Crystal Cruises offers travelers the opportunity to add a five-night Extended Land Program to Tibet onto its Asia cruise in 2014. Crystal Symphony’s April 9 Hong Kong-Beijing/all-China voyage and April 16 Beijing-Tokyo/all-China and Japan sailing each offer the add-on post- and pre-cruise, respectively. Round-trip from Beijing, guests will fly first-class to Chengdu, China and Lhasa, Tibet.
Highlights of the journey include interactions with baby pandas at Chengdu’s Giant Panda Research Base, while learning about the center’s conservation and breeding efforts. Also offered is a Tibetan-style dinner, showcasing traditional song and dance while sampling a variety of yak-based dietary staples, from meat to tea.
Guests can watch monks prepare for their monastic exams at the Sera Monastery. Another stop is Jinli Street in Chengdu, an ancient market offering spicy barbeque and authentic Sichuan favorites to local artists’ works and traditional lantern performances.
As with all of Crystal’s Extended Land Programs, luxury accommodations, meals, and transportation for the “Timeless Tibet” program are included in the $7,400 per person, double occupancy fare. Accommodations include one night at the Sofitel Hotel Chengdu, three nights at St. Regis Lhasa Resort, and one night at the China World Hotel Beijing.
Crystal Symphony’s 13-day April 9 cruise visits Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dalian, Xiamen, and Beijing, with fares beginning at $4,910 per person. The 15-day April 16 itinerary calls in Beijing, Dalian, and Shanghai, China, as well as Nagasaki, Osaka, Shimizu and Tokyo, Japan with fares from $6,620 per person. Both cruises offer savings—of $2,500 and $1,700, respectively—if booked by October 31, 2013.
For more information and the complete itinerary, visit www.crystalcruises.com.