Viking Emerald Review

4.0 / 5.0
295 reviews

Viking Emerald - China April 2013

Review for Asia Cruise on Viking Emerald
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swifs
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Apr 2013

We are experienced travelers and cruisers and we had never taken an escorted vacation before the Viking Emerald Imperials Jewels of China. However China presented challenges that we did not feel qualified to meet, so we signed up with Viking. We found the vacation more than met our expectations and we were satisfied in every way.

We decided to take the Shanghai to Beijing route rather than the reverse because we wanted to begin the trip in Hong Kong (on our own) in order to deal with the jet lag before the main part of the trip and because my husband had been the Hong Kong on business before (albeit a long time ago). We discovered later that there was an additional benefit because this version of the trip allows one to visit the zoo in Chongking and see the pandas where the Beijing-Shanghai does not.

Hotels: This trip includes hotels before and after the Yangtze cruise, in Shanghai and Beijing, and a hotel in X'ian where you see the Terracotta warriors. Our hotels included the Shangri-La Pudong and the Hilton in X'ian and the Regent in Beijing and we thought they were all very luxurious and beautiful and probably far beyond what we would normally be able to book for ourselves. We particularly loved the Shangri-La and would recommend asking Viking for it if possible.

Cabin Review

Cabin F

We thought that our cabin, which seemed to be identical to every other cabin on the ship except for a few suites, was well-appointed and comfortable and quiet. If you can get this cabin, it will be a bargain. It is located on the main deck for meals (at the other end) and the main exit for excursions etc. There is a sliding door that opens for fresh air if you want it and although there is no real balcony, none of the cabins have a real balcony, and there is plenty of seating upstairs when there is something to see. For the beautiful small gorges part of the trip, you transfer for the morning to another smaller ship anyway.

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