Testimonials

“Exceeded expectations”

THE VESSEL: Comfortable and well suited to its purpose with plenty of room. Cabins well equipped and serviced.

FOOD: We are all amazed as to how Dolly and Mat produced such wholesome, delicious and home style meals from their phone box sized kitchen. They certainly got the biggest round of applause from our group and also appreciation for their attention to the dietary needs of a couple of our group.

EXCURSIONS: The excursion to the Mypolonga Primary School was the highlight and it was gratifying to see our young people being taught life skills "outside the box". Ngaut Ngaut was a fascinating insight into our First Australians and everyone was impressed with the lady guide. A most extraordinary lady. Yabby Farm was informative and the wombat hunt was fun.

ENTERTAINMENT: Special mention must be made of Mal Cliffe. His quirky singalong had the whole boat rocking and was a talking point amongst our team. Fantastic entertainer.

Food……how can so much awesome food come from a small galley by two clever chefs? In Rolly and PJ ?. In a word “sensational”. All in all we were very spoilt and a 99 percent rating is what we are giving.

The beauties of the river, the delightful atmosphere on board the Proud Mary, and the magnificent meals present a relaxing and enjoyable time that would be difficult to replicate anywhere else.

I thoroughly recommend this trip to anyone wanting to see our country's natural beauty at its best, combined with food and service that would be the envy of many such tour companies

Loved the whole 5 days.

Camaraderie, laid back feel, great crew, fantastic food - would love to repeat this. Thank you.

The cruise was excellent, with superb staff namely Angela, Cruise Director and the Chef and Assistant, Dolly and Matt. The catering staff did a fabulous job and should be commended on the quality and variety of the food.
The off shore excursions were great.

We had a most enjoyable trip on the 4 - 10th June aboard the "Proud Mary". From the captain down all the crew were marvelous. Special mention must be made of the chef Jack from Mauritius. We all wanted to take him home. His culinary skills were exceptional. I did not hear of one person who did not thoroughly enjoy the food.

Although very cold coming from Queensland it was also very bracing sitting on the top deck in the morning looking like eskimos as we watched the sunrise and the pelicans.

I have been a couple of times in the past on the Proud Mary but I would say that this one was the best yet. Maybe it was because it was the first time we had done it in winter

We have cruised many times on oceans and inland cruises. This was the best in my opinion.

We will certainly recommend it to friends. Thank you for a wonderful 5 days, just wonderful!

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and all of us would not hesitate recommending it to anyone who has an interest in cruising the Murray River.

Thank you to all staff behind the scenes and a special mention for the coach driver Michael who was very personable and most cooperative to the needs of the group.

We have just returned from this tour and this is just a short note to acknowledge the most enjoyable experience we had. I am sure that I speak on behalf of everyone on the tour. The travelling on the Proud Mary itself, the various extra excursions, the thoughtful and efficient attention of all the staff, were all greatly appreciated.

We have just returned from the five night tour on Friday last and want to tell you that it was the best five days we have ever had in our lives! Dave, Andrew, Angie, Gemma and Jack were all superb and great fun. I don't know what you pay Jack but it is not enough! Lots of other passengers had been on grand cruises to Europe etc and told us that the food was not a patch on Jack's.
Give them all a bonus!

My wife and I wish to say how much we enjoyed our weekend. The wife says that she was impressed with the knowledge of David on the Saturday excursion and from Michael on Sunday's Reedy Creek visit.
I also would like to compliment the members of the crew for their expertise.
We will look forward to the 5 day cruise at a later time.

The Proud Mary is deserved of all awards and accolades it receives, not only did the trip represent excellent value across the board; and by that I mean general organisation, accommodation, food and beverage, excursions, and flights, but was simply a wonderful experience all round. Learnt more about the River Murray, its history, the towns that line its banks and its eco-system than one would ever pick up in a book/s.

The crew made us feel relaxed and at home. The Food was top quality, thank you Proud Mary Staff it really was a cruise of a lifetime!

It’s been an absolute pleasure to travel on the Proud Mary. We’ve been so well looked after by captain David, engineer Andrew and the 2 chefs who have served us delicious meals.

Our particular thanks to the 2 Gemma’s, for whom nothing was a trouble – such delightful girls. My thanks expressed to them always received a “You’re welcome” in reply.

A holiday we’ll long remember.

Beautifully presented food. Too much food, so we had to eat it!

10/10 being vegetarian, excellent in all areas I felt very spoilt by the food.

What can we say, but bravo!!! Sensational food, variety and quality.

All service was excellent. Top food!

This is our 5th trip and it gets better every time!

Service was perfection.

We had a wonderful time and would recommend it to our friends. The river is like no other cruise we have done, highly recommend.

Enjoyable and relaxing cruise, what wonderful scenery we had throughout the cruise. Food was 5 stars!

What an adventure…. lovely crew, lovely food and fantastic shore excursions. Thank you Proud Mary

A great time had for my wife and I, what a relaxing trip away. Food was brilliant and shore excursions were very informative.

Trip number 6 for us and we will be back again – always very enjoyable we love it.

One of the most pleasant and enjoyable visits to South Australia that we have had. Staff and facilities – one word FANTASTIC! Thank you all.

Been waiting to do this for ages It was great. Have had a lovely time. Peaceful, beautiful and well fed. Entertainment was great, hope to come back again. Thank you!

Thank you so much for all the great meals you prepared for us over our week on Proud Mary, 23-28th March, 2014. We were amazed that you could, in what must be quite a small kitchen, still manage to produce such superb food. We really did enjoy your work.

Thank you so much for adding greatly to our enjoyment of the trip.

Good luck in your future trips.

Well we arrived home in Melbourne Sunday evening at 6.30pm after having a wonderful four days with your company PROUD MARY. Our coach travel was excellent and the stop over for lunch was very delicious. We arrived at 7.00pm at Murray Bridge to board the PROUD MARY and were treated to a most delightful supper.

The service on the PROUD MARY from the Staff was excellent, the dining room magnificent, our cabins excellent and every day was an adventure. The Saturday night barbecue was fabulous, not mentioning the Singer who was so very entertaining. The Damper enjoyed by everyone.

The various trips organised off the boat were so very interesting and most informative. Naracoorte Motel excellent, the evening meal everyone said was 5 star.

Our 32 members were all so very happy and said it was one of the best Probus trips they have experienced, and I have organised quite a few. No grumbles, which is remarkable, all praise.

So, thank you and all your staff, it was a GREAT EXPERIENCE, so thank you on behalf of SANDYBAY PROBUS CLUB.

What can we say?!! We have just returned home from a most wonderful experience on “The Proud Mary” holiday. A BIG thank you to ALL the people that made the trip so great.

Everyone was so helpful from the drivers who picked us up to the great crew on the boat. Even though the flight home was delayed, we were greeted by the driver who knew we were running late!

All the meals were first class – could not have been happier. We would recommend Proud Mary tours to anyone.

Once again A BIG THANK YOU to all at Proud Mary.

Please allow the familiarity as we have met briefly, my wife and I have just returned from a five night cruise on the Proud Mary and as this was our fourth or fifth cruise we feel qualified to comment on the improvements you have made. The bathrooms are great, bright with a large shower enclosure and no concertina doors and the beds are comfortable with new mattresses.

It is clear you obviously appreciate the benefits in maintaining and improving your assets, which you have done with the material parts of the craft including new paint but your biggest asset is the crew. The one we were fortunate to have looking after us was great, so much better than others we have experienced while travelling on much larger ships internationally. For the first night on board we were made to feel special and nothing was too much trouble for them and not just the six on board but Michael the coach driver, Dave the entertainer and Dave the ecologist, I have no idea how much you are paying them but as the old saying goes it’s not enough.

We have no hesitation in recommending a cruise on The Proud Mary to our friends and others and look forward to another in the future. Please pass on our appreciation to all involved.

Dear Bev and Cherrielee,
The trip exceeded ALL our expectations thank you and a very happy bunch of travellers sadly returned home. The cruise was wonderful and Cameron, Michael, Diane the Great, Jaz and Shu those amazing chefs, Irene and Sue looked after us and entertained us perfectly. The Aussie BBQ night was a huge success as was the Captains dinner, in fact it’s hard to single out anything as it was all supreme. Gosh they work their butts off for us.

The bus trips and walks etc were all so interesting and we learnt so much. I think we kept Cameron challenged with endless questions. The Mypolonga School was an inspirational visit. Lynne fitted in so well and has made good friends.

Adelaide is a beautiful city and most of us would have liked to have longer there too – the city has so much to offer, I needed a bit of “alone recharge” time so didn’t do the Wildlife park and checked out all those fabulous art galleries/library/wine centre etc. Hahndorf was so special and emptied our wallets! Some of the ladies found a place called “Tarts” in Gays St – an amazing textile and art shop – glad my c.card didn’t have to endure that but wish I had got there!

I have already spoken to several others about our trip and think you’ll be getting more customers. Several of us thought we’d like to do the trip up to Berri sometime. It’s just a fabulous relaxing holiday on Proud Mary. Clothes tend to shrink though!

Well thank you both for all your efforts on our behalf. You certainly keep that boat occupied.
Take care and I’ll be in touch soon.

Dear Sir/Madam,
My wife and I have just returned from our second wonderful Murray River 5 day cruise on the Proud Mary from Sunday 6th to Friday 11th September 2015.

In July 2013 we travelled with two friends on the Proud Mary, and we were so impressed that we returned this year with nine more friends, totalling 13 people in all. The friends we brought with us this time were just as happy and satisfied with the cruise as we were, and not one of our party had any negative comments about any aspect of the trip.

We so appreciate the way in which the total trip is catered for by your company, collecting us from our retirement village and transporting us to the Sydney airport, flying us to Adelaide, taking us on a tour of the city, taking us to Murray Bridge, the boat trip itself, and then returning us home via the Hilton in Adelaide.

My wife and I requested the use of Cabin 8 because that was the cabin we had in 2013, an you graciously acceded to our request, and we would like to thank you for your courtesy in this regard. During our 2013 trip we found the cabin very comfortable, but the recent upgrading of the bathroom and other amenities was very much appreciated.

Every member of the crew carried out their job to perfection, and related to the passengers in a very friendly, yet professional manner. I wish to commend each crew member by name; Captain Peter Hicks, Michael Farren, Angela Vardon, Sheyenn Smith, Jasbir Singh, Jack Thomas and Sue Heritage.

Peter H and Jasbir S were on the boat during our trip in 2013 and it was really great to meet up with these two gentlemen again.

The whole package, travelling on the boat, accommodation, crew members, commentary, side tours, facilities and food (especially the food) are all of the first order and beyond reproach.

Each of the 13 people in our party plan to travel on the Proud Mary again, and we are tentatively thinking about the year 2017. In the meantime, we will be recommending the Proud Mary cruise to our friends, and others, whenever the discussion turns to travel and holidays.

Thank you so much for providing us with all that we needed for a perfect holiday.

Hello Proud Mary,
My husband & I have just returned from a weekend on the Proud Mary & I have to tell you we had the most wonderful time.

The crew looked after us fabulously; we were able to relax, which we really needed at this time; food was great; we couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. We won’t hesitate in recommending the Proud Mary to our friends & hope some of them will enjoy some time on it in the future.

I must tell you though; one of the other passengers told Captain Pete that he wasn’t very happy because he was “diddled” out of one hour because of daylight savings; (tongue in cheek, of course) Captain Pete’s reply was “send an email to Cherrielee & tell her”!

We hope we will be able to do another trip on the Proud Mary sometime in the future.

Hi Sharyn,



On behalf of the residents from Con Noi who attended the Proud Mary Murray River Discovery Tour last weekend, I wish to thank you and your staff for a truly wonderful weekend.



Our arrival at Adelaide was met with perfect weather, which lasted for the duration of our tour. The guides on the various excursions were both knowledgeable and entertaining and the barbecue at Teal Flat together with the entertainment capped off a wonderful cruise.



The Barossa Valley tour was also a great experience hosted by another knowledgeable guide.



All transfers to and from airports and the Hilton hotel were always on time and the drivers most courteous.



Our residency at Con Noi is now about 80% capacity and you may wish to revisit us next year.



Once again, many thanks.



Dear Rod and all concerned with The Proud Mary,



I would like to say a big thank you to all concerned, we all, 15 of us had a great and memorable trip.

From pickup till the last bus returning home to Geelong was perfect, always on time and wonderful staff. We had a great time on the The Proud Mary itself, the food, cleanliness of the boat, through to the staff and captain.

Surrounding areas, trips, excursions, sightseeing of the towns, wineries. I could only recommend the trip highly to others, which I will. Our time in the Adelaide Hilton Hotel right in the heart of the city, also great. The weather being perfect helped a great deal also.

Thank you to all concerned once again.

WOW! I thought this would be a great cruise and it was. All of the crew worked as a team and ensured we got the best possible experience out of the 5 days. Thank you!

My wife and I want to express our appreciation to your company for the wonderful five day trip we had on the Proud Mary, which departed Murray Bridge on Sunday, 7th July 2013. From the time we joined your mini bus at the front gate of our village on 7th July until we were returned to our village on 13th July, we enjoyed every moment of the experience.

There were so many great aspects to this trip, but the standout memories for us include the impeccable organisation of all events and supplementary tours, the truly remarkable quality and quantity of the food, the courtesy and friendliness and helpfulness of every crew member, the clear and informative commentary, and the wonderful contribution Dave Verrall, bus driver and entertainer extraordinaire. We would particularly comment Captain Peter Hicks, Engineer Peter Neamy, Cruise Director John Heritage, Cabin Steward Sally Farren, Head Chef Jasbir Singh, Second Chef Tim Borchardt, and Assistant Crew Carolyn Buttfield. Each member of the crew made a significant contribution to our enjoyment of the trip.

Because of our extreme satisfaction with every detail of the trip, we have already begun to commend the trip to our friends, and we look forward to repeating the experience sometime in the future. We are also grateful to Bev Christian for coming to our village at the end of last year and encouraging us to embark on this great venture.