Tracy Tan - Our Top Yangtze Cruise Specialist

Hi Tracy:

Here is my evaluation of the cruise on Century Glory:

Ship and facilities: Overall I was impressed with the design. Unlike almost all of the other Yangtze cruise ships, the interiors are clean and modern, reflecting a fusion of modern Chinese and European aesthetics. The different coloured carpets on each floor were a nice touch. Overall, the ship has modern, but warm, feel to it with well-thought-out spaces such as the Panorama Cafe at the front of the ship, which had full-height wrap-around glass walls and an inviting open deck at the font of the ship which is protected by high glass walls. The open spaces at the top and rear of the ship are also notable. Unlike other ships on the river, the Century Glory was designed to maximize open spaces with generous and comfortable seating. Even when it was raining, the large outdoor sofas (note these are not cheap plastic white chairs, but rather quite comfortable rattan-style sofas with fabric cushions) on the Sun Deck could still be used thanks to the canopies that covered the deck. The VIP Panorama restaurant offered an impressive array of local Chinese and Western dishes of high quality, with various seating options and floor-to-ceiling windows offering excellent scenic views. The cabin, on Deck 6, was quite large and the bathroom had two sinks, which is unusual even on ocean-going cruise ships. Bedding, excellent.

Service: I had no problems with the service, in fact, it was far better than I had expected. As one of 20 foreigners on the ship (out of 500), we were well taken care of and all senior staff knew our names. Although I speak Chinese, English was widely spoken amongst the senior hotel staff of the ship. The Cruise Director had previously worked for Royal Caribbean, and it was evident that the high attention to guest relations--which that company is known for--was something he brought back to Century Cruise Lines. Any problem was solved very quickly.

Shore excursions: I am not a person who does many shore excursions, but the ones I did do were well-organized and efficient. The guides spoke good English and had deep historical knowledge of the sites. Embarkation/disembarkation was smooth.

Overall I would rate the experience on the ship as excellent. I have been on many ocean cruises before, and Century Glory certainly ranks near the top in terms of service, comfort and attention to detail. I highly recommend it.

My only suggestion would be that there be some sort of room service menu available, so you can order food to your cabin in case you don't feel like going to the restaurant or are hungry between meals.

Thank you very much Tracy the tour to Gansu and Xinjiang has been amazing.

(The following picture was shared by Audrey)

Audrey and her group from 5 countries at Gansu on July 14, 2021, tour tailormade by Tracy

Audrey and her group from 5 countries at Gansu on July 15, 2021, tour tailormade by Tracy

Audrey and her group from 5 countries at Gansu on July 15, 2021, tour tailormade by Tracy

Audrey and her group from 5 countries at Gansu on July 17, 2021, tour tailormade by Tracy

Audrey and her group from 5 countries at Xinjiang on July 20, 2021, tour tailormade by Tracy

Audrey and her group from 5 countries at Xinjiang on July 20, 2021, tour tailormade by Tracy

Audrey and her group from 5 countries at Xinjiang on July 22, 2021, tour tailormade by Tracy

Audrey and her group from 5 countries at Dawakun, Xinjiang on July 24, 2021, tour tailormade by Tracy

Hi Tracy. We are having a great time!

Nick

Hi Tracy,

We finished the tour, thank you very much for your help and thank you for arranging such a wonderful tour!

Most Appreciatively,

Hela

(The following picture was shared by Hela)

Gordon and Grant from CA and UK at Echu Mountain, Shangri-la Town, Daocheng County on July 22, 2021, tour tailormade by Tracy

Hela and Her Friends from UK at Echu Mountain, Shangri-la Town, Daocheng County on July 22, 2021, tour tailormade by Tracy

Dear Tracy,

The tour was WONDERFUL

I Have absolutely no complaints.

We just have a suggestion. Myself and everyone I spoke with feels that it will be better if… The tour is one night In Kunming. After the stone forest take the train to Dali on the same afternoon. We would all like more time in Dali than Kunming. Or more time in Shangri-la.

Just a suggestion~ We all said we will use your company again and recommend it to others!

Jannes

Dear Tracy,

Below is my feedback about the Yunnan trip:

The agency did a very good job at organizing our 7 day group travel through Yunnan. From the beginning I was in touch with an agent (Tracy) who told me all that was to know and answered my inquiries prior the trip. Every location had a different guide-all of them with great knowledge and a personal approach to guiding. They were truly amazing! On Day 3 in Dali the itinerary included a bike trip around Erhai Lake but I am not much of a biker. As I indicated this to our guide (Aeron) he arranged a mini bus ride on one part of the lake then walked with me while the group was cycling. Everyone was looked after, if anything was requested our guides did the best to arrange or work around our wishes. Great team!!

A couple of recommendations: the tour starts in Kunming (we spent two nights there) however of all locations its the least interesting. I assume this was largely due to it being the capital/easy flights in etc. but I think our group would have much rather preferred spending two nights in Ljjiang and start the tour from there and then finish in Kunming. Besides the Stone Forest (which was spectacular) there isn't much to see there (the local market visit could be skipped as its not anything special that other cities wouldn't have). This way we could have had more time in either Liiang /Shangrila/Dali and less time in a big city with not much atmosphere. If the tour would be switch ed around then Day 7 could be the train ride from Dali to Kunming, lunch and then a visit to the Stone Forest. We dould have had two extra nights on one of the above beautiful locations.

In Dali l felt day 1 with the train right/Three Pagodas/Erhai Lake/evening old town tour was too packed as opposed to day 2 when we visited the embroidery institute, tie-dye family etc then a 5hr s bus ride to Shangrila. Maybe the two days itinerary could have been mixed so that we could spend more time at the Three Pagodas/lake as these were more time consuming then the next day svisits. Besides dav 2 includes a lot of sitting on the bus so it would be nice to do one of the more active activities before hand(maybe the biking around the lake).

These recommendations could make your offered trip even better and it would cater for more needs of foreign tourists. However I can truly only say good things about the entire week and I am glad to have traveled with your team. Thank you!

Gabriella

Hi Tracy!

The tour to Qingdao was as expected, a really nice and good trip.
Both the guides hade good knowledge about the things and the English was good.
A small disappointment was the lunch on Saturday (KFC) but it was the only choice at Laoshan mountain (no other restaurant).
The lunch on Sunday on beer street was good, with local food.
We where able to try a lot of different Tsingtao beer even in plastic bag!

We really enjoy the trip to Qingdao.

Best regards Per

Hello Tracy!

Thank you for the good arrangement on our trip.

Let see your questions:

• Guide (Chongqing and Yichang):

o The guides was good and hade good knowledge about the subject/area. o The food was really good (Lunch).

• Cruise.

o The ship standard ok.
o The included restaurant to crowded and the food was “little too much Chines”. But this was easy solved, we upgrade to the “wester restaurant” to get our own table and less people. I think you shall recommend western people to go for that from the beginning
o The included sighting was good and the guides was good, had good knowledge about the subject/area.
o Over all good cruise.

• Hotels.

o Both hotels really good standard.
o Good location on both hotels.

Overall we are really satisfied with the trip you have arranged for us also this time.

It’s so convenient when you have arranged the trip with pic up from air port and deliver to the next destination with some interesting things to look on between.

So now the big question is where to go next time?
I have at least one more year in China (hopefully more)

Best regards Per

Everything on the ship was great!

Good morning Tracy,

I just want to tell you that we had a great trip. Our guide Timo is the best guide we have had. He made this trip perfect with his nice personality, very good English and his very good knowledge about everything. His choice of lunch and dinner places was perfect. He took really good care of us! Thank you for all your support. Everything went without any problems.

Anna

Tracy,

Beijing is fine. Tour guide and driver excellent. Hotel good but inconvenient with luggage. Food service poor. Great Wall and d sights excellent Thanks for all the help
Food in Gubei Water Town is excellent. Good choices. Food hotel cold breakfast. Take 3 bus to get to hotel. Drag luggage over road. Guide help us a lot. He is excellent

Graham

(The following picture was shared by Graham)

Graham and His Friend from South Africa visited the Great Wall in Beijing on November 14, 2020, tour tailormade by Tracy

Graham and His Friend from South Africa visited Gubei Water Town in Beijing on November 13, 2020, tour tailormade by Tracy

Dear Tracy,

Trip good- all home safely!! Thanks

Mr. Graham Mac Donald

Dear Tracy

thank you for remembering of us.

Our contemporary art exhibitions in Beijing and Xi’an have been delayed by Chinese and Italian authorities, but not cancelled.

Therefore, we must wait to visit China again, but we believe we could do it later on, hopefully in September next (provided we survive).

We will get in touch, as soon as we can.

Best regards

gg

Hi Tracy,

Great to hear from you!  We have some diving and a cruise planned the last week of April to first week of May to Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire in the Caribbean which we hope is not cancelled. We are now completing a two week ski vacation in the local mountains, and we have gotten a good work out.  Just a couple days left and we'll consider winter over.  So far, so good here...we hope to be healthy and strong when the virus visits us.  It is not smallpox, polio, or ebola but some challenge is presented. You know best about that...how is it affecting people you know? Panic is never productive, but, challenges must be faced, especially when unavoidable. I would be interested in how you and your friends are coping with coronavirus, perhaps I can learn from you. One thing I really like about Chinese culture and society is their interest in learning from others, which I hope to do the same with you.

Remember, our house is your house if you ever come to the USA. We are booked this year as we have another two week dive vacation planned at St Kitts in the Caribbean in November. Hope to show my wife some Wudang Tai Chi next time I visit, and my son is interested in Tibet, especially Mt Everest.  

Everything in God's timing, and we are always blessed to hear from you.

Bob, Betty and Joshua Butler

Hi Tracy,

Everything was great!

Cordially,

Sherry

Dear Tracy,

Thank you very much the cruise was excellent, the staff really friendly and the food was great. We had a great time and will recommend you to our friends.

Howick

Thanks Tracy,

We are on our way home. We don't want to leave! Been an absolutely wonderful holiday!

Definitely. Amazing service. Treated like VIPs. Thank you so much. Made very special memories.  

Alfred

Hello Tracy,

I am looking back to an amazing holiday in Tibet. You are a big reason of that holiday for me. I appreciate your work and help very much.

Adam

Hello Tracy,

The cruise was very good, and we thank you for your advises. The crew, the boat, the food and the attractions and spectacles were good, and we spent a good time during the cruise.

We enjoyed the cruise very much in general.

Thank you very much for all , and maybe for your return about our remarks.
Bset Regards
Michel 

Hi Tracy,

Just to let you know we had a wonderful trip to China and thoroughly enjoyed the Yangtze River Cruise on the Victoria Jenna. All your planning went like clockwork.   Many thanks for all your help.

Ian

Hi Tracy,

The cruse was fantastic and a welcome break in our busy tour of China.

The boat was lovely and the cabins really comfortable. The staff were amazing, really helpful and polite. We upgraded to the upper floor dining area which was once and relaxed for meal times. We also used the Spa and the treatments were excellent.

The cruise itself was great, the 3 gorges scenery was stunning. The trips were also pleasant and interesting.

I’d highly recommend to anyone touring China.

Thanks 

Good morning Tracy,

Thank you for following up on our Hangzhou tour.

Yes, we had a very wonderful time with Autumn and Mr. Ma, the driver. It was raining the whole day, which did not dampen our spirit because of Autumn's happy personality.

Best Regards,

Mrs. Joaquin

Hello,

Tracy. Sorry for my late response.

To be honest, everything was above my expectations.

The only thing I can have a little complaint about was the situation at Chongqing port. Traffic was a complete mess, and the walk to the ship was almost training for the Olympics.

But I have to make you a complement, and also everybody else behind the scenes, arrangements were perfect from beginning to the end.

Thank you, and I will recommend yangtze-river-cruises to everybody interested.

Cheers, André

Dear Tracy,

The cruise was excellent!!

Everything was well organized from airport pick up until airport drop off !!

Thank you very much

Best regards,

Arthur Jansma

Hello Tracy,

It’s no problem I was intending to drop you a note.

First of all the guides who met us from the train at Yichang, and then took us from the boat to the airport at Chongqing were exceptional. Both times they were on time, knowledgeable about the area and very helpful including assisting us right onto the boat and then helping us to check in at the airport.

The crew on the boat were also excellent, especially Rebecca, Christina and Maggie but all were friendly and very helpful. I told the Captain his crew are a credit to him (I hope it translated well!)

The boat itself was very clean. Although maybe not as luxurious as some of the other boats it seemed to be a bit smaller which means easier to get on and off etc.

I am very glad that we upgraded 2 decks. That meant we ate our meals and had access at other times to the executive lounge which was much nicer than the main restaurant, the meals were table service and house wine, beer and soda drinks were included. It was also nice being on a higher deck for the views etc. and Wi-Fi is also included. I would recommend that anyone considering this cruise takes up that offer.

It seems that the cruise is slightly different now that the docking point has been moved from Yichang upstream past the dam. That means that the first excursion is also from the boat dock and the boat does not depart until the night time of the 2nd day. I think you should make that clear. It seems that all the other western travelers took the optional excursion on a boat through the dam lift. We went on the bus tour of the dam with a group of Chinese people who treated us as honored guests and the guide made special efforts to keep us involved. However you might want to make clear to western travelers that it is a possibility.

The other two excursions were also good, especially the boat through the gorges.

The other thing you may want to make clear is that there are quite a lot of steps to climb and walking to embark and disembark the boat at each end and for the excursions so guests need to have a reasonable level of mobility.

Hope that is helpful, I will definitely come to you in future if we consider a future trip.

Regards Barry Shambrook

Tracy,

We had a great time on the River Cruise! Thank you for your help. 

Ashley 

Hi Tracy, thank you for your e-mail. The cruise was lovely, nice cabin, nice personel, food was really good. 

Somethimes cruise members had difficulty with the english language even the managers but they were all very kind to us! 

Thanks for organizing everyting so well for us! 

Kind regards, 

Marijke

Tracy

Thank you

We had a great time and loved all the sites

Thank you for setting everything up and I will recommend you to friends and clients

Susan

Hello Tracy,

you asked me for a review of our Yangtze cruise.

Over all it was a very nice tour. Especially the staff was friendly and very helpful. The cleanliness in the cabin was very good.

Unfortunately, the pool was in the cellar of the ship and cost extra, which is unusual for a 5 star ship.

Also you could not relax on the sun deck in swimwear. This seems to be a common practice in China and is outside the scope of your influence

The land excursions were well organized and very informative.

Thanks again for the beautiful tour and a heartfelt thanks to the crew

Best regards

Klaus

Dear Tracy

I would like to place on record that our China tour was a wonderful experience for both of us. Thank you for arranging such an excellent packaged tour, and the many drivers and tourist guides along the route delivered it above expectation and made our stay a very pleasant experience.

From our arrival in Beijing, right until departure in Shanghai, we were each day astounded with the beauty, cleanliness, openness, friendliness, innovation, quality and hygiene focus and most incredible history that is openly shared and clearly embraced by china as a nation.

It was incredible and such a privilege to have toured China, and we would love to return. It has forever positively changed our perspective of China. I plan to make a DVD of my videos, and hope to send you a copy. It may take some time though, as I have over 3 hours of recorded video (and loved every minute of it).

Thank you, we could not have done this without you.

Regards

Hugo and Helen

Hi Tracy,

Here are some photos from the cruise.

The files are too large to send all in one email so I will send a few emails with photos.

These photos are of the executive lounge which we could access with the upgraded room, the executive suite, the view looking down from the top of the stairs and the sundeck of the ship.

Megan

(The following picture was shared by Megan)

Megan Visiting Yangtze River Cruise

Megan's Room on Century Cruise

Megan Visiting Yangtze Three Gorges Dam Site

Megan Visiting Shibaozhai Pagoda on Yangtze

Hi Tracy,

I'm very good thank you.

The cruise was beautiful and very relaxing. We upgraded to the executive suite and enjoyed the use of the executive lounge. Our room was very clean and spacious with excellent views. We also upgraded the restaurant which allowed us our own private table, a quieter restaurant (around 60 people) and we were told better food. Staff were mostly very pleasant and attentive.

While we enjoyed the cruise very much, we had some trouble with food. As I have mentioned, Judy is a vegetarian (no meat or seafood) and Kurtz and I only eat chicken. We were asked for our dietary requirements and informed staff, however staff were not accommodating of our dietary requirements and most of the time we didn't have much food to choose from. I think it would be worthwhile telling other westerners or people with dietary requirements that the food is very much designed for Chinese people (a lot of the food eaten in China is very rarely seen or eaten in western countries).

Despite the trouble with food, the cruise was fantastic and we would highly recommend it to others.

We are going home in just over a week and I will definitely send you some photos soon after.

Kind regards,

Megan :)

Dear Tracy.

We were really honoured to have visited such an important person's tomb. It is more of a symbolic thing for us to honour such people and have visited such tombs also in Egypt, Mexico and elsewhere.

For example. Likewise the valley of the kings in Egypt, where we are allowed to enter selected tombs for a fee, that creates massive tourism opportunities and interest which in turn funds scientific exploration and conservation. They lined the walls with glass to protect murials.

Helen has amongst other studied museology and have also worked at restoration of key south african historical sites incl groot constantia. We realise that protection of these sites are of immense and utmost national importance. But we sincerely do hope that in future some of these pyramid tomb sites can be developed and made accessable for tourism to promote history and knowledge.

We are indeed honoured to experience this tour and are really enjoying it. Kimmy is an excellent tour guide.

Regards hugo

Hello Tracy

We got yesterday night Madrid after spending a few days in Beijing.

China is a great country and we were delighted to spend fourteen days there. The cruise was de best part of our trip and we enjoyed a lot. Landscape of three Gorges is one the most wonderful places we ever visited in our lives and Dam of Yangtze is amazing. All crew members were nice and guides on shore excursions provided us valuable information about everthing we visited. They teached us few words and songs in Chinese and a lot knowledge about your traditions and way of living.

Thank a lot for helping us making this trip possible with all your help and advices.

Attached you have a picture of us shipping

Best regards

Cristina & Elena

(The following pictures were all shared by Cristina & Elena)

Cristine & Elena Enjoying Night View on Yangtze River

Cristina & Elena Spending Leisure Time Onboard Victoria Sophia

Cristina & Elena Spending Leisure Time Onboard Victoria Sophia