Passenger Feedback

The cruise with pandaw is truly outstanding. . . including all staff, guide and the boat. We will continue to journey with you. But we'd had some not great experience for our post-excursion. We did 4 day extension at Hue and Hoi-An. We were mandatory charged $70 each person for christmas eve dinner, but first, hotel said they weren't notified that the dinner was paid. Then they told us the dinner wasn't mandatory and only $35 per person. . . which surprised us. They told the tour company and verified that the dinner had been paid, but it seemed weird that we paid twice for mandatory dinner that wasn't mandatory and it really wasn't worth that money. I think maybe you should check out the sub-contractor tour company before booking through them?

I was particularly taken by the visit to the small town where we had a fire and interacted with the kids of the village. It was very heartwarming. I was just a bit worried about whether the children that attended the party were safe in the sense that since it was dark, I was worried about them getting back home safely. I only mention this in case you havent thought about it and maybe can incorporate some protocol for future visits (just to make sure all children return home unharmed). It is a small suggestion but please rest assured that we loved the experience and think that Pandaw is doing a great thing by stopping in the village and organizing these interactions. If future efforts are made to help the village, I would be interested in learning about them to see how I can help. Many thanks for a fantastic trip!!

THERE WERE SOME ISSUES EARLIER IN THE CRUISE RELATING TO THE DRINKS STANDARD ( e. g. WHITE WINE NOT CHILLED ) BUT I UNDERSTAND SOME PASSENGERS COMPLAINED AND THIS WAS QUICKLY CORRECTED. PERSONALLY I DID NOT HAVE ANY COMPLAINTS AND ENJOYED GREAT SERVICE FROM ALL THE BAR STAFF. I ALSO KNOW THERE WERE SOME COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE GROUND TOURS WHICH SOME FELT WERE NOT INTERESTING. HOWEVER I FELT THAT THE TOURS WERE REALISTIC AND SHOWED THE LOCAL CULTURE/COLOUR OF THE AREA. IF YOU WANT FANTASY GO TO DISNEYLAND. THE FOOD WAS VERY GOOD BUT THE SALADS COULD IMPROVE.

The only reason I gave four stars to the excursions question is that it appears that the primary opportunities are unannounced visits to villages along the river. Thanks to the outgoing personality of our guide, Vieng, these were mostly very interesting and engaging, although somewhat repetitious. If there are interesting sites of note in the vicinity of the river to visit, I would encourage you to look into that, even if it requires hiring a coach to travel a moderate distance to see them. Even so, when I think of all that we did see and do, I'm very grateful for the variety of activities we did have--especially in Luang Prabang, the beach party with beautiful fire lanterns, the Baci ceremony and the wonderful service at all times.