New Viking Oceans China escorted tours.

[SJD117]

I spent six weeks in China in 1983, just as the country was starting to welcome foreign tourists. Hostels and dorms were my accommodations — I was studying Chinese — and the idea of seeing China via a luxe cruise ship was the furthest thing from my mind. But, that was then and now is now. I’ve been back to China twice since 1983, and I continue to be astounded by the country’s economic evolution and political devolution. Yes, we do live in “interesting times.”

[Mike07]

3 minutes ago, SJD117 said:

I spent six weeks in China in 1983, just as the country was starting to welcome foreign tourists. Hostels and dorms were my accommodations — I was studying Chinese — and the idea of seeing China via a luxe cruise ship was the furthest thing from my mind. But, that was then and now is now. I’ve been back to China twice since 1983, and I continue to be astounded by the country’s economic evolution and political devolution. Yes, we do live in “interesting times.”

 

 

That sounds like a wonderful time to visit. China has a lot of cultural and historical significance. It's sad what has happened.

[JM0115]

We just booked the China Discovery cruise - just the sailing portion as we were going to be in Japan during that time anyway and this fit into our schedule and flight back to the US from Japan and it is relatively easy to go to HKG and back from PVG to Japan. We are cutting our Japan trip short to go on the Yi Dun on October 24.. I wish I knew more about the ship, crew, food, entertainment, excursions, etc., so if anyone knows anything or finds out anything please let me know! If not, I guess we will find out!

[cmvikinger]

On 1/9/2024 at 12:05 AM, JM0115 said:

We just booked the China Discovery cruise - just the sailing portion as we were going to be in Japan during that time anyway and this fit into our schedule and flight back to the US from Japan and it is relatively easy to go to HKG and back from PVG to Japan. We are cutting our Japan trip short to go on the Yi Dun on October 24.. I wish I knew more about the ship, crew, food, entertainment, excursions, etc., so if anyone knows anything or finds out anything please let me know! If not, I guess we will find out!

 

The ship is mostly unchanged, ie it will be very familiar looking at your signature. Torshavn was renamed but changes are so minimal they didn't bother to shoot a new 360 look around video (it has Torshavn menus pictured), and the Restaurant focuses on Chinese food. Aside from that, the biggest change is the crew. All Chinese. It's a legal requirement for sailings that don't leave China that they are all Chinese (my understanding from looking at the itineraries is that the boat won't be going to Hong Kong... Either they will be chartering a few ferries to take people from SZ to HKIA skypier directly - sensible, quick - like, 45 minutes quick - and no immigration considerations, or they'll be bussing people there)

Edited January 13 by cmvikinger

[Peregrina651]

I thought the Sun was sold so that it could nourish the Chinese cruise industry with a product aimed at the Chinese people. Did this ever happen? Did they ever have any passengers? Or was it prevented by China's slow return to "normal" post pandemic?

 

 

[cmvikinger]

1 minute ago, Peregrina651 said:

I thought the Sun was sold so that it could nourish the Chinese cruise industry with a product aimed at the Chinese people. Did this ever happen? Did they ever have any passengers? Or was it prevented by China's slow return to "normal" post pandemic?

 

Changes were minimal at best. No cabin changes, no casino (I - longtime lurker - signed up to CC to reply to you in the virtual explorers lounge but the post got lost 😞). Signage and menu language changes, for the most part.

 

Crew changes extensive. Everyone Chinese. Some of the hotel officers we spoke to had experience with VO or River cruises overseas. I sailed twice on short cruises to nowhere, they were finding their feet and also nowhere near full... now sometimes cruises list as 'sold out' but I do wonder if they are aiming for 930 pax by now or still artificially keeping it lower so the crew can be kept smaller as they were in the summer of '22.

 

It was very fluid as the pandemic lifted... itineraries planned and cancelled and planned and cancelled... it is only recently they started listing itineraries further out than 3-4 months. At this point they have the ships itinerary finalised up til just before these sailings. I'm wondering if they will also open up the same coastal itinerary to the Chinese market as in previous years. One concession to families with Zhao Shang Yi Dun was allowing 8 year olds on board (and 6 year olds during the holidays). If they open these itineraries up on the Chinese side without changing that policy, there may be some very surprised Viking cruisers - especially as one of the cruises lines up perfectly with the big October holiday.

[Mandalay1903]

7 hours ago, cmvikinger said:

(my understanding from looking at the itineraries is that the boat won't be going to Hong Kong... Either they will be chartering a few ferries to take people from SZ to HKIA skypier directly - sensible, quick - like, 45 minutes quick - and no immigration considerations, or they'll be bussing people there)

My itinerary has us docking and disembarking in "Hong Kong (Shenzhen)", which I expect will be a terminal in Shenzhen. We are booked on a post-cruise extension which travels to Guilin (hotel) and then Hong Kong (hotel). From there it is the flights home from HK. So, minimal visa/immigration considerations. Makes sense to me.

Edited January 13 by Mandalay1903

[cmvikinger]

14 minutes ago, Mandalay1903 said:

My itinerary has us docking and disembarking in "Hong Kong (Shenzhen)", which I expect will be a terminal in Shenzhen. We are booked on a post-cruise extension which travels to Guilin (hotel) and then Hong Kong (hotel). From there it is the flights home from HK. So, minimal passport checking. Makes sense to me.

 

That's what I'm expecting too (docking in Shenzhen) since the boat isn't listed as stopping in either of the HK cruise terminals this September/October.

 

It's a little weird to me how it is listed as Hong Kong (Shenzhen) since it arrives in  Shenzhen  the day before (or leaves Shenzhen the day after, depending on itinerary) - the change of destination name suggests movement, but the boat will sit in the same berth for 2 nights.

[shipboy]

I wonder if HK is mentioned only because that’s where you would fly into/out of and are then transported to/from Schenzhen. It isn’t too far between both locations and when I lived there, we used to take a day trip to Schenzhen for shopping 

[Mitina]

8 hours ago, cmvikinger said:

One concession to families with Zhao Shang Yi Dun was allowing 8 year olds on board (and 6 year olds during the holidays). 

That will certainly be a big change (and surprise).  Hopefully Viking will give people some kind of advance warning.

[JM0115]

20 minutes ago, shipboy said:

I wonder if HK is mentioned only because that’s where you would fly into/out of and are then transported to/from Schenzhen. It isn’t too far between both locations and when I lived there, we used to take a day trip to Schenzhen for shopping 

We start in HK- so hopefully they will tell us where to go when we get closer to the cruise!

[JM0115]

10 hours ago, cmvikinger said:

 

Changes were minimal at best. No cabin changes, no casino (I - longtime lurker - signed up to CC to reply to you in the virtual explorers lounge but the post got lost 😞). Signage and menu language changes, for the most part.

 

Crew changes extensive. Everyone Chinese. Some of the hotel officers we spoke to had experience with VO or River cruises overseas. I sailed twice on short cruises to nowhere, they were finding their feet and also nowhere near full... now sometimes cruises list as 'sold out' but I do wonder if they are aiming for 930 pax by now or still artificially keeping it lower so the crew can be kept smaller as they were in the summer of '22.

 

It was very fluid as the pandemic lifted... itineraries planned and cancelled and planned and cancelled... it is only recently they started listing itineraries further out than 3-4 months. At this point they have the ships itinerary finalised up til just before these sailings. I'm wondering if they will also open up the same coastal itinerary to the Chinese market as in previous years. One concession to families with Zhao Shang Yi Dun was allowing 8 year olds on board (and 6 year olds during the holidays). If they open these itineraries up on the Chinese side without changing that policy, there may be some very surprised Viking cruisers - especially as one of the cruises lines up perfectly with the big October holiday.

You seem to be very knowledgeable- please let us know if you learn more between now and October when we embark for the China Discovery cruise HK to Shanghai. Thank you.

[JM0115]

Hong Kong Cruise terminal shows the Yi Dun scheduled. Or is this in error?

[cmvikinger]

17 minutes ago, JM0115 said:

Hong Kong Cruise terminal shows the Yi Dun scheduled. Or is this in error?

 

The ship isn't listed on either Ocean Terminal or Kai Tak Cruise Terminal schedules.

http://www.oceanterminal.com.hk/en/schedule.php?f=t

https://www.kaitakcruiseterminal.com.hk/schedule/2024-2/

 

I believe the data in your screenshot is extrapolated from the itinerary on cruisemapper, and I think it is erroneous in this case. Cruisemapper don't list these scheduled calls over the next month, because the Chinese itineraries have never been added.

[Peregrina651]

29 minutes ago, JM0115 said:

Hong Kong Cruise terminal shows the Yi Dun scheduled. Or is this in error?

 

What does it say on the harbormaster's website?

[Iamsum1]

It looks like very little interest for these new itineraries. I'm going to wait until September/October to decide on booking this China tour. I was initially gung ho ready to book now. This comes across as a Chinese tour company being marketed by Viking. It would hardly be the same Viking experience if children are allowed aboard--which is exactly why I chose Viking. I'm also hesitant about a fully Chinese culinary experience on board. I enjoyed the diversity of food offered--don't want a 100% Chinese menu. This may or may not be the case, however, there is not enough information to make a decision.

[JM0115]

11 minutes ago, Iamsum1 said:

It looks like very little interest for these new itineraries. I'm going to wait until September/October to decide on booking this China tour. I was initially gung ho ready to book now. This comes across as a Chinese tour company being marketed by Viking. It would hardly be the same Viking experience if children are allowed aboard--which is exactly why I chose Viking. I'm also hesitant about a fully Chinese culinary experience on board. I enjoyed the diversity of food offered--don't want a 100% Chinese menu. This may or may not be the case, however, there is not enough information to make a decision.

From what I have learned, there is still normal Viking fare and Manfredi’s is the same and the pool grill is also the same. The Restaurant has Chinese and Western cuisine. Not sure if Mansens exists or not. We are the opposite and want Chinese/Asian cuisine. In any case it’s not for everyone and there are unknowns for sure.

[cmvikinger]

4 hours ago, JM0115 said:

From what I have learned, there is still normal Viking fare and Manfredi’s is the same and the pool grill is also the same. The Restaurant has Chinese and Western cuisine. Not sure if Mansens exists or not. We are the opposite and want Chinese/Asian cuisine. In any case it’s not for everyone and there are unknowns for sure.

Mamsen’s is still there.

[Peregrina651]

7 hours ago, Iamsum1 said:

This comes across as a Chinese tour company being marketed by Viking.

 

It shouldn't. Viking is in charge of all the customer-related operations from start to finish.

 

Just like the river cruises that Viking ran in China for 15+ years (till shut down by Covid), a Chinese company owns the ship which it then leases to Viking to run the hotel operation. By Chinese law, the ship must be owned and operated by a Chinese company (same thing as in Russia, Ukraine, Egypt and the US) and most of the crew must be Chinese. The river cruises were marketed by Viking to people in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand -- just as they are doing now for the new Ocean cruises.

 

On the river cruises, senior staff of the hotel operation were Viking veterans, mostly Europeans and completely versed in the ways of Viking. Housekeeping and dining room crew were all Chinese. The kitchen followed menus and recipes set down by headquarters and was run by European-trained Viking chef. The hotel operation was as Viking as any river cruise I've been on since -- and I would expect the same on Yi Dun.

 

In the Chinese tourism sector, Viking has a very good reputation. Pre-Covid, they had a ground operation in China and a team of full-time tourguides/escorts/Cruise Directors (similar to the operation in Egypt).

 

7 hours ago, Iamsum1 said:

I enjoyed the diversity of food offered--don't want a 100% Chinese menu.

 

Viking knows its customer base and what they expect. As on the river cruises, I expect that onboard the ship it will be 100% straight from headquarters menus and recipes that we have come to know and enjoy.

 

However, for the land portion, I expect that they will be duplicating what the did on the river cruises  (why re-invent the wheel when they already have a well-tuned team in place): Chinese 5* hotels, Chinese restaurants and caterers with 100% Chinese menus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 19 by Peregrina651

[cmvikinger]

3 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

It shouldn't. Viking is in charge of all the customer-related operations from start to finish.

 

Just like the river cruises that Viking ran in China for 15+ years (till shut down by Covid), a Chinese company owns the ship which it then leases to Viking to run the hotel operation. By Chinese law, the ship must be owned and operated by a Chinese company (same thing as in Russia, Ukraine, Egypt and the US) and most of the crew must be Chinese. The river cruises were marketed by Viking to people in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand -- just as they are doing now for the new Ocean cruises.

 

On the river cruises, senior staff of the hotel operation were Viking veterans, mostly Europeans and completely versed in the ways of Viking. Housekeeping and dining room crew were all Chinese. The kitchen followed menus and recipes set down by headquarters and was run by European-trained Viking chef. The hotel operation was as Viking as any river cruise I've been on since -- and I would expect the same on Yi Dun.

 

In the Chinese tourism sector, Viking has a very good reputation. Pre-Covid, they had a ground operation in China and a team of full-time tourguides/escorts/Cruise Directors (similar to the operation in Egypt).

 

 

Viking knows its customer base and what they expect. As on the river cruises, I expect that onboard the ship it will be 100% straight from headquarters menus and recipes that we have come to know and enjoy.

 

However, for the land portion, I expect that they will be duplicating what the did on the river cruises  (why re-invent the wheel when they already have a well-tuned team in place): Chinese 5* hotels, Chinese restaurants and caterers with 100% Chinese menus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Yi Dun there are some veterans of Ocean/River (I put this info in my ‘lost’ first post I have referenced before 😞) but you will find onboard the entire operation is Chinese, including Executive Chef. No Europeans. 

 

I’m sad that I didn’t take photos of the chef’s table menu now because maybe they were different to the 21 talked about in a different thread on here… but the good news is they came across as corporate influenced and “usual standard” regardless (I hope that makes sense). 
 

The main concern during these sailings will be how much English proficiency the dining staff have, when almost all of the guests are non-Chinese speakers. Having “a person” who is comfortable would leave them rushed off their feet. I wonder if they will bring translators on board with the tours as they wouldn’t technically be “crew”? 

[JM0115]

We decided to use Viking for our airport transfer. We arrive at HKIA at noon on embarkation day and will be met by Viking and transferred by bus by Viking to Shenzhen cruise port where we will be embarking on the Yi Dun. Have been told it’s a 48 min bus ride.

[cmvikinger]

5 hours ago, JM0115 said:

We decided to use Viking for our airport transfer. We arrive at HKIA at noon on embarkation day and will be met by Viking and transferred by bus by Viking to Shenzhen cruise port where we will be embarking on the Yi Dun. Have been told it’s a 48 min bus ride.

I'm very intrigued about this, and how you would enter China (for visa purposes) in that case. 
 

You may need to get off the bus at the border, go through, and get back on at the other side. That’s going to add a bit of time for a bus load of non-Chinese/HK people. 

[JM0115]

1 minute ago, cmvikinger said:

I'm very intrigued about this, and how you would enter China (for visa purposes) in that case. 
 

You may need to get off the bus at the border, go through, and get back on at the other side. That’s going to add a bit of time for a bus load of non-Chinese/HK people. 

I believe we go through passport check upon boarding or existing the bus.  

 

When I looked at doing it oursevles, I read: When traveling from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, you will pass through standard immigration checkpoints, including security checks, at the Futian Port. You will also pass through security and immigration at the Hong Kong station before getting on the train. 

 

In any case since we will be 10 days in China we will need a tourist visa most probably anyway (from the US).  Will see where and how we go through passport control.  

 

We were going to do our own travel from HK but it was going to get more complicated and really waste time as we are in Japan before the cruise and will be  going from KIX to HKG. We were going to stay in HK one night before the cruise but it wastes too much time ultimately as we will fly from KIX to HKG and get picked up and taken to the ship all the same day.

 

Ultimately I am interested in the whole trip.  9 days on our own in Japan and then the 10 day cruise.; It should be great! 

 

 

 

 

[cmvikinger]

1 hour ago, JM0115 said:

I believe we go through passport check upon boarding or existing the bus.  

 

Mainland border control can't check your passports while on HK territory (upon boarding the bus) and you'd already be the wrong side of the border facilities at the cruise terminal (inside, not outside) if they wait until you exit. That's the puzzler!

 

I'm actually considering a Shanghai -> Japan -> Shanghai cruise on Yi Dun this July. I'm not sold on it yet... but I think they may be having trouble filling their itineraries in the Chinese market. They already took the step of breaking up the 15day/14night itineraries into two 7-8 night legs you can book separately (one way only, have to sort the flight to or from Japan yourself)... and now have offered a "pay for one person" deal for previous customers, which is what has me tempted... Still working on the wife (and would be bringing the kids) but I have a feeling if these escorted tours China itineraries take off and the ones for the Chinese market aren't popular... who knows. Maybe Yi Dun will go back...

[JM0115]

1 minute ago, cmvikinger said:

 

Mainland border control can't check your passports while on HK territory (upon boarding the bus) and you'd already be the wrong side of the border facilities at the cruise terminal (inside, not outside) if they wait until you exit. That's the puzzler!

 

I'm actually considering a Shanghai -> Japan -> Shanghai cruise on Yi Dun this July. I'm not sold on it yet... but I think they may be having trouble filling their itineraries in the Chinese market. They already took the step of breaking up the 15day/14night itineraries into two 7-8 night legs you can book separately (one way only, have to sort the flight to or from Japan yourself)... and now have offered a "pay for one person" deal for previous customers, which is what has me tempted... Still working on the wife (and would be bringing the kids) but I have a feeling if these escorted tours China itineraries take off and the ones for the Chinese market aren't popular... who knows. Maybe Yi Dun will go back...

Thanks for the info on the border crossing- hopefully Viking can figure it out since we are using them to cross the border with the transfer. 
 

Hopefully you will do the Japan cruise and report on it!