Viking China (Part 2)

[Peregrina651]

2014

 

July 27 Delights

August 14

August 24 Jewels

September 4- Jewels

October 3—Roof/Tibet

October 15 Jewels

 

 

2015

March 18 Delights

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April 7 Jewels

April 17 Jewels

May 17 Jewels

September 12 - Roof/Tibet

 

 

 

 

 

 

,

Edited July 19, 2014 by Peregrina651

[sisterpower]

I have just returned from my amazing Imperial Jewels trip i cant say enough about our guide Duan who made each part of our trip fun and worry free. I dont want to repeat what i have already said so will just say to future china travellers read the blog and be prepared for an awesome experience. Thanks to everyone who posts here your ensight was very useful.

[Going Coastal]

Sisterpower,

I have enjoyed your reports so much and would very much like to read the blog, but cannot find your first reference to it. Could you post a link?

Thank you so much.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[sisterpower]

Sorry going costal the blog i was referring to was thi forum, i must have been a bit jetlagged when i posted.

[Floridiana]

Yes of course. I am not saying that I expected not to be served Chinese food in China. I love Chinese food. I was just saying it got somewhat monotonous every day to basically eat the same type of meal. They took us by bus loads to restaurants, hotels or banquet halls with pretty much the same meal each time.

 

That's because they take the busloads of tourists to restaurants that cater to tourists. We ate Chinese food for a month and it got monotonous except when the place was filled with locals and we got to eat the same food they ate. Then it was really delicious! We were only 8 in our group. Obviously not Viking.

Edited July 20, 2014 by Floridiana

[caribill]

That's because they take the busloads of tourists to restaurants that cater to tourists. We ate Chinese food for a month and it got monotonous except when the place was filled with locals and we got to eat the same food they ate. Then it was really delicious!

 

I have also been in China and it was not on a tour, so we went to restaurants that were definitely not aimed at tourists.

 

These are restaurants where they leave the head on the food so the customer knows for sure what animal the meat is from.

 

Also featuring "fried snakehead fish balls."

 

I truly appreciated that Viking did not bring us to any restaurants like that.

[Going Coastal]

Sorry going costal the blog i was referring to was thi forum, i must have been a bit jetlagged when i posted.

 

 

No problem, I was just hungry for more. Have enjoyed your details.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Peregrina651]

A new roll call just opened up for the August 4, 2014 Delights.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Peregrina651

[Peregrina651]

A new roll call just opened up for the August 4, 2014 Delights.

 

Well, it is a sure sign my brain is turning to mush. The correct date is August 8, 2014.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

I just started a Roll Call for the June 24, 2015 Viking Emerald Imperial Jewels of China cruise.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=43541999#post43541999

 

It's our first river cruise and first time to this part of China. Thanks to all who post on this thread. Your posts are a great resource. :)

[irocks]

If Viking has your Airline Frequent Flyer numbers do they automatically attach these numbers to your flights inside of China or did you need to apply for milage credit with airline partners once you returned home?

[FUN33]

If Viking has your Airline Frequent Flyer numbers do they automatically attach these numbers to your flights inside of China or did you need to apply for milage credit with airline partners once you returned home?

 

We may be flying on Chinese regional airlines that might not have affiliations for ff miles. Probably will need to wait until you receive your detailed itinerary with hotels and flights from Viking.

[caribill]

If Viking has your Airline Frequent Flyer numbers do they automatically attach these numbers to your flights inside of China or did you need to apply for milage credit with airline partners once you returned home?

 

They do not.

 

When we were booked on the appropriate flights, we went to the airline's service desk at the airport in China to have our FF numbers added.

[Peregrina651]

I just started a Roll Call for the June 24, 2015 Viking Emerald Imperial Jewels of China cruise.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=43541999#post43541999

 

It's our first river cruise and first time to this part of China. Thanks to all who post on this thread. Your posts are a great resource. :)

 

Thank you, Sue. I just added it to the list I've been keeping and it will show up the next time I post the list.

 

You have chosen wisely for your first river cruise. :D

[Mark_T]

Just handed in all the documents to obtain our visas, going back to collect them at the end of the week.

 

Starting to get more 'real' now :)

[FUN33]

Just handed in all the documents to obtain our visas, going back to collect them at the end of the week.

 

Starting to get more 'real' now :)

 

Did you do it yourself or use a visa service company?

[Mark_T]

Did you do it yourself or use a visa service company?

 

We did not use a service company.

 

The form is not hard and Viking provided a useful guide to filling out the parts of the form covering the trip itself.

 

If you have a Chinese Visa center close to you it really is quite an easy process.

[FUN33]

We did not use a service company.

 

The form is not hard and Viking provided a useful guide to filling out the parts of the form covering the trip itself.

 

If you have a Chinese Visa center close to you it really is quite an easy process.

 

The processing center is our issue - 6 hour round trip. Have read a lot of reviews about the Chinese being meticulous about the entries on the form. We will probably bite the bullet and pay a service to run these for us. Please do post after you get your visas and let us all know if everything processed without a problem.

[Mark_T]

The processing center is our issue - 6 hour round trip. Have read a lot of reviews about the Chinese being meticulous about the entries on the form. We will probably bite the bullet and pay a service to run these for us. Please do post after you get your visas and let us all know if everything processed without a problem.

 

Will do.

 

While I was waiting at the center to submit the forms I could clearly hear many people encountering problems so yes, they are careful when checking the forms.

 

Mostly it seemed to be people who had failed to provide the correct documents, notably copies of each to go with each application.

 

So if you have two passports being submitted for a visa each then you need separate copies of the supporting documents to go with each. So the proof of airline flights/Viking tour details with hotel etc. needs to be copied, you can't just submit one copy that shows both names.

[irocks]

This forum has been so helpful for our upcoming trip with Viking to China. Does anyone know if there is a similar forum to help with planning a Mekong trip with Viking? I have not been able to find one. Thank you all for your postings.

[crusing couple]

Received our package from Viking for our cruise leaving in about 2 weeks. The part about "on board tipping" was a bit ambiguous. Do we need $300 cash for the ship's staff or can it be added to our account and use plastic?

A couple of months ago, one of the postings suggested "using NEW paper money". Is that still valid?

Bill

[Mark_T]

A couple of months ago, one of the postings suggested "using NEW paper money". Is that still valid?

 

Certainly don't take old $ bills with you as they will be difficult/impossible to change and certainly not something to give as a tip as they are effectively worthless to the person receiving them.

 

Bills should be unmarked, undamaged and preferably uncreased.

[FUN33]

Received our package from Viking for our cruise leaving in about 2 weeks. The part about "on board tipping" was a bit ambiguous. Do we need $300 cash for the ship's staff or can it be added to our account and use plastic?

A couple of months ago, one of the postings suggested "using NEW paper money". Is that still valid?

Bill

 

We have previously done three different river cruises and have always been able to add the tips to our on board account. Sometimes you may need to give your credit card to the ship cruise director to have charges added. We have recently found that currency exchanges an merchants in foreign countries will only accept US currency that is in new or like new condition.

[Mark_T]

If I remember correctly, you can add the tips for the ship staff to your onboard account, but the tips for the guide who is with you for the land-based tour as well as the ship needs to be tipped separately and in cash.

[Peregrina651]

This forum has been so helpful for our upcoming trip with Viking to China. Does anyone know if there is a similar forum to help with planning a Mekong trip with Viking? I have not been able to find one. Thank you all for your postings.

 

 

Have you looked in both the River Roll Call forum and the River Cruising forum?

 

If you can't find one, then you should start one and then be prepared to nurture it until it has a life out its own--and that in itself can be very difficult.

 

 

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