No Yangtze River Cruisers This Year?

[mrlevin]

It seems to be months (well, at least many weeks) since we have had posts about Yangtze River cruises. It seems like no one has been cruising so no reports and no one is booked so no questions; whats going on?

 

I am still interested in information on the Yangzi Explorer from those that have sailed her this year.

[WIT]

There are lots of current posts on the Viking China cruise thread. The 95 pages of available posts are a lot to digest. I suggest using the SEARCH function to look for specific topics. The link is:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=252201

 

Vantage China gets good reports on this board but only occasionally. Look for posts by "npphotog" who cruised China with Vantage last year.

 

WIT

[BCHappyGal]

Hi I just returned from a wonderful trip to China and yes we cruised upstream up the Yangtze River for 2000km on the Victoria Prince form Shanghai to Chongqing.

I wrote a review and posted it here under Victoria Prince. If you want me to e-mail you a copy direct with photos as I cannot get the photos to copy over here let me know ann at century 21 vancouver dot com and I will send it to you.

 

I can recommend the Victoria Prince and take the extra 4 days and sail the whole distance form Shanghai to Chongqing not the abbreviated 4 day cruise that only does the 3 gorges as I enjoyed the rest of the river as much if not more than th 3 gorges.

 

Spend you dollars and time on this and skip visiting Guilin and area.

[40yearcruiser]

It's been 4 years since our Yangtze River Cruise, but it was one of our favorites. Our cruise was 5 days from Wuhan to Chongquing. We enjoyed the day on the river before we got to the gorges very much. However, I encourage you to also see Guilin if you can. We loved it and the Li River is beautiful. Enjoy your cruise!

[mrlevin]

WIT, BC and 40, thanks for the posts. We are doing just the four day upstream cruise due to time constraints. We are also going to Beijing, Xian, Chengdu, Guiling, Lhasa, and Shanghai.

 

I am still hoping to find someone that has sailed Yangzi Explorer in order to get some useful tidbits.

 

thanks,

[BCHappyGal]

I personally disagree with 40yearcruiser. Skip Guilin as it costs a lat to visit and IMO not worht the cost of the excursion there... The Li River is OK but the food is definitely poor and cooked on the back oft he boat with dishes washed in the Li River water so make sure your stomach is OK. We ate it and managed not to get sick so it is making for a lot of laughs over our photos now that we are home....

 

If you do go to Guilin make sure you do not stay at the Park Hotel....

 

For more info read my review posted under Victoria Prince....

 

All in all China was a great experience I just cannot recommend Guilin area...

[WIT]

If cost or time are limiting factors then one must of course make choices. I felt that as often as I will visit China one should see as much as possible after making that long flight.

 

Guilin and Lhasa are two of the places where one can see non-Han Chinese China. The Chinese 20 Yuan note shows the lovely Li River valley but does not do it justice.

 

Going to Guilin can get you to Hong Kong which also should not be missed. Assuming you finish there (IMO the best way to do the trip - might be an interesting thread) the HK culture will reintegrate you to Western life while showing you how far China can go with technology, infrastructure and rapid development.

 

Guilin by contrast will show you non-industrial river valley China - cormorants fishing and the slow beauty of people living a satisfying life close to the land. See my photos of Guilin and Hong Kong at:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/billwitowski

 

(See WITs CLIPS for a video demonstrating 'melon' Tai Chi)

 

WIT

[WIT]

HappyGal is right about food served during the Li River cruise being rinsed after delivery IN the Li River. Our Viking guide warned us about this so we ate a big breakfast and passed on the boat food. I think my webalbum shows them cooking off the back of the boat.

 

PS: look at my Viking China posts for a protocol to follow to enjoy China without getting sick.

 

WIT

[WIT]

David Rowell, who publishes the Travel Insider newsletter has just put up a review of his recent China cruise/tour. It covers a lot of topics. Here's the link:

 

http://thetravelinsider.info/2008/email0711.htm

 

WIT

[waverly]

The Li River should not be missed. The surrounding karst mountains are just spectacular. The food on the Li river cruise was not very inviting and I did not eat it and I am glad I did not see the preparation. The Yangtze river cruise on the East Queen was superb and a highlight of our trip.

[Yaya&Papu]

We went to China in 1993 and cruised on the Li River out of Guilin. I thought it was a wonderful, scenic journey. We traveled with a jar of peanut butter and some Ritz crackers. As soon as we saw the boat in front of us (which looked exactly like ours) washing the big woks in the river, we decided that PB&crackers would be a great meal!

[zlato]

Just recently returned from Yangtze River Cruise on the Victoria Anna. The "Anna" is the newest ship on this line, and my wife and I were pleased with the experience. Basically, I would offer the following:

 

Acommondations: Excellent

Service: Excellent

Food: Fair

Entertainment: Fair

Tours Good

 

Again, one must keep in mind that river cruises have less glitz than the bigger ships.

[waverly]

cruises on the Yangtze are different. Boats are of a totally different standard and size. The cruise on the Li river is a day's affair and usually done out of Guilin. Our Yangtze cruise was on the East King and absolutely fantastic,