Viking China

[land lover]

LT...keep the tips coming......we often miss lunch especially if we have breakfast, did you see others from your tour off the beaten path as well?

I am with you just observe don't record...I actually take less photos now with a digital....I can just see my kids years from now tossing and deleting and who has time to go back and look if another trip is already in the works. Maybe I'll have the time when my 13 year old leaves the nest.Who knows?

 

Ocala, what did you find unique about Beijing? How about you Toot?

Have an enjoyable day:)

[Murphey]

Hi. I posted on the first page of this thread, but have not been back, and just happened upon it today. We are booked on the Sky on the end of September journey. We are part of a group that our TA in Portland has put together and we leave PDX on 9/25. Also, convinced our friends from SAN to join us. We are really looking forward to this trip other that the long air ride. I will go back through this thread and catch up on all the comments. Would be fun to find others on this same trip! Have spent much time in SE Asia, but this will be our first trip to China and our first riverboat experience.

[land lover]

Welcome back Murphey.........What intinerary are you doing on the Sky? Most of us are on the Sun doing Cultural Delights.

:)

[Little Toot2]

Actually Lori, my husband and I were the only folks from our ship who ventured into that industrial town that day.... If you choose to explore on your own, be smart about what you take with you (no jewelry or packs) and be aware of your surroundings at all times. We chose to walk down the middle of the street to keep clear of the crowded sidewalk areas and kept up a brisk pace. Our presence was certainly noted by all, but we were never confronted.

 

Another option might be to check privately with your local guides in the various cities to see if they might hire out for a private tour later in the day. Although my husband and I were not smart enough to try this during our trip to China in '04, we were able to do this with success a couple of times in Russia last year.

 

Another thing that I should probably mention is that although we are all used to receiving affirmation from peers of about our same age, this may not be a good choice in China. We quickly learned that the older Chinese people did not speak any English and were not too happy about being approached by us ... perhaps due to the fact that they had grown up during the time of the Cultural Revolution, or at least that was what we surmised. But many of the young Chinese who lived in the big cities had some training in the English language. A few of them would approach us and try to engage us in conversation in order to practice their language skills. So if you need help with directons, etc. when out on your own, find someone under 30 to ask!

[Murphey]

Welcome back Murphey.........What intinerary are you doing on the Sky? Most of us are on the Sun doing Cultural Delights.

:)

 

We are doing "Misty Mountains". I checked the website and our departure date (ship-9/30) is not listed, so I assume it is sold out. We had never booked a trip so far in advance....and now, it seems within reach. We had thought about this trip for several years, but our schedule was always booked (you know the old saying.....when did I ever have time to work!). So, when our TA brought this to our attention way last summer, we decided to go for it and get in "on the books". Although, my husband did laugh and say, "gee, I hardly buy green bananas anymore". We were pleased with the time of year, the weather seems to be 'bearable". I plan to wear capri's and golf skirts, both of which are very comfortable. I'm glad to hear the laundry on board is reasonable, I will rely on that and try not to pack so much. I agree with other comments about shoes though :D !!

[land lover]

More great info LT........Thanks.... I like the idea of hiring out a guide, which brings up another question do they use magnetic cards for boarding the ship or just do a head count...I mean if you and your HD didn't come back would have you been missed? Or is it the Group tour guide's job to keep track of their people?

 

I understand no jewerly, but why no pack?

 

Also a valuable tip on who to approach with questions.

 

Thanks again:)

[land lover]

Murphey, Didn't you say you were leaving on the 25 so that means your land tour starts on the 26 and that is what would show on the web site not the cruise date......only unless you are doing a pre......you made those plans just to long ago:D

 

You mentioned you were going with a group is this one that your TA set up?

 

Stay tuned for the great tips from Ocala and LT...

 

L:) ri

[Little Toot2]

Lori, Viking encourages you to leave your room key at the front desk whenever you leave the ship and to pick it up immediately upon your return. That way the crew can quickly check to see if all of the keys are 'off the board' before sailing on to the next port. Of course if you fail to turn your key in before you go out on your own, you would probably not be missed until the next 'field trip'. Then your guide would probably just think that you were late for the bus and you would be paged on the ship, but even then they might think that you had just elected to skip the group trip that day. It might take a day or two before the other people in your group actually missed you as Viking uses open seating at mealtime.... pretty scary to think about actually if you're traveling solo!

 

When we ventured into that industrial city by ourselves, we wanted the people we encountered to know that 'what they saw was what they'd get'. We kept our small digital camera out of sight in a pocket and carried only a small amount of Chinese money........ no packs meant no hidden items of unknown value. Certainly our decision to venture out that day was made with the knowledge that there was some risk involved, but to us it was an acceptable risk. Even then we did not invite anyone else along as we did not want that liability. We did venture out evenings with other couples that we met onboard in Shanghai, Xian, and Beijing, but those trips were arranged by mutual agreement over conversations at mealtime. Quite different than inviting someone else along to 'ride shotgun' on our venture into the industrial city.

 

Murphey, welcome back and good luck with the shoe choices, girlfriend!

LT

[land lover]

"What you see is what you get" wise traveling tip, LT.

 

When you ventured out on those evenings in Beijing, Xian and Shanghai, what did you find of interest ?

 

:)

[Little Toot2]

Lori, Ronni, jff50, and Murphey,

There is a great thread on Viking's Cultural Delights offering that I do not think you have discovered, or at least you have not posted there to date. Click on my screen name and scroll down my list of posts.... it should be near the top as I posted a reply on that thread just now to set you up with the link.

LT

[land lover]

Murphey.....I was incorrect with my comment on your cruise, I just looked on Vikings Web...........you are correct your cruise does not show on thre web,only one does in Sept. and that is for the 7th... I was looking in the borchure before.................Sorry...guess I should check before opening my mouth:D

 

 

 

Thanks LT for the thread.

[land lover]

Murphey...I should hve used this guy:o :o :o

[LuAnn]

Little Toot: Thank you so much for the info about letting Viking know if you're traveling with friends! We are, and that is a little hint I didn't even think about. We will be flying out of LAX. What airline was it on? Did you upgrade to business class? How crowded was the plane? We are dreading that many hours in "steerage."

 

Ocala: Enjoy your trip to California! We really do live in a beautiful place--San Diego. Be sure not to miss the San Diego Zoo, the world's finest, in our humble opinion! There are so many things to see and do here...how many days will you have in San Diego? I can let you know what not to miss. June weather, hopefully, will be good. We sometimes experience what's locally called "May Gray" and "June Gloom." The past couple of years haven't turned out that way, though, so maybe the sun will hold!

 

Anyone else going on this tour September 30 yet???

 

Got the brochure a week or so ago and starting really looking at it yesterday..I have a dear friend who is working in Beijing so added incentive...then when I looked on the boards today and saw all the great reviews I'm pretty much sold...will see if I can book today or tomorrow...we are from SD as well...how are you going to get to LAX? Maybe we could use Cloud 9 or something and split the cost? Viking wants 250.00 extra pp to go from SD!!! LuAnn

[Murphey]

No worries Land Lover! I have posted a couple more times and they disappear! :( So, I will try again.

I was pleased to hear about the laundry being reasonable, I will be able to send out slacks and jeans that are hard to do "in the sink" ;) I know we need to pack as light as possible, however I understand that Viking takes good care of you and we won't have to haul our own luggage much. I think we will plan to each bring an old pair of tennies that will be "donated" at the end.

 

My DH and I have no problems venturing off on our own, so I will re-read Little Toot's suggestions about "adventuring". I am currently reading "Before the Deluge, The Vanishing World of the Yangtze's Three Gorges" by Deidre Chetham. It's a fascinating historical perpsective and I feel like we are almost there! Am I correct that no one here is on the same itinerary as us??

 

Another clothing question....will DH need a tie/dress shirt/sport coat?

[LunaSeaRetreat]

Murphy,

I was wondering about the sport coat and tie too. I didn't think my husband would need it but it is on the "suggested clothing." Since we're going on the August 25th trip it just seems like something that would add to the weight of the luggage. (or one less outfit for me )

 

Lori,

We really didn't get to do very exciting things in Kauai because of the rain. We gave our daughter a zipline tour for Christmas but it was canceled several times and we gave up. When the sun came out, we would run to beach and then run back or sit in the rain depending on how long it lasted. We got some good rainbow pictures and enjoyed our time with our grandson.

 

Little Toot and Ocala,

Thanks so much for all your help.

Cynthia

[land lover]

No coat and tie for my HD...probably one or two long sleve shirts. We'll limit our suitcases to 2 med. and 1 carry-on. Did someone mention something about the inter-country flights having a smaller size limit on carry-ons?

 

Murphey, you are correct none of us are on your voyage.

How many people are in your group that your TA put together? Do you know any of them?

Your read sounds interesting will have to get a copy.

 

Cynthnia, I wonder how much rain we will get in China and if our ship will be delayed due to fog...I have read some interesting stories on the boards.

 

L.T.,so what was this about flooding, on your cruise, what was the flooding from? more details please.

 

:)

[TGBarbie]

Hi LuAnn-

Since Ronni is out of town this week, I'll take the opportunity to post for the first time on this Viking thread. It would be great to have another CC'er on board. We also live in SD and met Ronnie and Frank last year before our Celebrity Summit Panama Canal cruise. I assume you are looking at the $99. Viking air deal. Are you considering the Guilin/Hong Kong add-on? Tom and I have it booked, but Ronni and Frank don't. We haven't made any serious plans about travel to LA yet, but I'm sure they won't mind my speaking for them and saying that a shared van to LAX would be a great idea. Have you booked the cruise yet? We've been recording various shows on the History and Discovery channels about the Great Wall, the Yangtze River project and China's history. We can hardly wait!

[Little Toot2]

Ronni, We flew United out of SFO and didn't upgrade to business class... that's really hard to afford on a retired teacher's salary. All things considered, it really wasn't as bad as I had feared. After about 7 hours your mind just goes numb and you lose all sense of time and space. Of course that might not happen in your case until after 10 hours in the air........ Our plane taxied out, started accelerating down the runway, and then cut the engines back and returned to the gate. We sat on the ground for three hours while a maintenance crew worked on an engine, not a great start to our trip!

 

Murphey, think that I've discovered the reason for the white screen curse. After you log in, take a look at one of your posts on the thread to be sure that the green light is on next to your screen name. I believe that sometimes the log-in doesn't take because of a glitch on the site. Don't you get an error message on the white screen saying that you are not logged on at those times after you post? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

When going out on a private venture, be sure to walk with energy and confidence and you should be fine. My husband and I were 57 when we went to China and had no problems out and about by ourselves, but he's a big guy... 6'3" so that might have helped!

 

Just FYI, most of the guys on our cruise did not bring ties and sport coats!

 

Lori, if memory serves me correctly, the carry-on weight limit is something like 11-12 pounds. We each brought a backpack for our carry-on and it came in handy when out on our group field trips. But remember that we took no packs when venturing out on our own!

 

Not enough time to update you on the flooding along the Yangtze today.

To be continued........

LT

[San Diego Ronni]

Hi folks! We ARE out of town this week, but are checking e-mails. Glad to see you've joined the board, Deb and Tom! Went to the Grand Canyon yesterday....so beautiful covered in snow! Our first time to see it in winter.

 

LuAnn: I am so glad to see another San Diegan joining our cruise! I think the shuttle idea to LA is a great one! Frank and I have decided not to do the Hong Kong extension. New grandchild due on October 12 and need to get back here to go to Wyoming and lend a hand! Also, we just couldn't justify the cost, as we figure we can go on a whole other vacation for the price!

 

LT, Ocala, LunaSea: Keep that great info coming!:D

[LuAnn]

Bummer! I was hoping to get on the 9/30 but all booked up in any cabin that would not sending us off to the poor house! My friend who lives and works in Bejing called last night and he will be in Bejing then so that will make the trip perfect (actually don't think I would be going if he wasn't there to vist)...but I'm getting really excited now that I booked it. This thread has already offered a world of information! Let's keep it up, and thanks to all of you who have already given such valuable info! LuAnn

[JJPNYC]

Hi-

My wife and I will be doing the Viking tour that leaves from Shanghai on April 30. In reading this thread, it's given me a bunch of useful info. All I can say is that this is definately different that your ordinary Caribbean cruise.

 

One question I had (and maybe I missed it) is relating to the intra-China flights as part of the pakcage. Does anyone know what airline is used (Hainan, Air China, China Southern, etc.) and what about the baggage policy for these flights as I've heard they have a 1 free checked bag policy on some of the other boards.

 

Thanks

 

jeff

[Little Toot2]

Jeff, You should be receiving your flight and luggage details soon, but I can tell you that we flew Air China on our September trip in '04 with Viking. We were allowed one piece of luggage weighing 44 lbs and a small carry-on of 11-12 lbs. although they never weighed either piece at check-in back then. Your main restriction on the carry-on will be its dimensions as the overhead bins are much smaller than on US carriers. My husband and I took backpacks for this luggage piece, which served us well. Viking makes several stops which are designed to encourage shopping/spending including a silk rug factory, a silk garmet factory, a silk embroidery site, a couple of government operated jewelry stores, and the terra cotta warrior shops in Xian which can add considerable weight if one purchases statues. If our luggage was weighed, it was done out of our sight and Viking must have picked up any overage charges. Remember that you are allowed two pieces of luggage on your return flight if you are traveling on a US carrier and there are cheap luggage shops at the Great Wall and throughout Beijing specifically for that purpose.

 

We also flew into Shanghai and out of Beijing as we didn't want to see the capital city, the Great Wall, and the terra cotta warriors while still under the effects of jet lag.... that proved to be a good choice!

[irv54]

Hi All

 

My wife are seriously considering going on the 15 day cultural tour and adding on Hong Kong. Has anyone traveled this itininerary? Are there any reviews available? Does anyone have any other suggestions? We are condidering the trip that leaves on July 31. I know it will be hot but that is the only time we can get free.

 

Thanks

 

Irv

[Little Toot2]

Welcome aboard Irv, I checked Viking's 2005 guide and couldn't find a 15 day cultural tour offering. Unfortunately I must have already recycled their most current catalogs, so I'm going to be flying by the seat of my pants here. The main disadvantage that I see to your plan is that it appears to me that your Hong Kong extension will be unescorted. Now, my husband and I would have been okay with that, are you? You will probably have acquired enough skills to get you by if you fly into Beijing and out of Shanghai, therefore finishing off in Hong Kong, but I wouldn't advise flying directly into Hong Kong at the start of your trip. We decided that we couldn't afford to add on the extension back in '04, as it was considerably more back then. To the best of my knowledge, only six people went to Hong Kong from our group of 300. One adventurous couple really enjoy their independence while the other four felt a bit abandoned by Viking in that city. All of those folks had flown directly from the states into Hong Kong and then joined the group in Shanghai..... which is why I advise you to leave the trip extension to the end even though that will put you into Beijing while dealing with jet lag.

[Little Toot2]

If you look at a topographical map of Asia, you will see that the source of the Yangtze begins high in the mountain areas of eastern Tibet. During our trip in September '04, heavy rain storms in western China sent flood waters down the Yangtze above Chogqing. In order to control the flooding above the Three Gorges Dam, officials had to release huge amounts of water. The strong currents produced by these spillways prevented boats from being able to approach the dam area and use the locks. This effectively stopped all river traffic on the Yangtze, both above and below the Three Gorges Dam.

 

Our captain on Viking's Century Star received notice that the locks were going to be closed and our second day on the river became a race to the dam area rather than the leisurely cruise pace which we had enjoyed the day previous. My husband and I questioned our guide as we had a sense that something was wrong, but we were not told the reason for our increased speed until the entire group was informed when the Century Star failed to reach the locks in time. With the locks closed, our captain had no choice but to tie up to a floating dock in Yichang and wait out the flooding.

 

Many of our fellow passengers were very upset at our situation and thought that Viking should do something to allow this ship with its American passengers to continue on through the locks. Fortunately, Viking arranged a 'field trip' to the Three Gorges Dam a couple of days into our stay in Yichang which served to educate the passengers as to the seriousness of our situation. After looking at the amount of floodwaters behind the dam and the force of the water coming off the spillways, I had a sense that we would not survive in Yichang if this yet to be completed dam were to break from the pressure of the floodwaters.

 

Throughout this experience, I believe that Viking did its upmost to provide us with 'alternative field trips' within a couple of hours ride time of Yichang. They managed to acquire local buses to transport us, but some of our fellow passengers only complained about the condition of the buses. Viking rebooked flights to take us on to Xian a day earlier than scheduled and found hotel accommodations for the entire tour group within that city, yet some of our fellow passengers chose to complain about their flight times or about the fact that our extra night's lodgings in Xian were not 5 star rated . Certainly everyone was very disappointed that we did not get to cruise the Three Gorges area on the Century Star, but Viking even rented a Soviet area commuter vessel to take us through some of the gorge areas above the dam one day. My husband and I were very impressed at Viking's performance during this time period and we traveled with them again last year to Russia