Was looking forward to a great adventure in China. It was a very disappointing trip. So much so, that I don't think I'll trust Viking again. We spent $22k. I don't think the trip was worth half that. Don't waste your money! We are done with Viking!!! I don't trust them now!

The cruise ship, Emerald was run down, old, tired, and certainly not luxury. We upgraded to a suite but didn't get one on this ship. No suites. Balcony was narrow with two medal cheap chairs. Bathroom was old and run down. The dining experience was cheap, noisy, crowded and cafeteria-like. All the tables were for 8 people and round. One could not hear the people across the table. Dining became a nuisance and an annoyance. The food was ok, not great. The service, however, was exceptional. The maitre d was unhelpful and unbending. I'm not sure there was much she could do, but I felt she should have tried instead of just blowing us off. We had 4 for dinner one night and there were only sets of 2 seats left. What a joke! I'm thankful the cruise was only 7 of our 21 days!

Hotels in Shanghai, Tibet, Xion and Beijing were excellent! Note, however, that Viking promised complementary wine with all lunches and dinners. That's not the case. No wine in the hotels or local restuarants! Food in the hotels was good, but not great. In 5 star hotels I would have expected awesome food, but not in China. We ate many lunches and dinners at local restuarants. Beware. Most of those meals were second-rate. Eight of our group got stomach aches after one lunch. We even skipped one local dinner and ordered pizza and a bottle of red wine for room service. It was a great alternative to the same old same old local food. Even the Yak burger at Burger King was welcomed! I welcomed taste, tender and huge it was. Generally at lunch and diner the chicken, beef and duck was either tough, dried out or greasy. God bless food in the US! Read more