Viking China (Part 2)

[G&L in WPG]

We booked and paid at least 15 months in advance, as I too was sucked in by the "soon to end" 2 for 1 deal. However, by doing this we saved a lot of dough as the C$ was really strong then, and has fallen by quite a bit. I cancelled my Viking air in June, to do my own thing, and made money on the deal as the refund was in US dollars.

[margatecruiser]

Both the river boat industry and the cruise ship industry always have 2 for 1 sale. That is there pricing. As for paying in advance you do much better going threw a travel agent than going direct. But you must ask first what his or her deal is in the paying. I have re booked and switched over my deposit. my travel agent went threw his consortium for the best deal. Hope I helped some of you.

[Turtles06]

Both the river boat industry and the cruise ship industry always have 2 for 1 sale. That is there pricing. As for paying in advance you do much better going threw a travel agent than going direct. But you must ask first what his or her deal is in the paying. I have re booked and switched over my deposit. my travel agent went threw his consortium for the best deal. Hope I helped some of you.

 

Respectfully, I have not seen "2 for 1" sales in the "cruise ship industry" in general, and certainly not "always." As for river cruising, this is Viking's gimmick. Most important, with Viking, it's not a "sale," it's not some special deal, it's their normal price structure. Viking promotes these 2 for 1 "deals" as though they are special rate and hypes "book by a certain date" as though the deal will end, but after that date, they put out a new brochure with the 2 for 1 rates and a new book by date, and so on. It's not a sale or special, it's just a gimmick to make people think they are getting something special, some deal, when they aren't. This is well known to anyone who has been bombarded with Viking's mailed brochures or who has spent any time reading up here on CC.

 

As for travel agents, this is a very personal decision. I prefer to handle my own travel arrangements. I want to be the one talking to the cruise line or other travel provider. I don't like playing telephone and having to rely on a middle person (the travel agent) to speak to the cruise line for me or make my arrangements. If I need to change something or ask a question, I want to be able to just get it done, not have to ask someone else to do it and wait for them to tell me it was done or get back to me with the information.

 

I booked our China trip directly with Viking. I worked with a great rep at Viking and had a fantastic trip.

[Kohola]

The odd thing is, they don't do this in all regions, just North America it seems.

 

Elsewhere they use normal industry standards.

 

We booked through the UK and we will not pay our balance until about three months before departure, but the prices were guaranteed when we paid our deposit.

 

I compared the difference in advertising and pricing on the US, UK, and Australian VRC websites for the same Imperial Jewels Feb 27, 2014 and March 29, 2014 cruises. The US site is the only one that implies a 2 for 1 discount in its pricing. Australia has a $500/person discount, and UK 750GBP/person.

Price for Suite (AA) on 2/27/14 cruise in US dollars(9/26/13): Australia $4962, US $4792, and UK $6642. Price for Cat E in US dollars: Australia $3369, US$3092, and UK $4239. The Explorer Suite (PS) is priced competitively for UK passengers compared to the other two countries. On March 29, 2014 the price for Suite (AA): Aust $5336, US $5142, and UK still $6642. Cat C (E sold out): Aust $4025, US $3742, and UK $4719. By 3/29/14 the Explorer Suite (PS) is actually cheaper in the UK than Australia. The dates where prices change also vary between the three sites. Australia is a non-tipping country so the $200 price difference reflects the crew tip included in the price. The US site is the only one that requires payment in full to qualify. Australia is only offered IJ, UK: IJ and CD, while the US has four cruises to choose from.

[travelfirst]

Respectfully, I have not seen "2 for 1" sales in the "cruise ship industry" in general, and certainly not "always." As for river cruising, this is Viking's gimmick. Most important, with Viking, it's not a "sale," it's not some special deal, it's their normal price structure. Viking promotes these 2 for 1 "deals" as though they are special rate and hypes "book by a certain date" as though the deal will end, but after that date, they put out a new brochure with the 2 for 1 rates and a new book by date, and so on. It's not a sale or special, it's just a gimmick to make people think they are getting something special, some deal, when they aren't. This is well known to anyone who has been bombarded with Viking's mailed brochures or who has spent any time reading up here on CC.

 

As for travel agents, this is a very personal decision. I prefer to handle my own travel arrangements. I want to be the one talking to the cruise line or other travel provider. I don't like playing telephone and having to rely on a middle person (the travel agent) to speak to the cruise line for me or make my arrangements. If I need to change something or ask a question, I want to be able to just get it done, not have to ask someone else to do it and wait for them to tell me it was done or get back to me with the information.

 

I booked our China trip directly with Viking. I worked with a great rep at Viking and had a fantastic trip.

 

Viking isn't the only one advertising 2 for 1.

Oceania advertises their cruises as 2 for 1 also. I went with them once and I get so many brochures I can hardly keep up..

[Peregrina651]

Okay! We all agree that the Viking payment policy is terrible, so since we can't fix it (as long as Viking keeps filling her ships with this policy, it isn't going to change), let's not hijack this thread any further. Pricing policies are a legitimate gripe and they deserve a thread of their own; we should get back to discussing our stated topic: Viking China.

 

- - - - - - - - -

 

A comment on a roll call prompts me to make this suggestion to notebook/laptop users: bring an Ethernet cable. It shouldn't be hard to find a small retractable one to throw into your electronics gear just as a back up in case there isn't one in your hotel room.

[MrsTiggywinkle]

Okay, packing starts in earnest TODAY, for this Sunday's departure! :confused: Also, cleaning out the fridge...:eek:

Edited September 27, 2013 by MrsTiggywinkle
punctuation error

[juliesaddiction]

Okay, packing starts in earnest TODAY, for this Sunday's departure! :confused: Also, cleaning out the fridge...:eek:

I packed on Friday for an early Sat morn flight...so you are doing good :)

 

You will love it! Been home a week now from our trip. Hope the weather is good....we had good weather but the trip before us did not.

[MrsTiggywinkle]

While I certainly am hoping for beautiful fall weather, I am even more hopeful that the AQI (air quality index) for Beijing settles down before we get there, the past 48 hours have been very, very bad. Glad we are bringing masks, lots and lots of masks. <sigh>

[milling73]

We will be on the China Jewels early next June, and I've loved reading all these threads..helpful and so interesting.

 

What type of clothing did the women wear on the trip?

 

I know it will probably be warm and humid and a loose cotton skirt can be cooler than pants, but wasn't sure whether to take or not. Same for capris / knee shorts..were they worn? Or all jeans / slacks?

 

Is there a Captain's dinner or more dress up night?

 

Thanks for assist..

[Peregrina651]

We will be on the China Jewels early next June, and I've loved reading all these threads..helpful and so interesting.

 

What type of clothing did the women wear on the trip?

 

I know it will probably be warm and humid and a loose cotton skirt can be cooler than pants, but wasn't sure whether to take or not. Same for capris / knee shorts..were they worn? Or all jeans / slacks?

 

Is there a Captain's dinner or more dress up night?

 

Thanks for assist..

 

Check out all of our pictures to see what people are wearing. Follow the links that some of us have posted in our signatures to find them.

 

Dress is casual--skirts/dresses/shorts/capris--whatever you are comfortable in. A warmer layer for the bus in case it is too cool. Men do not need ties or even sports jackets. Comfortable walking shoes are most important.

 

Personally, I wore dresses and skirts. I did take one pair of pants (very good for climbing the stairs at Shibaozhai Pagaoda--a long skirt can make it hard to climb without stepping on your skirt).

 

Here is one picture of our group at Yueyang Tower (Delight's only). It is mid-May. It was a bit cool and so everyone is in long pants and jackets--but still casual.

 

 

Here is a crowd shot from the Great Wall. It gives an idea of how people dress in general.

 

Edited September 28, 2013 by Peregrina651

[pacheco18]

I did an internet search to see if I could find information on selecting a category of stateroom. I found one older CC thread but it did not answer my question.

 

We are going to book Viking China for 2015 (itineraries come out in November). Is there an advantage to being on any particular deck? Other than suites, the cabins are identical I believe. Is there an issue with view or any other factor?

[Turtles06]

We will be on the China Jewels early next June, and I've loved reading all these threads..helpful and so interesting.

 

What type of clothing did the women wear on the trip?

 

I know it will probably be warm and humid and a loose cotton skirt can be cooler than pants, but wasn't sure whether to take or not. Same for capris / knee shorts..were they worn? Or all jeans / slacks?

 

Is there a Captain's dinner or more dress up night?

 

Thanks for assist..

 

We went in mid-May. We wore shorts almost all the time during the day, jeans or khakis at night. The key is to be comfortable, you are going to look like a tourist no matter what you are wearing. :)

[Turtles06]

I did an internet search to see if I could find information on selecting a category of stateroom. I found one older CC thread but it did not answer my question.

 

We are going to book Viking China for 2015 (itineraries come out in November). Is there an advantage to being on any particular deck? Other than suites, the cabins are identical I believe. Is there an issue with view or any other factor?

 

You are correct, the cabins are identical (apart from the suites). There's no reason we could see for paying more to be on a higher deck. And the boat is pretty small, easy enough to get to wherever you want to be. We were in a cabin on the Middle Deck, just forward of midship (we like having cabins above us and below us) and it was just fine.

 

When we booked, the Viking rep said that if you were far forward, you might hear noise from the locks. I don't recall anyone complaining about her cabin, either here on CC or when we were on board.

[juliesaddiction]

We will be on the China Jewels early next June, and I've loved reading all these threads..helpful and so interesting.

 

What type of clothing did the women wear on the trip?

 

I know it will probably be warm and humid and a loose cotton skirt can be cooler than pants, but wasn't sure whether to take or not. Same for capris / knee shorts..were they worn? Or all jeans / slacks?

 

Is there a Captain's dinner or more dress up night?

 

Thanks for assist..

 

They tell you it is all casual and it is, however the Capt Welcome dinner and the Farewell dinner had alot of people dressed up. We did for one and not the other and it was ok either way. Personally I would have preferred to wear a dress or skirt on those nights, one I did the other I didnt. I wore capri's the entire time and on the optional show nights I just put on a pair of pants, nicer jeans one time, dockers another. We were there this month (sept). ONe of the first things I did was get a fan (handheld) and I used it the entire time.

[juliesaddiction]

I did an internet search to see if I could find information on selecting a category of stateroom. I found one older CC thread but it did not answer my question.

 

We are going to book Viking China for 2015 (itineraries come out in November). Is there an advantage to being on any particular deck? Other than suites, the cabins are identical I believe. Is there an issue with view or any other factor?

 

We were on the 2nd floor right down from reception and the dining room and we loved our room. As close as I can tell there is no difference in the rooms other than size in the different categories. I think the view was probably equal on each side, sometimes good on one and other times good on the other. We were on the left side, which ever that one is called lol, and were happy with the views. As far as noise from the locks go, you are going to get that no matter where you are. The first lock is done during the day and the ones at the Three Gorges Dam are done at night (this was for our trip this month). We had a coal barge next to us through the set of 3 locks and it was quite loud if you had the slider open, but we still slept through most of it.

[juliesaddiction]

While I certainly am hoping for beautiful fall weather, I am even more hopeful that the AQI (air quality index) for Beijing settles down before we get there, the past 48 hours have been very, very bad. Glad we are bringing masks, lots and lots of masks. <sigh>

The air quality will not be good. Even a little is too much. It was bad when we were there this month. I had masks but did not use them and really did not see many at all being used. I didnt feel like I needed to use one. If its rainy or misty it helps. We had misty mixed in with the polluton in Beijing. I felt like Beijing was the worst of them all however there is polluition the whole trip. Thats the unfortunate thing about China, the air qualtiy.

[Kohola]

I did an internet search to see if I could find information on selecting a category of stateroom. I found one older CC thread but it did not answer my question.

 

We are going to book Viking China for 2015 (itineraries come out in November). Is there an advantage to being on any particular deck? Other than suites, the cabins are identical I believe. Is there an issue with view or any other factor?

There is a consideration to be made booking the lower decks if you are a light sleeper. The time change also plays into your sleep routine depending on how fast you adjust to a 15-18 hour time difference. The ship will dock against a floating barge in most locations usually in the wee hours of the morning creating quiet a bit of noise which woke us up every time. This routine is probably not as much of an issue on the Imperial Jewels as the Cultural Delights just do to the sheer number of times the ship moors. There are around nine of these on the Cultural Delights tour which will cause sleep deprivation if the docking wakes you up each time.

 

It would be easy if you knew going downstream to choose a port cabin and going upstream a starboard cabin. Unfortunately the ship does not always dock in the direction it is headed.

These two photos are taken in Wuhan three years apart on tours going in the opposite directions, but the ship docked starboard to the pier both times.

Wuhan; March,2009

Wuhan; March, 2012...Naval Musuem added between 2009 and 2012

Again the same thing happened in Shibaozhai

Shibaozhai; March, 2009

Shibaozhai; April, 2012

 

The most important considerations are which tour to take, the time of the year and direction. The Beijing to Shanghai trip includes a tour of the Hutongs in Beijing, but omits the pandas at the zoo in ChongQing. The Three Gorges experience is different depending on the time of day and direction you enter and exit the various gorges. The timing of the transit of the Three Gorges Dam is the most noticeable, afternoon versus late night. We did the tour in late March to early April both times...weather cooperated nicely for us and smaller crowds. We did the Cultural Delights both times in opposite directions; different guides, changes to the itinerary, and the timing differences along the river made the tour fresh again, but the experience gained during the first tour allowed us to enjoy the second a lot more. We would choose Beijing to Shanghai direction if we ever did the trip again.

[pacheco18]

Thanks for the information

 

We are definitely going to book Beijing to Shanghai -- recommended by friends who have taken the trip -- because that puts the most exhausting part of the trip first. LOL

 

We will go in May -- supposedly best weather -- and stay a few days pre and post cruise to cover things that Viking does not cover.

 

I am now thinking that I do not need more than a cabin on the middle deck. A suite for 6 days is not worth it to me -- especially since you are never in the cabin.

 

I called Viking -- 2015 itineraries will be out in November.

[juliesaddiction]

Thanks for the information

 

We are definitely going to book Beijing to Shanghai -- recommended by friends who have taken the trip -- because that puts the most exhausting part of the trip first. LOL

 

We will go in May -- supposedly best weather -- and stay a few days pre and post cruise to cover things that Viking does not cover.

 

I am now thinking that I do not need more than a cabin on the middle deck. A suite for 6 days is not worth it to me -- especially since you are never in the cabin.

 

I called Viking -- 2015 itineraries will be out in November.

 

We went Shanghai to Beijing and you are right, the more exhausting part of the trip is at the end and at first we thought we should have done that but it ended up ok for us because we were able to relax before that part :) I have heard that you dont see the Giant Pandas on that route tho? do you maybe see them in Beijing instead? We saw them in Chongqing. Also in talking to the guide October is very pretty there as well. I have a book from the Great Wall which shows seasons and Autumn is pretty :)

[pacheco18]

We went Shanghai to Beijing and you are right, the more exhausting part of the trip is at the end and at first we thought we should have done that but it ended up ok for us because we were able to relax before that part :) I have heard that you dont see the Giant Pandas on that route tho? do you maybe see them in Beijing instead? We saw them in Chongqing. Also in talking to the guide October is very pretty there as well. I have a book from the Great Wall which shows seasons and Autumn is pretty :)

 

I've had the joy of seeing pandas (even cubs) in other places so that is not a factor in the decision. May fits in with my other two cruises for 2015 (already booked)

 

Has anyone done the Shanghai extension? I'd love some feedback. I do not usually book extensions through the cruise line (generally a ripoff) but after checking hotel prices it does not seem unreasonably priced. Also, it's China, and I am less inclined than usual to make many arrangements myself. I will for Beijing since we will be arriving a few days early.

[Queen of DaNile]

Leaving Shanghai today and only one couple in our group is doing the extension with Viking. They have a guide for one day and then another day on their own. Would have loved to stay a few more days here (at the Fairmont Peace on the Bund) and done the city on our own. However, it is China Golden Week and the crowds are massive. Fabulous city!

[Turtles06]

Has anyone done the Shanghai extension? I'd love some feedback. I do not usually book extensions through the cruise line (generally a ripoff) but after checking hotel prices it does not seem unreasonably priced. Also, it's China, and I am less inclined than usual to make many arrangements myself. I will for Beijing since we will be arriving a few days early.

 

One compromise between the Viking extension and a pure DIY is to hire your own private guide, which is not very expensive in China. The fabulous guide we used for part of our pre-Viking time in Beijing, Sunflower Lee, has a brother who is (or at least, in 2011 was) a guide in Shanghai. She has since expanded her guiding service, and her website includes Shanghai.

 

http://www.sunflowertourschina.com/

[Hydrokitty]

Viking Emerald - China's Cultural Delights

 

Just returned from Viking’s China’s Cultural Delights – August 15 through August 31. It was fantastic! I wanted to provide some information to those who will travel in the future. This is not a day-by-day dairy, but rather some important things that we learned while on the trip that might be useful to you. We were a group of four traveling from Shanghai to Beijing.

As I said, the trip was fantastic. Everything went as planned and there were no problems. Viking seems to think of everything and they leave no detail to chance. From our plane reservations, to meeting our representative in Shanghai, transfers to the hotel, 5 star hotel reservations, buses, local guides, dinners for 210 people, the ship arriving and departing on time, luggage, and our Tour Escort – all perfectly coordinated.

Our Tour Escort was Francis. He was beyond great. Articulate, funny, knowledgeable, filled with facts and interpretations, helpful, detailed to a fault, caring and thorough. He was the consummate “mother hen” who kept us on schedule and helped us with our every need. All of the guests thought that their Tour Escort was great and this is quite a testament to Viking who employs such wonderful people.

The trip was a great value for the money. When you consider all of the meals, transportation, transfers, guides, intra-China air, 5 star hotels, and of course the ship, you really get a lot. With that said, there are still a lot of extra charges that come into play – travel insurance, visas, shots, tips, tips, and more tips, souvenirs, gifts, and adult beverages.

WATER. You cannot drink the water! Not from any tap – not in the 5 star hotels and not on the ship. There is plenty of bottled water provided in your room and on the bus. If you run out just ask for more. We used the bottled water for brushing our teeth, rinsing off toothbrushes, drinking, taking pills, etc. We were very careful in the shower to keep our mouths closed. We only drank bottled water while on land even in the restaurants. On the ship they poured bottled water into pitchers and then into glasses. The ship used purified water to clean the food, so salads and fresh veggies were okay. We did not eat salads on land. Watch out for the ice cubes – okay on the ship but not on land.

ELECTRICITY. We took two adapters and two power converters – what a waste of space. We did not need either. The hotels and the ship had plenty of sockets for our needs. We were recharging cell phones and camera batteries, using electric toothbrushes, hair curlers and straightening irons. No problems.

DRESS. The dress code was very casual. Men wore shorts and slacks to dinner on the ship. Some men even wore shorts to the Captain’s reception. Very few jackets or ties. On land, slacks were more common for the dinner shows. The women were a little more dressed up with slacks and dresses but nothing fancy.

ILLNESS. People were getting sick – mostly lower GI. Cipro seemed to clear things up in a couple of days. I definitely recommend bringing the medicine cabinet just to be safe. We had Z-packs, Cipro, Pepto Bismol, Day and NyQuill, Zyrtec, Zyrtec-D, and saline solution to ward off the evils of bad health.

ANTISEPTIC WIPES. We took enough antiseptic wipes for an Army. We used enough for a Platoon. A couple of bottles of Purell will probably do. The ship has hand sanitizers outside of the dining room and other general areas, and we were told to wash our hands in soap and water (the only time we used water from the tap) before eating. We were not as good about keeping our hands sanitized as we expected to be, we seemed to relax our standards once we were in country.

SUNBLOCK. We used sun block on the days we were outside, but still never used as much as we brought. We brought a lot of insect repellent but never used it. We had a lot of small flying bugs in our staterooms but still never used the bug repellant.

FOOD. The food was good, not great, but good. I suggest that you do not eat any Chinese food for a month before this trip. We ended up with 7 chinese lunches and 7 chinese dinners, about 40% of the total meals. Some were okay and others were very good, but the food and the style of serving (lazy susan) became monotonous. The food on the ship was good – we were hoping for great. Some meals were better than others, but nothing fantastic. The portions were a bit on the small side but you could ask your server on the ship for more and it was brought without any question. On land we were unable to get more of the dishes we liked no matter how many times we asked.

SHIP. The Emerald was very nice. You have to keep in mind that this is not a cruise ship. Outside is very ordinary, but the inside is very nice. The ship was large enough for 210 guests to be absorbed, but it was a bit crowded and noisy at meal time since everyone ate at the same time. Some comments that I read before the trip were critical of the Emerald. The ship was built by the Chinese and their standards are not as stringent as those of the Western Europeans. Centerline welds were not ground to a smooth finish but rather covered over with heavy carpet. So the carpet looked like it was rumpled, but it wasn’t. If you want to be ultra critical you can find fault with the ship, but in reality it is very very nice. The ship can hold 260 guests, we had 210 so things could be a bit more crowded and uncomfortable. No casino, no theater for entertainment. A small exercise room, a library, beauty shop, spa, two very large bar and general meeting areas, and lots of room to roam. We had very busy days, so we were in our staterooms around 9 pm. We didn’t get bored. There are about 5 english TV stations – CNN, BBC, Asia TV, National Geographic, and HBO – this was sufficient.

LUGGAGE. For the two intra-china flights luggage was not an issue. The bags of all the guests (usually two groups per plane – about 70 to 75 people) were weighed as a group. So if your bag is over 44 pounds it was not a problem. The 11 pound limit for carry on is obsolete – nobody asked. You might want to have small locks for your checked bags while in China. We did not have any but our Tour Escort loaned us four locks for the period of time from the ship through Beijing. Bags are unaccompanied for short periods of time so we really appreciated the locks.

LOGISTICS. Viking has this mastered. I can’t stress enough how wonderful it was not to worry about anything. Just be ready on time and be at the appointed place and it ran as smoothly as a Swiss watch.

OPTIONAL SHOWS. The first night in Shanghai was the Chinese Acrobats. No cost for the show and it was very good if you could keep your eyes open (jet lag). The two options were the Tang Dynasty Dinner Show in Xi’an and the Peking Duck Dinner and Beijing Opera in Beijing. The Tang show was about $60 per person and the Opera and duck dinner about $65 per person. We did not do the Tang Dynasty show but did do the Opera. Those who attended the Tang show said it was very good. We enjoyed the duck dinner and opera – but it was very different. From a cultural viewpoint I’m glad we did the opera, but from an entertainment perspective, I would not rush back. The opera is now 90 minutes and you don’t get to watch anyone putting on makeup as in bygone days. If you chose not to attend either of the optional shows you were taken to dinner at a nearby restaurant which is included in your trip package.

KEMPENSKI HOTEL. Before we left I had read numerous threads complaining about the Kempinski Hotel in Xi’an. Lighten up folks, this is a very nice 5 star hotel. A bit masculine probably due to it’s German roots. I will admit that it is in the middle of nowhere, but most people went to the Tang Dynasty show and didn’t return to the hotel until 10:30 pm – time for bed anyway. So if you are assigned to the Kempinski – don’t worry, be happy.

DIRECTION. Shanghai to Beijing or Beijing to Shanghai. We thought that the Shanghai to Beijing route gave us time to get over our jet lag in a more leisurely setting of Shanghai. The days in Beijing were much more strenuous and we would have been dragging if we had just arrived. But I have read the critiques of others who preferred the Beijing start so to each his/her own. Take it for what it is worth.

CASH. We went with 200 crisp $1 and 50 crisp $5 bills. At the hotel in Shanghai we exchanged $100 for Yuen. The local merchants will take Yuen and US dollars if they are new, crisp and unbent. The stores and gift shops took all of the major credit cards. One major snag was at Mt. Jiu Hua. It cost 100 yuen to take the fennicular up to the top of the mountain – no credit cards and no US. We didn’t have 400 yuen so we didn’t take the trip which we heard was great. No one told us we needed Yuen until we were at Mt Jiu Hua. The morale of this story is keep a lot of cash - especially yuen. When you buy stuff you need to haggle and haggle hard. Be willing to walk away – you will find the same item somewhere down the road. My problem was that I would haggle down to a price that I thought was fair, instead of continuing to haggle to an even lower price.

TIPPING. You tip the porters at the hotels, the bus drivers after each day’s excursion, and the local tour guides as you go. They are happy to take dollars or yuen. For your ship experience you can tip the entire crew on your final bill via credit card. You can also tip your cabin steward and dining room servers extra using cash. The problem is tipping your Tour Escort. You have to use cash – you cannot put this tip on your ship bill. This becomes a problem since it is a lot of cash and it’s late in the trip. $10 – 12 per person per day for 17 days is about $350 for a couple. Not many people are holding on to this much cash so late in the trip. I had to go to a Beijing bank to use the ATM to get enough cash for the tip. Not a big problem, but I did have to pay some large processing fees. I also had to go on two separate days since I needed more than the daily limit. There was never any mention that you could not put the tip for your Tour Escort on your final ship’s bill. Oh well, we survived.

TIDBITS. The Viking School was great. It’s not a big deal as to whether or not you bring gifts. We brought pencils and erasers, but had to put them into a gift box at the entrance to the school grounds. No sense of joy from the gift giving even though you know you helped out. Make sure you have very comfortable walking shoes. Also make sure the shoes provide good traction or you will not be able to climb the Great Wall. We brought hats but didn’t really use them since we had the sun block. We brought small umbrellas which we used one time. Each of the hotels and the ship staterooms have umbrellas large enough for two people to get under. Unless you know that it is the rainy season I would leave the umbrellas at home. Mono Sodium Glutamate (MSG). We heard that the Chinese food was filled with it. Our Tour Escort was able to check with each restaurant, and when necessary get a special plate prepared with no MSG. Found it to be a bigger problem in the Shanghai region than in Beijing. If you are allergic to MSG, this is a big deal.

That is pretty much it. A great trip with only a few surprises, none of which were major problems. I would recommend this trip to people of all ages. The average age on our voyage was probably mid to late 60s. I was amazed at how well everyone did with the physical requirements of the trip. Some of the old timers were putting me to shame. There were a few folks in their twenties and they seemed to enjoy the trip as well.

I would be happy to answer any individual questions you might have. Problem is, now that my trip is over, I will only check this site about once a week.

Have a great trip!

 

GREAT JOB!!! I just booked this trip with Vantage and was very interested in your obervations and reviews. One thing I found interesting is how similar China trip is to Egypt regarding the water and the food. One question: did Viking obtain your Visa for you? I know when we went to Russia Vantage sent us the applications and instructions which made it very easy for us. OK two questions: what were the inter-city flights like? I know the longest of them is only 2 hours, but did you feel safe on the planes? comfortable? squeezed in like sardines?

[Turtles06]

GREAT JOB!!! I just booked this trip with Vantage and was very interested in your obervations and reviews. One thing I found interesting is how similar China trip is to Egypt regarding the water and the food. One question: did Viking obtain your Visa for you? I know when we went to Russia Vantage sent us the applications and instructions which made it very easy for us. OK two questions: what were the inter-city flights like? I know the longest of them is only 2 hours, but did you feel safe on the planes? comfortable? squeezed in like sardines?

 

Viking does not obtain the visa for you, but they will recommend a visa service if you want to use one. (Two years ago it was Generations Visa, and they were great to deal with.)

 

Yes, Egypt and China -- very similar in that you must not drink the water! (One tip I will pass along that I read on here: put a washcloth or plastic bag over the bathroom faucet as a reminder not to drink that water. It's pretty easy in the middle of the night to get on auto pilot and forget...)

 

We had three flights within China, all on the same types of planes you'd fly in the U.S. The longest, from Beijing to Xi'an (about 90 minutes) was uncomfortable because it was way too hot on the plane. When we exited and walked through the first class section, we saw used blankets strewn on every seat. I think they must have funneled ALL of the a/c into that cabin, for the Communist party bigwigs. :rolleyes:

 

Have a great trip!