Viking China (Part 2)

[caribill]

The tailors spoke no English, so I had to describe what I was looking for.

 

Our Viking guide did the needed translating for us when we spoke with the tailor.

 

The guide was also helpful along the entire trip with translation when we needed it.

[Kohola]

I appreciate the links that Viking sends about China. I particularly liked the Mandarin phrases.

Gan bei!

 

Cheers to you! We toured China in 2009 and 2012 and I don't remember receiving anything extra other than our travel documents...I would like a little more info about the links you receive. I would also like to know if they updated the travel documents to include the hotels in Chinese.

 

Those touring the first week of April will witness the Tomb Sweeping Holiday in China. Three days in which the Chinese honor the deceased. The Yangtze River banks with be dotted with flowers marking the grave sites. The Chinese will burn 1,000,000 RMB notes at the graves to ensure their family is taken care of in the after life.

 

The Dragon Boat Festival occurs June 12...honors the poet Qu Yuan ("q" is pronounced similar to Chinese "ch"). You will have the opportunity to sample zongzi...a dumpling made with gluttonous rice and a variety of fillings. The dumpling is wrapped in bamboo and only available during the Dragon Boat Festival. Zongzi is bu gui and hao chi (cheap and delicious), especially with jujube.

 

While shopping always tell the merchants bu yao and taigui (don't want, too expensive) to get the best price or at least illicit a smile;-). Order beverages as hongjiu (red wine) baijiu (white wine), pijiu (beer), bingshui (ice water), cha (tea), kafei (coffee), or kele (cola). Use the words qing (please) and xiexie (thank you) a lot. When the Chinese thank you for learning their language, you may say bu ke qi or bu yong xie (you're welcome) and wo hen gaoxing (my pleasure).

 

China is one of the few places left in the world where one word of their language will endear you to them forever. You're flying thousands of miles to witness a unique culture...embrace it. Go out and connect with the Chinese...share a stalk of sugar cane or sesame seed candy.

[caribill]

The Chinese will burn 1,000,000 RMB notes at the graves to ensure their family is taken care of in the after life.

 

Very few Chinese families can afford to burn $160,000.

 

Since the highest RMB note in circulation is 100 RMB, these 1,000,000 RMB notes must be fake.

[shebawalk]

Xiexie to everyone who answered my concern about my trip documents. I'll rest easy until May!

 

Kohola, also xiexie for the additional Chinese phrases. I'm going to write all of them down so I can use them a lot. Our mothers were right about the magic words - "please" and "thank you". They work in any language. I hope they will be able to understand my southern-accented Chinese. :)

 

Here are the links that Viking has sent so far:

 

http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/email/China_language_bnd.aspx?refsrcprg=email&contid=1415199064&ep_rid=557134065&itn=13CH-VAUWC&lid=31_60_BND&eml=

 

http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/email/China_panda_bnd.aspx?refsrcprg=email&contid=1415199064&ep_rid=557134065&itn=13CH-VAUWC&lid=61_90_BND&eml=

 

http://www.longitudebooks.com/find/d/10849/r/VK?refsrcprg=email&contid=1415199064

 

The first two are video links and the last one is to a reading and travel guide.

 

I am SO excited about this trip. When I was a kid, I used to try digging a hole to China, but it was way too hard and it seemed like it would take forever. Who'da thunk that a 16 hour plane ride would take me there?!?

 

Zaijian

[seanf]

... these 1,000,000 RMB notes must be fake.

Yes, they are fake. Shops sell packs of fake money and paper models of a huge range of items (cars, etc.) to be burnt to honour the dead - the idea being to send wealth and happiness to them in the afterlife

 

Sean :)

[judy1355tim]

Pat- thanks so much for getting back to me. sounds like perfect touring weather in Oct. (for us!) have read that BSK is wonderful- but a lot of posts about not being able to get there. Did you folks stay at the Grand Hyatt? thanks again-

[judy1355tim]

Dear Judy, we were on the Emerald last Oct. Weather was cool in the north and got warmer (65F) as we went south. Viking gave us a forced overnite in Beijing. Think it was a good thing, was ready to go when touring started. Restaurants--everyone raves about Black Sesame Kitchen--we weren't able to go. Another place we can personally recommend is Made in China at the Grand Hyatt--sooooo good and didn't break the bank. Such a wonderful trip. Pat

Pat- thanks so much- Oct. weather sounds like perfect touring weather for us. have made note of these wonderful sounding restaurants. Think we'll try to book into the Grand Hyatt. this hotel sounds good too. will have to watch the Viking tour dates for 2014 so we can book a couple of extra days in Beijing so we're there on a Friday for BSK. thanks again

[pacmom]

We did not go early, so we stayed with Viking at the Westin Financial and went to Made in China the evening that the group went to the opera. Think it was caribill or turtle06 who stayed a few days early at the Grand Hyatt. This was a wonderful trip---nothing in Europe could compare--trip and tour wise. China with Viking, the Peruvian Amazon with Gadeventures and the Nile with Uniworld have all been wonderful--could have been the exotic locations, bu really do think that as I have said before that Chinais the Jewel of Viking cruises. Pat

[GoInOnaCruz]

Cheers to you! We toured China in 2009 and 2012 and I don't remember receiving anything extra other than our travel documents...I would like a little more info about the links you receive. I would also like to know if they updated the travel documents to include the hotels in Chinese.

 

 

China is one of the few places left in the world where one word of their language will endear you to them forever. You're flying thousands of miles to witness a unique culture...embrace it. Go out and connect with the Chinese...share a stalk of sugar cane or sesame seed candy.

Kohola, You are definitely correct about using the words making a world of difference. I am a French teacher (or was--retired) and even with your great Chinese language document and the link from VRC and other websites I had given up any chance of learning a word of this complicated language (we only had 2 months to get ready as we booked our 3/5 cruise on 12/29 as my husband had an unexpected business tie-in and we wanted to take advantage). I tried and tried, listened to the words, took the Chinese lessons on board the Emerald and found out that my effort DID make a difference! On the ship and off. When I tried my ni haos, xiexie, ni hao mas, etc. I was told it was "perfect." When we visited my husband's office one of the women who works for him told me I could turn my tongue like a Chinese (rising/lowering tone), and when I was eating lunch alone at the hotel in Ningbo (three hours south of Shanghai where my husband's business has an office) I was constantly surrounded by the staff wanting to speak to me and when I went to breakfast the next day everyone knew my name and my likes--my husband's business associates couldn't believe it. So practice, practice, practice--even if you don't think you are making any progress (I sure didn't) what you try to say will make you so well appreciated as you are trying to communicate in the language of the country--most people don't--a few of us in our group said hello, how are you, thank you, etc. everytime we got on off a bus, had a guide, shopped or visited--many never did. BTW our favorite excursion was the school visit like so many others have said. We were the first to visit since November and the whole town turned out to wave and welcome us. Mothers lined up with their babies, the little 3rd grade boys with whom I sat spoke absolutely incredible English--it was so rewarding. I will write a short cruise review in the next couple of days--most everything has been covered but a few updates--just got home and severely jetlagged :) Small price to pay for an incredible journey. Chinese lesson link from VRC http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/email/China_language_bnd.aspx?refsrcprg=email&contid=1137822084&ep_rid=1777431805&itn=13CH-VADCW&lid=31_60_BND&eml=

[GoInOnaCruz]

Xiexie to everyone who answered my concern about my trip documents. I'll rest easy until May!

 

Kohola, also xiexie for the additional Chinese phrases. I'm going to write all of them down so I can use them a lot. Our mothers were right about the magic words - "please" and "thank you". They work in any language. I hope they will be able to understand my southern-accented Chinese. :)

 

Here are the links that Viking has sent so far:

 

http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/email/China_language_bnd.aspx?refsrcprg=email&contid=1415199064&ep_rid=557134065&itn=13CH-VAUWC&lid=31_60_BND&eml=

 

http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/email/China_panda_bnd.aspx?refsrcprg=email&contid=1415199064&ep_rid=557134065&itn=13CH-VAUWC&lid=61_90_BND&eml=

 

http://www.longitudebooks.com/find/d/10849/r/VK?refsrcprg=email&contid=1415199064

 

The first two are video links and the last one is to a reading and travel guide.

 

I am SO excited about this trip. When I was a kid, I used to try digging a hole to China, but it was way too hard and it seemed like it would take forever. Who'da thunk that a 16 hour plane ride would take me there?!?

 

Zaijian

Also our guide told us that he was told that if he dug a deep hole he would be digging a hole to America! Two sides of the same coin. You will be so glad you are taking this trip once you get there! You just think you are excited now--the reality is 100,000 times better! Have fun!!!!!!! :)

[GoInOnaCruz]

I got the word out on here for Black Sesame Kitchen in Beijing back in 2011, and I am SO happy to see that many others have come back as pleased as we were with this extraordinary dining experience. It's a cooking school in the hutongs by day; make reservations for private dining at night.

 

http://www.blacksesamekitchen.com/

 

I would also suggest having a Peking Duck dinner at one of the well known places in Beijing, far better than what Viking offers on its optional night out. (Actually, the rest of the food at that dinner was pretty good, just not the duck.) We ate at Made in China at the Hyatt, and it was wonderful. Some others on our trip ate at Da Dong and loved it too.

 

I would highly recommend flying in to Bejing a few days early. It's a beautiful and interesting city. We spent three days there before the start of our Viking trip, and we used them to see things that Viking was not taking us to (like the Great Wall at Mutianyu and the Temple of Heaven Park), and to eat at the places noted above. We used a private guide for part of that time. I put up a summary of what we did during those extra days, along with the contact info for our guide (who was great!), at the link below. I hope it helps. We really loved Beijing. I'd go back in a heartbeat if it weren't half a world away.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=29264391&postcount=4680

I agree with everything you said except the duck dinner in the past the rest of the dinner except ironically the duck seemed to be okay but VRC tried something new this year--split Beijing Opera from duck and went to a new place for duck in response to past criticism. It was even less well received and our guide took note of that. We didn't go but almost everyone in our group did and said there was almost nothing worth eating. Unfortunately the casual Chinese dinner offered to those who did not attend was the worst "free" dinner on the entire trip. :( We loved the food at the jade factory which I had read was not that good in the past (it was the same day as duck and casual so we had a really good contrast--greasy spring rolls at the casual dinner vs. light, melt in your mouth spring rolls at the jade factory)and the silk carpet factory lunch in Shanghai was Mongolian barbecue which everyone in our group really liked too. One member of our group wanted an extra beer at the casual dinner and they wouldn't even bring it out until he put his money on the table--maybe they've been burned in the past (?). Our guide was really grateful for our comments about anything and I'm sure VRC will be making note of these comments too--they are REALLY responsive to our comments. It's really a great cruise/tour company.

Edited March 22, 2013 by GoInOnaCruz
additional comment

[kbert92069]

Not to be contrary but I found the Chinese language simple once you get the tonal component. There are no verb conjugations, simply who, what when. No confusing I went, am going, will go, etc. It's I go yesterday, I go now or I go tomorrow.

 

It's the Chinese written language that's complex. Our guide told us they envy English with only 26 characters to memorize vs. the thousands they have to know (perhaps that's why so many signs are in English and Chinese.)

 

One of my proudest moments on the trip was when I answered the hotel phone with a ni hao and the person on the other end starting speaking Chinese quickly. I switched to English and he said "Karl? Is that you?" It was our tour guide. I had mastered the tonal component well enough to fool him albeit with only a single phrase.

 

I will reiterate though how powerful just using a few Chinese phrases will be in interacting with people. Everybody treated us well anyway but they definitely appreciate going the extra step.

[GoInOnaCruz]

Not to be contrary but I found the Chinese language simple once you get the tonal component. There are no verb conjugations, simply who, what when. No confusing I went, am going, will go, etc. It's I go yesterday, I go now or I go tomorrow.

 

It's the Chinese written language that's complex. Our guide told us they envy English with only 26 characters to memorize vs. the thousands they have to know (perhaps that's why so many signs are in English and Chinese.)

 

One of my proudest moments on the trip was when I answered the hotel phone with a ni hao and the person on the other end starting speaking Chinese quickly. I switched to English and he said "Karl? Is that you?" It was our tour guide. I had mastered the tonal component well enough to fool him albeit with only a single phrase.

 

I will reiterate though how powerful just using a few Chinese phrases will be in interacting with people. Everybody treated us well anyway but they definitely appreciate going the extra step.

Probably right but it's pretty hard to get anywhere with any language in 2 months LOL--time constraints are probably what made it seem difficult to me! The Chinese people that I had in-depth contact with seemed to think the tonal part is what makes it hard for we westerners as we don't have them and in fact the woman who works for my husband almost dismissed my efforts to try until she heard me say Ni hao ma and realized I COULD "turn my tongue" on the hao and the ma. She is fluent in English and knew how difficult that was for her as she is of the generation (above 30) that didn't start studying in kindergarten as they do today. I definitely advocate trying! I had everyone in the office laughing as I was listening to the train announcements on the high speed train between Shanghai and Ningbo and kept hearing the name of the town along with chen dohl-lah (have no idea of spelling) and I pronounced it perfectly--found out it means You have arrived at the station of such and such a town. :) Very helpful phrase--not--(well I guess if you are traveling on your own on a Chinese train) but it got me a laugh

[GoInOnaCruz]

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/s720x720/482050_4650701185288_795534460_n.jpg Me with "my" third graders at one of the 3 Viking River Schools. What an experience :) Edited March 22, 2013 by GoInOnaCruz
photo size

[Turtles06]

Think it was caribill or turtle06 who stayed a few days early at the Grand Hyatt.

 

Yes, good memory! My partner and I stayed at the Grand Hyatt for three nights before the Viking tour (when we switched to the Viking hotel). It's a really nice hotel (the grotto pool is wonderful when you are totally beat from all the travel) and you can't beat the location. It's a ten minute walk to Tiananmen Square,. where there's an official flag lowering ceremony at sunset, and a flag raising ceremony at sunrise. We went to the former, and it's well worth it. The Hyatt is also very close to several subway stops.

 

And Made in China is on the premises. We made reservations in advance via email with the hotel's concierge, who also pre-ordered the duck for us. And we did something we've never done before: we splurged on ourselves and hired a hotel car to pick us up at the airport. This was truly wonderful; they had a guy meet us at the jetway, and he spirited us thru the airport.

 

Viking's hotels are great. It's just that, in Beijing, ours (the Ritz-Carlton Financial) was not conveniently located, and we were spending three days in Beijing on our own, so we wanted to be closer to the center of the city, to the subway, etc. Hence the Hyatt.

 

(I'll add the caveat that our trip was nearly two years ago.)

[Kohola]

No confusing I went, am going, will go, etc. It's I go yesterday, I go now or I go tomorrow.

The comment kbert is making leads to many confusing moments if you do speak to someone in China that speaks basic English not knowing about tenses...you must always speak in present tense and specify when the action occurred. I shop today...wo dian jinri or jintian. I shop yesterday...wo dian zuori or zuotian. I shop tomorrow...wo dian mingri or ming tian. Wo means I. Dian is shop...verb or noun. Jin is past and Ri is sun symbol for day, tian is sky or heaven. Literally I shop past day. Zuo is present, therefore present day and Ming is next...next day. Ming can also means bright or understand. Of course using a couple of words will lead to the Chinese asking you questions. I don't understand..wo bu mingbai...woe boo mingbye. Add sorry with duibuqi...dee-ah boo chee.

 

Impress the crew on the Emerald by introducing yourself in Chinese, in Shebawalk's case...Wo jiao Sidifen ni...woe gee-ow sue-dee-feh-nee. Literally, I am called Stephanie in Chinese. My name is Stephanie...wo de mingzi shi... woe duh mingzi (zi like zi-rcon sans rcon) shuh sue-dee-feh-nee. Literally, my name be Stephanie.

 

At dinner...wancan, (c in Chinese is a ts sound like ca-ts). Greet your server with Wanshang hao...Good Evening. I see the menu,please...wo kan daole caidan,qing...Woe can dowla tseye dan, chee-ng. Notice Wan in evening and dinner...literally wancan is late meal or eat and wanshang is late time. Good morning is Zaoshang hao or early time and breakfast zaocan or early meal. Good afternoon is xiawu hao...good noon...wu refers to 11am-1pm and lunch is wucan or noon meal. Also notice Shang(which means on, above, up, superior and a myriad of other things) in morning and night is the same Shang as in Shanghai...which literally means above the sea. And xia in afternoon means below, inferior, down, etc.

 

Shebawalk since you probably use y'all a lot...you can finish your Chinese sentences with nimen dou...nee men doe. Literally, you we all;-). But only in southern China because they'll never understand in Beijing:).

 

GoInOnaCruz, thanks for the positive feedback! Nice to see all the foreigners... laowai in the seats with the children in your photo. Shebawalk my e-mail address in Mc4nu@aol.com...I have a couple of spreadsheets with English and Chinese translations for days, months, numbers, colors, good manners, the WC, etc...since you seem to want all the information you can absorb. I will send you all my information if you'll provide me with an e-mail address. I also have an extensive collection of photos at for 2009 and 2012-2 for 2012 which are captioned providing a lot of additional information about China...I use photos to tell stories.

 

Since a couple of people mentioned "digging to China." I took this photo of a couple of guys with shovels in 2009.

I captioned it: "Ho,ho,ho...off to work in go. Since I tried to dig to China as a child, these guys are probably on there way to the United States."

[Kohola]

The Chinese language replicates a character two or three times much like we use "s" to mean plural. Mu is tree, mu character two times is lin and three times is zen which mean forest. Kou (cow) is mouth in Chinese, two kou is noise. A little Chinese humor...nu is woman in Chinese, two women is nuan...quarrel, and three women is jian...wicked. Ren is a person, three ren is zhong, a crowd.

[Viking Cruises]

I agree with everything you said except the duck dinner in the past the rest of the dinner except ironically the duck seemed to be okay but VRC tried something new this year--split Beijing Opera from duck and went to a new place for duck in response to past criticism. It was even less well received and our guide took note of that. We didn't go but almost everyone in our group did and said there was almost nothing worth eating. Unfortunately the casual Chinese dinner offered to those who did not attend was the worst "free" dinner on the entire trip. :( We loved the food at the jade factory which I had read was not that good in the past (it was the same day as duck and casual so we had a really good contrast--greasy spring rolls at the casual dinner vs. light, melt in your mouth spring rolls at the jade factory)and the silk carpet factory lunch in Shanghai was Mongolian barbecue which everyone in our group really liked too. One member of our group wanted an extra beer at the casual dinner and they wouldn't even bring it out until he put his money on the table--maybe they've been burned in the past (?). Our guide was really grateful for our comments about anything and I'm sure VRC will be making note of these comments too--they are REALLY responsive to our comments. It's really a great cruise/tour company.

 

Dear GoInOnaCruz,

 

We’re sorry to hear that some of the dining options did not meet your taste and expectations; but we thank you for sharing your thoughts with both your guide and here on Cruise Critic. While not all of the food was to your liking, it sounds as though it didn’t put a damper on your trip – a result which we are pleased to hear. If you have any other comments or feedback we’d be happy to hear from you at TellUs@vikingrivercruises.com.

 

Thank you for the kind words about us! We look forwarding to welcoming you onboard again soon!

 

Sincerely,

Viking River Cruises

[sissabagrama]

Xiexie to everyone who answered my concern about my trip documents. I'll rest easy until May!

 

Kohola, also xiexie for the additional Chinese phrases. I'm going to write all of them down so I can use them a lot. Our mothers were right about the magic words - "please" and "thank you". They work in any language. I hope they will be able to understand my southern-accented Chinese. :)

 

Here are the links that Viking has sent so far:

 

http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/email/China_language_bnd.aspx?refsrcprg=email&contid=1415199064&ep_rid=557134065&itn=13CH-VAUWC&lid=31_60_BND&eml=

 

http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/email/China_panda_bnd.aspx?refsrcprg=email&contid=1415199064&ep_rid=557134065&itn=13CH-VAUWC&lid=61_90_BND&eml=

 

http://www.longitudebooks.com/find/d/10849/r/VK?refsrcprg=email&contid=1415199064

 

The first two are video links and the last one is to a reading and travel guide.

 

I am SO excited about this trip. When I was a kid, I used to try digging a hole to China, but it was way too hard and it seemed like it would take forever. Who'da thunk that a 16 hour plane ride would take me there?!?

 

Zaijian

My friend, Booby (Yup, her Dad called her Buns because her diaper dropped and she complained, so he called her Boobs, and she didn't care at 2). I didn't know a difference till in 6th grade and having moved away from my bestest friend - anyway, we dug to China in our back yard sandbox, and cut our fingers on a 'crab'! (rusty metal pipe). We were SO impressed. Thanks, ala Bob Hope, for the memory!.

[sissabagrama]

Kohola, You are definitely correct about using the words making a world of difference. I am a French teacher (or was--retired) and even with your great Chinese language document and the link from VRC and other websites I had given up any chance of learning a word of this complicated language (we only had 2 months to get ready as we booked our 3/5 cruise on 12/29 as my husband had an unexpected business tie-in and we wanted to take advantage). I tried and tried, listened to the words, took the Chinese lessons on board the Emerald and found out that my effort DID make a difference! On the ship and off. When I tried my ni haos, xiexie, ni hao mas, etc. I was told it was "perfect." When we visited my husband's office one of the women who works for him told me I could turn my tongue like a Chinese (rising/lowering tone), and when I was eating lunch alone at the hotel in Ningbo (three hours south of Shanghai where my husband's business has an office) I was constantly surrounded by the staff wanting to speak to me and when I went to breakfast the next day everyone knew my name and my likes--my husband's business associates couldn't believe it. So practice, practice, practice--even if you don't think you are making any progress (I sure didn't) what you try to say will make you so well appreciated as you are trying to communicate in the language of the country--most people don't--a few of us in our group said hello, how are you, thank you, etc. everytime we got on off a bus, had a guide, shopped or visited--many never did. BTW our favorite excursion was the school visit like so many others have said. We were the first to visit since November and the whole town turned out to wave and welcome us. Mothers lined up with their babies, the little 3rd grade boys with whom I sat spoke absolutely incredible English--it was so rewarding. I will write a short cruise review in the next couple of days--most everything has been covered but a few updates--just got home and severely jetlagged :) Small price to pay for an incredible journey. Chinese lesson link from VRC http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/email/China_language_bnd.aspx?refsrcprg=email&contid=1137822084&ep_rid=1777431805&itn=13CH-VADCW&lid=31_60_BND&eml=

Get L-Lingo, $14.95 on iPad or phone, or $9.95 for one month on computer - very well done - I'm a Reading Specialist - all native speakers, absolutely great format to quickly learn cadence and basic vocab. I'm SO impressed.

[GoInOnaCruz]

Hi everyone, Here are my thoughts on the first cruise of the 2013 season.

 

1. Everyone seems to think their direction, Shanghai-Beijing or Beijing-Shanghai was the best. Everyone in our group decided Beijing-Shanghai--you begin with the crazy schedule of Beijing, Great Wall, to Xi'an and then have several days of rest before finishing up with a relatively light tour of Shanghai--I'm sure those who did the opposite feel the same about theirs!

 

2. Cups--I read a lot about how they didn't have "to-go" cups for tea/coffee. Well VRC must have read the reviews because at least this year (not sure about last) there were cardboard cups and covers at the tea/coffee bar on the 5th floor of the Emerald. Coffee there is available 24/7 (Nespresso type machine with very good coffee, lattes, etc.) and from 6 a.m. on fruit and pastries are available with full breakfast mainly beginning at 7 a.m. and earlier on those days when excursions begin earlier.

 

3. Food--VRC has tried to respond to past criticism about the duck dinners and according to those who went this year (we did not) it was not successful--kudos for trying--everyone really understood that this was an attempt to make things better. Our only not-so-up to standards meal was the Chinese casual dinner the same night as the duck. Given the number of people being fed and the attempts to respond to constructive criticism this was not such a bad thing. We LOVED the meal at the Jade factory which I had read was not so good in the past and the Mongolian barbecue at the Silk Carpet factory was also extremely good. Our only "criticism" of the food on the ship was the amount of food served--too much :)--and I'm not sure everyone would find that a criticism.

 

4. Optional excursions--They have split the duck dinner from the Beijing Opera. We LOVED the opera--very authentic experience and the excerpts chosen were very amusing--many people did not like the opera but I don't think they regretted going for the experience. The star of the first segment was very funny and while flipping through the channels one night in Shanghai we saw him performing on television. I was skeptical about the Tang Dynasty show in Xi'an but found it to be great and the food was some of the best, if not the best we had anywhere in China. Those people who did not attend the show had dinner at the same venue and said their dinner was equally good. The acrobats show in Shanghai was not optional but was fantastic as reported in the past. I couldn't look during some of the stunts!

 

5. Service--Service aboard ship was absolutely incredible! Everytime we came back aboard from a tour or left the ship for a tour we were welcomed aboard/wished a great time by just about everyone working on the ship. They wore very nice looking red wool coats--except for our one really warm day at the Pagoda (around 30 degrees C)--and made sure people didn't trip on rugs, uneven surfaces, etc. Upon return, once we got to the second floor lobby there were warm, wet towels (why does no one do that for me here at home?) and juice or green tea. Many of the servers did more than one job--Leah worked in the 5th floor observation lounge serving drinks and then filled in in the dining room during meals--just one example--plus they spent every free moment practicing for the crew show which was great--including our waiter Ray doing a great dance (I won't give it away so you will be surprised if going this season). As has been reported in the past the servers quickly learned our names and our likes/dislikes. I had decaf coffee waiting for me every morning (I already had my caffeine from the 5th floor coffee bar) and it started off not so hot (there were some complaints) but by day 2 was piping hot and perfectly made. Also, the locks were only going one way--upstream--at the Three Gorges Dam--and VRC made arrangements to be one of only a few boats allowed through and the ONLY cruise ship allowed through--so we were able to finish our cruise to the school and then to Wuhan--WOOHOO!

 

6. Guides--Our guide, Jimmy, was INCREDIBLE! He speaks perfect, colloquial English without the benefit of ever having visited an English-speaking country. He has been a guide for 15 years--10 with VRC (I think) and had an encyclopedic knowledge of Chinese history, culture, politics, and also was able to compare/contrast with western culture. His emphasis was to lay the facts on the table and let us make our own interpretation and also to help us open our eyes to China and its changes. Like everyone has said here in the past all the other groups were fiercely proud of THEIR guides! So I think VRC does a great job of recruiting and training their guides. Most people in our group had been on many cruises/tours and said that Jimmy was the best guide they had ever had. All of the guides put in many hours per day and at the end of the cruise continued on for any extension (I imagine they split this duty). Our Beijing-based guides then headed home for a few days off before beginning all over again--the Shanghai tour would then start with Shanghai-based (I'm assuming) guides.

 

7. Buses/Local Guides--We had the greatest drivers in the buses. They were professional, courteous, and careful--I especially appreciated their skills after the tour when we spent several days traveling around on our own and had to rely on taxis and drivers and had some hair raising experiences. For each city we also had a local city guide and they were very good also. Especially enjoyed our guide at the pagoda and the one at the Three Gorges Dam.

 

8. Squattie-potties (as dubbed by a member of another group on the tour) VRC finds the cleanest restrooms with at least one western-style toilet for the women in the group. I bought the personal urination devices (cardboard) and I was glad I did. These enable you to use the squattie potties without having to squat. The advantage was that the line for the western style toilet was often long and I was able to quickly get in and out. Yes you are going to need toilet paper--I carried the flat kleenex travel packs but lots of people took a supply of tp from the hotel room/ship stateroom. Often times the tp was available from a roll as you entered the rr so look for that as you enter the rr. We made sure to inform the people coming in after us of the situation--tp/no tp/tp on the wall. It all works out. BTW I found that the squattie potties were often extremely clean. My husband who is not a fussy guy found only one rr that he considered a little gross and that was the one in the Forbidden City as we entered (I didn't avail myself of this facility so I have no personal experience to relay).

 

9. Experience--We loved our tour and realized that for us this was the optimal way to visit China and not to have to try to plan and navigate around by ourselves (which I think would be VERY difficult) or hire a private guide which would probably be a lot more expensive--we didn't investigate. This was our first cruise of any kind and VRC pulled it off with panache. We are busy recommending the experience to other adventurous friends and family. Everyone who is booked for an upcoming cruise of any kind with VRC is in for a great experience!

[GoInOnaCruz]

Get L-Lingo, $14.95 on iPad or phone, or $9.95 for one month on computer - very well done - I'm a Reading Specialist - all native speakers, absolutely great format to quickly learn cadence and basic vocab. I'm SO impressed.

Great info. I'm going to check it out. Mandarin has laid down a challenge to me :) I'm going to continue to try to learn more--maybe I'll need it again some day. Thanks for sharing!

[caribill]

Hi everyone, Here are my thoughts on the first cruise of the 2013 season.

 

 

Thanks for a great report.

 

As when we did this a couple of years ago, Viking China did a first class job. Great itinerary, great guides, great ship personnel, etc.

[sissabagrama]

Sounds great, we leave in ten days. Please explain the personal U device and where to find it??

[Turtles06]

Sounds great, we leave in ten days. Please explain the personal U device and where to find it??

 

Gosh, most folks really don't need it. Grab your clothes between your legs with one hand, pull out, up and away from your body, just lean back a little with a little bend of the knees (no need for a full squat), have tp in your other hand... that's it. (Am I the only one who has hiked where there are no facilities whatsoever? :))

 

GoInOnACruz: thanks for the great review; happy you had such a wonderful time (but not at all surprised)!