Anyone's experienced the Yangtze River Cruise on board the East 'King/Queen'? Or any other 4-star or 5-star cruise in China?

we did the cruise end of March before it hit peak season

we went downstream Chongqing to Yichang though some of the other passengers were going on to Wuhan (by bus)

used http://www.yzcruises.com/english/
booked the Emperor because we wanted to go to Fengdu

overall it was okay - food was only so-so but the boat was clean and the staff was very friendly, the shore excursions were good and the evening entertainment was amusing... going through the locks was an experience and the Three Gorges Dam was interesting

the boat caters to overseas visitors coming for a brief China experience and there are swarms of rather aggressive beggars at the docking points as well as onboard sales pitches thinly disquised as classes for massively overpriced chinese "handicrafts" - things like the painted snuff bottles etc.- they also pushed heavily at the end for staff tips...

anyway - hope this helps!

Thanks a lot MIexpat! Something I really want to go for with a friend. I'm willing to pay a whole lot of cash for this cruise (I've never been on one) so I want it to be truly worthwile.

Thanks for the link!

if you already spend a lot of money on a cruise, you might want to go on a real cruise!!!

I did it a few years ago before the flooding of the gorges... can't remember the liner or the company name but it was one of the best. As far as crusing goes... it wasn't really like cruising on the ocean with the activities, places to go, things to do, etc. However, the boats are considerably smaller and not catering to thousands of people at once. The basics were there... a bar, cardroom, massage place, hairdressers, beauty shop, a captain's reception, meals included, entertainment, attempts to get passengers to have fun, etc... but it isn't really what I would describe as luxurious. Well worth seeing though, for the experience of seeing more of China rather than to go cruising. Don't know what it looks like now but one day I may do it again to see the changes.

Classic Travel is based in Shanghai, and has 4 Star Yangtze cruise package including flights for RMB 4,980/Person. Deprture every Monday and Thursday from Shanghai, cruising 3 gorges from Chongqing to Yichang. Monica Fairley is Australian Travel Consultant in Shanghai, send an email to receive the full Schedule. monica@classictravel.net.cn