Passenger Feedback

I would suggest more information be provided prior to the trip regarding tipping, to include suggested amounts and the types of currency your passengers should bring on board at the start of the trip. Our group was stymied by having mostly USD in larger denominations that made our ability to tip various people during our excursions challenging (tuk-tuk drivers, cyclo drivers, etc. ). Alternatively, the ability to exchange various currencies to the local currency on board would be extremely helpful. Otherwise, our trip was perfection!

The hotel used in Vientiane, while in a good location downtown, was not a good choice. There was a huge cellular tower writhin a few feet of our hotel room. We stayed the night earlier at our expense in another hotel, La Seine, which Id recommend for a group stay. It is a boutique hotel that has great rooms, a restaurant on the rooftop and breakfast is served in the lobby. It was not expensive. I was very impressed with how our. Guide, Vieng, and the crew took care of our 2 elderly passengers, 83 and 89 years of age, on the ship and during excursions. I wasnt sure if Pandaw had a protocol for sick passengers. Some pax exhibiting flu type symptoms were not tested for covid and were in the lounge and on mini buses. Others had stomach issues and were out with other guests, so it spread. Not a criticism, but a protocol would be good. We hope to be back on another Pandaw cruise shortly. It was a fabulous and enriching experience in a wonderfully remote part of the earth! Thank you all for taking such good care of us!Judi Cohen

Disappointing that there was no specific provision for non-alcoholic cocktails and beverages. Excursions - Ho Chi Minh was closed as it was a Friday. It was a shame that this highlight of a visit to Hanoi had been scheduled for a day when the mausoleum was known to be closed. Guides were very friendly but rather repetitious and could have delivered the information more succinctly. Tour of the boat was very interesting. Laundry service was good. Transfer day (Ha Long Bay to Chiang Mai) for start of Laos cruise was very long and tiring. Could transfer have been to Chiang Rai instead? Two consecutive very early mornings and whole days of travel did rather mar the middle of the combination cruise.

Another fabulous trip and we will be back for another cruise soon. But a couple of small suggestions. One is that the towels were really bad at actually drying you. And several others commented to the same effect. And one other thought. we had a couple of cold and windy evenings on board. Some blinds to cut the wind down on the back deck would have been really useful. I know we could have gone into the saloon bar but there were too many of us to crowd in. Just a bit of a reduction in the wind would have made a lot of difference. But they are only small comments and again, we really loved our trip.