Passenger Feedback

Your ship is beautiful and your personnel excel in service and food standards equalling any of the experiences we have had on other Pandaw trips. This is very much a company strength. Stuart Hickman did an excellent job helping smooth the rough edges on this maiden voyage. His food knowledge and skill is truly exceptional. The food on this voyage surpassed others (which have been very good in every case). He promptly addressed many issues and was working everywhere behind the scene training the crew and watching out for us passengers. Maung Maung Hein Tun did an excellent job as local guide and had the skills and work ethic to always assist the crew and the passengers. His English was very adequate, knowledge extensive and he worked hard. You need to hire this guy or someone like him. He was invaluable. Mai & Pai Pai both did an absolutely superb job. We had been with them both on the RV Pandaw Kalay two weeks earlier and know they are two of the best. We were extremely happy with them both. Pai Pai was simply a superior chef and his dishes were fantastic. We do hope he receives a permanent promotion. Note: Pastry Chef (Ney on?) seems also very promising but we had less exposure to him. Paing Soe Thu was a very responsive purser. We had a number of small issues related to cabin, etc. and he seemed to be everywhere helping with on shore excursions, dining area, everywhere. Hard working great representative for your company. The ship’s crew and officers were all very friendly and fun to spend time with. A great crew.

Points needing attention: While life aboard ship essentially met our Pandaw expectations, leaving the ship presented some problems. The gangway needs to have a longer platform at the bottom with bumpers to allow the tenders to tie up parallel to the platform and guests easily step back and forth. You might do better with open Zodiacs. There was very little value in having “Ronald”, the guide from Yangon accompany us. Ronald had very little to offer regarding local information while Hein Tun was a wealth of information. All cabins should be supplied with at least one portable fan. You might consider adding some local flavor activities that come to the ship. The local squid fishing fleet was fascinating. Perhaps bringing a squid boat alongside the Andaman Explorer for an up-close view and photo opportunity might be an example of one such activity.

Again, please don’t take this correspondence as complaints. We did not sign up for a maiden voyage expecting perfection but rather the unique opportunity to participate in a new adventure. We fully expected there would be some glitches and learning involved. My message is only intended as constructive criticism which I hope can benefit you in making a great travel company even better. Thanks again Pandaw for all the adventures you have taken us on!

Dear Paul. I have recently returned from a trip to Myanmar and have had such a wonderful holiday that I wanted to email you directly to thank you.

We flew from Heathrow to Yangon and were met by our guide Harry. We were in fact the only passengers in the party and Harry gave us a totally personalised tour of the city. He was the perfect guide: polite, respectful, considerate, knowledgeable. In fact I cannot praise him enough. The hotel Sule Shangri La in Yangon was of an exceptionally high standard and the staff fell over themselves to make our stay special.

Harry escorted us to Bagan and onto our boat to spend 7 nights on the RV Kalaw Pandaw to Mandalay. Again we met the most professional of staff who went absolutely out of their way to take care of our every need. I have never met such happy, contented, delightful people in all my many many years of travelling all over the globe. I would particularly like to mention our Purser Myo Naing. He is doing such a brilliant job of leading his team on the boat and knows absolutely everything that is carried out by each member of staff. His efficiency is equally matched by his constantly smiley face and thoroughly obliging manner. The food and service on the boat was outstanding. So too the entertainment on board and all the trips we took. I loved the way all the staff lined up to see us safely off the boat and were there to greet us so warmly when we returned. The utmost care was taken to ensure our safety during each outing. Whenever we held out a hand to steady ourselves there was someone there immediately to hold it, along with a smiling face of reassurance. Our stay at the Inle Lake in the Sanctum Spa hotel was equally incredible and our guide was superb. Again highly professional, thoroughly attentive and great fun to be with. At the end of the cruise we were flown back to Yangon and to the Sule Snangri La Hotel, from where we flew back to Heathrow. I absolutely loved my holiday on your beautiful colonial boat and thank you once again for the incredible attention to detail you have paid to my entire Burmese experience.

Kind Regards,
Lynda Brown,
United Kingdom

Just want to comment on my cruise with your Company 21st to 28th of October. I found the whole cruise was excellent and beyond my expectations. One must say that each crew member worked in harmony making everyone feel welcome. The presentation in the catering end was superb and delicious with great menu choices. The bedroom accommodation was comfortable and amenities fine. My friend and I enjoyed the pool table and of course the happy hours daily. The choice of excursions were interesting and timed just right. The one with the children learning English in the classroom was particularly enjoyable.

Special mention of Mr Brian Woolley, your Food and Beverage Manager who was excellent chatting with all of us at various times throughout the cruise.

Sincerely,
Ron Chisholm

To Jimmy, Purser, RV Kindat Pandaw

Having just arrived home from Myanmar, I wanted to again thank you for having organised such a wonderful 10 days for our voyage from Bagan to Mandalay via the 2nd Defile. There were so many details that you had to deal with each day yet you always managed a smile on you face! For me, my third voyage with Pandaw was by far the best and most enjoyable and I appreciate how much you contributed to this.

Keep well and best wishes. I hope our paths may cross again one of these days.

Tom

Firstly congratulations to Captain Nguyen Duc Do and Purser Peter for a very well run cruise. There were 30 passengers on the RV Angkor Pandaw and all commented on the excellent presentation plus quality and taste of the food prepared by Hung and his team. I have cruised with Pandaw many times but the food served on this cruise was exceptional.

The itinerary was again well planned with interesting visits and experiences for all as we cruised down the Black, Red, Thai Binh & Kinh Thay Rivers. However I felt a commentary was partly needed whilst cruising by our guides Duoc and Vu, not just on land tours as most of us were confused about the rivers.

Highlights for me were:

• Upcountry Hoa Binh visiting the beautiful cave Buddhist temple and cruising on the Hoa Binh power station reservoir with its fish traps and pleasure boats.
• Mr Bing’s museum displayed over 3 stilt houses was a treasure trove and the upcountry Muong village set amongst rice fields with green tea and rice wine tasting.
• Market visit where groups were given money to purchase 5 vegetables (only verbal pronunciation given by guide) - lots of fun!
• On board lecture on the History of Vietnam - excellent!
• At Tien Du village the elderly ladies weaving conical Vietnamese hats which are worn by all the villagers in the rice fields.
• Many beautiful temples, such as C11th Thay Pagoda (heavenly Blessing) and C8th Tay Phuong Pagoda.
• The cultural performances - especially the Lion dance & Water Puppet show to name the highlights.
• Walks around the Old Quarter of Hanoi with a most welcome coffee stop in an unusual building.
• The ever changing countryside whilst cruising - banana trees, crops, buffalos grazing, rice fields, small villages and barge life on the rivers (fishing and sand collecting).
• Halong Bay with its picturesque large and small limestone islands and our fun activities of kayaking, walking around Viet Hai Village & into the National Park whilst ending the day with cocktails on an island.

The Red River - Up Close and Personal

We were on the Pandaw cruise on the Irrawaddy at the beginning of October. We cannot imagine how our experience could be improved. The boat was comfortable and elegant, the catering and hospitality exemplary and all the staff absolutely wonderful.

Our only hesitation about booking another Pandaw cruise is that we can’t believe it could be as good !!!