Passengers
Holiday Reviews

Tamara Starkes , High Country Passage, California. October 2006

I just got back from a WONDERFUL trip aboard the Mekong Pandaw. The ship and staff were fantastic. All our passengers had a really good time. I wish I were still there. Win Min was our purser and did a great job. I also had a chance to see the Tonle Pandaw and meet Josef Schneckenreither.

From Mason and Margaret Morfit, USA. October 2006

Dear Win (or should I call you Min?)
This is just a note to say I believe you did an excellent job during our recent trip to Vietnam and Cambodia with the World Affairs Council and the American Museum of Natural History. You deserve a raise!
Also, one of your guides in Cambodia, Mineer (?)( I'm not sure of the spelling, also did an excellent job. She also deserves a raise!

From Karin Muller, President, Firelight Productions, Inc. October 2006

I recently spent a week aboard the Mekong Pandaw as the National Geographic representative and expert lecturer for National Geographic Expedition’s October Mekong tours. I was extremely impressed by Mr. Win Min, the purser of the Pandaw. He was friendly, professional, courteous, extremely well organized, and always willing to go far beyond his job description in order to satisfy the needs (and whims) of his passengers. The staff on board his ship clearly enjoyed working for him, and this created a positive environment for everyone. I would recommend the Pandaw cruise without caveat, both for the beauty of the boat and its surrounding but even more so because of the extraordinary ability of its purser and staff.

From Bill and Anne Pentland, Pitlochry, Scotland. October 2006

Chindwin trip was great, very different from the Upper Irrawaddy. It was a fantastic to be in and to experience a real monsoon storm wind and downpour. Never seen anything like it!!!.

We also impressed by the prompt action taken by the Captain in turning the ship around when visability disappeared, and laying too until it cleared.

From Douglas Shachnow, Florida. October 2006

I'm a travel agent in Boca Raton, Florida USA, and active with PATA, on the Board of Directors of the Florida Chapter, and serving on the global organization's Industry Council.

This [Mekong Pandaw] is truly one of the great travel experiences there is anywhere. I will soon be looking forward to joining one of your other cruises on the Irawaddy as soon as I get this book of mine finished, an encyclopedia of the world's tourism sights and attractions...almost 10,000 items, much more in depth, destination by destination, than another book out of England which has only about 400. I'm including your cruises. Seriously, since I got back last November, I have never stopped talking about this trip to anyone I could get my hands on. This is a GREAT trip.

From Peter Voll, CEO High Country Passage, California. October 2006

My wife Suzanne and her sister have just returned from the AMNH and World Affairs Council voyage on the Mekong Pandaw. Over the past 30 years, both of them have participated in many trips with Stanford and PVA, on all sorts of vessels, trains, and and private jets. Well, they just couldn't say enough good things about the crew, food, and architecture/decor of the Mekong Pandaw. Furthermore, they felt that it was one of the best, if not THE best, trip that they had ever done!

From John Mitchell. Australia, on the Fodor Travel Forum:

It is a tribute to the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company’s commitment to service, fine food and wine, and luxury accommodation that a large percentage of its passengers are repeats. For that reason alone, bookings fill quickly with some passengers on my cruise admitting they had tried for up to five years to gain a berth for a cruise on the date of their choosing.

Read the full article: http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=31&tid=34814343

Nigel Trifit from Australia in October 2006

Nigel spent 20 days on the rivers of Burma, half onPandaw Cruise's Pandaw IV and half on the rival Orient Express Road to Mandalay. Here is his verdict:

The comparison between the two boats could not be more obvious. 'The Road to Mandalay', which I've been on twice, plays a very skilful game with its clients. At first it seemed like a very elegant way to travel up the Ayerwaddy - the food, service and general grovel to their clients is initally very pleasing - that's until you realize that's it's cold, cool and very calculated. They actually don't give a rat's arse whether you live or die. Their tour programme for the 10 days to Bhamo trip has not altered, bar a train ride in Katha, and a visit to a pottery factory somewhere else - for NINE years. That gives you an idea of how much they respond to their customer's comments.

Time ashore, on excursions, could be measured in MINUTES per day - on average, if memory serves me correctly, about 90 minutes per 24 hours, on a series of highly regulated, utterly sanitised, deeply unsatisfactory shore excursions that perhaps mirror the type of clients they have. I had the distinct feeling that their passengers weren't there to see Myanmar at all - simply to get the Road to Mandalay tag on their luggage, and earn pretend brownie points that they travelled on the nautical version of the Orient Express.

There were, however, a number of extremely disgruntled clients who had actually come aboard to experience Myanmar - they left, like me, completely unsatisfied and disappointed. Apparently I went to Bhamo - not that I could tell.

Everything was regulated - there was no 'real deal' Burma experience. I chanced upon ten minutes of it in Mandalay - on occasion. Ten minutes in ten days. The rest was a never ending cruise with quite good food and a great deal of grovel. After five or six days some of the clients were screaming to get off. Any complaints were met with an icy cool idifference by the 'Hotel Manager' - a glacial Moroccan/French woman whose name had deservedly been erased from my memory. In my two trips with Road to Mandalay, a total of 17 days, she spoke to me, unprompted, precisely seven times. I counted.

By comparison with Road to Mandalay, the Pandaw experience on Pandaw  IV (and I went from one directly to the other) for 10 days up the Chindwin was, within the limits of an unavoidable degree of (err - how shall I put it) - censorship, as much 'real deal' as I think its possible to get in the far flung regions of Myanmar. This was, after all, why I keep coming back. Shore excursions were a joy. Lots of time on land, lots of opportunity to wander off, as is my nature - even the occasional adventure. Personal interaction from Donald and Jacques, let alone the crew, was about as personal, caring and thoughtful as I have experienced. I can be a difficult passenger. I came back from the Chindwin ready to head out for another ten days.

With Road to Mandalay I was aching to get off.

Jacques, as mentioned, is a considerable asset to the company. If he doesn't go mad having to deal with difficult, solitary, moaning old farts like me and survives his first seven months he'll be worth his weight in gold. There are some issues with food and attention to detail but, as noted, he'll have all that sorted in the fullness of time.

It was a great trip - I would do it again tomorrow. Matter of fact, I probably will.

I never want to see the Road to Mandalay again.

From Denise Reed, Melton Mowbray, England. January 2006

You might recall that I traveled last year on a Pandaw cruise in Burma. This was a quite different experience with the level of service and attention unsurpassed. The food was absolutely top class – Cambodian chef! This was much better than last year. Coming from Stilton country here at Melton Mowbray it was a total surprise to enjoy on board the best piece of stilton I have had in a long time! Apart from that it was a thoughtful blend of East and West and chop sticks all the way…. The catering on the boat would be difficult to follow and we were totally spoiled…

From Nick and Shirley Hewitt-Teale, Windsor, England. February 2006

My wife and I completed an outstanding cruise from Rangoon to Mandalay at the end of January. The ship and crew were magnificent. The food was excellent as was the attention to detail on shore visits with accompanying members of the crew with cold towels a real touch of class. We can still not get used to no longer having our shoes cleaned after each outing from home!

From Dennis Jones, UK 2005

WE feel that to travel on a Pandaw riverboat is a wonderful experience – its interesting and relaxing, we were very well cared for and the food is delicious. However, this time it was REALLY extra special. Thank you for arranging for us to be spoilt even more than usual. The menus were fantastic! How do they do that – prepare and serve a selection of food in what must be a small area? The mind boggles!

From Pippa Barnes, USA. 2005

We certainly had a great trip! The river cruise was excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed it – very comfortable vessel and great food. We found both Vietnam and Cambodia fascinating countries – so different to anywhere else we have been. The Mekong River is a hive of activity.

From Tony Spicer, California. 2005

What a great time we had on your Mekong cruise, unfortunately just finished and now having to face life back in California. The river trip was all you promised: cabins excellent, staff and service superb, food great. Would we go on another one of Pandaw’s cruises? You bet we would and hopefully we can do it next year if we can get the time off.

From Bill and Sarah Bastick, Vermont. 2005

From the Purser Mr Win Hlaing to the laundry man, all of your staff were exceptional in their dedication to the total comfort and safety of all passengers. Our trip was a memorable one - in very large part because of their patience and quiet efficiency.

The cruise was essentially painless and the ground tours well managed…. Everything moved along with the precision of a German marching band, but without the associated pomp and ceremony.

From Margaret Stewart. 2005

My husband and I took a cruise up the Irrawaddy river at the end of October into November on Pandaw 4.

We would like to thank you for a wonderful trip even though it is very belated. The crew were fantastic. Nothing was too much trouble for them and they always had such smiling welcoming faces. Please convey our thanks to them.

From Diane Villax, Portugal. 2005

Have just returned from a Tonle Pandaw cruise. (25th Jan from Saigon) Thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course, the tourists are already arriving in their thousands in Angkor Wat but the Mekong is still pristine - NO cruise ships in sight!!!! Long may it last. A pity the river was, apparently, low, as we did not go any further than Kampong cham and I refused to be bussed 8 hours to see the dolphins! The staff all charming and most efficient, well beyond the call of duty. Cabin, comfortable and bathroom good. I must admit I was alone on the main deck and so had lots of space. Food adequate, delicious and most exotic and varied fruit.

Elke Luhmann, Germany. 2005

back in the cold and rainy part of the world I want to let you know that I had a wonderful trip on the Mekong Pandaw! The ship is beautiful, all people working on board are wonderful, everything was perfectly organized and if I will ever go to Myanmar of course I would do another Pandaw Cruise.

From Nick Turnbull, Ontario, Canada. 2005

This is a long overdue thank you for the marvellous experience of the two cruises we took on Pandaw 4 last September. We had looked forward to the expeditions with great expectations and we were not disappointed!

The arrangements made for the group worked well. Our arrival in Yangon a day early gave us a chance to meet with our guide from our previous visit to Burma and to acclimatise ourselves somewhat. The flight into Kalemyo gave a wonderful view of the countryside and the bus journey to the river's bank added to the excitement as well as adding to our sense of being truly in the countryside.

I should tell you that since our last visit (in 2004) I had read a book on the Canadian involvement in the war in Burma. It was just written by a fellow traveller on our first visit who was a participant in that action. Much of the territory we were to travel through was referred to in his book. The road to Kalewa passed over many Bailey bridges, reminders of the difficulties of traversing that rugged countryside in wheeled vehicles.

The ship itself was everything we had expected, having spent three days and two nights the year before on Pandaw 3. The crew was very competent and pampered us nicely. We recognized some from our Pandaw 3 cruise the previous year. We found the members of the group pleasant, interesting and friendly lot. They certainly added interest to the cruise since most had a lot of previous travel experience, often in out-of-the-way places as well as in Burma.

The countryside in monsoon season was much different from our dry season (Feb./March) experience. It was beautiful, especially with the lush growth and the sun and cloud effects. Again, we were not disappointed to find the differences we'd expected.

An added feature on the Chindwin portion was the presence of Josef, General Manager, (I've forgotten his surname). He was a wealth of information on the company and the ship and operations in general. He was also a great help to us in resolving some airline ticket concerns. We enjoyed his company enormously and were sorry that he had to leave us at Bagan.

If you were to ask us what we'd change we'd say very little, except ... the guide who travelled with us on the Chindwin. He was a nice enough man, but his English was difficult to understand (normally he guided Italian tourists) and his knowledge of local affairs was wanting. This latter is possibly understandable considering that Pandaw had not travelled the Chindwin during the previous five years. But it did make it frustrating at times, being unable to learn more about places, people and customs. No doubt good guides are not easy to find, but a really good one makes a world of difference in learning about a country as fascinating as Burma.

We received your most recent brochures on coming cruises and were again enticed to join you. But we have some other places we'd like to explore too (Greece and South India are both booked). However, we'd like to return to Southeast Asia and your offerings make it very tempting. We also appreciated the information on the Pandaw Pro Bono programs and learning more about just what is being done to help.

From Andrew Brock, Owner of Andrew Brock Travel, UK. 2000

Boarded Pandaw at lunchtime… Next ten days were sheer unalloyed pleasure. It is clear that all on board found it as enjoyable as we did. The food was excellent, the service suberb, the cabins comfortable, attractive and clean. Even the odd monster insect visitor in the bathroom was so amazing that people took them in their stride.

VIRTUALTOURIST.COM

The boat is full of snobs. There are two retired doctors, very snobbish, got theri own yacht, large house in the country etc. A very boring computer analyst and his wife, again real snobs, and a couple of retired Americans who think they're better than everyone else too. The rest are fairly OK. Not really our sort of people at all. The staff are nice though.
The second night we share a table with the Germans and French couples and have a hilarious time trying to communiacte. Nobody speaks any of the others' language, but we all try. They are all very friendly, much better than the English snobs!
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tp/e47b1/


EPIONIONS.COM

Irrawaddy River Cruise. Personally, this cruise from Mandalay to Bagan is not necessary to know about Burma but certainly enhances your experience in the country. No different than saying likewise about cruising the Mississippi river to know the "South" of the U.S. The Orient Express' (based in the UK) "Road to Mandalay" (RTM) is the most opulent means of plying down one of the mightiest rivers in Asia. A British couple we later traveled with said the ship has an onboard swimming pool, live entertainment and plenty of fancy meals. They complained that their standard room was a bit small. The RTM looked very much like a European river cruise ship that you see on the Rhine in Germany. As an alternative, we opted for the RV Pandaw whose company provided a flotilla of paddle steamers that plied the river in the early 1900s. Our RV Pandaw III is the latest version of the steamer providing many original features to recreate the atmosphere and character of a colonial era. Our room was comfortable at 14 X 12 feet in size with ensuite bathrooms and hot running water. Although the Pandaw did not offer any fancy entertainment , we had plenty of distraction during our 2 day trek toward Bagan. The Pandaw stopped at two local villages. One village made clay pottery and the other cigars called cheroots. The meals onboard were good to excellent providing a variety of cuisine with reasonably priced Australian and French wines to accompany them.
http://www.epinions.com/content_128974294660