Life on Board
Luxury Cruise Ships

Once on board you will be looked after by the Purser who will do his or her best to make sure that you are as comfortable as possible. Both the hotel staff and the ship's crew are here to ensure that you are as well looked after as is possible within the confines of an expedition vessel making pioneering journeys.

Ship's Office

The main office on the Mekong ships is on the Lower Deck but we found that passengers tended to forget its existence. We have therefore located a 'front office' in the Saloon Bar where the Purser or his assistant is on duty at set times to offer information or assistance. On the Myanmar ships the office is on the Main Deck (P2) or Upper Deck (P4).

Your Daily Schedule

You will already have a rough itinerary listing the main stops of your river expedition. However, much depends on river conditions and other local factors, so we will post a detailed Daily Schedule each day - ideally the night before. This will contain a fact sheet with as much information as we can garner on the sites we intend to visit on the following day. Guests are asked to remain patient and flexible. We do our best to devise as interesting and exciting programmes as possible but, being an 'expedition', it is not always possible to follow itineraries to the letter and river conditions may alter by the hour. Please keep an eye on the notice board for any subsequent notice of any changes to the Daily Schedule. (Our ships are equipped with Public Address systems but we try and use these as seldom as we can).

River Conditions

These vary depending on the season. In the Dry Season (November-March) the water level of the river will be quite low and in places will have dropped more than 50 foot from its monsoon level (June-Sept). Though the river can be miles wide, channels may be narrow and hard to follow. There is thus some risk of running aground on submerged sand banks and our captain has to take extreme care. (Some of our regular passengers feel cheated if there is not a good grounding on each voyage). In 2001 Pandaw II was grounded for 5 days on her Maiden Voyage - amazingly our passengers refused to be evacuated from the ship preferring to stick it out to the end. We will attempt to devise on shore time in the cool of the early morning or late afternoon. In the Conditions of Carriage we clearly state that, in view of changing channels, navigational hazards or other local conditions, there may be sudden changes to planned timings.

Moving About the Ship

It goes without saying that this is a ship rather than a hotel, and as such you will need to take care when moving about the decks ~ they can be slippery. Please take extra care when using the stairs ~ which on board ship are steeper than you may be used to. It's best to always use the handrails.

Fire Risk and Smoking

Please do NOT smoke in your cabin or in the Dining Room or Saloon i.e. inside. Smoking is permitted in outside areas only, namely the Observation Deck and Promenade Decks. This is a wood-finished ship and the danger of fire should never be ignored.

Emergency Procedures

The ship is fitted with modern smoke detectors, and fire alarms, extinguishers and hoses. Alarms are situated at regular intervals along the Promenade Decks. Fire extinguishers are located at regular intervals around the promenade decks and outside all public rooms.

Life Jackets

These are kept in the wardrobe in your cabin.

Muster Stations

In the event of an emergency the ship's whistle will blast repeatedly and the alarm bells be rung. If either in or very close to your cabin, put on your life jacket and proceed immediately to MUSTER STATION ONE, and await instructions. On the back of your cabin door is a plan of the ship showing the position of your cabin in relation to the Emergency Muster Stations.

MUSTER STATION ONE in all ships is located on the MAIN DECK mid ships (where the main gang plank is). In the event that MUSTER STATION ONE is not safe you will be directed by the crew to MUSTER STATION TWO which is on the SUN DECK.

Both muster stations are clearly indicated with signs.

If you are not in your cabin when you hear the alarm, do NOT return to it, but proceed at once to the Muster Station to await instructions. There will be an Emergency Drill during your voyage.

Note that as with inland water class cruise ships on European rivers we are not required by Class Societies to carry life boats - the reason for this is that it is far quicker to beach the vessel on the nearest sand bar or river bank and evacuate by foot than to transfer passengers onto ship's boats.

Medical

We carry first aid equipment and some medicines. All our senior staff has attended First Aid courses. On the river we are never far from a local medical station and we have found that some local doctors usually speak English or French and practice a good standard of field medicine. In the event of serious illness or accident we are never more than 2 hours by car or speed boat from a main hospital or 5 hours from Saigon or Phnom Penh where there are international hospital facilities and air evacuation facilities. In the Conditions of Carriage you are required to take out an insurance policy that includes repatriation in the event of an emergency. There are now modern private hospitals in the capital.