All You Need To Know About President Cruises On The Yangtze
When I was booking my Yangtze River cruise trip, I was considering three different cruise lines – Victoria, Century and President Cruises. Wanting to be on the sure side, I did a lot of in-depth research on all of these companies and their fleet.
I eventually ended up sailing on the Victoria and Century on my first and second cruise, but the President cruise line remained my alternative option. In fact, we are planning a cruise with my parents and we might just choose a to go on a President line this time since their rates are more affordable.
About The President Cruises The President Cruises are one of the latest fleet of cruise ships especially designed for international tourists. The company provides Yangtze River cruises for tourists with its six liners. All ships are rated as four and five star deluxe boats by the National Tourism Administration of China. Like the Victoria Liners, the staff of the President Cruises speaks a wide range of foreign languages, especially English making communication easy for passengers.
Facilities and Amenities All of the President cruises are newly built, the oldest ship built back in 2003 and the newest one just this year. They renovate their ships regularly, so the cabins and content are all new. All the ships are rated 5-star, four of which can accommodate more than 300 passengers.
Majority of the guest rooms are deluxe cabins, which have a floor size of 22-28 square meters. Their deluxe rooms are somewhat the same size as the deluxe cabins of other cruise liners. The ship also has junior suites, deluxe suites and president suites which are larger and more spacious. All cabins and suites have their own balconies. Four of their ships, except the oldest one, have elevators.
Aside from the well appointed rooms, the President cruises also have a bar, beauty salon, restaurant, banquet hall, coffee shop, conference room, dance hall massage room, reading room, gym and sun deck.
Four Day/Three Night Itinerary The President cruise ships offer four-day and three-night cruises on the Yangtze. The most popular cruise is the downstream one from Chongqing to Yichang but they also have an upstream cruise from Yichang to Chongqing. With research, I found out that the itinerary on President Cruises is somewhat similar to the one we had on my four-day cruise on the Victoria Jenna.
Day 1 Like most cruises, embarkation of passengers begins at around 7:00 in the evening. The ship then departs Chongqing at 9:30 pm. The rest of the night is spent in the waters, with the ship steadily moving along towards its first destination.
Day 2 The next day, guests are served buffet breakfast in the banquet hall, which is then followed by a quick briefing. The ship docks on Fengdu by around 9:30 AM for the famous my top favorite shore excursion - Ghost City. After the excursion, passengers go back on the ship for lunch.
Lunch is then followed by lectures or leisure time. During the afternoon, you can go around the ship, stay on the observation decks, enjoy their different amenities or relax inside your rooms. I mostly stayed on the observation deck, although I did get a quick 30-minute massage on the ship’s massage room.
In the evening, guests are welcomed to a dinner reception hosted by the captain, which concludes with evening entertainment.
Day 3 The third day is one of the most breath taking days on all four-day Yangtze River cruises because it is when the ships pass the three gorges. The ship passes first two gorges (Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge) in the morning. Be sure you are in the observation decks during these times because the views are very breath-taking! The afternoon is just as wonderful since the ship also passes the west part of the Xiling Gorge in the afternoon.
Before passing through Xiling Gorge, though, the ships stop for another shore excursion. Passengers are ferried in small pea-boats through the magical clear waters of Shennong Stream.
Then, the day ends with a farewell dinner for all passengers. The ship reaches the Three Gorges Dam shiplock at night, vertically moving the ship upward through five stages. It takes around three to four hours to move the ship up a total of 113 meters – which I unfortunately did not notice at all.
The fourth day begins with breakfast and is followed by the Three Gorges Dam excursion. Passengers get the chance to visit the scenic view area, which provides a panoramic view of the dam, the river and the surrounding area. After the excursion, the passengers get back on board as the ship finally makes its way to Yichang.
What To Expect While the itinerary of the President cruises is somewhat similar to the cruise I was on, I’m not counting on an experience identical to what I had the first time. All cruise ships are different – even the ones that come of the same company – so the accommodations, excursions and food may vary.
At $499 per person, a ride on one of the President cruises is definitely worth the money and is something you might like to consider. |
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