Viking Emerald Review

Jewels of China Cruise/Tour

Review for Asia Cruise on Viking Emerald
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ashflower123
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Mar 2012

I would recommend this cruise to anyone who wants to see China and is a little daunted by the idea of doing it on your own. Viking handles everything, including your flights to China, your transfers from the airport, everything. The land portion of the cruise was top notch, all 5 star hotels. The days on land, because of the touring, were long, but you get to see a lot. The same guide stays with you throughout the duration of the trip. All of your excursions are included in the cost. What a fabulous way to see a foreign country.

The only negative I have to give this trip was viking dept that books the airfare. I booked my cruise with my mother, we both live in the same city. They booked her on a separate flight to china from me. When we called to get it fixed, we were told that there was nothing they could do, it was a non refundable flight. They said that this would be considered 'custom' and we should have paid a $50 fee (when we booked). Of course, our travel agent (On Line Vacations - I'll never use them again). So after many phone calls and escalations, they conceded to change the flight at a $150 fee to my mother. So that left a bad impression and wasn't a great way to start. When we checked where our seats were on the aircraft, viking literally books you in the cheapest seats they can find. On my flight to and from china I was in the very back row next to the lavatories. Imagine 14 hours of listening to the toilet flush. So, all said, you can call the airline directly and move yourseat up to somewhere else in coach at an additional coast assuming there are seats available, but you may not be able to get a seat with your traveling companion.

Despite the negative with the flights it was still a great trip and I would recommend it to anyone. Just make sure that if you have two couples booking together that you pay the $50 bucks (and you might have to bring it up yourself as they didn't tell us about it) if you want to travel together. Otherwise, you may be taking separate flights to china.

Cabin Review

The cabins are all the same, unless you pay for a suite. They are all very nice, and have their own verandas.

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