My wife and I did the Viking cruise about 3 years ago. Viking does a great job with their cruises. They take care of everything for you. We stayed a few days early and it was in a 5 star hotel. The day you get there,viking picks you up and takes you to hotel. They have a representative in the hotel for you. You are on your own that day, but then Viking takes over after that.The land part of the tour was great.The cruise part only goes to one site that is older Chinese.The rest is of newer made towns. Remember that the dam flooded all of that area so all the rest is under 330 feet of water. And you do not get close to the dam. I would say they keep everyone 2 or 3 miles away from it. A land tour would give you more to see of China but Viking is a good tour. The cruise does give you a chance to meet a lot of people. My take is the cruise part is a waste if you want to see more of China. Set up a land tour company if that is what you want. And you have to like Chinese food,real Chinese food, not the American Chinese we eat here in the states.And you fly twice incountry but Viking does a good job with this. Hope this helps with your trip