gate and into the parking lot. If the lot is crowded, they are NOT allowed to drop people off close to the tram up to the Wall. With a private tour and private car or van, cars/vans zip around the back and drop you off directly in front of the entrance to the tram.

I am no spring chicken-63 on Thursday. You wouldn't catch me on a packaged tour anyplace in the world ever again. The couple that I have taken have made me MISS the best things in the tour due to the cattle call and people not being back at the bus when they were supposed to. Never did get to see all the windmills I was SUPPOSED to see in the Netherlands due to someone going off for lunch and not returning to the bus in time. And had to pay TWICE for a Pearl Harbor/Missouri tour in Hawaii. First day, a couple dwaddled long enough at Pearl Harbor to make the ENTIRE tour miss the Missouri other than to walk by it. Rented a car and went to Pearl Harbor and the Missouri the second day. Never again on any kind of packaged tour.

I sure wouldn't worry about the language barrier. English is MANDATORY in schools in China. Other than out in the country (where you would have a guide anyway), the amount of English speaking people is astounding. Hotels, tour guides, transport drivers (other than local taxis) people in the markets-the majority speak at least some English-enough to do business with.

Roger Dodger;29662816]

Question: is the 3 days on the Yangtze River worth the time and extra money????

Yes - the Three Gorges should not be missed.

Quite frankly, because of the language barrier, I would stick with the Princess land tour rather than going on your own - especially since you are going with them to the Beijing/Xian circuit.

Only regret is that you will not see Shanghai!

If you fly into Shanghai from Yichang, you land at the city airport and have to change airports to get out of the country. Yichang only handles intra China flights as they have no provision for Immigration or Customs.

We flew to the international airport in Shanghai (Pudong) from Yichang so could have connected to an international flight.

The cruise is relaxing for sure and quite interesting. I just wonder if you couldn't do better making your own arrangements and avoiding the long drive to Wuhan.

We did 3 nights on the East King. Certainly well worth it. one of the great rivers of the world. Lots to see including the incredible Three Gorges Project. A highlight of our China trip.

We flew to the international airport in Shanghai (Pudong) from Yichang so could have connected to an international flight.

 

The cruise is relaxing for sure and quite interesting. I just wonder if you couldn't do better making your own arrangements and avoiding the long drive to Wuhan.

My oh my -the ever changing Chinese regulations. They have strictly banned flights from Yichang to PVG for quite a few years due to the 24-48 layover provision in Shanghai. Now they allowed you to fly into Yichang.

I just got off the phone with China Eastern (we have airfreight coming out of China this week) and asked about the flights into Yichang (curiosity). Evidently (NEW Chinese regulation) ONLY Air China can fly into PVG from Yichang. AND the amount of seats for the Yichang to PVG is very limited because Air China got the Chinese government to allow them to fly into PVG ONLY if they are flying DIRECTLY OUT of China to points beyond (I am sure Air China is trying to corner the market on Yangtze cruise passengers). Certainly left all the other Chinese carriers at a HUGE disadvantage but that is what you get when the government owns a large stake in an airline.

I, too, believe flying DIRECTLY from the USA to Shanghai and either flying to Wuhan or Chongqing, THEN taking the Yangtze River cruise, THEN flying to Xian/Beijing will be a money and time saver and provide a far superior trip than doing all that internal schlepping and bus travel on a Princess cruise tour.

I flew from Yichang to Shanghai Pudong and did not fly out of Shanghai for three days.

I did a lot of research and most feel the shorter downstream cruise is better. You see the same things but the ship goes a bit faster (It was still a snail's pace).

We went from Beijing to Xi'an to Chongqing and then from Yichang to Shanghai. This route is in a sensible order.

I flew from Yichang to Shanghai Pudong and did not fly out of Shanghai for three days.

 

I did a lot of research and most feel the shorter downstream cruise is better. You see the same things but the ship goes a bit faster (It was still a snail's pace).

 

We went from Beijing to Xi'an to Chongqing and then from Yichang to Shanghai. This route is in a sensible order.

I said-the seats are very limited for just a domestic flight. Air China is SUPPOSED to sell the seats to those flying OUT of Shanghai to international points. But as with most things Chinese, they don't pay much attention to the rules for anything. Just keep doing whatever they are doing until they get caught. I cut my business out of China by almost 50% in the last 4 years. Just tooooo many times they don't play by the rules and people get hurt (food shipments particularly).

The OP is leaving on a cruise out of Beijing. So will either have to take the long bus ride to Wuhan to get BACK to join the cruise or reverse the itinerary and start from the South for more efficiency and less schlepping.

Just make sure the 3 day Yangtze cruise offered covers the section from Yichang (below the Three Gorges Dam) to Chong Qing at the head of the Three Gorges .

That way you will get to see the spectacular scenery including the Three Gorges Dam itself, the Five step ship locks which elevate you around 120 m over several hours from the water level at the foot of the dam to the level above. Also you sail through the Three Gorges and get the opportunity to do a boat trip to the Little Three Gorges or other narrow upstream gorges . The spectacular hanging coffins in those upper reaches are not to be missed .

I am looking into the Princess cruise tour for the end of the 10/26 sailing. It's a 9 day land package and it does include 3 days on the Yangtze with Three Gorges but it goes into Wuhan where you fly back to Beijing for some more sightseeing.

It's 25 days worth of travel. Might be a bit intense, but it looks so comprehensive. Will see what kind of pricing I can get.

I am looking into the Princess cruise tour for the end of the 10/26 sailing. It's a 9 day land package and it does include 3 days on the Yangtze with Three Gorges but it goes into Wuhan where you fly back to Beijing for some more sightseeing.

 

It's 25 days worth of travel. Might be a bit intense, but it looks so comprehensive. Will see what kind of pricing I can get.

We are also booking this land tour with Princess in October 2012. We would be very interested in learning what you have to say about this tour (in the event you book it)...Please report back!!!

It's 25 days worth of travel. Might be a bit intense, but it looks so comprehensive.

You are correct - it is a lot of travel.

BUT, if this is your first trip to China - and possibly the last one, I don't know if this message is helpful or not.

China is almost four times the size of Texas.

If I wanted to go to Texas and see just that area from, say Dallas down to the Rio Grande, and from El Paso to the Louisiana border, it would be a heck of a lot of travel time and that would only be a small area to cover.

True - you would probably only do the Beijing to XIan to Gorges, to Wuhan and Shanghai circuit but like visiting the small portion of Texas as above - if you have the time and energy, it would be worth it.

Roger, you're picking up the ship where we are leaving it in Beijing. We're doing Singapore to Beijing, leaving mid April, 2012. I've booked the 8 day land/river excursion. I figure as long as I'm spending all that money to go over there I might as well see as much as I can. This is one trip where I'm letting Princess take care of us all the way through and paying for the priviledge...I don't mind as I know we'll be taken care of all the way through. It's our first visit to Asia and just feel more comfortable with this. I don't think you can go wrong as long as the price doesn't bother you. --Anne

Roger' date=' you're picking up the ship where we are leaving it in Beijing. We're doing Singapore to Beijing, leaving mid April, 2012. I've booked the 8 day land/river excursion. I figure as long as I'm spending all that money to go over there I might as well see as much as I can. This is one trip where I'm letting Princess take care of us all the way through and paying for the priviledge...I don't mind as I know we'll be taken care of all the way through. It's our first visit to Asia and just feel more comfortable with this. I don't think you can go wrong as long as the price doesn't bother you. --Anne[/quote']

 

Ditto for the 8-day land/river excursion by Princess.... Please report back. Have fun planning.

Cheers,

Roger' date=' you're picking up the ship where we are leaving it in Beijing. We're doing Singapore to Beijing, leaving mid April, 2012. I've booked the 8 day land/river excursion. I figure as long as I'm spending all that money to go over there I might as well see as much as I can. This is one trip where I'm letting Princess take care of us all the way through and paying for the priviledge...I don't mind as I know we'll be taken care of all the way through. It's our first visit to Asia and just feel more comfortable with this. I don't think you can go wrong as long as the price doesn't bother you. --Anne[/quote']

 

We had add on tours with Princess Cruises when we went on their Asia cruise in 2009. Might be more expensive but were well looked after and made a lot of friends on the ship who also did the land tour. Hotels were good and food stops on tours were also very good. Peace of mind at 70 is better than worry if you have the money spend it.

Lynda

Roger,

It's a no brainer! Go for it and forget about trying to save a few bucks. It is worth every penny. Enjoy and have a great trip.

Roger,

It's a no brainer! Go for it and forget about trying to save a few bucks. It is worth every penny. Enjoy and have a great trip.

I realise, that this post is quite old now and the OP has probably already made up his mind. But if not, I agree with Bufrenee and think it's a no brainer. Particularly if you have no plans to return to China.

I cruised the Yangtze on the Victoria Anna and my two fondest memories are perhaps not what you'd expect. One was going to the games room after dinner and being taught how to properly play Mahjong. My husband and I, along with a lovely British couple became hooked and got together to play every night of our 4 night cruise.

The other was meeting the ships resident kite maker (apparently from a long line of kite makers) who let us fly his beautiful handmade kites from the top deck of the ship as we cruised amongst beautiful scenery. It's funny the things you remember most :)

As part of the same tour around China, we also got to do a one day cruise down the Li River from Guilin to Yangshou. I'm not sure if this is an option for you, but if so, grab it with both hands. The stunning scenery, watching kids play in the river with their water buffalo and local fisherman fish with cormorants as they have for hundreds of years - priceless!

We had add on tours with Princess Cruises when we went on their Asia cruise in 2009. Might be more expensive but were well looked after and made a lot of friends on the ship who also did the land tour. Hotels were good and food stops on tours were also very good. Peace of mind at 70 is better than worry if you have the money spend it.

Lynda

We will be doing the 8-day Princess tour out of Bejiing. Were there restrictions on the luggage (weight?) on any of the Asian flights? Just want to be prepared!!!

Thanks for all of your insights.