milling73

ZukeCruiser--We took Viking Jewels of China in early June. The weather in Beijing, and other cities was near perfect, sunny days in the 70-80 range, no smog..no rain. Wonderful tours and sights.

On the river portion, unfortunately we hit dense fog the day we boarded and it stayed with us through-out the river journey. Fog so dense, that most of the time we couldn't see anything but shadow images of the incredible scenery we were passing. Disappointing but no one can control or assure perfect weather conditions at any month. We perhaps enjoyed each river stop even more.

Other reviews for that period have stated beautiful sunny days and perfect temps, but crew members told us the fog was common then. Cold water, meets warm air, often trapped by sheer walls, and dense fog is the result.

China is amazingly beautiful, Viking does an incredible job, and each day was wonderful, regardless. Enjoyed it completely, and would repeat in a heartbeat.

While on a Viking river cruise -- When do they offer to sell cruise certificates, or future cruise discounts? Is this something new they have added?

We have not seen that on our past cruises with them, but it is certainly something we would be interested in.

Can you use certificates purchased on Viking river cruise towards Viking ocean cruise?

Thanks for assist.

CMBATH: where / when onboard did you book the next cruise to get the additional discount? We have a sailing coming up and would like to grab any additional discount we can.

Thank you!!

So enjoyed what you wrote of your trip review, as we are planning this tour, and there are not a lot of reviews written about it. I am very encouraged by what you said "if you enjoyed China, you will love this tour". We loved China!

So please finish your tour journal -- suggestions, high points, February weather..etc.

Thank you!

Looking for anyone who is booked on new Vantage cruise on La Perla , a 27 passenger yacht on the Croatia coast.

It's first cruises are to begin in August. It looks to be an interesting scenario, with a totally different and intriguing traveling option than normally offered on the river cruises.

We are seriously considering booking for 2016, and I'm hoping someone will write a review.

On our tour, the people on the OPTIONAL

it was a ride to the Terra Cotta Warriors...Pretty amazing...

They advise you to NOT buy the little boxes of warriors from the street merchants roaming around the site but to wait for the lunch place--which is in a government owned gift shop...

They would have served us better telling us to buy from the street merchants...but to wait until we were getting back on the bus...

This is EXCACTLY right..The guides do reakkt discourage us from buying from the venders. As we walked back to the bus a vender offered us a set of 4 warriors, 1 horse for $1.00 US. How I wish we had bought it. Seriously who cares for $1.00 what the clay quality is -- they looked the same as the ones in the official shops that were so much more expensive. They would have been perfect as a shelf souvenir.

After reading this thread I got my video out

Do they still make the video of your China cruise?

Yes they do. They started showing it on about the 3rd day of our cruise. And then kept adding to it.

It is a great memory option. The photographer, called KGB, cause he's from Russia and because he would pop up unexpectedly, is very good.

Our trip was in early August and we experienced no fog on the river at all.

 

(This was after the dam was constructed.)

Maybe we were just a front then.

I talked to several of the reps / boat crew, about the fog. They just said it was pretty frequent, as did our guide at the dam. In her lecture to us, she stated that clear days of viewing were rare. But maybe she said that so we wouldn't feel so disappointed at not being able to see anything!

I hope for others the weather is often more clear, the glimpses we saw of those mountain gorges looked spectacular.

If you have extra time at Beijing -- we strongly recommend a tour to see the Great Wall at Mutianyu. It is in a different location / direction than the one Viking includes. The drive to it is very scenic and we thought the views from Mutianyu were visually better, and more dramatic. We walked several portions of the wall and towers, and the visual aspects were spectacular to see that wall snaking over the mountain crests for as far as we could see. Considering the terrain, height, and width of the wall...it was all mind-boggling on how they built it.

Another plus is that you reach the wall by chairlift, and then have the option of coming down by chairlift or by bobsled (about a mile run) which my husband declared great fun and would have been more than willing to pay to do it again.

There are several local venders, and all in all, it is a great trip.

We arranged it in advance by emailing the hotel concierge as soon as we had our hotel assignment. We were so glad we did, and that we had a second opportunity to view and walk that Wonder.

On the Beijing / Shanghai June 7 tour. The summer palace was offered as an optional tour. We had about 6 in our group that went to it.

Our guide, Francis only said it would be difficult to book that as well as the Opera due to traffic / time constraints.

We just returned from the Jewels of China. The entire trip is fantastic. Truly there isn't one part that is better than the other, each day and each experience all merge into this wonderful, trip of a life-time memory of seeing in person the things we have only read about or seen on tv. None of which represent the true depth or beauty of the experience.

We were amazed at how beautiful, clean, decorated, and pristine Beijing and Shanghai (really all of the cities) are. Flowers are everywhere. The hotels (Ritz Carlton, Hilton, Shangri-La (with a tv in bathroom mirror -- seriously!!) are all 5 star plus. The local people welcomed us with a smile.

Viking does a fantastic and flawless job of getting their passengers from one point to another (with their luggage). One would have to look hard to find anything to fault them on. Our guide was Francis, and he was "mom" keeping diligent track of everyone and belongings.

A couple of comments / suggestions that may be of help to future travelers:

1)Our entire 5 days on the river were spent in constant and dense fog and mist, as in barely able to see beyond a few hundred feet. That may have been a weather front, but the guides and a few locals told us dense fog is now common on the river due to the dam and the new water level depths, and particularly in the warmer months. That was disappointing as we are going through such beautiful area of cliffs and gorges. I think we cold best describe our views on the river portion as "China through the Mist". In Beijing and Shanghai we were fortunate with blue skies and 80 degrees. We experienced almost no mosquitos or flies -- not even on the river.

2) The humidity on the cruise is constant, and it is a damp coolness outside and on the boat. We were expecting 90 degrees plus for June, and packed lots of sunscreen -- instead we ended up buying windbreakers. (Viking sells them at $140. My advice is to take one.) The cabins are damp. There is no way around it, few a/c systems could cope with 100% constant humidity. Expect your clothes to become damp.

If it is true that fog conditions are a constant, Viking should cancel the dam visit. No one is allowed to actually tour the dam itself. There is only viewing of it, and China has created some pretty incredible outdoor escalators and viewing area for that. However, with the fog, we couldn't see anything other than the guide pointing where it all was.

3) For anyone staying at the Hilton in Xi'an who does not go to the Dynasty Show. For a great experience of local culture, go out the hotel, turn right and walk about 3-4 blocks. There is a large, well-lit park on the left and many locals go there each evening to ballroom type dance, group exercise, show off their adorable children, etc. We spent a couple of hours there, (even invited to dance) and watching it all was one of the highlights of our trip.

Expect to have a wonderful time and adventure. You won't be disappointed.

For our recently booked September 2015 Rhine Getaway, I was able to negotiate the final payment date for 2015.

 

How late in 2015 were you allowed to defer? Up to 90 days out from cruise? Just wondering, because I know that has been a big sticking point with Viking for some considering booking, and thought maybe they are relaxing their policy.

 

Thank you!!

I'm sure most if not of all the river cruise companies are good. And my opinion is no doubt limited and biased in that Viking is the only river cruise company we have sailed, but we like the extra effort they extend in gestures of appreciation.

We like receiving the email videos of the upcoming cruise or planning tips., as well as the numerous updates that follow after our booking.

Just before the departure date, they send a boxed gift set of nice Viking lapel pins. I'm not usually too much on company logos or wearing their advertising, but I do like these pins, and wear them on my jackets. They are subtle, and tastefully stylish.

Today with our pins, we also received a really nice hardbound journal to note our daily travel log. It is beautiful, and again a very nice and thoughtful gesture.

Really with travel anymore, not all companies act like they want and appreciate your business. Airline staff sometimes seem annoyed you are on their plane, and not all tour companies deliver the trip projected in their brochures.

But in our opinion, and in our experience --- Viking does and they act like they enjoy doing so.

We took that cruise last April. We flew to Paris a few days early and took the train straight from the airport to Rennes, where we rented a car and explored the area around Mont St Michel. The area is easy to naviage and quite scenic, or if you don't want to drive, train / bus connections are possible to get to the Mont. To us, seeing Mont St Michel was the highlight of the trip. It truly is of amazing size and how it appears as an outline in the horizon from miles away.

There are hotels right on the causeway which are nice to stay at in order to see the tidal changes. There are many small villages in the area and coastal roads that are quite scenic and fun to explore.

The day trip to Normandy beaches and WWII cemetary is not to be missed. The guided tours and museum was far more poignant and interesting than I expected it to be. That cemetary has to be one of the most moving and beautiful in the world.

We really liked Avignon - actually more than Paris. It is quaint, historical and fun to walk the cobbled streets full of crooked houses, and archways.

You will love your trip.

Looking for comments from anyone who has sailed CroisiEurope River Cruises!!

They have Spain itineraries that other companies don't offer.

Thanks for assist..

We used Viking Custom air for our upcoming June China trip. As that was our 4th Viking cruise..custom air was free. I had selected our preferred airline / flights in advance, and Viking was able to meet our requests with no up-charge.

As for seat assignment, it was computer generated at the time of the booking. When Viking makes the bookings, you have a confirmed reservation, but not a ticket. To change your seat via the airline (like upgrade to Economy Plus) you have to have a ticket. We paid a flat fee of $25.00 to have our reservation - ticketed early so that we could move to Economy plus.

We have used Viking Air on 2 of our 4 trips and been thrilled with the price / connections.

Always ask if they have any flight promotions (like free air) when making your cruise reservation, or try to negotiate a lower airfare. The agents seem to have some play in their quotes.

Great reply thanks.

Next question, can anyone recommend name / contact of private guide service for Beijing? Approximate price?

We have a full day on our own to sightsee before the tour starts, thought it would be great to see additional sights, but getting around on our own in that city, seems a little intimidating.

Thank you!!

I'm sure this has been addressed somewhere in this thread, but can anyone suggest or recommend how much cash to take for the Jewels of China trip? And what currency / denomination?

We will be on the June 7 cruise Beijing to Shanghai, and have the Shanghai extension as well as 2 days prior in Beijing. Trying to get a handle on prices / currency accepted.

Thanks for any assist.

The discussion has sparked many opinions and emphasis of proper attire during the day and during dinners. It is very accurate that many wear jeans on the cruises -- Viking's own photo ad shows 2 women on the stairs in jeans / sweater. It is also accurate that some wear slacks, or dress/skirt in the evening.

Don't let the boat / Europe itinerary intimidate you. Whatever you wear to eat out in a sit-down restaurant or sightsee in a city in the States, will work there as well. In nice restaurants here, there is wide variety of apparel worn at any given night -- and few think anything of it -- same on the boat. Wear whatever you think looks nice on you, or you feel comfortable in. Some like to dress up and that will certainly fit. Some prefer to dress more casual, and that will certainly fit as well.

We have found the other guests to be extremely interesting, funny, outgoing, down-to-earth, well-traveled, of widely varied income levels, and overall the friendliest and least snobbish crowd ever encountered.

Your room number or cabin level or what you wear doesn't matter. There will be some who could afford to buy the cruise line, and some who have saved 3 years to make the trip. The only hint you will have as to who are in the most expensive suites, is they are more likely to be seated at the Captain's table.

Pack more for the temperature range than anything. Most tours are in the morning, and being outside on the boat decks is much cooler in the wind and air off the river. On our first cruise we packed for the temperature highs during the day. Big Mistake -- We froze. Pack for the coolest temperature.

We've taken 4 river cruises and the clothing is very casual on board, and getting more so with each cruise. Few changed clothes for dinner, and attire was often jeans, slacks, capris., at the most a casual skirt. Even for the Captains dinner any and all was worn and fitted in.

I'm not sure where Ski Mama travels or what groups. But in our tours of Europe we've seen more European women dressing up in skinny jeans than Americans. The only difference is they wear high heels with them, and scarves are the main accent. Dresses are extremely few and far between in the cities we toured, including Rome and Paris. Perhaps it varies more with the season, we toured mainly Spring and Fall.

Also don't be afraid to pack / wear tennis shoes..they are also commonly worn by all. For us not accustomed to cobble-stone streets, flat soles are a must. Frankly 80% of those around us were in tennis or sport shoes during day touring.

This new company has some interesting itineraries / prices. Is anyone booked for a 2014 trip with them?

Seeking reviews / information as trips are taken. with postings / photos.

Also curious as to whether they will have charter of the entire boat for their tour with all on the same tour and agenda, or cabins reserved for the number in their group specifically.

Thanks..

We took the Danube Waltz this Sept from Budapest. We flew Delta non-stop from Detroit to Amsterdam, and then on to Budapest. Amsterdam is a smaller airport, and easy to navigate. We had a good connection time on to Budapest, with about a 2 hr layover, and arrived in Budapest around noon.

Paris is a maze..huge and confusing and being under construction didn't help. If you haven't been through or familiar with the airport, I would avoid it.

We are booking this cruise tomorrow for the May 24th sailing. We are so excited and will be following this thread closely.

One question--is there a difference between e and f category of the standard room?

We will be happy to report back with our thoughts, etc. One warning. We are determined to have a great time so our reports might be really rosy.

the only difference in the rooms is their location on the floor. If you bring up the room chart, it will show you. E & F will be side / side at the ends of the category...so room beside you can be $100 more or less depending on which room you have. We take that category as well, and try to get to the one closest to the stairs. The boats are long. We have really liked those rooms. The high window allows plenty of light. There are quiet, well-ventilated with a/c. We were only in the room to change / sleep. It is the category we prefer for the cost savings. Keep in mind that with a balcony room, you stand a good chance of being tied to another ship at night, especially in peak season -- their balcony window / door may be a foot from your's - thus curtains closed.

Thanks for the information you exoperienced on your Longship river cruise. We are really looking forward to our trip. Did you purchase the 'SILVER SPIRITS' beverage program? It sounds very expense on the face of things. Are the drinks at the bar & in the lounge pricey? Your thoughts please.

Don't purchase the Spirits package. My husband and I both enjoyed cocktails every evening, we even bought drinks for others -- and at check-out we hadn't hit half the price of the Spirits package.

The optional tours are priced in Euros, and we've found them to be close to $75-150 pp. The ones we have taken have all been very good. Viking will give you a description and cost of the tours in your information packet that you will receive about 3 weeks before departure. You sign up once on the boat, at their introduction meeting. They will pass out a sheet.

Someone else posted that the upper lounge deck is closed much of the time while sailing - due to the low bridges.

Is that true? Was there much day sailing time, and the upper deck open for sitting?

Thanks for assist.