Viking Emerald Cruise Reviews for River Cruises to Asia River

This is an EXTREMELY long report; I don’ seem to be able to anything halfway. Please read it knowing that we are NOT tour people. We don’t like regimentation and we surely do not want to get up at 5am every day of our “vacation”. I have years of experience planning and managing events, and I am quite persnickety. We’ve done many cruise-tours with Grand Circle and Avalon. They have been great, ...

While this trip also includes multiple land transfers and exploration of several cities, I'll focus on the cruise portion. Most importantly, it is deceptive call the Emerald a Viking ship because apparently they don't own it - they most certainly didn't build it. The moment you step on board you will know it is not up to Viking standards. The ship is tired and shabby, at best. While the ...

Thirteen nights, 7 land, 6 cruising. A little background. My husband and I have cruised on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and Oceania but never on a river cruise. We did do Galapagos but I don't count that as a river cruise. China was on our bucket list. I was a little hesitant because I am hearing impaired. I can hear but conversation is tough in a noisy environment. Also, I can't use the ...

We wished to visit China and this was river cruise was 6 days out of 15 days total. The river cruise was o.k., the dining and meals on the Viking Emerald were surprisingly good and service was good. Our standard room and bathroom were very tight, I recommend upgrading the room. The Yangtze River is not very scenic, much of the cruise time was rather bland and the facilities at several of the ...

This trip was a 17 day land and river cruise tour which included visits to Beijing, Xian, Lhasa in Tibet, a six day river cruise down the Yangtze involving numerous stops along the way,and a final stop Shanghai. The overall logistics required to accommodate the needs of each our group of 31-beginning with our differing arrivals in Beijing, hotels, tours, 4 domestic flights within China, ship ...

This was the trip of a lifetime for us. Viking staff made all of the difference in the success of this trip. We began in Beijing. We flew on United from Tampa via Washington Dulles. IAD to PEK was a whopping 14+ hours. Customs clearance in Beijing was fairly painless. We were met by Viking guide Peter, who would be our guide for the next two days. We were taken to the Kerry hotel, where ...

What really interested me to go on the trip was that it included Tibet. The ship was older but updated and very nice. Ceilings were lower than I am used to and the slower was cramped, but China owns the boat so that is not something Viking has control over. The room was immaculate and the bed was very comfortable, which is what matters most. Definitely an experience. China is just different. ...

This was our first trip with Viking and we were very pleased. We felt well taken care of during the entire trip. Entertainment and Activities-Viking organized this trip in such a way that we got to see many highlights of China and Tokyo. Our guide in China was John and he did an amazing job taking care of us. He made the many transfers go smoothly and was exceptionally informative and kind. ...

This was another fantastic Viking experience made all the more special by our personal guide, Terry, who stayed with us from day 1 til we left. All the staff we met along the way were, as always, very welcoming and really helpful and a great credit to Viking. We extended our trip both at the start and at the end which helped with jet lag and allowed us to explore the fantastic cities of Beijing ...

My wife and I chose Viking - and, specifically, their "Imperial Jewels of China" itinerary, for our first trip to China. Overall, we are glad we did so. Though it was not without concerns and drawbacks. To be clear, the experience of visiting China for more than two weeks was fabulous. We have been fortunate to travel well. This was probably our most interesting, brain-stimulating adventure. ...