Pandaw River Cruises

I'm seeking information from anyone who may have used Pandaw River Cruises in the Far East.

I'm aware that on some Mekong and Irrawaddy cruises some of their ships are chartered by Viking.

For 2017 they are launching a new service along the Kapuas River in the Western Kalimantan region of Borneo.

Any advice/experiences with Pandaw would be most appreciated.

This is one of their ships that I spotted recently on my Irrawaddy River Cruise...

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2016/03/10/princess-panhwar-on-the-road-to-mandalay/

We cruised the Irrawaddy almost to the china border with Pandaw in 2013 and loved it. Pandaw's guide, their destinations and the crew's concern for passenger comfort and interests was outstanding.

I posted a comprehensive report here in River Cruising on my return. I'm not smart enough to "send a link" but it should come up if you search HDS.

Pandaw's enthusiasm for getting off the beaten track is amazing and I have looked with interest at the cruise you are considering but our first choice is the upper Mekong from Laos into southern China.

HDS, I found it for you ;)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1650505&page=4

HDS, I found it for you ;)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1650505&page=4

H2Ostr, thanks but that's not the full review. I posted an extensive review to River Cruising after this response because in 2013 CC would not accept reviews for Pandaw in the Reviews area.

My extensive "review" does come up if one searches HDS Pandaw and scrolls down.

This looks like the one you're referring to.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1948020&highlight=hds+pandaw

Thanks JP and Chris.

An Australian friend of mine travelled with Pandaw on the Red River in northern Vietnam in January 2016. She loved the ship and crew. She is a traveler who likes luxury but goes with the flow and uses low cost hotels as well. Just to give you some background for her Pandaw assessment.

We cruised the Irrawaddy almost to the china border with Pandaw in 2013 and loved it. Pandaw's guide, their destinations and the crew's concern for passenger comfort and interests was outstanding.

I posted a comprehensive report here in River Cruising on my return. I'm not smart enough to "send a link" but it should come up if you search HDS.

Pandaw's enthusiasm for getting off the beaten track is amazing and I have looked with interest at the cruise you are considering but our first choice is the upper Mekong from Laos into southern China.

Thank you one and all for your responses and for the link to HDS's review.

I'm pretty confident we will now book on this new Pandaw venture.

Thanks again.

Thank you one and all for your responses and for the link to HDS's review.

 

I'm pretty confident we will now book on this new Pandaw venture.

 

Thanks again.

If you do, please report back. It doesn't get more exotic than river cruising in Borneo! Wow.

My husband I did a Pandaw cruise last October in Burma on the Chindwin river and was absolute great The flight to Homalin was canceled and they only fly twice a week so they took us by bus to Bagan for 3 days on their other cruiseship with 68 pax but we were the only 8 and did we get spoiled on that cruise Back to Mandalay and the flight to Homalin for the last 4 days of the cruiseSmall ship 10 pax and we were 8 Great food,tours and the crew was very good and helpful Cannot say anything but great things about Pandaw Will do them again hope in India

Have cruised twice with Pandaw as you can see by my signature, and will most likely cruise with them again in the future. We were a group of 11 in Malaysian Borneo - Pandaw no longer cruises there. Pandaw cruise the popular Asian routes and several unique locations. We did the Irrawaddy relocation cruise can't remember how many, but was not full. Pandaw include local drinks -beer,spirits, softdrinks throughout the day. Most of the crew are Burmese and will do anything for you. Guests mainly Australian with a few sprinkling of others -English/European/American. Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Have cruised twice with Pandaw as you can see by my signature, and will most likely cruise with them again in the future. We were a group of 11 in Malaysian Borneo - Pandaw no longer cruises there. Pandaw cruise the popular Asian routes and several unique locations. We did the Irrawaddy relocation cruise can't remember how many, but was not full. Pandaw include local drinks -beer,spirits, softdrinks throughout the day. Most of the crew are Burmese and will do anything for you. Guests mainly Australian with a few sprinkling of others -English/European/American. Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Once again thank you all for the very helpful comments.

Just one point for Vada. Pandaw are restarting the Borneo cruises in 2017 - hence my interest - and have allocated the Tonle Pandaw for the first year.

Tonle panda is currently under charter to Viking River Cruises.

Thanks again all. We will be heading there next year and I will write a review.

Richard

"Just one point for Vada. Pandaw are restarting the Borneo cruises in 2017 - hence my interest - and have allocated the Tonle Pandaw for the first year."

Richard, Just thought I would clarify - originally Pandaw were cruising on the Rajang river in Malaysian Borneo. I beleive new itinerary in on the Kapaus river in Indonesian Borneo.

"Just one point for Vada. Pandaw are restarting the Borneo cruises in 2017 - hence my interest - and have allocated the Tonle Pandaw for the first year."

 

Richard, Just thought I would clarify - originally Pandaw were cruising on the Rajang river in Malaysian Borneo. I beleive new itinerary in on the Kapaus river in Indonesian Borneo.

That is correct Vada. It is the Kapaus and panda state they are returning to Borneo.

As we have a 2 day pre-cruise at Kuching we then have to cross the Indonesian border to join the ship.

Thanks for all help and comments. Done & dusted.

We've booked 'Into the true heart of Borneo' River cruise on Tonle Pandaw for 2017.

Even better, caught the 10% early booking discount and got to choose an upper deck cabin.

As per my post on our pirate attack on the Amazon - check the safety, emergency and security on board prior to booking. These are floating palaces in poverty stricken areas - you have no where to go if an incident occurs. River boat cruises are easier to board than sea cruising.

We were considering a similar trip with Sanctuary Irrawaddy River Cruise but no way will I be putting myself in that situation again.

As per my post on our pirate attack on the Amazon - check the safety, emergency and security on board prior to booking. These are floating palaces in poverty stricken areas - you have no where to go if an incident occurs. River boat cruises are easier to board than sea cruising.

 

We were considering a similar trip with Sanctuary Irrawaddy River Cruise but no way will I be putting myself in that situation again.

Hi there.

Having recently done a fortnight on the Irrawaddy I am more than happy to state that Burma is probably the safest country I have ever cruised through.

If you are interested here is a review of my two weeks between Mandalay and yangon...

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2016/03/10/princess-panhwar-on-the-road-to-mandalay/

Indeed, I wrote this paragraph near the end...

"...but they certainly gave us an insight into the culture and life of this amazing country.

And amazing it is. The people are both friendly and polite. One never felt under any threat either in the countryside or in the cities. Generosity abounds even when they have so little and, despite the obvious poverty we witnessed one certainly felt that here hunger wasn’t an agenda item. Food was aplenty everywhere and it was noticeable that little went to waste…"