Anyone daring to take a Viking cruise to China?

[randyjoan]

We see Viking has resumed trips to China. We had a trip there scheduled and canceled because of the pandemic and are wondering if it is worth the health risk, not to mention the political climate  and the idea of contributing money to that immoral country.

 We talked to Viking about their15-day Classic China in September or October.

  Thoughts, anyone?

[benjaminnicholas]

I'm in HK on a monthly basis.

 

It's fine.  Go see the world.

[Breckski]

We've traveled China independently and plan to go back next year.  We felt safer in China than we do in US cities.  It's a very orderly and civil country.  Also, very clean in the cities - not a breeding ground for disease but opinions my vary given the once in a lifetime virus. 

 

I think the Chinese government is much more politically savvy than the countries that detain innocent tourists which is very rare anyway. 

 

Now you may not want to visit China for moral reasons but that's for you to decide.  My opinion on that is to visit countries that do not share my beliefs while respectfully trying to break any negative stereotypes they may have of Westerners (given the opportunity) while on the visit.

 

I can't see any concerns (other than potential moral concerns) for a cruise where one is essentially in a controlled environment.

[JM0115]

32 minutes ago, mwike said:

We've traveled China independently and plan to go back next year.  We felt safer in China than we do in US cities.  It's a very orderly and civil country.  Also, very clean in the cities - not a breeding ground for disease but opinions my vary given the once in a lifetime virus. 

 

I think the Chinese government is much more politically savvy than the countries that detain innocent tourists which is very rare anyway. 

 

Now you may not want to visit China for moral reasons but that's for you to decide.  My opinion on that is to visit countries that do not share my beliefs while respectfully trying to break any negative stereotypes they may have of Westerners (given the opportunity) while on the visit.

 

I can't see any concerns (other than potential moral concerns) for a cruise where one is essentially in a controlled environment.

Agree with @mwike - we are currently booked on the China Discovery 10-day cruise out of HK (Shenzhen) in Octobber. Very excited to see and experience the differences between the standard Viking and the Yi Dun!  We will be in Japan the week before this exploring Japan on our own and it fit into the flights already booked to and from Osaka so we decided to cut our Japan trip short and go to China. I have been to China many years before and find it fascinating and the people are very friendly and hospital. 

[Haworth]

We have tried twice,and failed twice,  second time we were  due to go was March 2020 and all that

 

Clearly its not meant to be so we wont try again

[JM0115]

Just now, Haworth said:

We have tried twice,and failed twice,  second time we were  due to go was March 2020 and all that

 

Clearly its not meant to be so we wont try again

That's unfortunate.  Happy exploring in other places!

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, mwike said:

We've traveled China independently and plan to go back next year.  We felt safer in China than we do in US cities.  It's a very orderly and civil country.  Also, very clean in the cities - not a breeding ground for disease but opinions my vary given the once in a lifetime virus. 

 

I think the Chinese government is much more politically savvy than the countries that detain innocent tourists which is very rare anyway. 

 

Now you may not want to visit China for moral reasons but that's for you to decide.  My opinion on that is to visit countries that do not share my beliefs while respectfully trying to break any negative stereotypes they may have of Westerners (given the opportunity) while on the visit.

 

I can't see any concerns (other than potential moral concerns) for a cruise where one is essentially in a controlled environment.

 

Based on our experience, I wouldn't agree the Chinese Govt is more politically savvy than others. China is also guilty of detaining innocent tourists, as per our experience.

 

We docked in the TAR port, with the ship having a Noro virus outbreak. The local authorities refused to grant the ship clearance for anyone to disembark. As luggage was unloaded, the dock workers were dressed in hazmat suits, spraying each case. The propaganda ministry ensured cameras were rolling to capture the unloading.

 

After about 8 hrs of negotiations, or rather the local authorities laying out their demands, disembarkation commenced. All pax disembarking mingled ashore in the terminal with those waiting to board. Therefore, a good probability of infection transfer to the new pax.

 

Disembarking pax that were still in quarantine received a shock, upon entering the terminal, as they were directed to a different exit, while other family members/friends were directed with the main stream. This may be accepted by Chinese nationals, but not those of us from the Western World. A significant number of pax created a ruckus, and as they had no armed soldiers in the terminal, the local authorities had to back down, keeping family members together. Strike # 1 against the Chinese authorities.

 

All pax in quarantine and their other family members/friends were taken to a hotel a few miles from the port. At the hotel, they attempted to again split up the groups, with pax still in quarantine being assigned to a specific floor and other family/friends to a different floor. This again didn't work and the Chinese authorities had to back down. Strike # 2 against the Chinese authorities.

 

However, as a result of these pax wins, an armed guard (soldier) was placed at the lift on each floor used for the ship's pax. Should you be inclined to open the door and walk into the corridor, the guard immediately turned his machine gun on you, indicating to return to the room.

 

Since I was still in quarantine, we experienced this first hand. Therefore, NO, we will never return to China.

Edited January 23 by Heidi13

[randyjoan]

Wow ...that's what I'm afraid of. Thanks for the responses. When was this cruise? Was it Viking? 

[Twitchly]

I imagine traveling in China would be just fine … until it isn’t. Heidi13’s experience is what I would expect, given what China did to its own citizens during the pandemic. 
 

Travel always has risks, of course. These days I’m more cautious about traveling in countries that don’t have a good relationship with the US. If something goes wrong, things can get complicated in a hurry. 

[SJD117]

I spent six weeks in China in 1983, back when the country was just opening to tourists. I survived. You will, too.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, randyjoan said:

Wow ...that's what I'm afraid of. Thanks for the responses. When was this cruise? Was it Viking? 

 

This was in 2008, when we sailed Princess. We did a B2B, so this happened at the mid-point.

 

On this ship we were sailing with our son, who was S/2/O, so were in one of the cabins set aside for shore staff. The Master initially advised us to remain in the cabin, but he was given an ultimatum by the local authorities. Either he sends us ashore, or the ship is quarantined for 2-weeks. 

[Breckski]

2 hours ago, Twitchly said:

I imagine traveling in China would be just fine … until it isn’t. Heidi13’s experience is what I would expect, given what China did to its own citizens during the pandemic. 
 

Travel always has risks, of course. These days I’m more cautious about traveling in countries that don’t have a good relationship with the US. If something goes wrong, things can get complicated in a hurry. 

 

Completely agree and have sympathy for Heidi13's experience.  But her experience certainly isn't enough to keep me from traveling to China.  Like you said the actions of the Chinese government is what one would expect if the government thought there was a medical risk.  In the end all seems to have worked itself out and now there's a story to tell!

 

Before the virus travel numbers of Westerners to China was much greater than most realize with relatively small issues.  Of course, there's more/different risks in traveling to China than in traveling to Europe.  But much less risk than traveling to many other countries.  One just has to decide for themselves the comfort level of each country and the actual method of experiencing the country.  

 

[chipmaster]

On 1/22/2024 at 9:13 PM, randyjoan said:

We see Viking has resumed trips to China. We had a trip there scheduled and canceled because of the pandemic and are wondering if it is worth the health risk, not to mention the political climate  and the idea of contributing money to that immoral country.

 We talked to Viking about their15-day Classic China in September or October.

  Thoughts, anyone?

I used to travel bi-weekly to China, never had a concern as long as you followed the rules and didn't have a history of behavior that would be considered offensive, LOL.

 

Did they over react to the pandemic, yes.    From what I see now, probably pretty safe as long as you don't have as note some colorful history or a background that might cause them to detain you, if you do you are SOL.  

 

My son is there again first time since the pandemic for three weeks.   He also used to travel monthly there before the pandemic.

 

"contribute money to that immoral country" ?? check around but probably a lot of things you buy and use is made in china by them immoral country, LOL

[cmvikinger]

On 1/24/2024 at 2:32 AM, Heidi13 said:

 

Based on our experience, I wouldn't agree the Chinese Govt is more politically savvy than others. China is also guilty of detaining innocent tourists, as per our experience.

 

We docked in the TAR port, with the ship having a Noro virus outbreak. The local authorities refused to grant the ship clearance for anyone to disembark. As luggage was unloaded, the dock workers were dressed in hazmat suits, spraying each case. The propaganda ministry ensured cameras were rolling to capture the unloading.

 

After about 8 hrs of negotiations, or rather the local authorities laying out their demands, disembarkation commenced. All pax disembarking mingled ashore in the terminal with those waiting to board. Therefore, a good probability of infection transfer to the new pax.

 

Disembarking pax that were still in quarantine received a shock, upon entering the terminal, as they were directed to a different exit, while other family members/friends were directed with the main stream. This may be accepted by Chinese nationals, but not those of us from the Western World. A significant number of pax created a ruckus, and as they had no armed soldiers in the terminal, the local authorities had to back down, keeping family members together. Strike # 1 against the Chinese authorities.

 

All pax in quarantine and their other family members/friends were taken to a hotel a few miles from the port. At the hotel, they attempted to again split up the groups, with pax still in quarantine being assigned to a specific floor and other family/friends to a different floor. This again didn't work and the Chinese authorities had to back down. Strike # 2 against the Chinese authorities.

 

However, as a result of these pax wins, an armed guard (soldier) was placed at the lift on each floor used for the ship's pax. Should you be inclined to open the door and walk into the corridor, the guard immediately turned his machine gun on you, indicating to return to the room.

 

Since I was still in quarantine, we experienced this first hand. Therefore, NO, we will never return to China.

There is a technical difference between your cruise(s? I guess you never made the 2B of the B2B?) and the ones offered now by Viking though: yours was, as per thread title, a cruise to China. These are cruises in China crewed not by foreign seamen but entirely by locals. That difference (and an understanding of the importance of not killing the domestic cruise market at birth, as well as the passage of time) makes the chances of what happened to you happening again fairly remote.

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, cmvikinger said:

There is a technical difference between your cruise(s? I guess you never made the 2B of the B2B?) and the ones offered now by Viking though: yours was, as per thread title, a cruise to China. These are cruises in China crewed not by foreign seamen but entirely by locals. That difference (and an understanding of the importance of not killing the domestic cruise market at birth, as well as the passage of time) makes the chances of what happened to you happening again fairly remote.

 

That would be an incorrect guess, as we did make it back aboard for the return leg, again thanks to the idiosyncrasies of the local authorities in further delaying the ship's departure.

 

The ex Viking Sun, which now operates in the China cabotage trades, is flagged in China and crewed by Chinese nationals. Hardly a technical difference, as this is common practice in many maritime countries.

 

You are insinuating the Chinese Govt will treat its domestic cruise market different from the foreign-going ships, which for me is a concern that they could have 2 different standards. Regardless, having a machine gun pointed at you upon opening a hotel room door leaves an everlasting negative impression, especially when you were brought up in a country where even the police aren't armed.

 

Another consideration. If China is so welcoming and such a safe place to visit, why are none of the other ships based in Asia, visiting Chinese ports. They call at Hong Kong & Taiwan, but no ports in China. Chinese ports re-opened in March 2023, so they had lots of time to modify the itineraries of the just released 2026 itineraries.

 

You may be happy making additional contributions to China, but based on our experience, I'll give it a miss.

 

 

[Cienfuegos]

Bloomberg news reported in 2020 that their incoming Beijing bureau chief was escorted from the airport to his apartment. The 24 hour security at his door assured he did not leave it for the duration of his quarantine.

 

I remember being very "what the heck is this about" at the time