LORNA & DAVID WILLIAMS, UK, THE CLASSIC MEKONG, NOV 2015
Mr Strachan, my wife and I have just returned from a 7 night cruise on the Mekong Pandaw and it was the highlight of the holiday. The attention to the smallest detail and the friendliness of the crew made the whole trip such a delight. We were even presented with a cake to celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary which as lovely thought. The shore excursions were interesting and varied and we saw some of the poverty that exists in Cambodia. It was good to see Pandaw helping out in the local communities and putting something back.
The whole crew were amazing from the dining room staff, [who loved having a joke with us] to the chefs, [who provided the wonderful and varied food] to the housekeeping staff, [who kept our rooms so clean] and ,of course,.. the lovely barman [ who always remembered what you drank]. So to pick one member of the crew out for special praise was not easy but it just had to be the Purser, Rorn Saroun who ran a ' tight ship'. He was always keeping an eye on things and nothing seemed to escape his attention. He was often in the background but his organisational ability was always evident. In particular when we had a problem getting back to the boat after heavy rain he was the one coordinating things with our guide on the bus!
I can't think of anything much you could do to improve things but if they do decaf coffee in Indo China it would be good to have some on board?
Do keep up the good work and I wish you continued success.
Kind regards
David Williams
PS I was part of the cruise where all the passengers wore their Pandaw kimonos to dinner on the last night. I am sure you will hear about that as even the Captain had to come and take a look!!
Reply from Pandaw
Dear Mr and Mrs Williams
Thank you for writing to me and I am so glad your Mekong cruise went well and that Purser Saroun and his team looked after you. Congratulations on your 30th Anniversary - you certainly chose the best place to celebrate it. I will pass on your kind words to Saroun and all the team.
I am sorry there was no decaffe. Normally there should at least be a jar of instant. I will remind them, thanks for telling me!
Best wishes for future trips!
Paul