From the moment I stepped on the houseboat till I deboarded, the staff was extremely kind, attentive and very accommodating. The meals were top-notch. I wanted to try toddy and the captain helped me to purchase it from a local vendor. Do not miss canoeing in the backwaters to see tiny hamlets on both sides, giving a glimpse into the everyday lives of the people there. My room was surprisingly comfortable, much higher than I expected. The leisurely cruise gave me time to relax and absorb the calmness of nature. No TV or wifi, which is great for digital detox. It's a must-do in Kerala.

This was a fantastic end to our holiday in southern India. From start to finish we had great communication with Shenil who greeted us at the beginning of our houseboat experience. He described our journey and introduced us to our crew for our 2 day trip; Captain Phillip, Sameer our 2nd driver and Jayesh our cook. He even took the trouble to arrange a trip to an ATM in the middle of our trip and he met us at the end to ensure that everything had gone smoothly. The crew were completely amazing and went well beyond our expectations. Captain Phillip pointed out places of interest along the way and spotted birds that we would never have seen. We saw a huge range of birds including: cormorants, kingfishers, snakebirds, eagles, herons and many more. As part of the trip we went on a smaller boat to explore the narrower waterways. It was a fascinating way to see the lives of those living by the waterways. Jayesh was a great cook who made sure we had a huge range of delicious foods for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. The festival dinner served on a banana leaf was delicious. We were extremely well fed. Sameer made sure we were always comfortable and had plenty of water. He kept us cool, putting the overhead fans on and serving our meals etc. At the end of every day we enjoyed a walk along the canal before settling into our air conditioned cabin. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and will recommend Marvel Cruises to our family and friends.

Nothing

The Houseboat was kept very clean and tidy. There were 3 staff members that stayed back with us during our overnight reservation. All 3 of them (the navigator, cook & captain) were friendly and hospitable. The takeaway from our stay was the delicious food, which we devoured in minutes and the perfectly balanced mixed fresh lime water.

There was an electricity outage on the houseboat in the middle of the night (at 2am), which disrupted our sleep. Everything came to a halt for a good 15 minutes. We were told at the time of onboarding that with the provision of backups we should not face any hiccups; however, that was not the case.

We loved all the food. We choose the vegetarian option and everything was delicious. The staff were very friendly helpful and nice but discreet. We appreciated the cold filter water and lack of plastic bottles- very environmentally friendly but still safe drinking water. They offered beer or wine at extra cost which was reasonable and fairly priced. The boat was beautiful, comfortable and so relaxing. It was well appointed. The views were amazing on the river and there was a lovely breeze when moving. The fans in the seating area were lovely and the a/c in the bedrooms at night was very welcome. The ensuite bathroom was good. Life jackets were available and accessible.

The bed was quite hard as were the pillows. Otherwise the room was comfortable

We loved how tranquil it was! The backwaters were stunning, the houseboat was well appointed, comfortable and clean, and the staff were all incredible accommodating! We had a wonderful stay! We were met by Chanel, who was so friendly and welcoming and explained everything thoroughly, and then were so well looked after by Raj, Jay and captain Shiba. It was the perfect overnight stay, and an experience never to forget!

We had a minor engine failure half way through our cruise, not that you would have realised. The crew were so calm and despite their best efforts unfortunately we couldn’t get started again. We were so safe, so well cared for, and watched the sunset while getting a tow back to our starting point! Once we returned, we had a very comfortable sleep and Chanel organised for us to move onto another boat the next morning for an extra 30 min cruise with breakfast! It was a minor issue that was so well resolved by everyone! Thank you!

Kerala is a wonderful place to visit in India as a tourist! A houseboat may appear less ostentatious than the local 5* resorts however the houseboat experience was exceptional and one of the highlights of our trip! The staff were super helpful, polite and professional. The food they prepared was awesome and they even took us to shore where we had traditional Indian massages (older children too) and bought fresh tiger prawns which they later prepared for our evening meal. Thoroughly recommend to fellow travellers and thanks to the wonderful Team Marvel for their hospitality 🙌

I would prefer Wi-Fi but that would take away from switching off from the outside world and enjoying the views along one of India’s largest lakes…!

We were very pleased with the staff. They did some wonderful cooking and were very friendly and polite. They really made a huge effort to make us feel comfortable and this trip will certainly be one of the best experiences we had during our holidays in India. Having the ship to ourselves made it even more of an exclusive experience.The scenery is beautiful and the excursion in a small open boat through the smaller canals very special.

I and my partner stayed overnight at the Marvel Cruise, and I can't praise the experience enough in my words! It was out of the world :) we had 3 staffs with us full time, taking care of us and making us feel comfortable. Rajesh, Shiva and Ternet (hope I have written your names correctly) were instrumental in their services. The food, coffee and tea were so good too. Bedroom and bathroom were good size, equipped with facilities like AC, hot water. It was my birthday that day and they even arranged a cake and made it memorable. The organiser Shenil was very friendly and on point of providing the whole service at the five star level!! Highly recommended this private houseboat experience..

The houseboat was very comfortable and with very good infrastructure. The food was also good. The deck (where we stayed most of the day) had a fan, so it was not so hot. Overall we enjoyed the experience of sailing through the backwaters admiring the landscape from the boat

The bathroom doesn’t have such a good infrastructure as the rest of the installations, but it is within what would be expected for a houseboat

This has been the most surreal experience we have had on a House boat. It’s been amazing from start to finish. Our hosts, captains Antony&Liju And Chef Rajesh looked after us so much, nothing was an issue. So much Great local food,very tasteful and delicious😊. Wonderful scenery, great wildlife and memories not to be forgotten Thank you marvel Cruise, you have a great team of Guys you should be very proud of. Colin& Louise