Ryan55

We'll start out at the Westin Financial Street in Beijing. We're flying out of San Francisco on 6/1. What about your group? Aren't you excited? This is ALL we can talk about. LOL!! I'm trying to convince my sister that we'll be ok venturing out on our own that first day in Bejing, that we have to entertain ourselves, but this is her first trip overseas and she's a little nervous. She said if we meet up with a few others in our group she & her husband might consider it. Fingers crossed. I told her if you've used one subway...you've used them all. We'll be fine. :)

We had the first day to ourselves, too, on our November trip last year. We also stayed at the Westin Financial Street. I encourage you to use the subway. It's easy to use (check out youtube for some videos on how to use it) and very reasonable - 2 yuan per ride (about 32 cents). One thing to note if you don't like crowds - it was very crowded, even on a Sunday. The concierge tried to discourage us from using it, but we had no problems. The Fuchengmen Station was about a 15 minute walk from the hotel. On our free day we went to Tienanmen Square (even though we would be seeing it again the next day) and the Lama Temple, which I highly recommend. And we walked miles and soaked in the atmosphere of the city. We had a wonderful trip and would love to be able to return to China some day!

I have a big problem with motion sickness. Should I be concerned while on the Emerald?

No need to be concerned at all about motion sickness on the Emerald. It's a very smooth ride.

Hello, My name is Debbie and I'm doing the Imperial Jewels of China, November 10,2013. This will be my first river cruise. Has anyone done the extra days in Hong Kong? Did you enjoy it? Was it worth the extra money? Has anyone went in November? Cold? Will start reading thread today:) Hope I will not make anyone too upset with all my questions:))

We were on the Nov. 11 Imperial Jewels last year and loved it. We didn't do the Hong Kong extension, so can't answer about that, but I can tell you about the weather. It was beautifully clear in Beijing (to our great surprise), but quite cold and very windy. But that wind drove the smog away, so we didn't mind it at all. I took my parka and a few sweaters and was not cold in Beijing. Layering is the way to go! But it was painfully cold and windy at the Great Wall. It had snowed a bit up there the night before we were there, so we were delayed getting on the Wall while it was cleared. Take your long underwear to wear on that excursion - I'm not kidding! It was warmer in Xian and on the river. By the time we were in Shanghai, I only needed my light rain jacket (yes, it was raining). The dining room on the Emerald is quite warm, so no sweaters needed there! If you're lucky, you'll get Yang as your guide - he was the best. Of course, everyone says that about their guide!

Are ATM's readily available in Beijing and Shanghai??? Does a 4 digit PIN work?

 

And to bring it up again, is there Diet Coke available on the Emerald?

 

9 more months to wait........

 

Thanks

We stayed in the Westin Beijing for our November 2012 Imperial Jewels of China tour and there was an ATM there. There was also one in the Crowne Plaza in Xian, so I imagine any hotel you stay in will have an ATM. Our 4 digit PIN worked .

Yes, Diet Coke was available on the Emerald.

Have a wonderful time. It was the trip of a lifetime for us!

You should always get the one year multiple entry visa since it is the same cost as the single entry and give you more time.

Just FYI - when we applied for our visas for our November 2012 trip, we asked for multiple entry, but were given single entry visas. (We're in the US.)

It's interesting that you raise this, as I haven't seen this raised before and I read extensively on here before our 2011 trip. (All the discussion about bringing stuff was what to bring for the kids in the school.) No one in our group did this, but I can't see why it would be inappropriate. You make me wish we'd done it!

Yes, I was surprised it hadn't been mentioned in this extensive thread. Many Chinese customs are so different from our western ones that I was wary of committing a faux-pas if we gave a small gift. We'll see if we can find something appropriate to bring along.

For those of you who went on the Beijing - Shanghai tours and visited the hutong: is it appropriate to bring a small gift (i.e. a small souvenir from your hometown) to the family you visit?

We thought we'd pass along our experience in getting our visas at the Chinese Embassy's Visa Office in Washington in case any of you are contemplating doing the same thing.

We live just outside of DC, so decided to get our visas ourselves rather than use a visa service. The office is on Wisconsin Avenue, a few blocks below Massachusetts Ave., so traffic is an issue and you need to plan accordingly. We arrived just before 10 a.m. (the visa office opens at 9:30 and closes for an hour mid-day for lunch). There is a parking garage in the building, but we easily found a metered spot nearly in front of the building. There were about 20 people ahead of us when we got inside, but our number was called in about 1/2 hour. The woman at the window took our applications and passports and glanced over the applications. The only "glitch" came at this point - I work in a church and she asked me what I did there (I am not clergy) and why I was going to China. She then asked me to have a letter written on church letterhead stating what my job position is and the purpose of my visit to China and to fax it over. She then told us we could pick up our visas in one week. I took care of faxing the letter the next business day.

When you return to pick up your visa, you first wait in line at the cashier's window and then go to the pick-up window. Again, I arrived at about 10 a.m., parked a couple of blocks away in a residential neighborhood (it was a nice day for a walk) and found the line at the cashier's window was quite long. There were a few people whose transactions took longer than most, but even with those delays, I was at the head of the line in a little over 1/2 hour. They had apparently received the faxed letter because when I handed over my receipt, she just asked how I would like to pay. Minutes later, I had our passports with visas in hand. Both visits went more quickly than we had anticipated and it was an interesting introduction to the Chinese way of doing things (and an interesting spot for people-watching).

We used rebelfone. Good value and easy to use. We ordered the SIM card in the US and received it about a week before we left. We mailed it back the day after we returned. It is $9.99 for a month. Check their website for specific charges for calls, texts, etc. We got a local mobile number within China and a follow-me US cell number so that friends and family could call us from their cell phones without a charge. That way, we eliminated random calls and just gave out our number to those we wanted to have it.

Promisekeeper,

Thanks for the tip about rebelfone. We'll look into that.

I have an unlocked quad phone and am looking for a prepaid SIM card to use in China. The features I'm looking for are: low cost calls back to the US and inexpensive local calls within China. Does anyone have any suggestions for carriers or plans? Is it better to get the SIM card in China or in the US?

Bayerish - thank you for your interesting report. I commend you for your "go with the flow" (no pun intended!) attitude about the revised itinerary of your trip. It sounds like all worked out well despite a few glitches beyond Viking's control.

A review of the Viking Emerald (Cultural Delights, April 2012) with some helpful tips has been posted under member reviews on this site. Go to http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=101576.

We are on Imperial Jewels, Beijing to Shanghai, in November. We arrive the day before Day 1 of the tour, so have a "forced overnight" in Beijing. From the basic itinerary that was sent with our confirmation months ago, it looks to me like there is no touring scheduled for Day 1, just arrive and check into the hotel for those arriving that day. I was thinking that we therefore may have at least part of that day free to tour on our own. Can anyone tell me, from your experience, if this is correct? There are a couple of places we'd like to see that are not on the Viking tour.

These two Viking China threads are a great source of information. Thank you to all who have been contributing to them. I have particularly been enjoying the recent trip reports.

So, I notice that several people know what their hotels will be. We are booked for the Cultural Delights Nov.3, 2012 cruise. When or how will I learn these details?

We are on the 11/11/2012 Beijing/Shanghai Imperial Jewels tour and we got our hotel assignments with our initial paperwork this past August. Westin Beijing Financial Street, Crowne Plaza in Xian (looks to be a new hotel opening in early 2012) and Westin Bund in Shanghai. Of course, we are so far out from our trip, that hotel assignments could change, I suppose. Thanks to all who have posted on these Viking China threads. Your tips are invaluable.