china & Yangtze river with Vantage tours

> Has anyone traveled with Vantage Tours? Was it a good experience??

There are many and varied difficulties with organised tours in China which have been discussed at length on several thread you'll be able to discover by using the search box above.

> Does anyone have any tips for traveling to Bejing, xian, shanghai,hanghou, gouilin & Hong Kong.

Yes. Save money and hassle by doing it independently. Again, use of the search box above will find you accounts from many people with no previous experience of China or ability with Mandarin who have done things entirely on their own, and benefitted from the flexibility, savings, and avoidance of time-wasting and rip-offs that that brings.

Peter N-H

Yangtze cruise is out.

The last 3 gorge farewell cruise took off more than 10 years ago.

Today, the Yangtze River and its tributaries are filled with factory discharge, human waste and dead animal bodies.

The water tanks in all the cruise ship are filled with water from the Yangtze tributaries.

http://pic.nipic.com/2007-11-11/20071111123946689_2.jpg
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Every now and then, there are reports that food provided by the ship restaurants are contaminated.

Despite denials from the Yangtze ship companies, some passengers get fever, chills, bloody stools, dehydration and nervous system damage as a result of food contamination.

Like Pacific Delight, Ritz, Vantage tour is a high price cheap tour.
Their tour managers/program managers are from Beijing.

With a Chinese tour director, one third of your travel time will be wasted in the scammy shopping stops.

Look for a tour with foreign tour directors if you have to take a China tour.
They usually act as the bad guys to stop the China guides & drivers from misleading the group.

Vantage tour uses Victoria ships, Victoria is not the top notch on Yangtze.
His tipping policy is quirky.

I don’t usually like to recommend anything in this forum.
But I would say China Regal is not a bad choice for Yangtze cruise.
I have been on all the three ships of China Regal, Princess Jeannie, Princess Elaine, Princess Sheena.
Food, service & accommodations were satisfactory.
The ships are not usually full. Passengers embarking & disembarking at the shore excursions would not take forever.

The ships were made in Germany with German standard water purification and sterilization system.

This is the tipping guide for Victoria Cruise

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2jfklk1&s=4

The note simply tells passengers to put $40 at the tip box.

Personal gratuities may also be given directly.........

That means in addition, they should take care of the room maids who clean up their rooms, the waiters/waitresses who serve their tables at the dining room, the bartenders at the lounge, the porters who deliver luggages into their cabins.
Those who use the beauty salon should take care of the hairdresser.
The masseuse at the health clinic deserves a little extra.
Don’t forget to take care of the only caucasian staff of the ship, the cruise director, who greets you at the reception deck.

These are the add-on.
Room maids: $8-10
Dining Room waiters/waitresses: $12-15
Bartenders: $8-10
Porters: $4-5
Hairdresser: $4-5
Masseuse: $4-5
2 River guides: $20 ($10 each)
Cruise director: $15-20

Prepare at least $120 for tipping before taking Victoria Cruise.

I went to China last Nov., not with Vantage, but with a different US tour company. Part of the trip was a 3 day Yangtze River cruise on one of the Victoria cruise line ships. The ship was fairly new and very clean. The food was generic Chinese food, not great, but not bad either. No one in our group got sick and most people who liked cruises liked the experience on the Victoria Cruiseline ship. I did not like the cruise because I thought there was too much down time between shore excursions, but that is the worst I could say about the cruise. As far as the tipping guidelines go, they are just suggestions. Tip what you think is fair, and not necessarily what is suggested. China is a very interesting country. I am sure you will have a wonderful time.

Cat123- You go, girl.