Viking China (Part 2)

[travellingqueen]

I'm thinking 2 pair of jeans, 2 pair trousers, 2 pair long shorts and as many t shirts and nice tops that I can fit in. As for underwear there'll definitely be more than 4 sets :eek: I don't do skirts or dresses although I do have a black dress that I could take.

Might sneak a pair of denim shorts in just in case it's hot in Shanghai when we get there as it's warmer....apparently.

As for shoes, Go Walks, 1 pair of trainers 2 pair sandals and some ballerinas.

See that doesn't sound too much.....does it?Oh and then there's the knitwear, cardigans a jumper or 2, a coat. I could go on and on lol

Edited September 14, 2015 by travellingqueen

[travellingqueen]

Do bring lite dresses for dinners, they do say not dressy but you don't want to be the only one at the table in shorts or really casual wear. Black Capri pants can be dressed up with your heals. I also used different necklaces to dress up in the evenings.

 

Heels!!!! OMG I need heels!!! Off to the shops......again ;)

[caribill]

Heels!!!! OMG I need heels!!! Off to the shops......again ;)

 

 

No you do not.

 

By the way. Here is a picture from the dining room on the last evening of the cruise so you can see how people dressed that evening. The two best dressed (in red) are the wait staff.

 

Edited September 14, 2015 by caribill

[OurBabymoon]

Okay, here is a picture of the group during the optional Tang Dinasty show

[travellingqueen]

Oooooo photos! I do love to see photos as it gives you an idea of what to wear so thankyou for that.

Thats one thing I've not ben able to see many of other than the big cruise ships which I know this is nothing like.

Any more? :)

[Floridiana]

No pictures but a question: How long is your trip? 2 months? Sounds like it with so many clothes and shoes. ;)

[travellingqueen]

Nope just 13 days lol.

When I went to Florida a couple of years ago I took 7 pairs.......thats not a lot compared to some people I know. You have to be prepared for all weathers.

Our latest trip was a cruise and stay in Orlando and Caribbean in February and I froze to death as I took no proper warm clothing other than 2 hoodies and typically it was the coldest weather on record in Orlando.

I'm not having that again. Be prepared I say.

Thinking about it I could have the 2 cases and hubby could have the hand luggage :D

[OurBabymoon]

No pictures but a question: How long is your trip? 2 months? Sounds like it with so many clothes and shoes. ;)

I have to say that I was able to pack a change of clothes (and underwear) for everyday of the 15-days, we had an extra day in Beijing and was able to keep my luggage under 40 pounds. I also packed clothes for the evenings, 1 par of heels, two pairs of walking shoes and 1 pair of walking sandals. I used the packing cubes/envelope system to help keep all the clothes contained and less wrinkle. I did travel during the summer, so all the clothing was light weight and usually dry fit, or nylon blend, so nothing was too heavy.

 

Travellingqueen, I do not have any more pictures of the group at dinner to share, but if you want to take a pick at what your two weeks will be like, send me your email and I will sent you a link to a videogram I made of the trip. Some venues we did in our own, and not through Viking and we had an entrance day in Beijing.

[travellingqueen]

I have to say that I was able to pack a change of clothes (and underwear) for everyday of the 15-days, we had an extra day in Beijing and was able to keep my luggage under 40 pounds. I also packed clothes for the evenings, 1 par of heels, two pairs of walking shoes and 1 pair of walking sandals. I used the packing cubes/envelope system to help keep all the clothes contained and less wrinkle. I did travel during the summer, so all the clothing was light weight and usually dry fit, or nylon blend, so nothing was too heavy.

 

Travellingqueen, I do not have any more pictures of the group at dinner to share, but if you want to take a pick at what your two weeks will be like, send me your email and I will sent you a link to a videogram I made of the trip. Some venues we did in our own, and not through Viking and we had an entrance day in Beijing.

 

That would be wonderful although I'm not sure how to PM you my email.

[OurBabymoon]

That would be wonderful although I'm not sure how to PM you my email.

LOL, you can tell I am still figuring out how to use CruiseCritics wirh the Tapatalk app.

My email is ildro@aol.com

Ileana

[caribill]

LOL, you can tell I am still figuring out how to use CruiseCritics wirh the Tapatalk app.

My email is xxxx@yyy.com

 

For future reference, to help stop the bad guys who search forums for real e-mail addresses, it is safer to list your address as

xxxx at yyyy dot zzzz

[Peregrina651]

That would be wonderful although I'm not sure how to PM you my email.

 

If PM means "Private message", then stop driving yourself crazy trying to find it. There is no private messaging through Cruise Critic. The only way to start a private off-thread conversation with another member is by sharing an e-mail address in the thread.

 

AND, caribill is right about disguising your e-mail address when you post it in a thread. I share an e-mail address as part of my signature file--which means I must use the proper "xxx@yyy.zzz" formatting and therefore am fodder for the bots. Fortunately, I use a disposable e-mail address because I've had to change it a number of times because of spam.

[LibraryJo]

I am currently on the Beijing Shanghai Imperial Jewels tour. Our guide today told us that they are not very strict about the 11 pounds for carryon. You might be questined if you have a roller bag. Also, you can carryon one personal item, so a woman's handbag and one carryon. However, it all must fit on floor under the seat.

We arrived on Sunday and did a personal tour with Peony Tours from the Westin Concierge desk. This was our "free day". That was a wonderful experience. Our guide April did a wonderful job and even took us to a wholesale mall to do some shopping.

Viking tours on Tues and Wed were good but tiring. Badaling was very crowded.

 

Meals have been good but I still think the restaurant April took us to was the best food. Tonight we go to BSK. Looking forward to it based on all the recommendations from you.

 

Tomorrow we do the hutong tour and then fly to Xian.

[CowgirlCook]

For folks thinking about luggage and clothes, you really don't need lots of fancier clothes for evenings. You don't need heels and you don't need dresses - unless of course you just really enjoy dressing up in the evenings. Most people will not be. Pants and a nicer top for evenings really works just fine. You do have the Captain's reception and a reception for those that have been on Viking before, and the last evening. For those, I wore a nice top and black flats! Keep carry on bags easy and light if possible as there are times when you are walking with them a good bit.

[franski]

I know... I know... heated topic - but am looking for some help sorting out "Viking speak" in our documents... (just picked them up yesterday!!)

 

The onboard staff portion is easy - as we can pay by credit card when we exit the boat. Gratuity amount per person/day x number of days on the boat.

 

The tour escorts are the question for me.

 

It says that the tour escorts do not share in the onboard staff gratuities so it is suggested that we tip separately and in cash. How is this usually handled? Is there an envelope that we give to our tour escort at the end of the tour? Or, do we just hand him/her cash?

 

Does the tour escort remain as part of "our" tour on the boat - or is the gratuity amount/day really just figured out for the land portion?

 

Also - I do get the suggested amounts for the local guides and drivers - but what about the bus drivers that take us to & from the airport(s) for our intra-China flights? Are these long(ish) trips - or a quick jaunt so time spent in transit is quite short?

 

Getting excited now - just over 3 weeks until we leave. Figured I would take some cash with me, but get more in ATMs along the way.

 

Thanks for any insights that can be offered.

 

Fran

[caribill]

I know... I know... heated topic - but am looking for some help sorting out "Viking speak" in our documents... (just picked them up yesterday!!)

 

The onboard staff portion is easy - as we can pay by credit card when we exit the boat. Gratuity amount per person/day x number of days on the boat.

 

The tour escorts are the question for me.

 

It says that the tour escorts do not share in the onboard staff gratuities so it is suggested that we tip separately and in cash. How is this usually handled? Is there an envelope that we give to our tour escort at the end of the tour? Or, do we just hand him/her cash? We did it in an envelope. Each group and its guide stays together the entire trip and will be in the same hotel each evening on land. In our case, our guide was at a desk in the hotel lobby part of the last evening and people would give the tips to him there. We gave the suggested amount and did it in a combination of US $ and Chinese Yuan to use up what Yuan we did not need anymore.

 

Does the tour escort remain as part of "our" tour on the boat - or is the gratuity amount/day really just figured out for the land portion? The guide is with you on the boat and is with you for the daily tour taken each morning from the boat. Our guide was very helpful on the boat in translating for us into Chinese when we had to connect with some non-English speaking people such as the tailor on the boat.

 

Also - I do get the suggested amounts for the local guides and drivers - but what about the bus drivers that take us to & from the airport(s) for our intra-China flights? Are these long(ish) trips - or a quick jaunt so time spent in transit is quite short? The trips as I remember them were mostly 30 to 45 minutes. I do not see a need to tip the drivers for the airport xfers. Others may have another opinion.

 

Getting excited now - just over 3 weeks until we leave. Figured I would take some cash with me, but get more in ATMs along the way.

 

Thanks for any insights that can be offered.

 

Fran

 

see above in red

Edited September 19, 2015 by caribill

[franski]

see above in red

 

thanks so much for your prompt reply!!

 

Fran

[jwcsr]

I'm presently on shanghai to Beijing. We have finished the cruising and are n Xian. Beijing tomorrow. You do not need fancy clothes or heels. I have one pair of Teva cushy sandals which I've worn most of the time. Two pair of jogging type shoes which came in handy when it rained. One pair of dressier flat sandals. Shirts, mid length pants and long pants, light weight knit in blue and black with coordinating shirts. That's it. Two sweaters and a rain jacket. Don't overpack and don't get over fancy. No one else will be. This is a great trip. Having a great time. 75 percent of passengers are from UK.

[H2Otstr]

Fran, have a wonderful trip.

 

Be sure to bring any OTC meds you might need. I had a really hard time finding Tums and Zantac in the Chinese pharmacies. :eek:

 

Sharon

[Mark_T]

- but what about the bus drivers that take us to & from the airport(s) for our intra-China flights? Are these long(ish) trips - or a quick jaunt so time spent in transit is quite short?

 

For us at least, the same driver took us to the airport that had been driving us around for the previous couple of days. The guides were very good at letting us know when we would be seeing out driver for the last time so there was no uncertainty :)

[franski]

Fran, have a wonderful trip.

 

Be sure to bring any OTC meds you might need. I had a really hard time finding Tums and Zantac in the Chinese pharmacies. :eek:

 

Sharon

 

Hi Sharon -

 

Thanks so much!!

 

I usually bring cold & allergy meds with me - as those are the things that vary so much from country to country. And, of course, lots of Tylenol & Aleve --> the feet are old and very arthritic (guess from being in a profession for almost 40 years where I am on my feet for many hours/day) and find I do much better if I take something each morning - instead of waiting until I "hurt".

 

Also have some fluid & electrolyte replacements --> DH has a bit of a sensitive digestive tract, so want to ensure that he doesn't end up down (and out) if he eats something that disagrees with him.

 

Luckily most OTC meds are light and don't take up much room!!!

 

Fran

[Peregrina651]

Fran, have a wonderful trip.

 

Be sure to bring any OTC meds you might need. I had a really hard time finding Tums and Zantac in the Chinese pharmacies. :eek:

 

Sharon

 

And not much time to shop for them

 

 

[Sandi634]

Thank you so much, is was most helpful, leaving tomorrow!

[caribill]

Thank you so much, is was most helpful, leaving tomorrow!

 

Have a great trip.

 

Be sure to let us know how it went for you.

[dlopez]

We're almost there. Just received the documents from Viking this week, Chinese visa came in, packing list is ready, and I can't wait. There hasn't been much traffic here lately, probably because there are only a handful of tours still to go this year, and next year hasn't geared up yet. I'm on the next to last Cultural Delights cruise from Beijing to Shanghai. I can't thank all of you enough for your wisdom and insight for this tour. I'll try to post something when I return, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to tell you how much I appreciate all the advice given on this thread. It has been invaluable!

 

Counting down until 1 November!

 

Diana