Viking China Bejing to Shanghi

We are considering this cruise but it's expensive and we recently did a Europe river cruise and that was also expensive. Has anyone done this cruise and what was your experience? Do you recommend it? We have to decide soon. Cruise or home reno? Tough call.

Yeah, I know I'm the MoneyGuy so it shouldn't matter. It does. :)

Sorry for the spelling error in the title. I can't seem to change it.

I did this cruise with Viking from Bejing to Shanghai and it was amazing.

Our tour guide Larry whom we had for the whole trip was great. He looked after everything for us.

There are some good reviews on here that I have read.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=106958

This is one review I just read, there are more if you look under Cruise Reviews and then click on the Emerald ship.

My husband and I went on this trip last summer, but Shanghai to Beijing. We went early and spent a few days on our own in Shanghai (but at the Viking hotel where the tour started) and then did the post-cruise in Hong Kong. Wonderful trip!

There is a huge message thread here on this trip including reporting live from some one there now at: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1495597

We going on the "Imperial Jewels" trip the other direction Shanghai to Bejing in October and have found that thread full of good information including that China is clearly not Europe so the same expectations are not appropriate plus river cruising is not the same as ocean cruising nor is the trip simply a cruise as it's mostly a land tour including the river. We fully expect this to be a different experience than any we've had before but then that's the whole reason we're going.

Gate 1 has an affordable alternative: about 3K with air included I think.

Gate 1 has an affordable alternative: about 3K with air included I think.

They also use lower rated hotels and don't include all meals and don't have 10 days on the river, etc.

You can do it quite a bit cheaper going with other tour ops, particularly non-cruise operators. Also you'll get a lot more options on where to stop and for how long if you expand your source of tour operators.

Unlike a real cruise, this TOUR is mostly a land tour with a short cruise down the Yangtze thrown in. You're paying a premium using a cruise operator for a mass market tour.

Unlike a real cruise, this TOUR is mostly a land tour with a short cruise down the Yangtze thrown in. You're paying a premium using a cruise operator for a mass market tour.

I traveled with Viking to China last year, and I would hardly call it a "mass market tour." It was an extraordinary trip and first class all the way. I am hardly alone in this reaction, judging from the many, many posters over on the "Viking China 2" thread (the active thread, linked by kbert above), and the older, original "Viking China" thread, which got to be so long it was closed.

OP, I would refer you to those threads for a wealth of information about Viking in China.

Oh, and it's not a "short cruise" down the Yangtze, either. It's 5-11 days on the river, depending on which itinerary you pick.

I traveled with Viking to China last year, and I would hardly call it a "mass market tour." It was an extraordinary trip and first class all the way. I am hardly alone in this reaction, judging from the many, many posters over on the "Viking China 2" thread (the active thread, linked by kbert above), and the older, original "Viking China" thread, which got to be so long it was closed.

 

OP, I would refer you to those threads for a wealth of information about Viking in China.

 

Oh, and it's not a "short cruise" down the Yangtze, either. It's 5-11 days on the river, depending on which itinerary you pick.

For the price of what Viking (or other cruise company) charges, a friend of mine did a 2 months tour in China, with PRIVATE tour guides. They go to decide on the exact dates and timing of the visit, where to go and what time of day (for best light in photo-taking) They changed their mind on a whimp as they see fit. They got to see a whole lot more than typically on a China "cruise".

Not in a crowd of 20-30 following a guide with a microphone. They got to converse with the guide. Private car with driver instead of buses.

And yes, they also cruise the Yangtze too. Except they found that well, underwhelming, in light of the rest of China they saw on land!

Granted, that's an extreme of example. They put in a lot more research and found a Chinese based tour company that's bonded in the US. So they had the best of both world, travelling in the style of kings without spending a fortune.

11 days on the Yangtze? Impossible, I think. Even five days would be a real bore.

We went on an Asia cruise with Azamara, ending in Shanghai. Then we spent just over two weeks on our own, including a so called three night/four day cruise on the Yangtze. You get on after supper time on the first night and are finished at lunch time after the third night. We were on Victoria lines, which other operators book for their cruises.

Viking used them at the time but I don't know the story now. The cruise was not really worth the time, so taking longer would not be a good idea in my opinion. The five day cruises go up river which takes a bit longer and there is not much to see and do along the way.

You should look into land tours, possibly including a shorter Yangtze cruise. By the way I checked with Victoria Lines as to prices and discovered they charged twice the price that local agents do for the exact same cruise and cabin.

I strongly advise you to go to Trip Advisor and ask some questions there.

I strongly advise you to go to Trip Advisor and ask some questions there.

Good advice. By all means if someone comes to "CRUISE" critic they're probably not looking for the advice "don't"

Good advice. By all means if someone comes to "CRUISE" critic they're probably not looking for the advice "don't"

Why not?

Some ask question about "how", "when" or "which line". Others ask "whether"!

The two biggest NOT to go on cruises are China and Russia! The former being mostly a land tour dressed up as a cruise. The latter spends the majority of the "cruise" docked on just 2 cities (basically also a "land" based tour).

The OP would do better by spending the money on other cruises that are more of a real cruise.

The two biggest NOT to go on cruises are China and Russia! The former being mostly a land tour dressed up as a cruise. The latter spends the majority of the "cruise" docked on just 2 cities (basically also a "land" based tour).

 

The OP would do better by spending the money on other cruises that are more of a real cruise.

Anyone contemplating a river "cruise," particularly in China, should understand that the word has a very different meaning than when it follows "ocean." About the only two similarities are that one boards a vessel and spends some time on water. :)

All that said, I am wondering, at_nyc, whether your advice above is from personal experience -- have you taken a "river cruise" in China? If not, perhaps it would be helpful to the OP to know that you are not speaking from personal experience.

Our trip to China last year with Viking was 6 nights on land and 5 on the Yangtze, and it was extraordinary. What you call the "cruise" part was a means of seeing life along one of the world's great rivers up close and personal. The Yangtze is a critical part of China's culture and economy. Millions of Chinese live and work along the river. Millions were displaced by the completion of the Three Gorges Dam; ancient cities were flooded and new ones built almost overnight.

Seeing and learning about all this (not to mention seeing the beauty of the Three Gorges and the Lesser Gorges) was as fascinating as being in Shanghai, for example, and time very well spent. It's not as though you just get on a boat, never stop along the way, and never see or learn anything. The word "cruise" is really misleading.

Again, I would urge the OP to do a great deal of research, including by reading about people's personal experiences on these trips.

All that said, I am wondering, at_nyc, whether your advice above is from personal experience -- have you taken a "river cruise" in China? If not, perhaps it would be helpful to the OP to know that you are not speaking from personal experience.

Whoever done the "cruise" and is willing to admit they've wasted their money? ;)

Seeing and learning about all this (not to mention seeing the beauty of the Three Gorges and the Lesser Gorges) was as fascinating as being in Shanghai,

There're many other parts of China worth seeing, more than the Yangtze gorge.

I LIVED in China for years. But you think I need to take a cruise to tell it's not worth taking? (it's only worth taking AFTER you've seen a good deal of China. I'd consider it MUCH lower priority)

Whoever done the "cruise" and is willing to admit they've wasted their money? ;)

 

 

There're many other parts of China worth seeing, more than the Yangtze gorge.

 

I LIVED in China for years. But you think I need to take a cruise to tell it's not worth taking? (it's only worth taking AFTER you've seen a good deal of China. I'd consider it MUCH lower priority)

It seems like you are using the word "cruise" to suggest something it's not. It's not about being on a vessel to be entertained by Broadway star wannabes or about eating large quantities of food every three hours. In this case, it's seeing a part of China via boat, a mode of transportation, just as you must use planes, trains, buses or cars to get around other parts of the country. You seem to be suggesting that the people living and working along the Yangtze aren't part of China, that there's something less worthy or interesting about seeing this part of China. You of course are entitled to that view; I did not feel that way.

I repeat:

Whoever done the "cruise" and is willing to admit they've wasted their money?

I repeat: Quote:Whoever done the "cruise" and is willing to admit they've wasted their money?

That's pretty funny. Someone honestly saying she had a great trip is slammed as a possible liar based on your false "logic," while you, who have never taken the trip in question, think that your opinion about it is somehow is more valuable. :rolleyes:

Must be an awful lot of liars over there on the Viking China threads... Silly people, wasted their money and won't admit it....

Whoever done the "cruise" and is willing to admit they've wasted their money? ;)

Your arrogance is rivaled by the your bad grammar.

You can't acknowledge that some people have different interests than you have and may enjoy cruising on a river and seeing culture and history up close rather than mass cruises with people sitting around a pool, eating five or six times a day and taking naps. Give me the history and culture, thanks. I've taken two river cruises and prefer the river cruises.

If you want to jostle for space at the buffet, good for you. I like cruising up a river then getting off to experience the local sights and culture.

Moneyguy, as you have read many are pleased with Viking in China. We are not big fans of them in Europe or Russia. at_nyc had a very bad experience with V in December and feel that has colored her/his opinion about the cruise line. We leave in 6 weeks for Viking's Cultural Delights which has 11 days on the river--but we love river cruising. Will let you know how it was after we return. Pat

Your arrogance is rivaled by the your bad grammar.

 

You can't acknowledge that some people have different interests than you have and may enjoy cruising on a river and seeing culture and history up close rather than mass cruises with people sitting around a pool, eating five or six times a day and taking naps. Give me the history and culture, thanks. I've taken two river cruises and prefer the river cruises.

 

If you want to jostle for space at the buffet, good for you. I like cruising up a river then getting off to experience the local sights and culture.

You were the one who asked whether it's worth it. But it sounds like you were only asking for confirmation to go ahead and will resolutely shut your eyes to any that doesn't support your (already made but unspoken) decision. The least you can do is stop complaining about it being "expensive"!

It's only your money. And it sounds like you got quite a bit and are willing to throw them away. Be my guest.

You long runaway sentences are such fantastic example of your "good grammar". Why am I wasting time with people like that?