Victoria Cruises has quoted us $856 per person ($1712 per couple) for standard double-room, 4-day, 3-night Yangtze Cruise. Others have said we can save a bunch of money by not booking next April's Yangtze Cruise ahead of time but rather just waiting until we get to Chongqing and booking the day the cruise starts. They also say that there is always much availability and various cruise lines will be fighting for our business. Is this correct? How does this system work? Which cruise lines should rate a "Good" or better? Any input would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

That seems very expensive. Check out the smartours website...www.smartours.com. Their China tour includes the Yantze cruise on Victoria and the whole price including airfare to China, intra-China flights, hotels, tours, food,etc. could not be based on anything near your quote for the Yantze Cruise. Yes, I know about tour companies getting special prices. But do not wait until you get to Chongqing. We met people in China who were very experienced China travelers who could not get on a good Yantze cruise booking at the last minute.

We booked our Yangtze cruise on Victoria cruises for about 500 per person using wacts.com. Make sure you also book a flight out from Yichang.

Hi we went on a Yangtze cruise in March of this year. We booked it ourself over the internet. We were pleased with our ship the Pinghu ( Serenity) We were in low season and it was $300 for the upstream. Please see the following and if you book, ask for Mark- he answered promptly!
http://www.4panda.com/yantse/price/index.htm If you want any further info please email me at jfawcett at voyageur.ca Good luck Jackie and Tom , seniors from Canada

I paid about 500 RMB (less than 75 USD) for a bed in a second class cabin on a Chinese tourist boat - I booked the morning of the day I left on the boat. They also have double rooms with ensuite bathroom for a little over 1000 RMB ($125). It was 5 days, 4 nights, as it stopped during the night so tourists wouldn't miss the gorges, the dam, or any other attractions along the way. These prices don't include the entrance fees to the extra attractions, but are much, much, much below what you would pay for a luxury/western cruise. I booked at the Hui Xian Hotel and also booked a bus from Yichang to Wuhan and train from Wuhan to Beijing through them - the bus was waiting at the dock in Yichang when I got off on the last morning and it was very smooth to make it back to Beijing.


It just depends on what you are looking for in the cruise, whether you would be happy on a Chinese tourist boat for a tenth of the price or are willing to pay more for a luxury boat!

I want to thank everyone who responded. You have been very helpful and I'm in the process of checking out these suggestions. Thanks again,

Have you contacted CITS? They have a toll free number (866-926-4893) that rolls to China. I was quoted a Victoria Cruise for $495/person and China Regal (also a 5-star) for $350/person, both leaving 11/1 (the time of year makes a big difference). You can also email the person who helped me ([email protected]). Best of luck.