vada_9

Hi Mark,

I had seen that Pandaw had a partner agreement with Misr, but on checking just now it is saying all dates sold out.

"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.

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.

Esilef,

firstly, I think you may find it hard to find a Christmas Market river cruise this late - most sell out 12 - 18 months in advance.

secondly, and please don't take this the wrong way, I think the other guests would probably shudder seeing a 7 year old board, unless, (it was one of the specific family friendly cruises) or if he is the type of child that can sit quietly and amuse himself during the down times.

We also did the walk in May, 2014. We caught the cable car to the top and after exiting the top station walked out to the Caldera edge where everyone was takng photos. We then made our way uphill following the path with the Caldera on our left till we left the town. (Maybe not "the correct path") Once out of Firosteni the pathway was always fairly obvious ahead. -There are a couple of signs along the way - once out of Fira. Had lunch in Oia - hardest part was finding where to catch the bus back to Fira.

The Rick Steve"s Europe Smart Phone App has 3 walking tours (including the Red Light District ) that you can download for free.

Thank you both for your replies.

Hi Bonnie,

Just wondering if you can confirm our docking on the Quest on the August Norwegian Fjords Cruise (15th August,2016). The itinerary says we are tendering but the Aurland Harbour Ship arrival 2016 pdf says that we are "kai" quay. Just wondering which is correct.

thanks

A couple of photos of the Quest arriving in Brisbane this morning

I have checked the Avalon website and their new ship does look very nice plus they seem to cruise the entire way to/from Siem Reap so that the bus ride is not needed and when/if water is too low they FLY....thus cutting out a day long bus trip!

Not sure if there is anywhere to fly to. We travelled early August - monsoon season and water was still too low (from memory either the cruise after us or the next were able to enter the Tonle Sap Lake). We were told that the shallow part is on entering/exiting the lake.

We travelled by bus - about 6 hours in a large coach on a bitumen road - about 1/2 way to Phong Penn (check out google maps). We had a technical stop and met the coaches coming from the cruise and collected lunch packs for everyone. Then 2 other stops - 1 at a large roadhouse? toilets were western -not sure if they had doors though. Other was in Spider village - did not use toilet as didn't look too good from outside - but the little market was amazing. The village children would come up to you and pop a tarantula on your shoulder without you knowing - those scared of spiders stayed in the bus. the children were selling cut pineapple and bananas. The bus ride was a good way to see part of the countryside. When we arrived at the boat fingerfood was served.

Re rain - we had a downpour most afternoons lasting about 1 hour.

Was on the Heritage Line - Mekong Explorer/Jayavarman in 2010 when she was a new vessel. They now have the Jahan as well. Have been with Pandaw on Irrawaddy and Rajang. Saw their boats on the Mekong. With both companies we have had fairly small groups. Mixture of Aussies, Kiwis, Brits, French, Swiss and US. Each time we have combined an independant private tour before and after the cruise portion. There are many boats on the Mekong now. Most cruises tend to go to the same/similar villages.

some extra info - have shoes that are easily removed (thongs/flipflops) as you may have to be bare foot in some temples etc. Also your shoes will be washed on returning to the boat after being ashore. Think your shoulders and knees were to be covered in the palace in P Penn.

Did this cruise in 2010 on the Jayavarman (Mekong Explorer) from Heritage line. Back then all the companies basically followed the same itinerary - and think that is still the same - by looking at current brochures etc. We would often be leaving a village and another boat would be pulling in. Were moored next to Le Mageritte in Pnong Penn (think she is leased now). My advice is to see what you get for your money - some include your drinks etc. Our cruise didn't include drinks - there were daily specials , but we had a fridge in our room and it was no problem buying drinks to bring back on board and consume in your room or balcony.

We did some cruising at night and people in the rear cabins said they could hear the noise/vibrations. Also, I beleive that you could smoke on your balcony (would need to check policies) and those cabins aft were affected. We were in a front cabin and could hear the anchor being raised or dropped. You tend not to spend much time in your room so either deck is fine.

It is always hot.

Emerald is Australian - part of the Scenic family. Scenic, Emerald, Travelmavel.

Not sure if you have looked on the Fodors/Asia travel forums. If you do a search for Brahmaputra a few reviews appear along with links to blogs. They are several years old - but I assume not much may have changed.

To give you some idea of timing, on our cruise last year we departed Istanbul at 12 midnight to be cruising the Dardanelles from approx 8am to 10 am.

The answer to this is yes, but depends on your river. You will note that Pandaw only offer their Chidwin River cruise during rainy season. The Irrawaddy - towards the delta is a great flood plain - but probably only a metre deep but maybe a kilometre wide in places. There were local river guides that would join the boat - and the crew were often out with a bamboo pole measuring depths. There is no need to worry about low bridges as there are very few river crossings on both Irrawaddy and Mekong. On the Mekong you can not enter the Tonel Sap lake when the levels are low (hence the bus ride to/from Siem Reap). You can get the specifications of how much water the boats draw on the web sites.

We have cruised both rivers - Mekong in 2010 and Irrawaddy in 2013. There is probably more tourist infrastructure along the Mekong (even though it is still fairly basic) as there were at least 5 companies doing this trip back in 2010 and now there are probably double that. Most boats called into the same villages/towns. We were on the 14 day Yangon to Mandalay cruise(all on the river) many of the towns in the delta area rarely saw tourists - they would be lining the wharf and streets as we walked by. We were visiting local markets and paying local prices for goods - I purchased a local bamboo hat for 30 cents approx. Maybe we were lucky but we usually had less than 30 people on each cruise so plenty of room to move about. Food was good basic food with local specialties to try - I am sure it was catering to western palettes. We do buy food from street stalls but always have hand sanitiser, carry imodium for Bali belly etc.

I'm with you totally. When I'm on a cruise there's nothing we enjoy more than sitting on our balcony at sunset having a cocktail while listening to some music and the ocean. The way I'd like to "graduate" when my time comes. :rolleyes: Is the liquor where you can buy it on arrival or just departure?

On arrival at Changi you can access every store on the concourse (all terminals are conected) before going downstairs to immigration. Remember this is a major hub and there are many transit passengers.:)

Actually, I think it was in Borneo, some areas were rather tribal and this was a new venture, it was just to make sure you didn't get lost or get into trouble. IMO, I beleive that was why cruise no longer offered - too many tribal restrictions and hey they were head hunters not that long ago.

Have yet to do a European River but to me it's sort of a no think holiday. In Africa on house boat there were 8 and it was cruisey - go with the flow. We had 11 in Borneo (no longer offered - and not that many people have done this)(a few more restrictions) but very easy going. China, there were 6 caucasians and we were introduced to the Captain "as our very special guests".

You have a choice - join in with the activities/walks or chill or go your own way when docked. Fairly sure we had a staff member follow discretely when we would wander off on our own.

I think it depends on your river

Cambodia/Vietnam - both day and night

Borneo - daytime and early evening

China - both day and night

Myanmar - daytime only

Namibia - daytime only

will know about Europe next year

Unfortunately, your link doesn't work.

 

Thanks

just google yangtze-river-cruisesdotcom

We just met someone from South Africa the other day and brought up the subject of these tours that AMA is offering. We wanted to know what was the best time of the year to do these tours. He suggested going during their "winter" (July-August) as the brush at the river's edge is not so overgrown as during their summer - therefore animal viewing is easier. I see you went during June - did you feel there was any issue of brush obscuring your viewing times? You seem to have seen a lot of animals.

 

This gentleman we met from South Africa also told us that Cape Town would be cooler and probably wetter than during November-December - high tourist season. Which also means less crowded.

 

-Rose

Hi Rose, We travelled mid May to mid June (dry season/start of winter). Chobe Nat park doesn't really have brush - it is rather sandy along the river banks and the islands are a bit like a flood plain. But I can understand what they mean -because when we were doing land safaris if there was a lot of bush it could be hard to spot things. It is amazing how easy a giraffe can hide behind a tree. Our tracker (In Madikwe) found a leopard - he was about 6 feet from the road in a thorn bush thicket -we were able to drive within a couple of feet and it took us some time to see him hidden in the brush.

We had no rain - often wore cotton capris and t-shirt with a fleece. Early mornings and evenings were cold in open vehicles so you need to layer up.

Have a look at this web-site http://www.yangtze-river-************/ - if you put in a month it will advise all departures for the various vessells - there are many ships and they leave almost every day either direction.It will give you some ideas of what is available. You can do the cruise as part of a longer land tour. We did a private tour for the two of us -guides met us at airports or train stations through an Australian operator. Cost was not much different to their group tour prices - but we chose where we wanted to go.