Yangtze River Mar28 Yichang to Chongqing - anyone else? any tips?

Hi,

Heading upstream on March 28 and wondered if anyone else is scheduled for this 5 day Victoria Cruise. I have been on various ocean cruises but never a river cruise, so looking forward to the change. However, a little concerned about the accommodations. What? no hairdryers? oh boy.

I'm taking my father with me on his first overseas trip. We are on an independent tour so if we could meet up with other cruisers it might be nice to share some cocktails on board and swap China experiences.

If any recent Victoria cruisers have any updates on the river any input would be appreciated. For example the duration of the daily excursions, air pollution, cabin tips. Can you easily wander off and do your own excursions?

We did the same Victoria cruise in 2004 - also in March. The weather was good - in the 60s every day. It was the Victoria Katarina's maiden voyage. We booked with Uniworld and had 2 days in Bejing to start then 2 days in Shanghai and 3 in Hong Kong after the cruise. These added cities are the only chance you get to wander on your own.

You'll see fascinating views on the cruise.

There was an excursion where we boarded a smaller ship to go up a Yangtze tributary then boarded sanpans to go up a stream even farther. We were pulled the last mile or so by river "trackers"; (human mules). That's how they moved goods upstream before the days of power and before the 3 gorges Dam was built. Don't miss that trip, it was a highlight.

We went out to eat on our own one night in Bejing. Hardly anyone outside the hotel speaks understandable English and you won't find translations on the menu. Don't expect Western style Chinese food. The air quality is pretty poor in Bejing - there's a heavy cloud of coal smoke over the city. Elsewhere, it's OK. Not good, just OK.

Shanghai and Hong Kong are much more Westernized so you can go wherever you please without difficulty. There's a great market in Shanghai where we got some incredible bargains. One of my $12 Rolex' is still running!

We walked to an open market in Hong Kong. The variety of foods was unbelievable. Don't go if you're squeamish because you'll see things you'd probably rather avoid. Lizard on a stick!

The cruise itself was great! You won't be disappointed. Food on the ship was very good but understandably, not up to the standards of big cruise ships. Meals off the ship are ah ...Chinese - REAL Chinese. I actually tried to eat a chicken's foot - it can't be done by a Westerner!

We did a AAA escorted tour in 2002 that included a 5 night Victoria Yangtze cruise from Wuhan to Chongching (upriver). The boat we were on is no longer shown on Victoria's website, so I believe all their ships are now newer and roomier than ours. We knew what to expect, so were just fine wiht the small cabins. Make sure you take along electrical adaptor plugs and a converter for any of your electrical equipment that can't handle 220.

If you want to see any pics of our trip, here's the address.

http://community.webshots.com/user/rcicruisers