We cruised on Anna in June 07, from Chongqing to Yichang. This is our first river cruise, even though we had taken many cruises on ocean-going ships. The comparisons here are relative to our ocean cruising experience and not against other Yangtze river cruise companies.
The ship is extremely well run, with friendly, attentative, competent, and available staff. For a boat holding only up to 300 passengers, I was surprised to see the company packing in a full program of excursions, entertainment, and education programs. 4 internet stations are available, but the connections are understandably very slow. A doctor is on board who also teaches tai-chi in the morning. Breakfast is western style buffet with a bit of Chinese. Dinner is family style Chinese, with very conservative choices of material. I thought the preparation was as good as most tourist restaurants in major cities. Ice came from boiled water - everything was very clean and very safe.
The guide who talked about the Yangtze was extremely knowledgeable. I was surprised he even spent an hour talking about all the negatives associated with building the three gorges dam. Definitely not propaganda ladden. The land tours are OK but not spectacular. The highlight for us is the sampan tour of the small gorges, where the water is clear and the whole atmosphere idyllic.
All in all, it is great value for the money.
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[5 of 5 Stars!]
