Viking China Cruise Shopping?

[chef1943]

I know that in Russia you must stay with the group and can not get off the ship by yourself to do any shipping or sightseeing unless you have a seperate Visa for that.

But can you leave the ship in China to do some shopping & sightseeing on your own when docked? Or must you stay with the group?

[txladycruiser]

I know that in Russia you must stay with the group and can not get off the ship by yourself to do any shipping or sightseeing unless you have a seperate Visa for that.

But can you leave the ship in China to do some shopping & sightseeing on your own when docked? Or must you stay with the group?

 

We were in Beijing and Shanghai last year on an ocean cruise. You may go out on your own and don't have to stay with a group.

 

Great shopping in China!!

 

 

Karen

[pjtraveler]

We had no restrictions in either China or Russia. You may be thinking about the large ocean liner cruise ships. On the river ships, you have to obtain a visa for both China and Russia to make the trips.:)

[id4elizabeth]

Just finished the visa application process for Russia, and found it very time consuming, frustrating and intimidating. Is it as bad to get a visa for China as it is for Russia? We are thinking about doing China next year, but the Russian visa process this year has me re-thinking that decision. Any insight to the China visa process appreciated!

[H2Otstr]

Just finished the visa application process for Russia, and found it very time consuming, frustrating and intimidating. Is it as bad to get a visa for China as it is for Russia? We are thinking about doing China next year, but the Russian visa process this year has me re-thinking that decision. Any insight to the China visa process appreciated!

 

No, not at all. Very simple process. China trip is phenomenal; go for it :D.

[maryann ns]

I assume you are having a combination land tour and Yangtze cruise. We took a Yangtze cruise in March and the stops are not in areas for shopping except for high priced tourist stuff. On the land part of the tour you may have some opportunities, but beware of the general shopping stops and "factory" tours.

 

The general rule for bargaining is to start at one fifth of their asking price. Shanghai and Beijing have lots of shopping if you are able to go on your own.

[pjtraveler]

The China visa application was much simpler than the one for Russia! Despite the difficulty of filling out all the information for the Russian visa, it was truly a marvelous trip! Enjoy!:):)

[no fuss travel]

If one of your stops is Wuhan, you can go off shopping on your own quite easily. Make sure you take a GPS with you so you don't wander forever and not get back to the ship.:D The big spot for everyone to go shopping in Wuhan was Walmart. There is not a single Walmart in North America like that one. Do go down to the grocery part. Fascinating.

[suspaul]

Hi chef1943, we did Imperial Jewels of China with Viking last May, 2011, what a wonderful trip. We leave in Houston (actually suburbs of) and did our Visa on our own, after completing we took it to the Chinese embassy in Houston, left it for approval and returned on the appointed date to pick up. However, have heard good remarks at doing it thru the vendor Viking uses so whichever makes it easier for you.

 

As to the shopping portion, it was possible in Beijing and Shanghai as you do have a bit of free time but along the way there was little opportunity to do so. At each port there were vendors, mainly souvenir type stuff. Due to the intra-China flights and travel plus seeing so many amazing sites we didn't get a lot of free time. Some people did go arrive a day or so early and the same with the flights home so you could do what you chose in your time.

 

Enjoy the trip, it was truly a highlight in our travels and we enjoyed it immensely, Viking did a great job on this particular tour.

Susan

[Glassespro]

Hi all, just letting you know I'm joining in. We're scheduled for Imperial Jewels in October, 2012, so I'm checking out sites. I started a roll call, if anyone else is on the 10/10/12 trip (see below), but like most river cruises, not much activity on it. Anyway, I'll be reading, probably won't have much to offer since we haven't done our shopping yet, but I'm here.