Anyone done GCT's Myanmar cruise?

[Inanna]

I'm considering this cruise for 2015. I'm doing my first river cruise with Uniworld this Dec (Dec 7, Passau to Budapest Holiday Market). I tend to travel alone and so few lines have single cabins / waive single supplements outside of Europe. I've heard mostly good things on GCT's European cruises but mixed reviews outside of Europe and would love some input! Thanks!!

[pacmom]

Inanna,

 

We took this trip in March of this year. The only complaint DH and I had was the Hotel Montien--definitely a 2 star. The hotel Chatrium in Yangon was lovely, but nothing walkable from it.

 

The boat a lease was lovely. Cabin definitely not typical of GCT in Europe. We had a balcony--mainly used for drying clothes on our camping clothesline. Also had a kingsized bed. We were on the same level as both the a/c lounge and the outdoor lounge. The dining room was on the main deck.

 

Our CD, Nyi Nyi or Frankie as he has been called since missionary school met us at the airport and stayed with us the entire trip. He gave soooo much info about his country's struggle for democracy. The tours were very good. To visit temples in Myanmar one must be in bare feet. They provide moist towelettes before you put on your own socks and shoes. Have never seen so many temples and so much gold leaf in my life.

 

It was beastly hot in March--never under 100 F. Drank lots of water and cold tea. We wore mostly light cotton clothing. Laundry on the boat was good and fast.

 

There were 4 singles on board--two managed to get the single cabins. Honestly don't know if the others had to pay a supplement.

 

If you have any specific questions, I'll try to help. Pat

[deec]

Pat,

GCT spends less time cruising the river than some of the cruise lines. Do you feel you missed out by not going as far south on the river. GCT does avoid a bus ride by not going as far as ptay which seems like a plus to me. As more companies enter the market I am having trouble comparing apples/apples.

 

Thank you for your insights.

[pacmom]

The seven days were very intense--think we saw a great portion of the river and country. We did start in Bangkok with 2 days of touring, then 2 days in Yangon and then on the boat. We seemed to be at the same berths as Viking quite a few of the days, but never encountered them until the airport leaving Mandalay. As I said previously we were 22 pax a great number. Viking pax told us there were about 60 of them. Still think our time on the river was enough, especially since it was always over 100F.

[Arizonasunshine]

My advice when deciding on a cruise company is to take a good look at their ships and their schedule.

 

Some companies are leasing Pandow ships. You either love them or hate them. They certainly lack air conditioned common areas, which could make that 6:00 P.M. cocktail a little less inviting when it's 100 degrees and you have been out in the heat all day on tours.. The dining room on these ships tends to become very loud making any conservation difficult. A number of companies have built their own ships and have addressed the open air lounge problem and are offering private balconies which are not available on the Pandows.

 

Regarding schedules, our trip started and ended in Bangkok. In my mind there wasn't enough time in that great city to see it properly, and surely didn't make up for the 3:00 a.m. wake up call to catch the plane to Mandalay or the 7-8 hour bus ride to Yangon. Our trip could have started in Mandalay and ended in Bagan with a short flight to Yangon for a few days and I don't think we would have missed much, and would have saved a lot of useless travel between Thailand and Myanmar.

[HDS]

Great advice, Arizona Sunshine. "Have a good look at the ships and their itineraries". Especially for details like a 3am wake-up to wait in an airport lounge for an early flight and long bus rides to join boats. (Unlike Arizona sunshine, I enjoyed the bus trip from Yangon to Pyay.) More importantly, does the itinerary include the places you want to see?

What's the best time of year to travel? We travelled late October/early November, after the wet season but before the really hot weather and really low river levels.

Do you want to spend time in Bangkok? It's been fermenting trouble for a few years and far from a peaceful tourist town right now. It is possibe to book cruises with Pandaw and Paukan/Ayravata, air to Myanmar, pre-cruise accommodation, transfers etc. either on-line or through a travel agent.

I have posted a report of our 14 day Pandaw cruise, Yangon (Pyay) - Katha - Mandalay, on this (River Cruising) board. There are several other posts about Irrawaddy cruises here. There's lots of information about travel in Myanmar on Trip Advisor website.

Edited May 23, 2014 by HDS

[Inanna]

Thanks for all the insights everyone! Air conditioning is the first thing I will verify with all lines! Can't imagine not having it in all the common areas in that kind of heat. This is my 7th cruise so I'm not exactly a newbie but it will only be my second river cruise so I'm still familiarizing myself with the lines. Traveling alone I'm just so limited. I can't afford a long cruise like this if I have to pay a minimum of 50% more. That eliminates AMA, Avalon, Uniworld, Viking - all the big lines. I don't have any real specifics in mind as far as itinirary. I plan on a visit on my own to see Angor Wat. Anybody else have thoughts on Bangkok? It would be a shame to miss. I'm by no means a nervous traveler but I am alone and want to be safe.

[Arizonasunshine]

I was on a Uniworld cruise last year that had a large number of singles. Most were Australian, don't know if there are different promotions in different countries, but, they claimed that the paid for one traveler.

 

On our Viking Myanmar cruise we were full, but were followed, almost port to port, by another identical Pandow ship from another company. It had only eight passengers. I would think that that company would be willing to waive the extra fee.

Edited May 24, 2014 by Arizonasunshine

[Inanna]

I'm not paying a supplement on my Uniworld cruise either. Uniworld waives the supplements on several of their European cruises but not their Asian (or Russian). I would like to eventually do both.