Viking China

[coasters]

Yes, could we please see a picture with the smog (fog).

 

I am enjoying the few pictures that have been posted.

 

Attached are 2 images, before and after haze removal, using Picasa 2.

Jerry

[arlenez]

Arlene,

I knew you were going to ask. This may seem complicated but it’s not to bad.

 

Go back to your picture on Webshots, look on the right side and you will see, link to this picture. Below that are pixel sizes, 100, 200, 425, 500, 600. This determines picture size. Select the size you want then you can preview it. Next go to, direct link to image. Copy what is in the box below. Now go back to Cruise Critic to your reply, look for the icon on top of the reply box that looks like an envelope with a mountain on it, it says, insert image, click it. You will probably have to ok scripted windows, do this, then re-click the icon and paste what you copied from Webshots in the box. That information will show up in your reply. I would suggest you hit, preview post, to see what your picture looks like before you submit your reply.

Here’s what your picture looks like at 425 pixels.

 

 

 

Hi Dale:

 

I was able to follow your instructions on Webshots, but I do not see the box that looks like an envelope with a mountain on it and insert image. I don't know what I have to do to "ok scripted windows" in your instructions. Is this something I have to do in internet explorer ? Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks & regards,

Arlene

[Dale]

Hi Dale:

I do not see the box that looks like an envelope with a mountain on it and insert image. I don't know what I have to do to "ok scripted windows" in your instructions.

Thanks & regards,

Arlene

Arlene,

It’s on the row just beneath fonts, sizes on the cruise critic reply page it’s the fifth icon from the end. To me it looks like a envelope with a mountain on it. It may have a different look to you. When you click this icon a line will appear above the reply box that says, This website is using a scripted window, etc….., click this to allow scripted windows. Click the icon again and a box will appear for you to paste what you copied on webshots. Hopefully when you click review post you will see your picture enlarged.

[arlenez]

Arlene,

It’s on the row just beneath fonts, sizes on the cruise critic reply page it’s the fifth icon from the end. To me it looks like a envelope with a mountain on it. It may have a different look to you. When you click this icon a line will appear above the reply box that says, This website is using a scripted window, etc….., click this to allow scripted windows. Click the icon again and a box will appear for you to paste what you copied on webshots. Hopefully when you click review post you will see your picture enlarged.

 

Dale:

 

I have it now. I had to go into User CP and make a change to my edit options and now I have it.

 

Thanks so much for all of your help.

 

Regards,

Arlene

[arlenez]

Hi Dale:

 

I did it! Yeah. Thanks so much for your help.

 

 

Regards,

Arlene

[Dale]

Hi Dale:

 

I did it! Yeah. Thanks so much for your help.

 

 

Regards,

Arlene

Never a doubt, I knew you could do it.

[WIT]

Is anyone from our trip still thinking 'happy house'? Wondering if the toilets are Eastern or Western? Trying to remember to bring enough tp when you leave home...............

 

I am still thinking "brush teeth with a bottle of water".

We brought a supply of small paper cups last April - it made the process a bit easier.

WIT

[no fuss travel]

Wit

 

Were these for brushing your teeth? We were thinking of taking enough cups for each hotel and the ship.

[coasters]

Attached are 2 images, before and after haze removal, using Picasa 2.

Jerry

[go2girl]

My friend and I are booking today for the Cultural Delights tour leaving 6/16/09. Want to take advantage of early booking discount. We were wondering if any of you have an opinion on what cabins are the best to book. We are thinking of taking a Cat. F cabin. Cat. E cabins are only $150 more and are not as forward in the ship. Any opinions?

[arlenez]

My friend and I are booking today for the Cultural Delights tour leaving 6/16/09. Want to take advantage of early booking discount. We were wondering if any of you have an opinion on what cabins are the best to book. We are thinking of taking a Cat. F cabin. Cat. E cabins are only $150 more and are not as forward in the ship. Any opinions?

 

Hi:

 

We were on the middle deck in Cabin 301 (the first cabin in the front on the port side) and enjoyed it very much. We met people who were on the deck above ours in the back and they did not like being in the back. It was noisy with a lot of vibrations.

 

Regards,

Arlene

[go2girl]

Thanks, Arlenez! We were wondering about the noise. Any other tips or suggestions would be appreciated. Have been enjoying reading posts on this board very much and have learned a lot!

 

Thanks for the help,

go2girl

[go2girl]

Hi:

 

We returned from our Imperial Jewels tour yesterday and had a fantastic time. The weather was quite warm and we never needed a jacket or sweater. The dining room on the ship and the restaurants were never cool, most were warm at times, so I suggest anyone going in the near future to dress in light weight clothing.

 

Our luggage was never a problem. I carried a purse and a carry-on and didn't have any problems. I also carried sanitizing hand wipes in my purse and they did not take them away from me. The carry-ons were never weighed.

 

No one in our group had a pick-pocket problem, but one gal did get counterfeit Yuan for change when she made a purchase from a street vendor. I bought the fake Rolex watches for $2.00 and I love them! I also bought the silk jackets for $10 and wore mine to one of the shows and received many compliments. The custom made silk jackets are absolutely beautiful and many women had them made while on board the ship.

 

The shows were really wonderful, and the Chinese Opera and Peking duck dinner were not as bad as some people on Cruise Critic have stated. It was not the opera of singing that I expected, but rather a storytelling performance.

 

The tours were all interesting and we enjoyed all of them and saw things we never would have seen if we weren't on the Viking tour.

 

If anyone has any specific questions, I would be most happy to answer them.

 

Warm regards,

Arlene

 

Arlene,

Just wondering what made you choose the Imperial Jewels tour over the other tours offered?

Thanks

go2girl

[dpump]

I was in 310 which was fine. To do it over again, I'd check the prices on the 4th floor and as far in the front as possible. There is a little known lounge in the front of the boat on the 4th floor that was wonderful.

[dpump]

Just wondering what made you choose the Imperial Jewels tour over the other tours offered?

**************************************

Just did a quick comparison and what you would miss (that was a highlight for alot of us) is the Monastary and the '99 curves' road. There are other things, but that was great. Our guide told us there are never that many on the Imperial Jewels compared to the Cultural Delights. I wonder how long Viking can keep doing the Chinese trips-our trip only had 197 on it, the trip following ours had approx. 95 folks (out of what? 350). Ahh, the Peking Duck and the Chinese Opera.........I got more entertainment out of watching all the bobbing heads of those asleep. One entire table of 6 were sound asleep!

When the brochure says 'free time', don't think it's FREE TIME. You are busy all the time! Lightweight clothing is a must. Bring an umbrella. They do have rain poncho's, but with the humidity, was like saran wrap (but glad we had them). Two pair of shoes are all that's needed, good walking shoes (I had tennies) and a pr of sandals for dinner. No dressy anything is necessary unless that's what you want to do. We did have a gal or two in our group who had their carry on checked, believe it was too big. Had another gal really given a hard time leaving Shanghai to come home due to an Epi Pen-they were convinced it was some bomb or something and then they found (eegaads!!!) a pr of scissors in those sewing kits from a hotel. They 'wrote her up'. Never been searched at any airport and was searched at one of the intra China airports-why, I don't know. Some got things taken away, others didn't. There is a final security check before boarding your flight that will not allow liquids on board the plane-even though they sell them-so beware.

Viking did a great job, our guide couldn't of been better. You won't regret going.

[go2girl]

Wow, thanks everyone for your answers to my questions! This board is great! My travel buddy and I booked the Imperial Jewels tour for 6/11/09. We read all your tips and reviews, and they really helped us make our decision. We have never booked this far in advance and were a little nervous about doing so, but now that it's done, I feel so excited! Half the fun of the trip is in the planning, don't you think? :) We had to book a category E cabin because all of the category F cabins were already spoken for! I guess it must be quite common to book well in advance.

By the way, this is our second Viking cruise. We did the Berlin to Prague cruise on the Elbe last year. At the time, we felt the tour was a little slow compared with the Globus bus tours we had taken in the past. We are two married gals in our late 40's/early 50's. On retrospect, we both feel that it was the most relaxing tour we have ever taken, and we loved not having to unpack and re-pack each day! :D Sooo, here we come, China!

[dpump]

Well, get ready and hit the ground running on this China tour! We too had taken a Viking tour last year (Grand European) and kept comparing the two.

[jandacruise]

We brought a supply of small paper cups last April - it made the process a bit easier.

WIT

 

 

This was a great tip!! We are leaving this Sunday for China and I am going out today to buy a supply of paper cups. Any other tips that people could share??

[arlenez]

This was a great tip!! We are leaving this Sunday for China and I am going out today to buy a supply of paper cups. Any other tips that people could share??

 

I suggest you bring toilet paper as many of the public restrooms did not have any. I bought small travel rolls, or you could bring some from the ship/hotels and carry them it a plastic bag.

 

Regards,

Arlene

[coasters]

I suggest you bring toilet paper as many of the public restrooms did not have any. I bought small travel rolls, or you could bring some from the ship/hotels and carry them it a plastic bag.

 

Regards,

Arlene

 

The TP and tissues in hotels and on ship are pretty good quality. No need to bring your own, just take some from the room or cabin before you go on the tour.

You might want to bring a small power strip or a quality 6' extension cord with multiple taps on end - doing so will allow you to use only one plug adapter and connect several chargers and/or AC adapters from one wall outlet. Be sure all can handle whichever voltage you connect to. Many AC chargers can handle either 110 or 220 and automatically switch. Check the device label to be sure.

Never connect a 110V device to 220V without transformer.

Again, check the label!

Jerry

[WIT]

Most Yangtze River cruises begin or end in Chongqing and most of your Century Sun/Sky crew comes from there. Discovery Channel will air a short series on China with Ted Koeppel, starting July 9th. The second episode covers Chongqing (pronounced 'chong-ching') Here's the link:

 

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/highlights/highlights.html

 

WIT

[WIT]

This was a great tip!! We are leaving this Sunday for China and I am going out today to buy a supply of paper cups. Any other tips that people could share??

Just click on my name and select 'Find all posts' to see various topics after our 4/07 Cultural Delights cruise.

WIT

[arlenez]

Hi All:

 

We had a film crew from the Travel Channel filming our tour which began on May 30th on the Viking Century Sky. It will be aired sometime next year and they are going to send me an email telling me when. I will post the date and time when I receive this email.

 

Regards,

Arlene

[travelsfun]

I would strongly suggest a small battery-operated fan that you could carry or wear around your neck this time of the year! And, always carry water with you and don't buy it from the vendors. Have a great trip!

Dorothy

[jandacruise]

Thanks again for the tips everyone!!I have the mini fans packed and ready to go!! I'll also remember to take some TP from the rooms before we leave for the day. Do you think there is a need to bring some plastic forks with us for some of the restaurants? Is that going overboard?

 

Andrea