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Victoria Katarina
Nov
3
2010
Victoria Katarina set a new standard in cruise ship design for Yangtze River cruising when it was inaugurated in 2004.
Year Built: 2004
Length: 98.6m
Width: 15.2m
Gross Tonnage: 5780T
Draft: 2.5m
Speed: 28km/h
Passenger Decks: 4
Crew: 128
Total Passengers: 266
Answer #2
Our departure city was Yichang. We remained tied up at the dock the night of boarding, then departed early the next morning. Our first stop was to lock through the Gezhouba dam, about one quarter the size of the Three Gorges dam, and built in the late 1980’s as practice. Shortly after locking through, we approached the Xiling gorge, site of the three gorges dam. The dam was built here because of granite outcropping, which provided a secure foundation. Most of the area is limestone, which is to porous, permeable, and soft to provide a secure footing for such a gigantic structure. In the following days, we took the Lesser Three Gorges and Fengdu Ghost City shore excursion.
Answer #3
We took the Victoria Katarina cruise, which is owned by an American company. It caters to both western and oriental tastes. Food on the boat is sort of Chinese and sort of American. Internet on the boat costs 100 Yuan (about $15) to rent an air card for the entire trip. It is surprising how well the air card works in this remote but heavily populated area. But sometimes it was very slow. Our tour guide George says China Telecom is the largest cell phone provider in the world, with over 400 million customers. Everybody seems to have cell phones, including the poorest appearing peasants. We attended a 4:30pm lecture on the Yangtze River. It was a slick Power Point presentation by a slick young Chinese lady, who spoke barely understandable Chinglish. The lecture stressed the flood control benefits of the dam. The captain’s reception was held in the evening, where we met a delightful couple from Mississippi, just north of Biloxi. Dinner was served at 7:00 PM, followed by a fashion show of ancient and modern Chinese fashions, which we skipped in favor of early retirement. We were docked every night, so we didn’t miss any of the spectacular scenery in the dark. We were usually rafted with other boats. Sometimes our room was on the outside, facing the open river, and sometimes it faced a freighter. We were told to lock our balcony door the nights we faced workboats. We had a pleasant trip on the cruise Victoria Katarina.
Answer #4
Upon arrival in Chongqing, we checked in the cruise in the afternoon. The cruise ship was very good, Victoria Katarina, 5-star cruise ship on Yangtze River. The room is very nice. Afterwards we went to visit Ciqikou, an old town area full with little shops and local snacks. Then we went to visit the new hillside hotel. Chongqing is so different compared to the last time I went back in 2002. It’s so modern now, and there are a lot of more things to see.
Afterwards we returned to the cruise ship by 8:00 PM. There were more Americans and European tourists than Asians or locals. The cruise didn’t depart until 10:00 PM, and by then the light around Chongqing city had been switched off. Our 2nd day on the cruise ship, Mom joined a Tai Chi class before breakfast. The breakfast was good, but I guess the Europeans might like it more. Our first shore excursion was to visit Fengdu, the Ghost City, just after lunch. Afterwards we went back to our ship and had dinner, before watched the Fashion Show aboard the ship. Next day the ship passed the first Gorge, Qutang Gorge by 7:00 AM. It’s the smallest and shortest among the three. The views were spectacular; unfortunately the mists were still thick. We changed to smaller boats to visit Lesser Three Gorges (Xiao Shan Xia). The views here are more magnificent, although I’m sure it were more magnificent back before the water level were raised by 100m due to Three Gorges Dam construction.
After returning to the ship, we had lunch before entering Wu Gorge. This gorge contains the most famous peak, Goddess Peak (Shennu Feng). This gorge is the most magnificent one. By the time we reached this Gorge, the weather had improved greatly, and the sun had come out. In late afternoon we entered the last one, Xiling Gorge. This is the longest Gorge and the location of the dam. Just before dinner we arrived at the entrance of the 5-stage ship lock that would transport our ship across the Dam, where the water level dropped to only 40m. The process took about 3-4 hours.
We had our final shore excursion to the Three Gorges Dam. We were shown the layout of the Dam, the ship lock stages, and the park around the Dam, and the purpose of the projects to control flooding. The journey along the Xiling Gorge was magnificent, and hazardous. The road was narrow and winding, yet offered great views.
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Answer #1
After dinner we proceeded to the boat dock to board our cruise boat “Katarina” of the Victoria Cruise Lines. Our rooms are very nice. Every room has a private balcony where we can sit and watch the view, or hang our laundry. Our room is on the 2nd of 4 floors. The ship can accommodate 200 passengers. On our cruise there are 50 Americans and 100 Orientals. There is a lot of river traffic and it is non-stop. Keith and I enjoy listening to the passing river barges, tankers and fishing boats through the night. The Three Gorges Dam is the highlight of the trip for Keith! Our room was something of a surprise, of the good kind. It is definitely more than we expected; better than Holland American. The only bummer is twin beds. They could be shoved together, but that would block the door the balcony, and then where would we hang our laundry? There is enough room for all our suitcases (which are reproducing), TV, refrigerator, nice size closet opposite a compact but perfectly functional bathroom. There is plenty of hot water and also a sink for shaving, brushing teeth, and doing laundry.