Pandaw River Cruises

River Cruises

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Excellent

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Poor

Mekong Pandaw

Katha Pandaw

Pandaw II

RV Kalaw Pandaw

Kindat Pandaw

Angkor Pandaw

Orient Pandaw

Indochina Pandaw

Andaman Explorer

Zawgyi Pandaw

Kalay Pandaw

Tonle Pandaw

Laos Pandaw

A 14-day river cruise on the Ganges from Varanasi to Kolkata aboard a luxury shallow-bottomed river boat with fascinating daily excursions - if only!

We had signed up for an "adventurous expedition" and were to be prepared for the unexpected.  So I guess we should not have been shocked when we arrived at the hotel in Varanasi with bags packed ready to go on board to be told there's been a "change of itinerary". The first four days of our river cruise were not to be spent on the the river but in two mediocre hotels, bus journeys and an internal flight.  So this means we also miss six particularly interesting excursions?  Hey, they've arranged a kebab meal in the local Radisson Hotel instead!

Pandaw after all only had been operating this journey for three months - and even though only the first two out of 12 trips had succeeded in completing, miracles do supposedly happen on the Ganges so maybe they didn't like to spoil our holiday plans by giving us any advance warning of the possibility of change.

And despite having missed about 500 km of a 1200 km river trip, over 40% of the river journey and almost 30% of time living on the boat; and despite the alternative arrangements in no way making up for the losses; and despite missing out on six significant excursions we especially wanted to experience - how foolish to think Pandaw would offer any compensation for loss of value or loss of enjoyment. 

Once on board, the holiday we paid for began.  Our upper deck cabin was well designed with plenty storage.  The public spaces were OK but due to the weather in January much of the deck was too cold to be much used so everyone huddled in the saloon.  The staff were very friendly and enthusiastic but the service and food were somewhat erratic.  

Would I recommend this trip?  Absolutely not.  Pandaw's small print means you will get what you are given, not necessarily what you have paid for.

Appalling Pandaw Experience

This was a new cruise for this boat which was apparently brought from another country and it showed. The crew had little knowledge or interest in their jobs. Their command of English was little to poor. The decks were dirty yet never cleaned.

The bar and coffee area was always a  shambles. The barman, when at the bar, could not understand the wine labels. Self-service was the often required .

Dining was far from luxurious. Serves were small and only Indian food was on offer, no Western meals at all. Evening meals were served outside, often seated on lounge chairs which were far too low for dining from. Insects were attracted by light and were a nuisance. The head waiter said that they could be dangerous for us yet we could have eaten inside away from them in much more comfort. He covered our drinks with his bare hands as he delivered them.

The promised bikes for shore excursions were never sighted.

The  two shore excursion guides were knowledgable but unintelligible to us Westerners.

The ship's exhausts vented on the side of the ship. Oftentimes the excursion launch was moored against the exhaust outlet which deflected the gases unpleasantly up the the lounge area.

This cruise was way over-priced. Another passenger quoted his rating for this as 4 /10.

We have written to Pandaw with our complaints and requested a partial refund but to date have not received any acknowledgement or reply.

Very disappointing

Our cruise was on the Upper Irrawaddy. This is our 3rd Pandaw cruise in 2 years. They epitomize the benefits and joys of Myanmar experience. The food is great, the itineraries are creative. We faced a couple of crises (caught on sand bars) and the crew is empowered to find solutions. The staff are friendly to the point of knowing passengers quite intimately which guarantees a personalized service, especially at meal times. This does NOT have ocean liner evening options. Pandaw takes you into the heart and soul of this country whose citizens are probably the nicest people on this planet. Despite having already done the Chindwin River cruise last year and Halong Bay/Red River out of Hanoi this year, we have been reminded of why Pandaw fulfills our river cruise needs. We almost certainly will return next year for another Pandaw experience. Children would not find this satisfactory. The clientele on all of our Pandaw cruises have been 'Senior' or close to it. The excursions are not particularly demanding but are VERY rewarding. One day, we found ourselves in the middle of a wedding and a funeral, just a few minutes apart and were urged - by the parties involved - to join them and participate. The interaction and opportunity to meet the Burmans is truly the highlight of our Myanmar experiences.

Wonderful mix: luxury cruise and rural Myanmar

Every detail of this 7 night stay on Kindat Pandaw was first class.  Both embarkation and disembarkation were seamless.  We did a morning tour of Bagan before embarking and received a phone call from Kindat purser to determine if we needed lunch held for us!  The boat is beautifully designed - functional and beautiful to look at.  The cabin was well appointed with lots of storage to enable unpacking, bathroom of adequate size - we were a couple sharing. All areas of the boat were incredibly clean all of the time.

The chef is talented and committed to providing a varied selection of food choices for all meals. The selection was broad enough to address most palates.   The wait staff are well trained and attentive ALL of the time.  Service was impeccable.

Entertainment was appropriate, varied and kept short i- approx. 1 hour.  Other activities on board addressed different cultural nuances - wearing the longye, food, history - were all interesting and gave us a better understanding of the country.  

I loved the shore excursions into the smaller villages where we observed clay pot making and some other traditional economic activity.  The people were so incredibly friendly, inclusive and were enthusiastic to interact with us.  

We were incredibly fortunate to be on the Irrawaddy during the Water Festival.  We were included in the activity on shore and on board - making this a memorable experience for me.All port excursions were well organized with embarkation and disembarkation well managed by the ships crews.  A minimum of 1 crew member always accompanied us on a shore excursion.

A couple of the passengers had some challenges physically - the crew were very attentive and did everything in their power to facilitate mobility.

Cocktail hour was always a blast, with special concoction - tasty and colorful.  All passengers had ample opportunity to interact  - passengers and crew soon became an intimate group.

I would welcome another opportunity to cruise on a Pandaw boat.

Wow; 100% Service

Kindaw Pandaw boat holds 40 passengers, two decks. My room was 101 (Lower Deck) at very front - lots of action, watching captain/crew lay walking planks, anchor, take care of business of running boat - highly interesting to me, but others may prefer more quiet. Rooms 105 106 107  are in center of Lower Deck, quieter, & closer to stairs leading to Main/Upper Deck for dining, gatherings, sun bathing. Rooms on Upper Deck are exactly same ($ more), but steps can be avoided to common areas.  

First, cabins (straightened 2x a day) super clean, bright (no windows but lovely large sliding glass door entrance), roomy & comfortable, ditto shower/bath. Bedding clean, comfy, white. Good AC. In addition, food is hands down the BEST food I encountered over my month long trip in Burma. Main Chef, Bakery Chef were at the top of their games - from seafood to salad to vegetables to breads to desserts - A+. In addition to lovely cabins & superb food, the crew, managed by a young man named Bo, is to be highly commended. Reserved, respectful, well trained in hospitality, genuinely caring & kind, Bo set a professional but approachable tone that was followed by others. And they were fun, too! Wait till you hear Bo & the gang belt out a song on the last evening! Honestly, I didn't want to leave.  The remainder of my tour never came close to matching quality of service, dining, accommodations, & friendliness so naturally evident on the Kindat Pandaw.  Thanks to everyone, especially Bo.

Kindat Pandaw, Highlight of a Month Long Tour, A+

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