Viking China Cruise Review

[yallcruise]

Sorry for the delay, but as promised here are my impressions of our Viking River Cruises China trip. The one we took was called the Imperial Treasures of China. It was a 12-night cruisetour from Beijing to Shanghai that included three nights in Beijing, one night in Xian, seven days on the Yangtze River aboard the Viking Century Star and a final night in Shanghai.

 

We’ve taken several ocean cruises, but this was only the second river cruise we’ve taken (the first was the Viking Tulip cruise in the Netherlands). Our favorite ocean cruise line is Radisson, however, we have also been on Ren, Oceania, NCL, Carnival and Holland America. We very much enjoyed the Viking cruisetour and will definitely take more Viking cruises, but still prefer the ocean cruises. There are a couple of differences.

 

· We never take the cruise line pre or post packages; instead we make our own reservations and go on our own or get a private guide. Therefore the biggest difference for us was the structured land tour portion of the trip prior to boarding the ship at Chongqing. Every minute was accounted for with basically no free time.

· Your guide stays with your group for the entire trip from the Beijing airport to Shanghai airport. Our group, which consisted of about 40 people, was one of two that were going from Beijing to Shanghai. There were two other somewhat smaller groups. One of eight people who took the pre-trip to Tibet and a fourth group of about 30 people going on the post trip to Hong Kong. Our guide was great and essentially all the people in the group were very friendly. Except for eating on the ship at night, you spend all of your time with your group, including eating out at night during the land portion. This is certainly different from the ocean cruises.

 

Comments on the land tour portion of the trip:

 

· China would have been extremely difficult without a guide (English is rarely spoken). Therefore this is certainly a good way to see China.

· Though somewhat of a “forced march”, the tours were excellent. Our favorites included the Great Wall, the Sacred Way of the Ming Tombs and a visit to an elderly lady’s home in Old Beijing. The Terra Cotta Army in Xian was fabulous and the immensity of Shanghai was overwhelming.

· Not once did we feel insecure or threatened. The Chinese people were very friendly.

· The airlines in China (we were on three different airlines – China Air, China Eastern, and Shanghai Air) all used modern Boeing planes and were as efficient and clean as any U.S. airlines. The flight attendants were very pleasant and generally spoke English.

· The cities we visited were very large. Each had several million people in the city proper with many more millions in the outlying suburbs (for instance, the population of metropolitan Chongqing is in excess of 30 million people).

· The cities were extremely clean and had a lot of beautiful green spaces. It is our understanding that the areas of China outside of the larger cities are much poorer and not nearly as advanced.

· The only downside of the land portion was the hectic pace and too much Chinese food (thankfully only two nights on the ship were Chinese, with the rest Western).

 

Comments on the cruise portion of the trip:

 

· The pace on the cruise portion was very relaxed. There was a tour of some sort each day (a Buddha Temple, scenic cruise of the Lesser Three Gorges, Three Gorges Dam tour, visit to a school sponsored by Viking Cruise Line and a museum of Warring Period artifacts). We could not go to the Snow Jade Cave in Fengdu due to flooding. All of the tours, except the 6-hour cruise to the Lesser Three Gorges, were approximately 3 hours in length. This shorter time in port meant more free time on the ship. All of the river tours were nice, with the highlights being the Lesser Three Gorges, the Three Gorges dam and the Warring Period museum in Wuhan.

· The cruising on the river was done mostly during the day to allow maximum time to enjoy the beauty of the Yangtze River and to observe the villages and towns along the river. One of the most unique aspects of the trip was to see the construction of the “new” towns that have been built to accommodate the people displaced by the rising waters from the new Three Gorges Dam. With completion of the first phase of the dam, the water has already risen 60 feet and covered most or all of some of the villages. With completion of the second and final phase of the dam, the water will rise another 40 feet.

· The ship’s public spaces were well designed and very adequate. Comparable to a small ocean cruise ship. The Century Star was either built or completely renovated in 2003.

· The cabins were nice (each with a balcony), except for an almost total lack of drawer space and a pitifully designed shower that made it essentially impossible to keep the bathroom floor dry.

· The food was adequate. The breakfast was the best.

· The crew was extremely pleasant and accommodating. I’m certain this is partially due to the fact that the Viking jobs are highly sought after and appreciated by the crew.

 

Final comments:

 

· We will take additional river cruises along with our ocean cruises.

· We were very satisfied with Viking Cruise Lines and will use them again.

· If you have considered going to China, you may wish to do so now. It is an interesting country whose government, economy, people and general culture are rapidly changing. Our feeling was that if we hadn’t witnessed it now, we would have missed something unique. We hope to return in a few years to see the changes.

 

Carolyn

[nameuser13]

Thanks Carolyn for such a great review! My husband and I are going to go on this trip in June 2005...although we go the reverse, Shanghai to Beijing. I think we will arrange our own airfare and stay a day extra in each city so we can have some free time on our own. The burning question I have is: what side of the ship should we book our cabin on? Is there a side which is more scenic than the other? Which side were you on?

 

Thanks !!

 

Judy

[mmaskaly]

Greta review Carolyn..

 

We are on the Victoria Cruise/Tour from Shanghai to Bejing this August 18th.

 

Could you give us some info inregards to what to pack, what to leave? The 44 lb baggage limit is something we need to work around.

 

Also in regards to tipping, what is customary. I understand we will have a different guide meet us at each airport.

 

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[XFed2001]

Carolyn: Your review was very edifying and educational.

 

Several questions for you -- did you book the transpacific air as part of the Viking River cruise? Could you have booked the tour w/o taking their transpacific air package? You noted that there was a "forced march" atmosphere. I presume that meant when the tour was scheduled, you had to show up or else. Otherwise, given the size of your group, there was little or no flexibility of when the tours began, correct? Sounds like a whole lot of Chinese food. Did you have a bit of variety in food/meal choices at the various dinner places? Could you share the tippong philosophy both on board and on shore? Thanks

[AZ Stan (FKA Stan in Chicago)]

My wife Pat and I are booked on the 7/27/04 cruisetour, starting in Beijing. We've already been to Beijing and Shanghai, but want to see Xian and the Yangtze.

 

Carolyn, even on the ocean going vessels, the shore excursions in China are unlike those in other countries. We did Asia (Hong Kong to Osaka) in 1996, and the tous in China were all included in the cruise price. There were no options. Everyone was herded from site to site.

 

We expect about the same thing this time, but now we know what to expect, and we'll make more efficient use of our time. At least now, we'll be in a smaller group. With Princess, we were a group of 28 tour busses.

 

Also, the Chinese food. Now, I am not a big Chinese food eater, anyway, so the lack of variety got to me then, and we were thrilled to get back on the ship after 3 days in Beijing, for some real western cooking. This time, I'll be adding more shore days, so it should be interesting to see how much I eat. At least the beer is good in China.

 

What did you think of the hotels used by Viking? Supposedly, the Beijing Hotel has been recently refurbished.

 

Again, thanks for the review.

 

Anyone else joining us on the 7/27 trip?

 

Stan

[glgolfer]

Did Viking supply free bottled water on the ship? Their brochure says water is available at extra cost. On our AAA/TBI/General Tours trip in Oct 2002 which was almost the same itinerary (3 nights Beijing, 5 nights Yangtze, 2 nights Xian, 2 nights Shanghai) we were given free one bottle of water each every day. Coffee, tea, soda and water were all free at meals on the ship. AAA used Victoria Cruise Line for the Yangtze. Their cabins were even smaller with less storage space than your description of Viking. Other than that, the ship was very nice and clean.

 

My wife and I agree that was the best trip so far and also want to go back in 4 or 5 years to see what difference the dam has made and what the ground level political climate is.

The people were all very friendly (even most of the street vendors were fairly polite) and the airports and planes were all in excellent condition and the hot meals on all 3 flights were very good.

Our hotels were all definitely 5 star.

[gardencat]

paulWN

Could you tell me whuch hotels you were in in the various cities?

[yallcruise]

When I said forced march, it was not a complaint, in China this is a great way to handle the tours. Not alot of people speak english so you really need to be with your group and your tour guide.

 

Two waters are in the bathroom and replaced daily and you of course can purchase additional water from the ship.

 

Really either side of the ship is fine, we were going down river and were on the left side of the ship. The sights are great from either side. The hotels we stayed in were very nice and the Beijing Hotel, has been recently redone and is very nice. It is in a great location.

 

We purchased our air from Viking, but you can make your own air arrangiments and go as early as you like.

 

We loved the trip, land part and the cruise.

 

Carolyn

[smeyer418]

All the hotels(except one)we stayed in, gave two bottles of free water. They also gave a thermos of boiling water. We used the boiling water for instant coffee and tea(the coffee we had brought along). The one exception that did not gave free water bottles was a five star hotel in Beijing which stated that it filtered the water and it was drinkable. We stayed with the bottled water(we had extras from previous hotels). Actually these small bottles of water are perfect for carrying along. Better than full sized ones. All the hotels a 3, 4, and 5 star hotel in Shanghai(the Shanghai hotel) Xian and Bejing(Telecom) were fine, respectively, better than US standard Marriotts. The Telecom had a great pool. If you use a pool in China you must wear a bathing cap(even the men-unless you are stark naked bold)

 

Also the ship we were on the MS President gave free water in the room and one free drink at each meal (wine, beer, soda,) water and tea and coffee was always free no matter how much... When we went to the Peiking duck dinner in Beijing the first bottle of beer was free but additional was extra we order someting like 5-6 bottles for the table(big bottles) We laughed at the end since I think the total cost for the extra was $2.00(not per person total).China is inxpensive so dam the cost full shopping ahead...

[astasi]

I thhink that we will see each other as we arrive in shanghai on the 20th of Aug

Al & Martha

[mmaskaly]

When I said forced march, it was not a complaint, in China this is a great way to handle the tours. Not alot of people speak english so you really need to be with your group and your tour guide.

 

Two waters are in the bathroom and replaced daily and you of course can purchase additional water from the ship.

 

Really either side of the ship is fine, we were going down river and were on the left side of the ship. The sights are great from either side. The hotels we stayed in were very nice and the Beijing Hotel, has been recently redone and is very nice. It is in a great location.

 

We purchased our air from Viking, but you can make your own air arrangiments and go as early as you like.

 

We loved the trip, land part and the cruise.

 

Carolyn

 

Hi Carolyn,

 

Sounds like you had a great trip. We leave on the Victorian Queen on August 21st. I have a few questions that remain prior to the trip.

 

1. As you can only check 1 44 lb bag at the airport, what do you recommend for carry on, a small travel case with wheels or a multi-pocket back? how strict are they on carry on dimensions?

 

2. I have had conflicting information on formal attire, some say 2 nights, others say their is no need for formal attire. What were your experiences and recommendations?

 

3. What are the tipping guidelines for staff on the boat & land tour guides? We will be meet at each airport (Shanghai, Yichang, Xian, and Beijing) by a different guide at that city's airport?

 

4. Money changing & traveler's checks. How much Yuan would you recommend having changed prior to entering China? Any travelers checks recommendations?

 

Any other details you think would be helpful.

 

34 days & counting.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[smeyer418]

Hi Carolyn,

 

Sounds like you had a great trip. We leave on the Victorian Queen on August 21st. I have a few questions that remain prior to the trip.

 

1. As you can only check 1 44 lb bag at the airport, what do you recommend for carry on, a small travel case with wheels or a multi-pocket back? how strict are they on carry on dimensions?

I recommend a wheeled travel case that fits the normal us dimension for a carry on. They are strict about the 44 lb weight but as long as the carry meets the normal us guidelines you can put lead in it.

 

 

 

2. I have had conflicting information on formal attire, some say 2 nights, others say their is no need for formal attire. What were your experiences and recommendations?

 

no experience( we never dressed up I did bring a suit along not a tux)

 

3. What are the tipping guidelines for staff on the boat & land tour guides? We will be meet at each airport (Shanghai, Yichang, Xian, and Beijing) by a different guide at that city's airport? 1 or 2 dollars pp for 1/2 a day twice that for a full day half the amount for the driver

 

4. Money changing & traveler's checks. How much Yuan would you recommend having changed prior to entering China? None!!! The officioal exchange rate is 8.25 yuan per dollar. The hotels will give you this rate without a fee. For tips use US dollars. Change when you get there at your hotel. Any travelers checks are ok but we just used our ATM card. There are citibanks- yes US Citibanks in both Shanghai and Beijing and your ATM card will work in the bank of China. Any travelers checks recommendations? Any major brand is US dollars...

 

Any other details you think would be helpful. Relax China is great and you'll have a good time..

 

34 days & counting.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

 

 

see my comments above :)

[yallcruise]

Mike,

 

We took a small carry on, but back pack would work, they never weight our carry on as stated in the paper work we received with cruise documents.

 

No formal nights on Viking.

 

Tipping guidelines are stated in the onboard packet that you receive when you board.

 

Traveler checks are not widely accepted, we just used our atm card, it worked great. Just call your credit card company and bank to advise them what countries you will be in and the dates. Credit cards were taken in the large cities, but not in the rural areas. Have a wonderful cruise, China is an amazing country.

 

Yallcruise

[RichardSS]

I'm taking the Imperial Treasures China trip in a few days and packing now. It will be very hot in China and choose to pack lightly. Do men wear jackets (and ties) to Captain's and other major dinners? I know that a tux isn't required, but in the heat, I'd like to avoid taking ANY sport jacket so long as I wouldn't be under-dressed. Except for dinners where I'd wear a sport shirt and long slacks, I'd be most comfortable in shorts the rest of the day. Is this OK? Thanks for any assistance. RichardSS

[cmthomas]

I have a Mao jacket you can borrow! Clarence

[new_cruiser]

On traveler's checks: They can be exchanged at Bank of China and at most hotels. The airport where you enter will usually have a bank branch or other exchange counter where you can change them. When we left in Beijing, on an early flight, the bank branch after you go through security wasn't open until after our departure.

 

On ATM machines: There were a couple of things tripped me up when first using them.

The number pad on many of them (all?) is laid out the opposite of the typical arrangement in US/Europe - 1 was at the bottom row and 9 at the top row. The first couple of times I tried to use them, my dislexic brain didn't process that and my fingers on autopilot typed the number in wrong as a result.

When you start the transaction, it will put up a question with choices in rows, English answers on the left and Chinese on the right. If you hit the bottons on the right, it will switch to only Chinese. Hit the button for your choice that is next to the English word.

[smeyer418]

yes but people will happily for the most part accepts US Dollars. Bring a lot of $1's and five dollars and NOT COINs. real paper money is preferred.

[lindberg]

Hi Carolyn,

 

Sounds like you had a great trip. We leave on the Victorian Queen on August 21st. I have a few questions that remain prior to the trip.

 

1. As you can only check 1 44 lb bag at the airport, what do you recommend for carry on, a small travel case with wheels or a multi-pocket back? how strict are they on carry on dimensions?

 

2. I have had conflicting information on formal attire, some say 2 nights, others say their is no need for formal attire. What were your experiences and recommendations?

 

3. What are the tipping guidelines for staff on the boat & land tour guides? We will be meet at each airport (Shanghai, Yichang, Xian, and Beijing) by a different guide at that city's airport?

 

4. Money changing & traveler's checks. How much Yuan would you recommend having changed prior to entering China? Any travelers checks recommendations?

 

Any other details you think would be helpful.

 

34 days & counting.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

 

Mike,

I was on the Victoria Queen July 2004,

No formal nights - no one wore a jacket (except the Captain). It is quite warm in China in the summer. Polo shirts and khakis at dinner for men, dressy pants for women. Shorts and t-shirts the rest of the time.

 

I took a 29 pound roll around suitcase for a three week trip. I also carried a day pack which was useful on the tours to hold camera, hat, bottled water. The Victoria Queen has excellent, low cost, same day laundry service. I took 6 outfits and had them laundered. All of the hotels also have same day laundry service, usually pretty reasonable. Save your weight for bringing home the treasures you'll want to purchase along the way.

 

The Victoria Queen gave tipping suggestions near the end of the cruise.

 

I used American Express travelers checks successfully. You got a better rate with travelers checks then with US cash. Not sure how the ATM rate compared. I carried a lot of $1 and $5 which I used many times for tips, if I didn't have the correct Chinese money.

 

Laura

[smeyer418]

what exchange rate did you get with the TC's? I thought the 8.25 or so exchange rate was the same for paper or cheques...Thanks

[mmaskaly]

Thanks for the info Laura. How was your customs entry into China. The boards have had mixed feelings. (from easy to a special line just for Americans in retaliation to the new border fingerprint checks)

 

Suggestions or hints on how to best use excursion times from the ship?

 

What activities on the ship were a do not miss, and which would you miss?

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[lindberg]

Thanks for the info Laura. How was your customs entry into China. The boards have had mixed feelings. (from easy to a special line just for Americans in retaliation to the new border fingerprint checks)

 

Suggestions or hints on how to best use excursion times from the ship?

 

What activities on the ship were a do not miss, and which would you miss?

 

Thanks

 

Mike

 

Mike,

Absolutely no problem with customs. It was actually very quick, like <5 minutes. There were many open lines. Americans were not singled out and sent to a special line. I entered through Beijing via Hong Kong and left from Chundu going to Hong Kong. I just got home July 15 so this is up to date.

 

We did three excursions. Two were excellent and one was bad. The two good excursions were at the dam site and a boat trip through a lesser gorge. I'm going to write up a cruise review in the next few days and I'll go into more detail. The bad excursion went to a shop selling silk clothes, a museum that discussed the wooden coffins that are in the walls of the gorges and a home visit to a family displaced by the rising water.

 

As far as she ship activities. The best part of the trip was looking at the scenery. There were river guides that discussed what you were looking at going up the river. The entertainment was OK, performed by the crew. I hate to say this but I would sit at a computer in the internet center which was in the Yangze club where the bar and entertainment was and watch the show, while surfing the net. There was an excellent lecture and demonstration by the ships doctor on Chinese medicine. And there was daily Tai Chi which some people participated in. There were far, far fewer activities planed than on an ocean cruise. Bring a book for slow times.

 

Laura

[cmthomas]

I notice that the trips being promoted by Viking on the new Century Star now include 7 days on the river instead of the former 3 or 4. Do you think that 7 days is too much river time for what there is to see? I have also looked at the Yangtze Tour offered by Tauck Tours that uses the East King and East Queen ships. Did you happen to see them on your journey? Clarence

[lindberg]

I notice that the trips being promoted by Viking on the new Century Star now include 7 days on the river instead of the former 3 or 4. Do you think that 7 days is too much river time for what there is to see? I have also looked at the Yangtze Tour offered by Tauck Tours that uses the East King and East Queen ships. Did you happen to see them on your journey? Clarence

 

Clarence,

I usually try to go on as long of ocean cruise as I can afford the time and dollars. But I really think a 3 or 4 night cruise on the Yangtze,that does the dam, ship locks and the gorges covers everything that you would want to see.

One thing that was kind of disappointing was that the air was so dirty that you never saw blue sky. I think more time on land seeing the sights would be better spent then more time on the river. So unless you want lots of time relaxing onboard I would try to do the 3 night downstream or the 4 night upstream cruise.

 

Laura

[lindberg]

Clarence,

Forgot the other part of my response...... I don't remember seeing the East King and East Queen ships but I may have seen them. I was tuned into looking for the other Victoria cruise ships and saw several of them. But I'll say this. There were quite a few cruise ships going up and down the Yangtze. Many looked pretty similar to the Victoria ships. Air conditioning, balconies, nice paint jobs.... But then there were quite a few that looked like they catered to the Chinese. Many of these didn't appear to be air conditioned. They may have been ferries. Just make sure you have airconditioning and you should be OK.

Laura