Passenger Feedback

With the change in itinerary due to low water levels, which is something that is likely to pertain for most of the season, it would be more honest to advertise the revised itinerary from the outset. That said it was not a problem nor did it come as a surprise as we we were forewarned by our travel agent. If this is to be a regular occurrence would it not be an idea for Pandaw to supply their own branded shallow water longboat instead of hiring in a boat. This would give Pandaw more visibility and control over the comfort and crewing of the boat. The downstream trip was excellent in all regards, the crew were exceptional and special praise should be given to the Lao guide Viang for his knowledge and personality.

We had a wonderful time, but I always like to offer suggestions for improvement. 1. We had great difficulty making the initial deposit by international bank transfer - I hope you now accept credit cards. 2. Few passengers had sufficient small bills ($1, $5) for tipping during excursions. The boat needs to facilitate by changing large bills into small. 3. The beverage package did not offer wine before dinner, which is a big limitation. That really needs to be offered. 4. We tried repeatedly to order Cambodian iced coffee (with condensed milk) at breakfast and at the bar, and always failed. The other coffee is too weak. 5. The white wine at dinner needs to be more chilled. 6. We would have appreciated Pandaw making more local and street food available to try, especially fruits, coconut, grilled meats, sticky rice, etc. 7. Our Cambodian chef was more skilled than our Vietnamese chef. The latter needs to work on his sauces and more flavorful entrees. 8. The microphone on the sun deck never worked consistently, which made it difficult to hear briefings and ruined the singing performance. Fix it.

While Laos cannot compare with Burma for historic interest, I consider that you undersell the attraction of this cruise on the Mekong!!! I have steered ships from an Aircraft Carrier through Destroyers to submarines, been on most of the great rivers of the world, am happy to handle boats in most tricky navigational situations, and am lost in amazement at the cool competence of Subaidee's Captains. They are Pilots, not Captains. I did not expect that most of our voyage would be through rapids - perhaps I should have expected this given the outstanding scenery - and to take a ship the size of Subaidee upstream in low water requires deep knowledge of the river, ship handling skills of a high order and total concentration - maintained for most of the voyage. And then Downstream! - must be thrilling and I am saving up for this!! Pandaw are hugely to be congratulated for assembling such a competent team. To then build a suitable ship - strong hull I enjoyed snooping around down below! and powerful engines - to take pampered Westerners to explore one of the few remaining undeveloped countries of the world is an outstanding achievement and I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart. I noted that Pandaw's ships are much bigger than others- the long boats evolved for the special needs of this section of the river are in no way to be compared - and I enjoyed talking with the Captain about how he grew up working these commercial boats from boyhood. and it was clear he was very proud of his position with the Company. Well done, very well done, Pandaw.

As you will see from my 5 star ratings, I felt the downstream cruise from Chiang Saen to almost Vientiane was exceptional. This was my third Pandaw experience, and it was both different and similar. Different in what i felt privileged to see and experience, and similar in the well-run operation of the boat, and the very high quality of the crew. I hope, very much that Panda will be able to continue the Mekong cruising in Laos, and am actively trying to recruit passengers for other voyages. Thank you, Mark Munger

This was a fantastic trip and we are already thinking of taking it again while we can. We are of course distressed to learn of the impact of the Chinese dams on the river level, both currently and the longer-term implications as additional dams are build. We fear for the livelihoods of all of the people who live along the river, and the fate of the fish and other wildlife that rely on that habitat. We also worry for Pandaw and its staff. The change in itinerary to take the long boat and then stay in a hotel in Vientiane was a reasonable response, but of course was a bit disappointing and not ideal. As you adjust your planning to this unfortunate reality in the future, it may be that you could stretch the number of days on the river and/or shorten the trip. Pandaw passengers love being on the ship, and find a hotel something of a comedown.