Pandaw River Cruises

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Singles Cruises

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Asia River

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Excellent

Poor

Mekong Pandaw

Pandaw II

Katha Pandaw

RV Kalaw Pandaw

Orient Pandaw

Indochina Pandaw

Angkor Pandaw

Kindat Pandaw

Andaman Explorer

Zawgyi Pandaw

Sabaidee Pandaw

Laos Pandaw

Kalay Pandaw

Tonle Pandaw

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

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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