Passenger Feedback

In February my wife and I boarded the Angkor Pandaw in Ho Chi Minh city. From that moment we were to be treated to First class meals First Class service and First Class accommodation for the next 7 nights. Included in this trip up the Mekong were shore visits to villages, Temples and Schools the itinerary was endless and professionally organised. The guides in Vietnam and in Cambodia were very good and informative and the crew were always on hand to give advice or to help, nothing was to much trouble and always with a smiling face. There is nothing better than watching the people carry on with their everyday lives as you cruise slowly up the river.On board entertainment was also provided in the way of films or shows again top quality. The boat itself boasted rich dark wood everywhere and very well maintained. I could have stayed forever and when the dreaded day came to disembark the whole crew lined on the river bank to bid us goodbye. it was a floating Claridges. A cruise on the Mekong is a must whether take a long cruise like this or a short one for just a couple of days, you must do it.

Hi, I recently contacted you ref my wonderful trip on the Angkor Pandaw cruising up the Mekong River and my subsequent review on Tripadvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293921-d325305-Reviews-Mekong_River-Vietnam.html. What I forgot to say was on the first night of the cruise when all the guests were getting to know each other I started talking to a gentleman who honestly seemed vaguely familiar. Anyway to cut a long story short it turned out that this gentleman was my music teacher at my senior school  in Salisbury in Wiltshire some 50 yrs ago. I was 12yrs old at that time and I even remembered what car he used to drive. When you think of the odds of meeting someone you have not seen for 50yrs across the other side of the world on the Ankor Pandaw with some 30 guests that is absolutely amazing just goes to show how small the world is getting. Regards Jeff Carrier.

Just back from another wonderful Pandaw cruise this time from Bagan to Mandalay.  The same wonderful atmosphere as previously with even better food and delightful staff.  I have already been to Cambodia/Vietnam and India and have just booked to go to Laos next year.   Look forward to more cruises!  Makes a great change from the dreary Edinburgh weather in February.  Best wishes Nicola Lowe.

Response from Pandaw

Thanks for letting me know all went well and am glad that Pagan to Mandalay was as good as the Mekong. Let's hope the Laos trip lives up to expectations. Being a new expedition it may be a bit rough at the edges on the service side but I promise it will not be without lots of excitement being a much smaller ship going through some wild areas.

Dear Mr Strachan

I thought I must drop you a line to say how very much I and my friend enjoyed our first experience of Pandaw, spending a week on the Irrawaddy (from 28th February) on the Kalaw Pandaw.  The vessel and accommodation was excellent, the food delicious, beautifully served and garnished, and I cannot praise the crew highly enough.  Not only super-efficient but quite charming and always there to look after one.

I look forward to a further cruise in the not too distant future.  Your cruise from Chang Rai to Vientiane via Luang Prabang sounds most interesting.  As do other trips in Burma.

Kind regards
Jennifer Feller

Response from Pandaw

Many thanks for your kind words on your recent experience on the Kalaw Pandaw. We are touched and honoured by your comments and I have passed them on to the purser and team as they will encouraged further by such remarks. Laos will be very exciting, being a new product less smooth, but a lot of fun.

Best wishes for future travels.

Hi

I would just like to say how much I enjoyed the above cruise on the RV Kalaw beginning on the 14th March.  The boat was lovely, kept wonderfully clean, the food was excellent and the staff were absolutely marvellous, looking after us all so wonderfully.

People are always so ready to complain about things, but do not always praise when things are good.

Thank you for a lovely experience.
Carolyn Parnell

Response from Pandaw

Many thanks for taking the time to write to us. Your feedback means much and I have passed it on to Sai and all the crew on the Kalaw Pandaw.  Both positive and negative criticism helps us keep the show on the road. The positive encourages us to do even better and the negative to fix things where they go wrong. But thank you all the more for your positive comments.

Hello Mr. Strachan.

Just returned from an amazing river cruise in an amazing country with your Pandaw Cruises.  (March 14-March 21)

I cannot express how much I enjoyed this trip.  The staff on this boat gave 110% everyday. Sei was kind, efficient and smiled all the time.  Sen, our guide did an exceptional job as well.  He had a boyish charm which was quite endearing.

The extra touches like cleaning our shoes and a glass of juice upon our return from excursions was appreciated.

Also loved the variety of transportation used for our excursions....horse and cart, luxury bus, tuk tuk and open air truck with benches all made for a wonderful adventure.

The food!   Couldn't believe it!  We had duck at lunch one day and even though I'm not a duck fan I couldn't get enough of it.  Excellent!!  And the breads!   And the salads that they tossed in front of us!!

Sen made the longyi demo really fun and interesting.  Loved it.

The rooms were always clean and I appreciated the unlimited bottles of water  in our room.  We had a courtesy room on the last day and I noticed the little care packet (ie comb etc.) I never had this in my room.   I only had soap, lotion and shower gel. (maybe upper deck gets that and not main deck?)

The shower water was cool on one or two occasions but I didn't care.

Although I enjoyed everything I thought I'd mention one thing.  We went to a small pot village, a metal pot place, a lacquerware place that makes pots, a silver pot place and a village that makes large pots.  I was thinking that it might be too many pot villages.  The last village we visited was the least desirable or maybe I was just tired of pots by then.

Now...one more thing to mention......we got stuck on a sandbar for 9 hours and missed the Mandalay tour completely. I can only blame this on the captain.   the posts were clearly marked in the water and boats floated by all day long as we sat there.   Even though a ferry boat and a tug boat tried to help, it didn't seem that the captain had a clue about where to attach ropes or where to pull.  Finally a tugboat came by that actually knew what they were doing and had us out in 5 minutes.  Sei made an excellent judgement call regarding our bar bill and I was quite pleased.   I only wish I had drank more all week!  From what I understand, Mandalay is just a big city so I don't feel like I was cheated.

Anyway, loved this fascinating country and felt privileged to travel there while tourism is still in its infancy.

I would highly recommend this cruise company.

Best..
Catherine Mirrlees

Response from Pandaw

Dear Ms Mirrlees,

Thanks so much for your very enthusiastic note. I am so glad the trip went well and have passed on your kind words to the team in Burma. I am sorry you were stuck on a sandbank 9 hours. This season nearly all our ships have been grounded regularly as a result of very low water. I am glad you took it so well. Please may we post your message on our feedback page as it tells the story so well to other potential travellers. Many thanks again.

Best regards,

Paul Strachan

Dear Paul

We have recently returned from a week on the Kalaw, a one week packet from Bagan to Mandalay (28 February to 7 March).

We really enjoyed the whole experience - the boat, crew, trips, food, cabin, atmosphere.  You and your team have created a very special  experience and my initial anxieties about going on a cruise were completely unnecessary.

We would love to go on another cruise with Pandaw - the Laos trip looks particularly interesting

Please pass on our thanks to Sy (sp?) and his team

regards

Eddie Taylor and Pietro Ovatta

Dear Paul,

I recently completed my second cruise with Pandaw (the first up the Mekong and the Irrawaddy a week ago). I want to express my thanks to you and your staff for another great experience. Your staff are so well trained and everything just seems to tick along without a fuss.

Your efforts in getting tourism up and running in Myanmar are also to be commended. From the number of cruise boats on the Irrawaddy you have obviously pioneered a whole new industry for the country. I worked in Myanmar in 1990/91 (oil & gas exploration). I was great to see how tourism has developed since then.

We are already planning our next trip with Pandaw.

A few minor things that could be improved:

a) Pursur or guides to have maps of towns where the bikes are used. We had a bit of trouble finding our way around.

b) Link the main invoicing system to the Pursur's records on the boat. We had a $50 credit (bike booking refund) on the main invoice to use for on board expenses. The Pursur had no record of this. Not a big problem as we had a copy of our main invoice and he accepted our word on this.

kind regards
Geoff Cocks

I have just returned to the UK having been on the Pandaw Irrawaddy river cruise from Yangon to Mandalay.

I really did not know what to expect, only hoped for the best. The standard of care and attention started as our taxi arrived at jetty in Yangon and remained at this exceptional high standard until we got into our taxi leaving the cruise in Mandalay 14 days later.

I am so impressed with the service your team provided l would not hesitate to recommend Pandaw ,and hope to holiday with you again soon.

Angela Bamford
A very satisfied customer