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. Read Less

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. Read Less

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. Read Less