Peregrina651

We go on this cruise April 20th! Can't wait. Just some general questions: Do we get food choices at dinner on the cruise? Does Viking provide some good soaps as occur on other non-river cruises? Are there refrigerators in the rooms? Is there a place on Viking site (I'm going to try and check) where you can see some of the meal selections? !

from the front desk. Be sure to return it before you leave the shipYes, there are choices at every meal. Breakfast is a buffet plus a couple of hot items that you order from your server. Lunch is a buffet plus three choices from the kitchen. Dinner all sit-down with choice of appetizers, entree and desserts--each night is different. I don't think there are any menus on Viking website but if you find them, please post a link.

Yes, soap, lotions and shampoo in the cabins.

There was a little fridge in our cabin. We used it as a table.

Bottled water supplied as needed. Once you open a bottle, a fresh bottle will be placed in your cabin.

Hairdryers are in the deluxe cabins, standard cabins can borrow one.

Happy birthday, altiva -- and thanks for the wonderful pictures!

Can you add Sept 15th 2013 to the roll calls?? Thanks and now to add our names to it!!

The links that I posted are links to existing roll calls that were already started by people who will be on that given cruise. All I did was round up the links in one place so that they could be found more easily.

If you don't see your sail date on the list, you should double check to make sure that a new roll call has not been started since the list was posted before you start a roll call for your sail date (having two for the same date makes it hard to meet people). Post a link here to any new roll calls to help people find it.

Our family is 'in the clouds'.......the impossible has happened. My sister, Heather, was told today that she can stop her dialysis for now! Her doctor said that this is very rare but they believe that her kidney problems were brought on by another condition which has now been treated. If her tests continue to be positive, she will be free from dialysis for good!!

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Congratulations. That is fantastic news!

I just found a roll call that was started for the September 12, 2013 sailing.

thanks for posting this list - I didn't know how to make the link either and you've made it so easy for anyone to see the roll calls. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Betty

Betty, creating the links is actually a simple process. Copy the URL of the website you wish to link to, highlight the words in your text that you wish to become the link, click on the and paste the URL into the window that opens.

You can insert images that are online into a message in a similar fashion. Find the image, right click on the image and select COPY IMAGE LOCATION, set the cursor where you wish to insert the image, click on and paste the image location that you just copied. Voila! Your image appears.

If these stripped down instructions are still confusing, then contact me via e-mail and I will be happy to explain to anyone anything that is still unclear.

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Hi silkismom, you are welcome. I read somewhere that statistic is -

only 15 per cent of cruise passengers are using Cruise critic.

and probably even less for river cruises where most tours are included in the price and therefore no need to find guides and people with whom to split the costs.

I notice that link is broken , but please notice the one you have listed for April 4 ...is actually April 14 who ever made the post posted it as 4-14-13 so that is actually april 14, can you please change the link so it goes to my post of the roll call for April 4 Thank you

I tested the links after you commented the first time I posted the links and couldn't figure out what you were talking about. I read it very carefully; it said 4/4/2013. I tested it 5 more times this evening and each time I read 4/4/2013. It took 5 times before I realized that it did actually say 4/14/2013. I apologize for whatever glitch was going on in my brain.

I cannot go back and change what has already been posted but I can post a corrected list here and try to get the powers that be to delete the posts with the wrong information; no guarantees.

Links to Roll Calls--the place to meet up with folks who will be on your cruisetour and get to to know one another before you leave.

Hi Peregrina, I am reaching out to you for some guidance. My wife and I will be on the Imperial Jewels, Shanghai to Beijing tour June 20 and I have posted on Roll Call to this effect. However, you made a reference some time back regarding linking and I am lost on how you do this. I think it is a reference to posting on the general River Cruise forum the same info but advising of a Roll Call availability.

 

This is our first River Cruise and also a special celebration of our Golden Wedding, so we are looking forward to it immensely. We have sailed on numerous Ocean going cruises, so our sea legs are fine and we are just back from Peru and Machu Picchu, so we are a young spirited older couple. Any help appreciated. Joe and Pat

Joe--and anyone else--, please e-mail me using the link in my signature below and I will be happy to give you step by step instructions for any Cruise Critic how-to. Just click on the link and it open an e-mail window or right click on it to copy my e-mail address.

Yes, I'm flying from Singapore to Beijing, taking the river cruise to Shanghai for a few days, flying to Hong Kong for 4 days then flying home on June 21. Thank you for your offer as I'm sure to have a lot or questions.

 

Brandy, I'm thinking that after two months of reading about this cruise and the other that you will feel a lot more comfortable about starting your journey on your own--and I say starting because you won't be on your own for long. Half the unease stems from the the unknown.

 

Perhaps I shouldn't be too concerned if everything is done in groups.

I will, however, be on my own in Shanghai for 3 days and Hong Kong for 4 days. (Going solo came about when my sister and travelling companion was diagnosed with kidney disease and now has dialysis every other day.)

 

Brandy, we're so sorry to hear about your sister and hope that she is doing well in the face of her difficulties.

you have the april 14 roll call on your link , there is a link for the April 4th one somewhere

Here are links for both April 4 and April 14.

Here is a list of Roll Calls for the 2013 season with links. Did I miss any? If you start a new one, be sure to post the link here.

I will be solo on this cruise and I'm wondering if there is someone else who will also be cruising solo. Looks like a wonderful cruise but I'm questioning whether this is a good cruise for going solo. Anyone........?

Everything is done in groups. We tour in groups. Most meals are served at large tables seating of at least 10 people. There aren't fifty different bars and lounges on the ship, so we relax in groups as well.

My 2013 - 2014 Viking catalog arrived today. I'm going to keep this one, even though I'm not planning another trip right now.

 

Right! It's my wish list!

The first boat-load of travelers are starting to wend their way to Beijing for the first tour of the 2013 season which starts this Tuesday. Just want to wish you all a

BON VOYAGE!!

We all look forward to hearing from you when you get home.

How about hair dryers? Anyone else flying from Chicago Apr. 2?

Hair dryers were available in all the hotel rooms and on the ship.

If you insist on bringing your own, then it must operate on 220v current or else it will fry. If it doesn't operate on 220v then you will have to bring a heavy duty converter that is capable of working with a high wattage device. Same goes for curling irons. The regular converters will burn out if you try to use a high wattage device with them.

There is an April 4 roll call looking for participants. They would love to have you join the conversation.

Thanks for your thoughts on this event. As this event comes late on our itinerary we will defer making a decision on whether to go until later on.

 

While we don't want to miss something unique, we don't usually care for tourist driven type shows. Also, we want good meals.

 

One of you mentioned seeing the city walls as a possible alternative. Is this a real possibility for an evening outing? I'm sure we would be able to get guide if we chose this as an option.

 

TT

Actually, you have to make the decision early on in the trip because you will be paying for it on your ship account.

If you want to arrange for a guide for the evening in Xi'an, you might talk to your tour escort and see what he can help you arrange rather than waiting until you get to Xi'an --which won't be until close to dinner time for most people. That is if you don't arrange something ahead of time.

I see talk about using 1, 5, 10, and 20 dollar bills. What about larger bills for the tour

guide at the end of the trip.

Hi, Don --

Just to keep the billfold thin, I did take a couple of $100s for our guide and for the crew. No problems.

I can't remember how we handled the local drivers and guides. DH is in charge of the cash and I don't pay attention.

You can put the tips on your credit card. The Tang Dynasty show was excellent--highly recommend it. Pat

Ditto. DITTO. I agree with pacmom. The Tang Danasty show was very well done. The performances are beautiful and the food wasn't bad considering the venue (where have you ever been to a tourist show/dinner theater where the food was outstanding?).

Hi, If I send my jeans/pants to the laundry aboard ship will they bring them back to me wet to hang dry? Thanks!

If no one answers, call Viking and ask. I used the laundry service but we had everything washed and dried. They did a great job. Quick turn around. No mishaps.

Whatever you find out, don't wash jeans yourself. They will never dry.One of our dinner table companions tried and it took days until she could put them on again. Between not being able to wring them out and not enough circulation in the bathroom ('cause you can't leave them on the balcony all day), it just took forever. I'm just talking jeans here. Undies/sox will dry over night.

This question came up on another thread and I thought that I would mention it here.

Someone asked about traveling with a CPAP. I responded that if you have one you should contact Viking in advance of sailing to make any arrangements that might be needed (such as if you need distilled water). You need accurate information and it should come directly from Viking and not from your buddies on Cruise Critic. This goes for anyone with special needs.

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Has anyone taken their CPAP with them on the trip. If so did you have any problems?

 

Thanks

Don

Don, you should contact Viking directly and discuss this with them. There may be things that they need to arrange in advance to accommodate you (such as if you need to have distilled water). We can talk about our general experiences, but this is one where you should be talking directly with Viking to get accurate information.

From the Viking website:

Thanks we do plan to get RMB for that reason and also because we will stay in China for a few days following the VR trip. We will need them. Getting really excited 10 days until the VR trip starts and we leave sooner than that. I don't know people are able to wait an entire year or more!

:D The next 10 days may go very slowly but the next two weeks or so after that are going to fly by!!

Yes, a year is a long, long,long period of anticipation but having this thread to while away the months really helped. Even though we had a good roll call, this thread was even better because it was full of experienced people who could answer questions and share their stories and pictures. IMHO, you need both!;)

I just finished posting pictures of our trip on Photoblog, starting with some pictures of the ship and then going day by day through the trip. Enjoy.