Avoid Viking in China!
Viking Emerald Cruise Review to Other (Asia/Africa/Middle East)
11 Night Imperial Jewels Of China (Beijing To Shanghai)
Sail date: April 15, 2011
Ship: Viking Emerald
Cabin type: Balcony
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 13 years ago
Review summary
The ship itself and the staff are surprisingly good. The on board food was all over the board: good on occasion but often disappointing. But the real problem was how tightly regimented Viking had scheduled things pre- and post-cruise (in Beijing, Xian, and Shanghai): almost everyone we spoke with said it felt like a forced march punctuated by very long hours of sitting on a bus -- with way too much time eating mediocre, greasy, heavy food at the three silk and jade factory tourist traps. As a result, we didn't have nearly enough time to visit Beijing at night, our time at Yu Yuan Garden in Shanghai was way too short, and they picked a hotel in Xian (Kempinski) which was located so far out of town that we literally wasted an extra three hours just getting there and back.Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ports of call
Pros: Learning more about what China is really like, Great Wall, Shanghai Bund
Cons: Too many tourist traps, often terrible selection of restaurants
Recommends Viking Emerald? Yes!
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