Viking China (Part 2)

[Cruiselion]

Thank you Peregrina651 for dropping by my Role Call Viking Emerald, May 18, 2013, China Explorer and directing me to this site. I do have a question. I have gone back a few pages but I do not see anything on the inter-China flights, and in particular the baggage, maybe someone who has traveled recently can give me some info on how Viking does this. I have been told by one couple who traveled with a different tour company that for the inter-China flights they identified their baggage at the airport as it got off the bus from the hotel and left it in a pile as they all headed off to check-in for the flight. They collected their baggage at the other end to put on the bus to the new hotel, never any issue with the bags weight. Is this how Viking does it? Or do you take your own bags to the check-in counter? I ask as I have heard the China airlines are very strict about over-weight checked baggage. Has anyone on a China Viking tour had issue with checked baggage weight and if so can you tell me how it was dealt with?

The Holiday are over so getting geared up now for our Caribbean cruise in February and to get away from the snow but I am so looking forward to this China trip and everything I have read here so far it sounds great fun, I just can’t wait!!!

Wishing everyone on this site a Very Happy New Year!!

[caribill]

When we did the Viking intra-China flights our luggage was handled as follows:

 

a) Luggage picked up outside our hotel room door and we did not see it again until the destination airport. It was then weighed by the airline as a group. Once some was overweight but the guide paid the extra as there was no way to know who was overweight.

 

b) At the destination airport we claimed our luggage and then gave it to Viking and then we next saw it at our hotel room.

Edited December 31, 2012 by caribill

[Peregrina651]

Cruiselion, Welcome--and Happy New Year.

 

You are among the first going on China Explorer and we look forward to a report on the new 'ports of call' when you get back. In the meantime, keep asking questions; we are happy to answer.

[Peregrina651]

When we did the Viking intra-China flights our luggage was handled as follows:

 

a) Luggage picked up outside our hotel room door and we did not see it again until the destination airport. It was then weighed by the airline as a group. Once some was overweight but the guide paid the extra as there was no way to know who was overweight.

 

b) At the destination airport we claimed our luggage and then gave it to Viking and then we next saw it at our hotel room.

 

Also, Viking will check you in at the airport--no standing in line at the check in counter. Your escort will pass out the boarding passes at the airport and then shepherd you through security and to the gate. Boarding passes are assigned in alphabetical order within a block of seats. If you don't have the same last name as your traveling companions, you might not be seated side by side. However, each bus group is seated together and you will at least be with people you have met.

 

As caribill says, you will not see your luggage from the time it is collected at the hotel until it is delivered to your new hotel room except for a few minutes at the airport. Do make sure that you keep in your carry-on luggage everything that you might need during the day --like any drugs you might need to take during the day, camera accessories, etc. They say one carry-on but we had four and were not hassled (except when I forgot about the water bottle in one of the bags). We just left them on the bus as we toured.

[caribill]

Also, when they x-ray your luggage at the airport if they find anything suspicious your guide will get you to have you there while the luggage is open and inspected.

 

At one airport, one of our group was called due to a loose AA battery in the luggage which is not allowed.

[Peregrina651]

Also, when they x-ray your luggage at the airport if they find anything suspicious your guide will get you to have you there while the luggage is open and inspected.

 

That's much better than the US where they will just open your bag and leave a note that they have opened your bag. I've had this happen. That is why I never put anything of value into checked luggage.

[kbert92069]

I do have a question. I have gone back a few pages but I do not see anything on the inter-China flights, and in particular the baggage, maybe someone who has traveled recently can give me some info on how Viking does this.

 

Before our trip last October, the intra China flights were one of our biggest concerns too. We were amazed at how efficient everything was as handled by Viking. The tour escort was running around handling all the details and directed us where to meet at each leg of the trip. Other than identifying our luggage at the destination which was then quickly collected by Viking we were free of having to worry about it.

 

The airports were all big, new clean and modern as were the plane and services throughout. Even Chinese airport security was a pleasant and organized experience. The airplanes too were new and nice with efficient service. Altogether very pleasant.

 

On another note, one small thing I hadn't heard of before is that several places we went (including one airport) I was approached by an artist who began making a portrait of me without my asking. Once completed they tried to sell it to me. At the summer palace it was a painting on a plate and I declinced. At the airport it was a paper silhouette which I didn't want either but ended up paying a dollar for. It was actually quite good although apparently I'm "easy" as I seemed to be the one the artists all tried to create first. Perhaps the hat, beard and glasses meant less work for them. :)

[Peregrina651]

 

On another note, one small thing I hadn't heard of before is that several places we went (including one airport) I was approached by an artist who began making a portrait of me without my asking. .... Perhaps the hat, beard and glasses meant less work for them. :)

 

LOL. DH--beard, glasses, no hat -- got the same portrait treatment at the Forbidden Palace and on another Viking trip. Maybe you are right about beards and glasses!

[seanf]

...China Explorer...

Between my first trip to China and subsequent independent visits I have been to each of the places you will visit on your tour. Both Chengdu and Lijiang are new stops for Viking and you are in for a treat! I'll have to dig out the pictures of my Wife and I feeding pandas at the Research Base. We had a wonderful time there and were very lucky to be able to spend all day by ourselves with the keepers and an extremely knowledgeable guide - we were the only visitors doing the "Keeper for a Day" program and were spoilt with lots of extra treats. Lijiang is a beautiful place with gorgeous views of the Snow Mountain and incredible religious statues. We did some pony trekking there and I very much enjoyed seeing rural areas of China

 

Sean :)

[Cruiselion]

Thank you all, what great information on the way the baggage will be handled. We do not expect to be one of the ones with overweight bags but it did have me a bit paranoid on what I had read about how strict and costly it can be if you are.

Thanks again Peregrina651for directing me to this thread. I will be happy to give back on my return with anything I have learned or advise on the new stops on my trip.

[ruthlynn]

Cruiselion: We were on the Roof of the World tour in October. The luggage is as described by others. Our guide had "cousins" in every city who saw to our luggage from pickup outside our hotel room to delivery at the next hotel room. We took 3 big bags and I told our guide at the beginning if there was a problem with weight to contact me and I would pay whatever was necessary as they recommend only taking 2 bags. He said he thought everything would be okay.....and it was, but I kept repeating this to him at every city. We were impressed with the airlines....much better than domestic American Airlines, that's for sure!!! We would wait in the terminal until he and the local guide got our boarding passes, then process through security (which differed in each city--only one time did I have to be hand searched because of lots of hardware in my body), and on to the boarding gate; upon arriving at the next airport, we met as a group at the luggage pickup and our guide and the "cousins" gathered up our luggage (our guide always counted our bags to see that they all had arrived); we boarded a coach and off we went to the hotel....usually our luggage arrived in our rooms within an hour. Viking has all of the logistics correct and we were very impressed. Great tour and a great time....our guide was Leo and he was what everyone wants as THE greatest guide ever!!!

[recyclelady]

We returned from the Cultural Delights tour at the end of November. Christmas preparations and the work at my office seemed to take over my life at that point and I was unable to get it together enough to post any kind of review. I don’t want to go through my trip chronologically. So hang in there with me as I just post a few bullets!

 

· Viking does an amazing job of organizing their trips. From the moment we landed in Shanghai on November 3 until we left Hong Kong the day after Thanksgiving, EVERYTHING seemed to be done for us. I’m sold on Viking and will not hesitate to use them again in our future travels.

 

· All of the hotels (Shanghai, Xi’an, Beijing, Guilin and Hong Kong) surpassed our expectations. My husband and I tend to be Comfort Inn kind of travelers on our own. The 5-star quality of the hotels was stunning.

 

· Our first night in Shanghai was at the Shangri-La Hotel. We were only mildly hungry after our long flight and went to what we thought would be a reasonably priced restaurant in the hotel. We spent megabucks for dinner! It might have paid to look around the hotel area a bit further. After dinner, however, we went to a shopping mall across the street and bought several bottles of Coke Zero. I’m kind of a Diet Coke/Coke Zero freak and I don’t know how to cruise without an unlimited amount. We liked having this for the 11 days on the ship.

 

· We really enjoyed being on the last trip of the season. The weather was cool (most every photo except in Hong Kong has me in a fleece jacket). But I would always rather be cool than hot. We kept hearing about how hot various areas along the Yangtze can be in the summer and knew we had made the right decision.

 

· We chose the lowest category of cabin on the Emerald. Unless you get a Jr. Suite or a Suite there is absolutely no difference in the cabins except for deck and price! The layout is the same and everyone gets a balcony. We liked being on the lowest deck where the dining room was. Unlike big cruise ships, there is no problem with motion near the front of the boat.

 

· We were divided into 6 groups with 6 leaders. We were in Jack’s group. I got a kick out of him and luckily we had a very amiable group of people to travel with. I had a few encounters with the other guides and they seemed equally as competent. But when I heard stories about some of the people in the other groups, I was very happy we had landed in Jack’s bus.

 

· The dining room on the ship is open seating. Many people formed their groups and tables on the first night and never wavered. I didn’t feel I could sit at some tables because they were already “taken” and therefore did not have any interaction with some of the 200+ passengers. But my husband and I chose to move around a bit. We tried to rotate to different tables at different meals. We did chose to eat with some people more often, but we felt that we did a good job of getting to know a number of passengers—not just the ones from our bus.

 

· About that dining room…..it was LOUD. The acoustics were not good and it was next to impossible to have a conversation that engaged an entire 10-top table. So even though we moved around the dining room, we found ourselves only able to converse with one or two people per evening.

 

· In general, I am a pretty good, tolerant traveler. This was the first vacation I can remember where I really grew a bit tired of the cuisine. I don’t mean that as a slam to the Emerald food. I just didn’t want one more meal on a lazy susan. I’ve only recently started to eat rice again!

 

· In the afternoons aboard the ship, there were often educational/cultural talks given by our cruise leader, Jin. I ALWAYS attended these. They were wonderfully presented and made me appreciate what we were seeing the next day out on tour. One day the resident artist was demonstrating his technique. He painted a beautiful picture that we bought on the spot. It now hangs proudly on the wall behind our piano.

 

· In the evenings there were sometimes gatherings up in the bar. The two shows put on by the staff of the ship are not to be missed. These kids are incredibly hard working and talented. Not only do they have to wait on us at dinner, but then they turn around, don costumes, and entertain us at night! I was never a night owl, however. I think I hit the bed by 9 most nights!

 

· One evening they had “silly games” in the lounge and another night BINGO. These were fun and felt a little like being on Princess or Carnival! I few more of these events would have been fun.

 

· Thanks to Cruise Critic, I had learned about the Mao-waving- hand watches sold by vendors in Beijing. I bought nine of them from a guy for $5 apiece. I think he started at $20 in the negotiations. I gave these as gifts to my co-workers. They declared them better than the rum cakes I always bring back from the Caribbean.

 

· We did the 4-day Guilin/Hong Kong extension. We were so glad we did. The rock formations along the Li River are so iconic to China. It would have been ashamed to miss this area.

 

· As I said at the beginning, we are SOLD. We talked to many experienced Viking cruisers on board. As a result, we have just booked a Russia trip (Waterways of the Czars) for September 2013.

 

Let me know what you’d like to know!

Wyn

[caribill]

· Our first night in Shanghai was at the Shangri-La Hotel. We were only mildly hungry after our long flight and went to what we thought would be a reasonably priced restaurant in the hotel. We spent megabucks for dinner! It might have paid to look around the hotel area a bit further. After dinner, however, we went to a shopping mall across the street and bought several bottles of Coke Zero.

 

We ate dinner at that mall in a sit down restaurant. A nice meal for two of us for 71 Yuan (less than $11).

 

For anyone staying at the Shangri-La, I suggest the mall as a good place for dinner on arrival day when the tour starts from Shanghai. A nice selection of restaurants.

[rahrah50]

To recycle lady: Thank you for your review!!! I don't go to China until the fall so I am hanging on every word of these posts. I am a bit of a Diet Coke fan also. Is there Diet Coke on the Emerald? Should I purchase some before we board?? Thanks

[Turtles06]

 

· Thanks to Cruise Critic, I had learned about the Mao-waving- hand watches sold by vendors in Beijing. I bought nine of them from a guy for $5 apiece. I think he started at $20 in the negotiations. I gave these as gifts to my co-workers. They declared them better than the rum cakes I always bring back from the Caribbean.

 

 

Welcome back, and happy to hear you had such a great time. I remember when you were doing your planning....

 

Your reference to the waving-Mao watches made me smile, as several of us on our bus had so much fun buying them during the time we were in Beijing. We had one vendor literally follow us on a motorbike from our hotel to the carpet factory so he could sell us even more watches. I think we made his year....:)

 

[Peregrina651]

· Our first night in Shanghai was at the Shangri-La Hotel. We were only mildly hungry after our long flight and went to what we thought would be a reasonably priced restaurant in the hotel. We spent megabucks for dinner!

 

 

Yes, it is so easy to spend a lot on that first meal. With jet-lag, culture shock, the unfamiliar currency and being in a 5 star hotel, you can't win for trying.

 

[N.B. This applies only to this particular hotel.] While in Shanghai, we stayed at the Shangri-La Pudong (don't know if it was the same Shangri-La that Wyn stayed in). While there was a lounge restaurant in the lobby that served sandwiches, we found our way to the buffet on the second floor. It has an a la carte menu as well as the huge buffet and you can find something light to eat on the menu that won't cost as much as the buffet. It won't be as inexpensive as the restaurant that caribill found but for those who would prefer to stay in the hotel it won't be as expensive or as over-filling as the buffet.

 

Also, we all really over-estimated both how hungry we were and how tired we were and we all ordered too much food.

[seanf]

For those that are interested I have selected some photos from my trips to the new places that Viking will be including on some of their 2013 tours:

 

Chengdu Panda Base

 

My wife and I did the keeper for a day programme and started by spending some time cleaning up one of the outside viewing areas:

 

 

 

It's wonderful seeing all the pandas chilling and enjoying each others company!

 

 

 

They love apples...

 

 

 

Very comfortable!

 

 

 

My wife giving some "panda cake" to a very grateful recipient:

 

 

More to come below...

 

Sean :)

[seanf]

Lijiang

 

The beautiful Snow Mountain:

 

 

 

It may look sunny, but it was November and was absolutely FREEZING!

 

 

 

Not all of China is cities:

 

 

 

The prayer flags reminded me of Tibet:

 

 

 

There are amazing statues everywhere:

 

 

More again below...

 

Sean :)

[seanf]

We spent a long time wondering the streets of the town and searching out the interesting shops, restaurants and temples:

 

 

Sean :)

[CTGirl]

Hi all you China experts,

 

Can any of you tell me about how long it takes to get a VISA? We live in Connecticut and I'm not sure where we will send it (or probably use the service Viking recommends). We are leaving on April 11th for our trip. I cannot appy until February for various reasons. Is that enough time? Thanks

[Turtles06]

Hi all you China experts,

 

Can any of you tell me about how long it takes to get a VISA? We live in Connecticut and I'm not sure where we will send it (or probably use the service Viking recommends). We are leaving on April 11th for our trip. I cannot appy until February for various reasons. Is that enough time? Thanks

 

We used the service Viking had recommended, Generations Visa, and my recollection was that they had our visas in less than a week after we dropped off our applications with them. I found Gen Visa to be great to deal with, including on the phone when I called them a few times to ask some questions in advance of filling out the application and they had no idea whether I'd be using them to get our visas or not.

 

You might want to give them a call, tell them you are traveling with Viking, and discuss your timetable with them; no obligation to use them. I suspect they will tell you you'll be fine.

[caribill]

Hi all you China experts,

 

Can any of you tell me about how long it takes to get a VISA? We live in Connecticut and I'm not sure where we will send it (or probably use the service Viking recommends). We are leaving on April 11th for our trip. I cannot appy until February for various reasons. Is that enough time? Thanks

 

The time we did it, by applying in person at a local Chinese consulate, they were ready a week later.

 

So if using a visa service, I would say within two weeks allowing for the extra time of mailing back and forth.

[Peregrina651]

Hi all you China experts,

 

Can any of you tell me about how long it takes to get a VISA? We live in Connecticut and I'm not sure where we will send it (or probably use the service Viking recommends). We are leaving on April 11th for our trip. I cannot appy until February for various reasons. Is that enough time? Thanks

CT --we also used the service suggested by Viking; turn around was a few weeks. Seems you can't mail them yourselves; either you have to go in person or send someone (friend, relative, visas service). Between gas or bus fare and having to go twice, going ourselves to NYC would have cost more that the visas service was charging. There are a number of companies that do visas but we stuck with the one suggested by Viking because we figured that if people had reported problems with them Viking would no longer be recommending them. However, some people aren't comfortable send their passports through the mail or live close enough that they chose to go in person.

 

 

 

 

[CTGirl]

Thank you all for your replies. I think we have to apply when we are three months out. We get to China on April 12th so I think we can apply now. I might wait for another week or so and send before we leave Florida and then be back in Connecticut to get it in the mail at home. We will just have to use our drivers licence to get home instead of our passports.

[Peregrina651]

Thank you all for your replies. I think we have to apply when we are three months out. We get to China on April 12th so I think we can apply now. I might wait for another week or so and send before we leave Florida and then be back in Connecticut to get it in the mail at home. We will just have to use our drivers licence to get home instead of our passports.

 

That's right. Permission to enter China expires 90 days after the visa is issued (and I don't remember how long a stay it is valid for). So, since April 12 is the 102nd day of the year, you don't want your visa issued before January 12.