China River Cruise

[clairelouise]

I am thinking about taking my 80 year (plus) mom on a river cruise in China in Sept. or Oct. 2007. She wants to go somewhere that she hasn't been, and she has done lots of traveling. Neither she nor I have ever been on a cruise. I was considering the Viking River cruise. Does anyone have any information that would be helpful? Would the weather be ok? Are the accommodations and food good? Is it interesting? Would it be too much for a fit 80 year old? Any feedback will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Clairelouise

[Cruzefan]

I am another 80+ traveller, and having been on 40 - 50 cruises, I could certainly recommend it for you and your mother. One of the best cruises was on the Rhine and Danube rivers, from Vienna to Amsterdam. The scenery was lovely all the way, it was very relaxing, no rough weather, food was good and shore trips were often a walk around the village or city we happened to tie up at. There were only 2 decks, so minimum stairs. Hope you enjoy whatever you decide to do. Bon Voyage!

[cmthomas]

Hi Claire Louise and welcome to the River Cruise forum. You will find lots of helpful information here.

 

We took a Viking China Cruise Tour in September, 2005. Our tour was mostly land as we selected the itinerary that went to Tibet. Our time on the river was only 4 nights but I understand that other Viking itineraries have as many as 9 nights on the river.

 

One thing for certain, whichever you take you will find that Viking does a fine job and keeps you constantly busy seeing marvelous things. As for being 80+, there are things to consider. On our tour there was LOTS of walking and stair climbing. There are many 80+ travelers who can negotiate that with no problems but also many with bad knees requiring canes and/or walkers. Regretfully, I would say that China is not an easy place for the latter. They do not always have handrails or elevators where you might wish them. Sidewalks and pavements are not up to the standards that you see in the U.S.

 

We had several folks with us whom I would estimate to be in their 80's who did quite well. So it is an issue that only you and your mom can decide since you know her physical abilities. Also, I would think that a lot would depend if you were planning on taking the itinerary with the longer time on the river. The river boat is well equipped with elevators and should present no problems for her.

 

As to the date of the trip, we went in early September and it was HOT, HOT, HOT! Our guide advised that the "best" times of the year for visiting China are mid April to mid May and late September through October. When I say HOT I mean in the high 80's and low 90's almost every day.

 

I prepared a journal of our trip that you can find at http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/cmthomas/ if interested. If you have any other questions please feel free to post them here as we have many people who have done this trip with various companies and are happy to answer questions and give their opinions.

 

One thing for certain --- if you do decide to go it will be a memorable experience for you both.

 

Clarence:)

[travelsfun]

"80" is just a number ( I am 81) and a person's health is more important than their age. I have taken 3 river cruises in Europe and am booked for a Viking cruise in China. All the river cruises involved a lot of walking in the towns we visited, but you could walk at your own pace. If your mother is more interested in scenery than local sites, I would highly recommend the Rhine-Mosel river cruise.

Dorothy

[cmthomas]

Claire Louise, I overlooked one important comment after re-reading your message, especially the part that says "Neither she nor I have ever been on a cruise."

 

I am assuming from that you mean ANY KIND of cruise. If so, do not confuse what you hear about ocean cruising with river cruising. On river cruises your ship is little more than a floating hotel. Most of the days you are in port so on board activities such as you would find on an ocean cruise liner simply don't exist. There is no movie theater, gala shows, multiple orchestras or swimming pools.

 

On the river, most are in their cabins shortly after dinner getting ready for an early day coming next. That is especially so in Europe but on the Yangtze they do have several shows in the evening mostly by crew.

 

The exception on the Yangtze is the time spent going through the Three Gorges where scenery is abundant and stops are few.

 

If you are expecting something similar to a land tour you should be quite satisfied with Viking in China.

 

Clarence:)

[zaandam_2]

Hi Claire Louise and welcome to the River Cruise forum. You will find lots of helpful information here.

 

We took a Viking China Cruise Tour in September, 2005. Our tour was mostly land as we selected the itinerary that went to Tibet. Our time on the river was only 4 nights but I understand that other Viking itineraries have as many as 9 nights on the river.

 

One thing for certain, whichever you take you will find that Viking does a fine job and keeps you constantly busy seeing marvelous things. As for being 80+, there are things to consider. On our tour there was LOTS of walking and stair climbing. There are many 80+ travelers who can negotiate that with no problems but also many with bad knees requiring canes and/or walkers. Regretfully, I would say that China is not an easy place for the latter. They do not always have handrails or elevators where you might wish them. Sidewalks and pavements are not up to the standards that you see in the U.S.

 

We had several folks with us whom I would estimate to be in their 80's who did quite well. So it is an issue that only you and your mom can decide since you know her physical abilities. Also, I would think that a lot would depend if you were planning on taking the itinerary with the longer time on the river. The river boat is well equipped with elevators and should present no problems for her.

 

As to the date of the trip, we went in early September and it was HOT, HOT, HOT! Our guide advised that the "best" times of the year for visiting China are mid April to mid May and late September through October. When I say HOT I mean in the high 80's and low 90's almost every day.

 

I prepared a journal of our trip that you can find at http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/cmthomas/ if interested. If you have any other questions please feel free to post them here as we have many people who have done this trip with various companies and are happy to answer questions and give their opinions.

 

One thing for certain --- if you do decide to go it will be a memorable experience for you both.

 

Clarence:)

 

thank-you very much for such an excellant blog!

[clairelouise]

I appreciate your advice. We were considering the 9 days on the river, although Tibet sounds wonderful. I gather from your comments, Clarence, that Viking Cruise does a good job--you are correct that neither of us have ever been on a cruise of any sort. The reason we were attracted to the river cruise is because we did not especially want all the ship-related activities--we want to get a good chance to view the country that we are travelling through. The Viking brochure does say that cruisers should be able to walk one to two miles. This is not a problem for me, but I am somewhat concerned about my mom. She is in good health, but doesn't do a lot of walking. I really appreciate the weatherp-related info; we can go at any time, and I certainly would prefer to avoid 90 degree temperatures. Thanks again.

 

Clairelouise

[cmthomas]

Claire Louise, I would respectfully suggest that you do some pre-booking experiments. One mile is the same here as it is in China. Plan out a route about a mile long using your car odometer and then start taking mom for a walk every day. Don't expect miracles at first (for yourself either unless you are used to walking!) but if it becomes obvious that walking a mile is too much for her after working up to it for a few weeks then you have your answer.

 

I was warned about the walking before our trip in 2005 so my wife and I started a daily walking regimen and it was surprising to us how much we improved over a very short period. In a few weeks we were doing a mile walk in about 20 minutes without feeling any effects. Since then we have walked regularly and it has helped a lot with the stamina needed on such tours.

 

As to visiting Tibet, there is no more walking there than in the other cities. However, at 12,000' altitude the air is much thinner and one does tire much easier. Supplemental oxygen is available and highly recommended to have full enjoyment of this exciting part of the world. There is nothing quite like experiencing the Potala Palace in real life! Things move much slower by necessity at that altitude.

 

Clarence:)

[Bobblsc]

It is so much fun to be able to give advice. Especially if there is no cost to me for being incorrect. :D

 

We have taken three river cruises in Europe and have enjoyed all. We have also been on seven or eight ocean cruises, and enjoyed them also. Our experiences include living in Europe for a year and going back several times. It's a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there permanently. So now I have blown my own horn, so to speak.

 

We are set to go to China this May on a Uniworld 11 day tour which includes three nights on the Yangtze. This is followed by ten nights in Japan on our own. We have never done a tour any other time, but it seemed wise to do one in China, where we don't expect to be able to communicate much on our own.

 

One factor for our decision was the river boat on the Yangtze. Uniworld uses the Victoria line for its river portions. Some boats have elevators and some don't. While we can climb stairs, we don't want to have to go up and down five decks by stair if we can avoid it. Victoria Anna has elevators, but their other boats don't. Our tour uses the Anna.

 

Another factor to consider is the cabin/stateroom size. Some will be minimal, 110 or so square feet , while others will be larger, 160 or so square feet. We were on the old KD Line (now part of Viking) in Europe for two cruises many years ago, and the cabins were small with two bunk beds. That was OK, but our last river cruise was more comfortable with the larger cabin and a queen or king bed.

 

Bob :rolleyes:

[land lover]

We went with Viking on the cultural delights 9 days on the river last Aug/Sept. and had a wonderful time.

 

Every stop there are usually steps to climb, and walking, walking, walking......many people in there 80's did fine.......many people in their 50-80's also chose to stay in the bus or on the river boat.The most difficult walking was for the Jade cave but another tour was offered..and several people went for that option. Lots of walking in the airports and some you must get on a bus and be taken to the plane with carry-ons in tow then you climb the stairs to board....

 

This cruise/tour is non-stop..as you can tell from the itinerary, we were one of the youngest couples late 40's on our trip we did everything but on our bus of 30 we were the only ones.....So if you pace yourself you will do fine.

 

Viking does a great job......hotels were beautiful...ship cabins very large

ship staff very nice...food average.... but the steps did alot of people in...a few were injured on our tour from falling, several colds were passed around, people were sick with a stomach flu,norovirus? or Chinese food ...who knows?

We had a great time but want to give you a heads up on what we experienced...China is a must to see ...but be prepared...