Question about Viking Imperial Jewels of China Tours for 2018

[hdcnm]

Hello

My daughter and I are trying to decide between two July trips in 2017.

We are looking at Vikings Imperial Jewels of China or a Trafalgar Western Discover which is a land (bus) trip.

I have looked at the Viking website and in the mailings but do not see the China river cruise listed for 2018, in fact there is only one cruise for Asia.

 

Does anyone have any information if this cruise has been discontinued or just not up and posted. When we spoke to our Viking PCC she mentioned the the China cruises were very popular, so it would surprise me if they discontinued them. We were not considering 2018 at that time so we didn't discuss it. If the cruise is discontinued it may have an influence on our choice for this year.We are also waiting for a friend to look at the choices.

 

I have emailed our Viking PCC but have not yet received a response - so I thought some of the cruise experts on CC might have some knowledge.

 

Thanks for any feedback !!!

[workstocruise]

Hello-

My DH and I took the Imperial Jewels trip with Viking in March 2016. I don't see any 2018 dates in their website but there are a ton for 2017. I did a search for Imperial Jewels and it brought up all the dates. We absolutely loved this trip! It was an amazing experience and while we have cruised over 20 times both ocean and river, this trip skyrocketed to the top as our favorite. I will tell you this, it will be very warm in July and very very crowded.

We did the Beijing to Shanghai route and loved it. It was very cold in Beijing but we brought the right clothes and never had a problem. No rain and no smog! And no crowds! Good luck with your decision. Any trip is a good one!

[hdcnm]

Thanks for the feedback.

It is a trip that we really want to do, but we are limited to being able to travel for that long a period of time in the summer only. We have been delaying it because there is always another year and there are so many places we want to visit. We have had such good experiences with Viking on two river cruises that I would hate to change companies.

Has any had any experiences with China cruises with other companies that they would be willing to share?

[hawkeye65]

We did an Odysseys Unlimited tour in 2008 which included a Yangtze River cruise. We had looked at Viking but went with OU for a variety of reasons including hotel accommodations. We were one of several tour groups on the boat including Viking! I'm not sure of the cruise company but think it's Victoria. You might want to check other tour possibilities if you're going to be on a Chinese boat anyway. BTW, the cruise director on our boat was Campbell who was Chinese in spite of his Scottish name. He was fantastic. His English was superb in spite of never having left China. He even punned in English, and his lectures on Chinese literature and culture were excellect. All tour groups attended the same programs on board.

 

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[hdcnm]

Thanks Hawkeye65 - I will check out Odysseys Unlimited

[Mark_T]

We were one of several tour groups on the boat including Viking! I'm not sure of the cruise company but think it's Victoria. You might want to check other tour possibilities if you're going to be on a Chinese boat anyway.

 

I don't think Viking has shared the ship it uses with other groups for some time now.

 

The Viking Emerald is Chinese owned but it is managed during the Viking cruises by a Swiss trained team to ensure a more 'western' experience.

 

It provides a rather different experience from the Chinese managed boats with many different groups on them at the same time.

[Floridiana]

Almost all tours to China include a Yangtze river cruise. It's about 3 days on a longer land itinerary. Don't expect this to be a river cruise like in Europe where the main part of the trip is spent on and along the river. You can pick any travel company you like. Ours was ChinaFocus out of San Francisco in a small group of 8. I can highly recommend them, but some travelers might feel the experience is too intensive with train rides and interaction with Chinese people. For us that was important.

The Yangtze River cruise was one of the highlights of our 4 week trip across China. I recommend picking a land tour that includes this river cruise and, if possible, a tour that includes a day cruise on the Li River near the city of Guilin. Google pictures and you'll know why.

[hdcnm]

Thanks for everyones information - it is greatly appreciated.

I heard from the Viking PCC and she said that the 2018 dates are not posted yet for this itinerary and she will let me know when they

become available.