Any comments on Viking China cruisetour yet?

[amster]

Has anyone gone on the initial cruise?

I got the brochure this weekend. It looks excellent! I think that's my vacation for 2005, unless the reports coming off it are bad.

 

Amy

[shmabbies]

We did the inaugural Viking Imperial Treasures cruisetour & have been home a few weeks and I STILL haven't gotten to writing even a quick review for this board. Getting back to work was a drag & the jet lag horrific but I've been trying to edit at least 100 photos a day and I'm still not done because of how many we took! In answer to your question, the cruisetour was FANTASTIC! We enjoyed it immensely & were amazed at how smoothly things went given that it was the 1st cruise. If you have any specific questions that I can answer over the weekend without getting into too much detail, I'd be happy to, and I hope to make some lengthier comments next week.

[kaleaje]

What good news, Shmabbies! We're going to do the exact same itinerary next spring. The Century Star sounds beautiful. How were the verandas? Does every cabin have a veranda?

 

KJE

[shmabbies]

Kaleaje, you're going to love it! The balconies are wonderful, and yes, every cabin has one. They added incredibly to the cruise. I'm not sure what your ship experience is, if it's totally ocean cruising then it's NOT that kind of balcony. It's long & narrow & has two surprisingly comfortable chairs on it. Certainly no deck chairs, tables etc. But given that you aren't in the cabin all that much anyway it's more than adequate. The ship is understated, sort of Scandinavian feeling, & I especially liked the dining room which is done in yellow & blue & is really pretty. The hotels are phenomenal as well. Viking is a really class outfit.

[nanheath]

What type of bedding configuration did the ship have? Were all the beds stationary or did they fold up during the day?

[shmabbies]

We had a category B and our beds did not fold up. I'm not aware that any of them did but can't vouch for that. We had ours arranged as a queen but I imagine that they can be arranged as twins.

[kaleaje]

From Viking's China brochure, it looks like the smallest cabin on the Century Star is 177 sq. ft. (and the largest are 573 sq. ft. suites). There would be no need to have a murphy-type bed in such large staterooms, would there?

 

KJE

[Gypsy025]

I have recently returned home after a cruise/tour on the Century Star. I debarked the ship on April 10 at Chongqing. This was the fourth Yangtze cruise of this ship, the second "upstream" (Wahan to Chongqing).

 

Let me tel you a little about myself. I'm in my early 70's, now a solo traveler, no longer an athelete, but quite active (I walk or ride a bicycle everyday). I have been on many ocean cruises and this was my thirtd cruise with Viking (the others on the 'Europe and Neptune').

 

My overhaul experience on this cruise/tour (the "9-Nights Misty Mountains of the Yagtze") was the same as that expressed by "shmabbies" above - FANTASTIC! China is an absolutely fascenating country. I was ver impressed.

 

Some general comments -

-Our delightful and knowledgeable Tour Escort met us at the excellent hotel in Shanghai. She stayed with us and coddled our group of 22 (all on the "9-Nights Misty Mountains Tour") for the entire trip, leaving us on the day after our hotel night stay in Beijing.

0Our Tour Escort took care of our baggage, domestic airline check-ins, departure Taxes, tipping the local guides and drivers, hotel check-in at our final hotel etc, etc, etc.

-There were only 80 passengers on the cruise. The average age of the passengers was considerably lower than I expected. Probably in the 45-50 range. There were 3 Tour Escorts, one for each group depending upon the pre/post tours that were selected. Each group had its own bus, where bussing was involved.

-The busses used were always there waiting for our groups, they were modern, clean and air conditioned. On every tour from the ship there was at least one local guide (who for the most part spoke good English) for each of the three groups.

-The tours and excursions were well organized.

-The ship's crew couldn't have been more accommodating. When their English was lacking they made up for it with their smiles.

-Breakfasts and lunches on the ship were for the most part excellent. The dinner (including 3 Chinese) were good.

-Not to be missed, if it's including in every sailing, is the Chinese Acrobat Show, while docked at Fengdu and the Crew Cabaret Show on the last night.

-The scenery on some parts of the trip is absolutely spectactular, particulary the excursion on a smaller boat to the Lesser Three Gorges. I would say that it's as equal to, or better than that of Alaska, the Chilean and Norwegian Fjords or Milford Sound. On the other hand, there are parts of the river (downstream) which are uninteresting and reminds me a little of the banks of the Nile.

 

Other Comments -

-For those who have sailed on Vikings ships in Western Europe (only 2 or 3 Decks), the stairs on the 5 Decks on the Star and 6 if you include Deck 1, from where most of the docking takes place, can be an "effort". The Dining Room is on Deck 2 and the Lounge is on Deck 5. The stairs from Deck 2 to Deck 1 are steep. There is no elevator on the ship.

-There is only one storage drawer (13" X 20") in the cabin (I didn't see the Suites).

-There is no storage space or medicine cabinet in the bathroom.

-The Balcony is the width of the cabin (8'6"), but only 2'2" deep (just wide enough for a chair).

-The cabin climate control (either low, medium or high) is located on the nightstand. However, the "Heat" or "Air Conditioning" is controlled by the ship's engineer. On a couple of nights I went to sleep with the control on "low" (at the time of Air Conditioning) only to wake up during the night with the heat on.

-The temperature on the ship from room to room was nowhere near constant. The Dining Room became very warm during meals.

 

Further comments -

-A number of the shore excursions required a great amount of walkink (sometimes up steep inclines) and of stair climbing (lots of stairs). The Cruise Manager would communicate this information in great detail in his daily briefing.

-I would certainly recommend that only active passengers attempt the "Walking Tour to the Shiabozhai Pagoda" and especially the "Excursion to the Snow Jade Cave".

-I would strongly recommend that those people contemplating taking a cruise in Jul or Aug really research the weather. The "Ranges in Degrees Fahrenheit" shown on page 47 of the Yangtze River brochure are, I would suggest, low and high AVERAGES. The guides on our excursions indicated that temperatures in the 100+ range, with high humidity, are not uncommon in the summer months in the rivertowns.

 

Would I recommend this tour to my friends? Most certainly, to my active friends.

 

Gypsy

[d5480]

My wife and I were on the same cruise. Gypsy’s review is excellent and accurate.

[nanheath]

What were the beds like........murphy pulldown types or stationery? What about temps in June? Thanks for the great review!

[Gypsy025]

nanheath...

 

The beds were 'normal', comfortable twin/single beds, which could be placed together. Each bed had a comforter. They were not 'murphy' or 'pull-down' type beds.

 

As far as the weather in June, you might want to check www.wunderground.com and search that site. It gives historical data for major cities - I notice that Chongqing and Wuhan are shown....for example, on June 15/2003 the max temp at Wuhan was 91.4 and 78.8 in Chongqing. FYI, the forecast for this coming Mon, Tue & Wed in Wuhan is 87, 87 & 89 respectively.

Hope this helps.

 

Gypsy

[shmabbies]

Gypsy - What a wonderful review, so thorough and comprehensive that now I don't have to do mine! I would underscore everything you said many times over with only a few comments/clarifications. The balconies at least in the B category held two chairs (which is probably what you meant but didn't want anyone to think that one person had to stand while the other sat). Interestingly, the average age on our sailing was at least 60-75. And there were more than three Chinese dinner meals on our sailing, which coupled with the many Chinese meals we had on our longer land itinerary made us pine for some western food after a while.

 

All of your other comments were right on the money. The temperatures on the ship varied a lot & definitely need some work. The storage space in the cabin was definitely lacking but that paled in comparison to the temperature issue, which was solved for us by leaving the balcony door open but I imagine in the summer this won't be an option.

 

To give Viking credit, they did a thorough job in their brochure to prepare us for what to expect in the stair department. I agree that they did a very good job at each port talk to specifically indicate how many stairs there would be the next day so no one would be misled, and I agree that the excursions you mention are probably THE most intensive in the stair department.

 

The temperatures when we were there were warmer than we expected & I ended up wearing a T-shirt I purchased at the Great Wall almost all the time - so much so that it practically had to have its own airline ticket to get home. I would agree that the temperatures as represented in the brochure are on the lower side of average.

 

I like the word "coddled" that you used to describe how the Tour Escort handled your group because that's exactly the same way we would describe ours. There wasn't enough he could do for us and he smoothed the way thru everything from start to finish. I wanted to bring him home!

 

I also have to comment on the passengers, whether it was luck or the exotic destination, I'm not sure, but the group had no real complainers or prima donnas. This was very refreshing & enhanced the experience.

 

 

Viking did a WONDERFUL job and it amazes me that our inaugural was so flawless. We were told they are adding ships & itineraries & we'd consider going again in a heartbeat.

 

Thanks for a great review! Can't reiterate again how "on the money" it was!

[Gypsy025]

I'm finally getting the feeling back in my brain, after sitting on it for hours on the flights back home.

 

Here are a few more comments/suggestions for those whe are contemplating or who have already booked a Yangtze Cruise/Tour....

 

Apart from the usual travel books on China, Beijing and Shanghai by 'Lonely Planet, Frommer's etc., I strongly recommend the reading of the book "River Town, Two Years on the Yangtze" written by Peter Hessler. Hessler was a Peace Corps volunteer, in the second half of the 1990's, teaching English and American Literature at Fuling University.

Also, the web site www.travelchinaguide.com has excellent information, particularly about the climate. You'll notice that the summer months are the warmest and rainiest - Jul being the hottest and June being the the wettest....and....the nickname of Chongqing is 'The Furnace' and 'The Stove' is Wuhan's.

 

Flying within China....The airports and customer services were equal to or better than those in North America. The aircraft used were the latest models - A320's and Boeing 737-800's. A warning - bottles of liquor, either unopened or openend are not allowed in carry-on baggage. The checked baggage allowance is 44lbs plus one piece of carry-on baggage (less than 11lbs).

 

Dress Code on board....very casual, I was one of about 50% of the men onboard, who wore a jacket to the Captain's Welcome Cocktail Party (the second night of the cruise). There were even fewer jackets worn at the Farewell Dinner.

 

Taxis in Shanghai and Beijing are an excellent means of transportation. They are inexpensive and numerous. The drivers wear white gloves and are courteous; there are white covers on the seats. They all have meters. At the end of the journey, the meter produces a receipt indicating the time you entered the cab, the time at destination, the distance covered in kilometers and the charge. Most cabbies refuse the offered tip.

 

Some further recommndations....if not included in your cruise/tour...

......in Shanghai, a Huangpu River Cruise (about 2 hours) taken on one of the many boats ( with recorded English commentary) from the southern end of the Bund Promenade (less than a half mile from the Westin Hotel) - cost about $5.

.......also in Shanghai, a visit to the Shanghai Acrobatics, at the Shanghai Centre Theatre (even though there is a performance onboard the ship by a group of children). I paid approx $25 for a center seat about 5 rows from the stage. Unbelievable performance.

........The Great Wall (Badaling)....try to arrange a car or mini bus, rather than take an all day (about $44 per person) Group Tour. The Group Tour stops at a jade 'factory' and other 'tourist' facilities and lunch, but only spends about an hour and a half at the Wall. Climbing the Wall is not for the fainthearted or those afraid of heights - it's a real challenge up VERY steep and NUMEROUS steps (most about 12" or more high).

 

I'd be happy to try to answer any questions that you may have.

 

Gypsy

 

[This message was edited by Gypsy025 on 04-19-04 at 11:40 AM.]

[lynnrts]

We are taking this cruise in August. Thanks for your insights. I am a little concerned about the temperatures, but I will just plan on bringing cotton clothes. Do any women wear shorts?

[lynnrts]

Gypsy - Do the cabins have easy access to electric outles? I have a digital camera & will need to charge the battery. Also, are the on-board laundry facilities good? That could make packing easier. Lynns

[Gypsy025]

...lynnrts...

 

A few of the females (as well as some of the men) did wear shorts both on board and on shore, but the (warm) weather caught most by surprise.

 

By the way, there is no (laundry) 'line' in the bathroom, but there is excellent, reasonably priced laundry service - collected before 12 noon, returned the same day. For example, a blouse- 10.00 yuan ($1.25), dress- 15.00 yuan ($1.90), shorts- 8.00 yuan ($1.00).

 

Gypsy

[lynnrts]

Thanks. I am starting to get excited about this trip. Can you mail purchases home? The airline weight limits could present a problem. Also, was Viking aware of the temperature problem on the ship?

[Gypsy025]

...lynnrts...

 

Not too sure about the number of electrical outlets in the cabin, but the one on the desk was 220v. There was another in the bathroom, which was both 220 & 110, but the Cruise Manager stressed that the 110 outlet in the bathroom was for shavers only, not for hair dryers etc. A number of hairdryers were available, on loan, from the Reception Desk. He requested that, after use, the dryers be returned to Reception.

 

Major stores will ship purchases home. FYI on our cruise, there were 2 ladies who ended up with ten (10) checked pieces of luggage, which were accepted on the Chongqing to Beijing flight as all our groups baggage was 'pooled' for check-in. I don't know what happened on their Beijing to the States flight(s).

 

Viking, at least on the ship, were quite aware of the heating/air conditioning problem....and....if the 'comments forms' have reached their California Office, they will certainly be fully aware of the problem.

 

Quite frankly, I don't think there is a central air conditioning 'plant'. For example, in the Lounge there are 2 (very noisy) units or 'handlers', with their compressors being on the deck (Sun Deck) above.

 

Gypsy

[shmabbies]

Lynnrts - My husband & I both have digital cameras & brought along chargers, batteries, and adapters/converters (the outlet on the desk was a good location for this). However, we found our batteries were not holding a charge very well at all even when the charger indicated they were "done." We ended up buying disposable batteries to supplement the rechargeables. We thought something was wrong with the rechargeables or the charger until one day we were chatting with another passenger who coincidentally was commenting about his video camera battery & how despite being recharged, it wasn't lasting very long. All of us had used our batteries, cameras, converters, and chargers in other parts of the world with no problem so we came to the conclusion that it was something about the Chinese electrical current and/or the ship's electrical current. Could be our imaginations but thankfully we didn't throw out the rechargeable batteries & they have been fine at home so... what other conclusion could you come to. I would definitely recommend bringing along some disposable batteries as backup. They were obtainable in China and while they weren't that expensive, they weren't available just anywhere. Something else we discovered when we ended up with this large pile of "dead" disposable batteries is that while they might be "dead" for camera purposes, they work fine in flashlights & other small items! I was shocked!

 

As far as luggage weight goes, we know our luggage had to have exceeded the checked weight limit. I understand they pool the luggage for the group so if some people are under, their extra can go to those of us who were over. However, unbelievably you can carry on as much as you want! It was incredible what people were carrying on. To me it makes no sense to have strict checked luggage weights while not regulating at all the carryon weight, especially since we Americans as a rule weigh more than the Chinese besides! But the intra-Chinese flights were fine otherwise & amazingly a meal is offered even on flights of an hour! Of course some of it is food you might have some qualms about eating - dried squid for example - but Viking kept us well fed so there was no need to eat the plane food if you didn't want to.

 

Actually, on the engine room tour we were told something about the generating of the a/c on the ship. I believe they said there were two generators for the ship, one backup generator, and a fourth one exclusively for the a/c. Never did hear any official speculation about what the problem was but I was disappointed to learn between cruise #1 and #4 it hadn't been corrected.

[lynnrts]

Thanks, I will pack extra throw away batteries for my camera. We have an extra day in Shanghai because we are using points & that was the only flight we could get, so I am going to take the Huangpu River tour that either you or Gypsy suggested. Everything that we have heard about this cruise is positive, except the air conditioning, but I guess we can live with that if they do not get it fixed. I really appreciate your information. Lynns

[jhp]

schmabbies and gypsy: Are you willing to share your photographs from this cruise, and a link to get to them? I am considering this cruisetour, and would love to see pictures! Thanks.

[Gypsy025]

...jhp....

 

I'm an old fashioned guy, still living in the 20th century, and still taking using a 35mm camera, with negatives and prints.....but..in color.

 

Gypsy

[shmabbies]

Gypsy - you're too funny! Love it! JHP - I've never set up a link like that & right now I'm too swamped to take the time to learn how. However, I can e-mail you some representative photos if you'd like, a few at a time. I would need your e-mail address and if you have anything in particular you're interested you can just tell me. I'd be happy to do this!

[jhp]

shmabbies: any pictures you have of the ship, and scenery along the river would be great. e-mail ophillips2000@aol.com. Thanks!

 

Gypsy, I know what you mean. I lugged my 35mm and 2 extra lenses around until just last November. Now with my digital camera, I lug my laptop so I can get back on the ship, download my pictures, and have an instant slideshow! It was a big leap into the 21st century for me!

[cookie4u]

My hubbie and I will be joining lynnrts and her hubbie on the Yangtze River Cruise in August. I've just been diagnosed with food allergies to mushrooms, shell fish (squid included)and peanuts. Any special dietary requests acceptable with the galley? I know that the Chinese cook with all of these items.

I just recently read that Martin Yan, host of "Yan Can Cook" on PBS, has developed the menus on the Century Star. Any suggestions from anyone?