Victoria River Cruise Line Yangtze River ?

[hsb5956]

Victoria River Cruise Line Yangtze River ? I am considering a tour of China that includes a 8 night Yangtze River Cruise using Victoria River Cruises which seems to be the most used by tour operators any experience with Victoria River Cruise Line?

 

Or experience's in general taking a Yangtze River Cruise?

 

Might I be over doing the Yangtze experience by taking a 8 night Yangtze River Cruise verses a shorter one? I see a lot of tours include 3 night 4 night and 5 night less include 8 night.

 

How is the weather and scenery in October?

 

Smooth sailing & cruising

 

HSB5956

[pbnjrockette]

As part of our Vantage tour we were on the Victoria River Cruise on the Yangtze for 5 days this past October. There is no way to predict what the weather will be like---ours was rather rainy. There had been landslides into the river and our boat could not get all the way up to the locks so we missed that part of the trip and drove to meet the boat. It poured and we were unable to see the 3 Gorge Dam as well. But the rest of the cruise was much improved! The ride down the river is quite picturesque, the food was good, and the ship is comfortable although a little "tired-looking" when compared to European river boats. Several excursions during the day were well-planned and enjoyable. Not sure I would have wanted to do 8 days though! Perhaps you will have a "newer" ship.

[kuldalai]

The shortest Yangtze cruise one should take is from Yi Chang to Chong Qing or vice versa. This covers the Three Gorges Dam, the Three Gorges, Lesser Gorges and other sights .

 

The full Yangtze cruise from Shanghai to Chong Qing or vice versa covers in addition the lower reaches of the river and takes in the majestic Nanking and the not to be missed Yellow Mountain .

 

So if you can spare the time do the full cruise from Shanghai to Chong Qing or v.v.

 

We did it on Victoria Prince in October 2009 and it was sensational and very relaxing .

[Tax312]

Went on the Victoria Jenna with Uniworld Cruises a couple of years ago (2010) and it was a great experience. The ships are quite different from European ships, much larger and more people on the vessel.

 

Similar to Europe, the excursions and the Three Gorges were the main highlights. With that being said, our trip was a couple of nights long and perfect. Seven nights would be a long time on a river cruise and realize that there aren't as many amenities when compared to a Ocean Ship. But the service on Victoria Cruises was fabulous and passed time quickly...

[jklc123]

We were on the Victoria in 2007 (so this is dated, I know) through Ritz Tours. We sailed from Chong Ching to Wuhan, just 3 or 4 nights, but enjoyed it greatly. Excellent excursions each day & we were able to go through the locks at Three Gorges. Didn't miss the large cruise ship amenities & were very comfortable. The rest of the tour was land-based; we ended up being met by a private guide & driver at each city (Beijing, Xian, Chong Ching, Shanghai, Guilin and Hong Kong, as our tour didn't fill & the company offered us the private guide option for no extra money. How great is that! Luxury hotels all the way. The flights from city to city were not long. Due to fog & strong winds, however, we were diverted from landing at Xian & ended up in a tiny airport near Inner Mongolia for about 2 hours. Rather interesting side trip!

[maryann ns]

We took a Victoria cruise in March (three night, from Chongqing to Yichang). That was long enough. The ships are OK, but faded and a bit dingy. The beds were comfortable.

 

 

They are a great way to relax, but with all there is to see in China, they may not be the best use of your time. There are hours of drifting by some decent, but not spectacular scenery. The excursion up the little and mini three gorges was the best part.

 

We too had fog and rain at the dam and saw little.

[pjtraveler]

Just a quick "heads up" for your anticipated trip to China. If you are planning on doing more than the Yangtze cruise, be aware the the first week in October is the time of "National Days" in China when most Chinese are on holiday. This fact translates into huge crowds at popular sightseeing venues.

 

October is a great month weather wise (we were there in 2008) but avoid that first week if you can. It's not impossible to do as we can testify, but your trip will be more pleasurable without the hassle of HUGE crowds!:)

[jameslam]

We were a group of 16 and were originally booked on the Victoria Katarina for the 3 gorges tour on Nov 3 2011 sailing from Chongqing to Yichang. Although we confirmed our booking more than 4 months before departure, we were advised two weeks before departure that there were no available cabins on the Katarina and were offered Victoria Selina instead - which we promptly rejected. (For your info, a group of about 30 whom we knew were given cabins even though they had booked later than us.) Luckily, our travel agent managed to secure cabins on the Century Sun, thus averting a disaster as we had already made arrangements regarding hotel, flights, vacation leave, insurance, etc. There were complaints on the Cruise Critic by Water Margin, Fishing Boat and Yungyung regarding their similar down-grading to Victoria Rose on Oct 2010. See these comments under 'Victoria Cruises Cruise Reviews'.

 

If you were to look further back on the same post under 'Yangtze River' first posted by giraffelt on Oct 3 2011, you will get more useful info. Also, go to Cruise Critic Message Boards, then 'Cruise Lines A-O', then 'Other Cruise Lines', you will get further info under 'Yangtze River Cruise'.

 

As kuldalai stated earlier, the Yellow Mountain (or Huangshan) - with steps carved into the sides of the mountain - should not be missed. It's best to stay one night in one of the hotels up on the mountain but you will have to bring only a small luggage as the path from the cable car station to the hotel is uneven.

 

As mentioned in the earlier post, avoid going to China from Oct 1 to 7. Most, if not all, the tourist sites will be very crowded with local tourists in hugh numbers.