The Renée Review

April 28 – May 4, 2006

Greetings from the Yangtze River, China, aboard Victoria Cruises – Victoria Prince.  When booking this cruise, we were told that we’d better hurry, space was tight and that this was a brand new ship!  We actually were interested in the April 14th departure but were told to wait for the later departure or we’d be on an old ship.  Moving into the April 28th departure would put us into high season and therefore it would be necessary to pay a higher price.  Waiting for the “new” ship would be worth the extra money. The “new” about this ship, vintage 1994, was actually a reference to this being the first time THIS PARTICULAR SHIP would cruise THIS PARTICULAR ITINERARY, Chongqing to Shanghai.  The Victoria Prince was “supposedly” refurbished in 2004, however we found the entire ship to be poorly furnished and in need of renovation; carpets are filthy, the floors are warped throughout and walking can go from clumsy to hazardous. Some of the passengers have dubbed the hallways “scotch alley” because it looks like you’ve consumed a fifth of scotch when you walk down them.

The reality is, the Victoria Prince is not new, the Victoria Prince is less than half full, 88 passengers & holds over 200 and guests boarding were being offered upgrades to suites for a modest price.  Naturally, after paying top dollar for one of their Shangri-la Suites, we were disappointed that the accommodations are composed of old and worn case good furnishings, a 10-year-old box television set and soft goods that were never replaced; old ones were merely slip covered with unattractive, ill-fitting fabrics that have seen better days. Our bathroom has a wonderful tub with slab marble top, but our shower is comparatively small and finally, the bathroom walls are made of ugly plastic laminate, as are the sink counters.  

Marlo is sleeping in some crazy version of a roll away that is shorter than normal and has a 3-inch thick mattress.  The Victoria Prince bed linen consists of an itchy polyester blend with lumpy fill pillows, absolutely no down.  The room occasionally smells of diesel fumes or the sour smell of a port a john.  This isn’t as bad as the regular smell of smoke from crew taking cigarette breaks on the bridge patio while dropping ash onto our poorly furnished verandah; plastic loungers, metal chairs and not a single table??? The lounge chair cushions (stained, old and in shabby condition) arrived on our third day, only because I finally asked why we had none. The only thing I can applaud, besides the housekeeping staff who dutifully cleaned our room twice daily with integrity and efficiency, is the condition of our window treatments, which appear new; in fact one of the tassels has the plastic price attachment still intact!?!

The spa, needs a big re-vamp.  Its carpeting has buckled, their upholstered massage tables and chairs feel less than hygienic and the use of clean white towels only helps cover the body oils and lotions that have seeped through from previous clientele.  Serena, Carol and Eva the spa therapists are lovely and work cheerfully with the tools they have been given.  If you’d like nice oil for your massage, better bring it from home, all they’ve got is Vaseline Intensive Care lotion.  

The lobby has a beautiful reception desk with large slab granite top and wood paneled dragon motif backdrop.  The lobby carpeting is soiled and spotted, though the floral pattern helps hide the fatigue.  The dining room is nothing special, but did not feel ungracious, especially with the gentile nature and helpful, friendly attitude of the staff.  Cindy and Nancy our servers were exceptional!  I wish I could take them home to Colorado!  

The gym needs air conditioning and desperately requires new equipment.  The card/game room is dismal, small dark and tattered.  The bar, lounge and stage area is furnished with uncomfortable bamboo and upholstered chairs, fabrics are tired and the space feels old and outdated.  On the brighter side, Tony and his bar team are shining beacons, joyfully welcoming everyone.

Other issues with money paid for value received are reflected in some logistical problems our cruise experienced.  The ship was denied passage directly to Shanghai with announcements made to guests during the introduction and information meeting on our first day.  We would arrive short of Shanghai, docking in Yang Zhou, thus adding a four-hour bus transfer to Shanghai.  Hey, we didn’t sign up for this!  In addition to the new and unwelcome change to our itinerary, the excursions schedule was also off.  

Our first excursion was to the ghost city of Feng Du, population 800,000.  Feng Du’s ghost city, built on Mt. Minshan, is fascinating, quite beautiful and offers a lot of interesting things to see.  We arrived 2 hours late, 7:00pm instead of 5:00pm!  Our 3-hour excursion had an hour and twenty minutes of daylight followed by total darkness and a multitude of stairs.  The artifacts were certainly eerie in the darkness, giving credence to this city of ghosts.  Unfortunately, nothing is really lit for night viewing.  One of the passengers, not our guide, had thought to bring a flashlight, without it some of the guests would not have made it down the mountain on the uneven cut stone stairs.  I think the ghosts had the upper hand on this one.

The next glitch was experienced at the locks of the Three Gorges Dam.  Construction for the dam began in 1994 and is due for completion in 2009 when the generators are officially turned on.  The Dam has many purposes; power, navigation, irrigation & flood control – not necessarily in that order.  The Three Gorges Dam project has forced the relocation of 1.5 million people in 19 counties due to flooding caused as it raises the water level to 175 meters above sea level.  Throughout the journey, we’ve seen markings up the sides of the gorges indicating where the 175 mark will hit.  By October of 2006, some of the bridges we traveled under will themselves be under water.  There are mixed feelings about the “relocates,” a term the locals call themselves.  For the young, many see this as an opportunity for better living conditions, a larger apartment, and a little money.  For the older generation, it means leaving their ancestors who for generations have lived, died and are buried here for higher ground.  A difficult situation at best….

The Three Gorges Dam is the largest of its kind, 2,335 meters long, 18 meters wide at the top, 130 meters wide at the bottom and 185 meters high.  Going through the locks was a highlight experience all the passengers were really looking forward to, us included.  The Victoria Prince parked outside the lock area around 4:00pm and was due into the locks no later than 8:00pm.  We were told the locks take 6 ships in for each go.  The locks are traversed first come, first served and we should have enough ships by or before our scheduled time being one of the first ships parked outside the locks.  At 7:00pm 6 other passenger ships were loaded into the locks, this happened again at 9:00pm. What happened to first come, first served???  Our ship did not enter until 1:00am!  As this was an experience none of us wanted to miss, so we wrapped ourselves in blankets and bathrobes, went out onto our deck and looked up to see the faces of our fellow passengers, watching as we were, while fretting about the very early Three Gorges Dam excursion scheduled for the following morning – breakfast at 6:30am, departure at 7:00am.  There were spotlights reflecting everywhere, loud radio calls and speaker announcements all between the graveyard hours of 1:00am – 4:00am. The next morning was very quiet among those who made it to the excursion.  I’ve never seen a more tired looking bunch of passengers.

The following day, another glitch occurred on our 3-hour excursion to the Hubai Provincial Museum in Wu Han, the capital of the Hubai Province.  This visit was to view 15,000 artifacts discovered in a tomb dating back 2,400 years.  This discovery is monumental, it’s their King Tut!  The tomb artifacts have changed historian’s views about the ability to create sophisticated bronze work, metal work and smelting processes. The most impressive discovery is a set of beautifully cast enormous metal bells that have forever changed history regarding the number of musical notes and range thought to have existed during this time.  We were supposed to hear the 11:00am bell performance followed by a full museum visit. We missed the 11am performance by a full hour.  In fact, traffic over the bridge overwhelmed our excursion schedule affording us a total sum of 30 minutes to explore the museum and use the facilities; tour busses mean long lines at the toilets.  Bus transfer time 2 ½ hours / museum time 30 minutes, what’s wrong with this picture!  Had we docked on the other side of the river, we could have reached the museum in 10 minutes, enjoyed the magnificence of the tomb artifacts and been spared this round trip transfer nightmare in an uncomfortable bus that was never intended for long transfers.

Huangshan or “Yellow Mountain” was the excursion planned for the following day.  This is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight and is considered one of China’s treasures located 3 ½ hours away by bus, one way.  Due to the Hubai Provincial Museum fiasco the day before, we opted not to go, along with 20 other passengers. The crew was genuinely shocked that so many of us chose to stay behind?  The reports from the other 65 passengers who chose to go, were not glowing.  The crowds were intense, the words “hoards of people,” were frequently used, the bus mirrored the one used for Wu Han’s Hubai Provincial Museum and the line for the cable car up the mountain to the luncheon restaurant was almost 2 hours long.  Once again our shipmates spent more time waiting and in transit than they actually spent seeing the UNESCO World Heritage Views of Yellow Mountain, essentially spending 7 hours in a bus to have lunch at the top of the mountain only to return after 30 minutes of viewing.  Sometimes, our instincts are good and listening to them pays off!  We had hoped our fellow passengers adventure would be great.  We were looking forward to their return hoping they would make us sorry for not having gone, after all – 7 hours on a bus is a very long time… We were so thankful we stayed on board.

The last glitch, the Yang Zhou transfers to Shanghai.  Fortunately, the two busses Victoria Cruise Lines ordered were good quality long haul transfer busses, though they had no bathroom.   Unfortunately, Victoria Cruise Lines should have ordered an additional transport option for luggage.  While the busses had no problem accommodating all of the passengers, the luggage cargo space could not accommodate all of the bags.  Passenger safety was jeopardized as luggage was placed in any available seat on board the bus.  Additionally, the luggage difficulty caused departure delays of an hour, meaning we departed at 8:30am – so glad we all got up early for that 7:30am departure we were advised not to miss.

While traffic and logistical glitches are a part of life, the cruise line should have accounted for these in advance, especially with China’s Labor Day Holiday simultaneously occurring during this sailing.  The ship condition was inexcusable and the old adage, “well this is China,” just doesn’t fly.  We’ve booked into nothing but luxury 5 star Hotels for China, already having stayed at the Peninsula Palace, Beijing, The Sheraton Xi’an, The Sheraton Lido, Chengdu and the JW Marriott, Chongqing plus we’re due in at the Four Seasons Shanghai and Hong Kong.  We know luxury in China is not only possible, but that it truly does exist.  We’d be much happier if we’d paid 35 – 40% less money for this voyage, which would be commensurate with value received.  It’s also about the price point others upgrading to suites were at.

Although the logistics were off, the physical conditions and aesthetics of the ship left me wanting more, much more, things weren’t all bad.  The excursion through the lesser gorges was spectacular with truly magical scenery!  Marion our cruise director was fantastic and Jeff our port lecturer was excellent.  The excursions in Nanjing, population 9 million, to the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial and to the bazaar near the Confucian temple went off without a hitch providing for an interesting, colorful and exotic day.  The crew on board is friendly, imaginative, energetic, helpful, kind, gracious and professional.  They certainly outshine the drudgery of their surroundings and have made this journey fun. We’ve appreciated their insight, enthusiasm and expertise.  The river, the sights, the cities and scenery have been our highlight in China.  Sadly, we cannot say the same of our vessel.  This riverboat is no prince.