Pandaw Cruises Update

Last month Pandaw Cruises announced that they would close due to a lack of funds as a result of Covid-19. Following the announcement, the company was inundated with hundreds of goodwill messages from regular passengers. In addition, several would-be investors emerged keen to acquire the iconic brand.

Now Pandaw is delighted to announce that they have now secured funding to see them through to September 2022, when they anticipate restarting operations on Asian waterways.

The Strachan family, who own Pandaw, have managed to secure further finance to cover the lay-up and vessel refurbishment costs for a restart next Autumn. They plan to keep the business in the family and relaunch marketing activity as soon as all remaining travel restrictions have been lifted.

Pandaw Founder, Paul Strachan remarked: “if it were not for the incredible support from the members of the Pandaw community, with so many kind words evoking memories of incredible experiences with us, I think we would have thrown in the towel. A big thank you to all our supporters for raising morale after nearly two years of hell”.

Bookings for season 2022/23 have been strong and many departures sold out with bookers cancelled by Covid using their credits to rebook. Many new bookers have taken advantage of the USD100 deposit scheme that reassures against the risk of further cancellations.

Meanwhile, Pandaw’s destinations are reopening with India, Thailand and Cambodia are open now to vaccinated travelers. Parts of Laos and Vietnam will be accessible in January 2022 as a first step towards fully reopening later in the year.