A friend and I are considering a cruise from Chongqing to Shanghai (or the reverse) this October. We are aware of a cruise on an American ship called the Victoria - a luxury trip at $800. We are interested in something less expensive. All we need is a clean room, shower, and an English speaking guide.
Can anyone recommend a company/boat in China that does reasonably priced cruises? If possible, could you reply to me at [email protected] also?

Thanks, Lynda

Check out Viking River Cruises. We took a 3 day cruise on the Yantze from Congqing, but not as far as Shanghai. This was a part of a land trip, but they may divide it out? They also operate out of Shanghai. The ship was great. It is worthwhile to do a Yantze cruise. Have a great trip!

We were on a Victoria Cruises boat in 2001 as part of an OAT tour & it was very nice! People who had cruised before said it was really good. We enjoyed it very much, and we may have been on their newest boat at the time.

Most people go only as far as Yichang and then fly to Shanghai or elsewhere. I believe there's not much of interest to see after Yichang. I did it in May but can't say what the cost was as it was part of a package, and although our boat was part of the Victoria group, it didn't have the little balcony from each cabin, but was comfortable enough anyway. Don't buy anything from those vendors on board as they are way over-priced. Or if you must, then bargain relentlessly but on the quiet so other passengers don't hear otherwise you won't have a chance, they have to pay the boat company a certain percentage.

I just returned from a Yangtze cruise last week with Uniworld River Cruises. It was, by far, the most incredible experience of my life! The hotels were deluxe, the tour managers were professional and extremely kmowledgable and stayed with us every step of the way. We took the 3 night portion of the Yangtze from Chongqing to Yichang- but they do have a tour that does the cruise portion to Shanghai. We were on Victoria's ship the Katarina, with the best staterooms! Food was excellent, staterooms were nice with balconies, but I can;t say enough o=about Uniworld and the way that their tour managers took care of everything - with a smile! Price was right!

Do you really want to take the cruise all the way to/from Shanghai?

We took a 19-day trip with Viking and absolutely loved every minute of it. The food was excellent and the other travelers made for a perfect trip. Viking has other shorter trips and they're bring in a new boat next year. Go! Just go!

I notice that some of the cruises go upstream and some go downstream, The various brochures stress this differentiation. Is one way better than the other?
Judy

Upstream takes longer by a day for the Chongqing to Yichang cruise. The extra day is not scenic and people we met who took the upstream boat said they were bored. The upstream boats are often cheaper and much less crowded.