Elk - Our Top Yangtze Cruise Specialist

Hi Elk,

"Yangtze River Cruises and more specifically Elk has been helping us organise a very good tour in China: we were aiming to visit Chongqing, and observing that this could be combined with a crude on the Yangtze River, we opted for this, and given that this cruise at this time of the year was only 4 days, I searched extension options on the company website, found 2 extensions of interest for me and my husband, namely in Chengdu (where the tour organiser is based) and in Zhangjiajie. 

1. Organisation

Booking the tour, I was a little uncertain: there are so many scams online, that I was afraid we pay for that tour and end up with nothing... but it was not the case :-)

A few days before the start of our tour in Chengdu, Elk sent me the mobile numbers of the 3 guides that would be taking us through each station of our tour, and to my great pleasure, each of them was waiting for us at the agreed meeting point. All these scheduling and organisation elements were super well defined.

Elk also asked me which category of housing I wanted and booked for us hotels and cruise bedroom in the relevant category. I was pleasantly surprised in each location.

2. Comfort

Another special comment: the hotels and cruise ship have aircond, which is as expected, and also heating systems (which in December and January was very helpful as we visited Zhanjiajie under the snow). I specify this because some people told me before the trip that in these regions, considered South China, there is usually no heating system. It's true that in some restaurants and coffee shops, there was no heating, but al our hotels had some.

3. Food

In each location we had usually at least a breakfast and lunch included, plus dinner during the cruise. All was very good and to our taste: the guides asked us ahead what kind of food we can / cannot eat and esp. for us, it was "not spicy please" and we got it alright all the time.

4. Sightseeing and Guides

In each location we had a guide speaking well to very well our language and a driver; full comfort! 

In Chengdu guide Ben took us to the panda reserve and visiting it has been great fun: they are so cute. Then we went for lunch in the old city in a delicious restaurant, and visited and old temple, the touristic area, and park... and he was also kind enough to propose to us to join the local theater show (not included in the tour), which was amazing... The following morning he took us to the train station from which we would join Chongqing. He insisted to take us up to the last passport check before the train platform... that's very useful for overseas tourists not familiar with Chinese trains. Many thanks to Ben!

Then in Chongqing, Jacques took us through the city museum and main places of interest before dropping us at the gate of the ship; here also, no chance to get lost :-)

During the cruise, the staff and guides speaking our language were taking care of us onboard and during the excursions. We also took the ship lift add-on at the 3 gorges dam, which I can also recommend, what an experience! 

Finally in YiChang, our guide for Zhangjiajie was waiting for us at the cruise terminal to take us to Zhangjiajie. There she took us to the 2 famous parks there, the one with Avatar peaks, great even with overcast and rain, and then to the park of the Tianmen mountain, with the glass bridges and and the 999 steps... We visited that one under the snow and walking on snow, and it was amazing, even if we could not take as many glass bridges as planned, for safety reasons. Each day, we finished with delicious lunches, too much food actually, thus we did dabao. 

Thus only one summary: fantastic tour, great organisation, we are looking forward to the next one! 

The only thing that was a little less good was our guide in Chongqing, Jacques: he was always speaking very loud, like if speaking to a group of 20 people while we were only two. Otherwise, nothing to improve really, it was excellent!

Best regards,

Valerie

The following photos were shared by our customer Valerie:

Chengdu City Tour | Late December 2025 | Curated by Elk

Chongqing City Tour | Late December 2025 | Curated by Elk

Three Gorges Cruise Journey with Century Paragon | Early January 2026 | Curated by Elk

Two-Day Nature Escape in Zhangjiajie | Early January 2026 | Curated by Elk

France   Jan 08, 2026

Hi Elk,

We had a wonderful experience booking our Yangtze River cruise through Yangtze River Cruise Company. Elk was especially helpful throughout the entire process - extremely communicative, responsive, and patient in answering all our questions, which made the booking smooth and stress-free for our family.

The cruise itself on Century Paragon was excellent. Everything was well organized, the facilities were comfortable,and we truly had a great time. Overall, it was a fantastic experience from booking to the actual cruise, and we would highly recommend both the company and Elk's services to others planning a Yangtze River cruise.

Chen

Singapore   Dec 22, 2025

Hi Elk,

Thank you very much for all your help in organising the tour for us. We are very happy with your service as you have been very responsive and quick in your replies. You have been very patient and flexible with the changes we requested. Your quick thinking to make changes to the train tickets was very assuring for us when the cruise had a change of port.

I will be recommending your services to my sister and brother-in-law who are planning for their holiday to China in 2026. I will give them your contact details so please expect to hear from them soon.

By the way, thank you for the thoughtful panda bear softtoy and gifts that we received in Chengdu. They are fantastic souvenirs!

Regards,

Chay Hoong & Philip

Australia   Dec 04, 2025

Hi Elk,

We must say that the cruise boat ride has exceeded our expectations.

We have upgraded to the executive suite which is very spacious and had private meals in deck 6. Lots of food and very good service level throughout the trip.

The tours are also quite enjoyable. So, this is clearly a good cruise, especially Isabella - very new and luxurious.

Kian

Singapore   Nov 17, 2025

Hi Elk,

We were so well taken care by you, Diana and the driver Mr. Shen. On the cruise, we had a representative - Quina - who was equally proactive, polite and helpful.

The land service were excellent.

I will message more on my evaluation and share photos when I have the time.

Noraini

Singapore   Oct 27, 2025

Dear Elk,

We had a wonderful time on the Yangtze Miracle. Very friendly staff. The cabins are cosy. The buffet was good, although it could offer more western dishes than Pizza and Waffles. But we were only a very small minority non-Chinese people, so it is understandable that it’s tailored to the targeted group.

The best was Shibaozai Pagoda and White Emperor City.

Kind regards,

Annette

Germany   Oct 21, 2025

Hi,

Thanks to you, I finished my trip to China well and came back to Korea. Thank you again.

About the cruise, I was satisfied in every way and had nothing to complain about.

In particular, I would like to compliment the staff for being very friendly.

And thank you for your service, and I will gladly write a good review on TripAdvisor.

I appreciate your kindness again, and hope you are happy and have good luck!

Sangheon

Korea   Sep 20, 2025

Hello Elk,

We thank you Elk and your company for the excellent organization of our Yangtze 1 cruise!!! We had a very vivid experience. The beauty of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River is mesmerizing and amazing! The cruise program was full and concise. We would like to express our gratitude to the Yangtze 1 cruise team, who worked very well. The food during the cruise was good and sufficient. The cabins were cleaned twice a day. The excursions were interesting. We will recommend our friends to take this trip along the Yangtze River!

Luliia

The following photos were shared by our customer Luliia:

Luliia and Vladimir Had a Great Time on Yangtze 1 in September 2025, tour made by Elk

Luliia and Vladimir Had a Great Time on Yangtze 1 in September 2025, tour made by Elk

Luliia and Vladimir Had a Great Time on Yangtze 1 in September 2025, tour made by Elk

Luliia and Vladimir Had a Great Time on Yangtze 1 in September 2025, tour made by Elk

Russia   Sep 19, 2025

Dear Elk,

The cruise and the boat were lovely.

Thank you for all your help.

You are a good travel consultant.

Best wishes,

Mervyl

New Zealand   Sep 11, 2025

Dear Elk,

Everything was perfect, especially the food :-)

Thanks a lot!

Jordi

Spain   Sep 08, 2025

Elk

我们对此行非常满意，三餐可供选择的食品种类多，味道可口；船上有表演、有互动，中途还有观景游玩，活动形式灵活多样；房间干净、零食和饮用水的提供到位；船上的工作人员态度和蔼耐心，服务周到，特别是我们在六楼11号餐桌用餐时为我们提供服务的女生服务员做事积极、周到又细致……。总之，感谢长江2号游轮带给了我们一个愉快的旅行！

John

Canada   May 27, 2025

Hi Elk

The staff we lovely.

They were very professional and extremely well organised.

We enjoyed the cruise.

We would definitely recommend.

Best Regards

Darren

New Zealand   May 21, 2025

Hello Elk,

First I want to thank you for organizing and booking everything for our Yangtze cruise. It was great service and everything was very smooth and well organized! 🙏🏼👍🏼

The cruise was great. We really like the 3 days on Yangtze Miracle. The room was very nice, the excursion amazing, and the crew was the best and super friendly. We will definitely recommend this Yangtze cruise

Tobias

Germany   May 14, 2025

Dear Mr Elk

we arrived well in Hongkong and finally this way it was even better for us then we gained half day more! Thank you very much for everything. The whole journey was very well organized and your assistence during it highly appreciated. Booking with your agency is highly recommendable. We stay one day more in Hongkong and will fly back to our hometown tomorrow.

All the best

Barbara and Rebecca

Switzerland   May 07, 2025

Good morning Mr Elk

I arrived at the train station, (North train station in Chongquinhei) from where the ship bus left as, it took 1/2 an hour to get there.

I went with Didi and it cost me 12 yen. There are also lots of different local transit buses that come here, I just didn’t know where the bus stop was.

I want to thank you again for all your kindness.

Yes, I had a good experience and a good cruise. Staff and other guests were very kind to me, made always sure I didn’t miss the meeting places. I have NO complaints.

I wish you well,

Brigitte

Canada   Apr 08, 2025

Hi Elk,

The cruise was great!

My room was lovely, the staff were so helpful and friendly.

I made some friends with 2 Singaporean ladies and a Swedish man and his son so it was nice to have people to talk to.

The excursions were great.

Lots of food choice.

Nichola

UK   Apr 06, 2025

Hi Elk

We had a great trip. While the boat is old and certainly needs some work, the excursions were good and the service was fantastic. The food was mostly Chinese but enough variety that we didn't go hungry at all. We would recommend it.

Thank you for organizing

New Zealand   Dec 30, 2024

Thank you Elk. We really enjoyed our experience and can highly recommend to future guests. Thank you for your assistance.

Gordon

South Africa & Australia   Nov 05, 2024