We were looking for a river cruise experience and the Heritage Line delivered via the Jahan and the Mekong River cruise from Ho Chi Minh City to Seim Reap. The group met at a lovely hotel in Ho Chi Minh City to conduct our check-in activities before heading upstairs for drinks and refreshments. A pleasant bus ride to the embarkation point followed although the sight of embarkation is a bit industrial and leaves a bit to be desired. The staff were wonderful from the beginning and that continued throughout the journey. I can't say enough about the quality of the staff aboard this vessel whether it be the sailors, the room attendants, chefs and food and beverage staff. They were all happy, cheerful, extremely helpful and above all else happy to engage with guests on conversation and stories about their life in both Vietnam and Cambodia. They were also interested in where we came from and we thoroughly enjoyed our conversations throughout the trip.

The guides were exceptionally helpful on our morning and afternoon excursions and everything flowed smoothly and all activities went as planned. Keep in mind what is being offered is an opportunity to experience how the Vietnamese and Cambodian people live on the Mekong Delta and in some cases it is quite raw and confronting. Having opportunities to visit local schools as part of our excursions and interact with young children wishing to learn English was great fun. Visits to markets, pagodas, silk farms, pottery producers, rice and palm wine producers, floating markets, fish farms, weavers were some of the activities undertaken on excursions.

Food on the Jahan was exceptional with both Western and local options available and again I cannot overemphasise how good the chefs and staff were in catering to those with food preferences and health issues. They certainly went above and beyond on this cruise. Bottled water was provided as part of the cruise fare and we were never wanting with drinking water during hot conditions weather on the ship or on excursions. Read more