Live from the Mississippi!

Curious about life aboard a Mississippi River paddlewheeler? Join us as we post live from American Queen Steamboat's American Queen, July 10 - 18. Our itinerary is a bit unusual -- we're cruising from St. Louis to Cincinnati and it's the company's annual bourbon-themed cruise, but we've been onboard before, and are happy to answer any questions we can about cruising on the Mississippi and also about American Queen.

And as always, we value your input -- please feel free to share your own cruise insights and experiences. As we're bourbon neophytes, if you're an aficionado please give us your tips!

We'll start posting around July 10, but please don't hesitate to ask questions, give advice, etc. anytime.

Carolyn

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

PS For more details on this particular cruise, click here: http://www.americanqueensteamboatcom...is-cincinnati-

Last time I cruised with ACL everything was wonderful except the dining room...it was poorly run and there were unchilled dairy products set out at breakfast..it took 45 minutes to get a cup of fresh blueberries to go with my room temperature cottage cheese; the dining room manager combed his hair over a tray of clean glasses; and I waited almost an hour for a hamburger at lunch time because I didn't want the heavier lunch selections and was told if I requested the burger at b'fast when we filled out our choices for lunch and dinner it wouldn't be a problem.

I would really love to do the cruise you're on but am concerned about food service.

I hope there will be pictures.

Last time I cruised with ACL everything was wonderful except the dining room...it was poorly run and there were unchilled dairy products set out at breakfast..it took 45 minutes to get a cup of fresh blueberries to go with my room temperature cottage cheese; the dining room manager combed his hair over a tray of clean glasses; and I waited almost an hour for a hamburger at lunch time because I didn't want the heavier lunch selections and was told if I requested the burger at b'fast when we filled out our choices for lunch and dinner it wouldn't be a problem.

 

I would really love to do the cruise you're on but am concerned about food service.

OMG.....seriously?...that is just gross:eek::mad::(......who combs

their hair in the dining room? On a ship, on land, etc......that sounds

like something from an old greasy spoon diner and even then, those

folks probably knew to wear a hair net around their head.......

There will be pictures, mimmy52. Promise.

Carolyn

I hope there will be pictures.

Can't speak for ACL, Lois R -- though we cover American Cruise Line and it has big fans at Cruise Critic. Hope you'll follow along....

Carolyn

OMG.....seriously?...that is just gross:eek::mad::(......who combs

their hair in the dining room? On a ship, on land, etc......that sounds

like something from an old greasy spoon diner and even then, those

folks probably knew to wear a hair net around their head.......

Now this is something I really fancy but I need a few nights in New Orleans as well.

We do see The American Queen advertised over here in the UK.

Looking forward to more information and pictures.

Curious about life aboard a Mississippi River paddlewheeler? Join us as we post live from American Queen Steamboat's American Queen, July 10 - 18. Our itinerary is a bit unusual -- we're cruising from St. Louis to Cincinnati and it's the company's annual bourbon-themed cruise, but we've been onboard before, and are happy to answer any questions we can about cruising on the Mississippi and also about American Queen.

 

And as always, we value your input -- please feel free to share your own cruise insights and experiences. As we're bourbon neophytes, if you're an aficionado please give us your tips!

 

We'll start posting around July 10, but please don't hesitate to ask questions, give advice, etc. anytime.

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

 

PS For more details on this particular cruise, click here: http://www.americanqueensteamboatcom...is-cincinnati-

Hi Caroyln,:) I have tried clicking on the link several times but nothing

is coming up (page cannot be found)

Will be looking forward to your review.

Watching with interest.

I hope there will be some in-depth comments on the dining arrangements, because no matter how good the rest of the ship is, if things remain as reported by Hydrokitty then this is a ship and a line we would never even consider...

Just to clarify -- Hydrokitty was commenting on a different cruise line. I have high expectations for cuisine on American Queen based on past experiences. In fact, the last time I traveled on American Queen Steamboat Co. -- its American Empress, which does the Pacific Northwest's Snake and Columbia rivers -- the ship's River Grill got my nod for "best meal of the year on a cruise ship" (was looking for the story, couldn't find it).

And yes, we'll talk about dining. Thanks for coming along, Mark_T.

Carolyn

Watching with interest.

 

I hope there will be some in-depth comments on the dining arrangements, because no matter how good the rest of the ship is, if things remain as reported by Hydrokitty then this is a ship and a line we would never even consider...

Sorry about that, LoisR. I'll try again!

http://www.americanqueensteamboatcompany.com/river-cruises/ohio-tennessee-rivers/st-louis-cincinnati-2016jul10/

Carolyn

Hi Caroyln,:) I have tried clicking on the link several times but nothing

is coming up (page cannot be found)

Sorry about that, LoisR. I'll try again!

 

http://www.americanqueensteamboatcompany.com/river-cruises/ohio-tennessee-rivers/st-louis-cincinnati-2016jul10/

 

Carolyn

Thanks:)...works now!

Just to clarify -- Hydrokitty was commenting on a different cruise line. I have high expectations for cuisine on American Queen based on past experiences. In fact, the last time I traveled on American Queen Steamboat Co. -- its American Empress, which does the Pacific Northwest's Snake and Columbia rivers -- the ship's River Grill got my nod for "best meal of the year on a cruise ship" (was looking for the story, couldn't find it).

 

And yes, we'll talk about dining. Thanks for coming along, Mark_T.

 

Carolyn

OMG....apologies to all...I must have posted before coffee...American Queen is very different from American Cruise Lines and I sincerely regret causing confusion. I am looking forward to your reviews though since I do want to take this cruise. (and pictures)

OMG....apologies to all...I must have posted before coffee...American Queen is very different from American Cruise Lines and I sincerely regret causing confusion. I am looking forward to your reviews though since I do want to take this cruise. (and pictures)

Ahhhh.....glad things got clarified:)......thank you and Carolyn both.

How do you prepare for a trip? As I'm practicing laundry avoidance before we head out to St. Louis tomorrow, I'm going through photos of my last trip on American Queen, three years ago. They're getting me excited!

Carolyn

PS Have spent way too much time trying to figure out how to post pix right here in the message box as opposed to the tiny thumbnails. Any advice would be appreciated (have loaded them to Cruise Critic's photo gallery and have a Flickr account). Thanks.

How do you prepare for a trip? As I'm practicing laundry avoidance before we head out to St. Louis tomorrow, I'm going through photos of my last trip on American Queen, three years ago. They're getting me excited!

 

Carolyn

 

PS Have spent way too much time trying to figure out how to post pix right here in the message box as opposed to the tiny thumbnails. Any advice would be appreciated (have loaded them to Cruise Critic's photo gallery and have a Flickr account). Thanks.

Maybe you could bring your experience to the notice of whoever manages the CC website -- it needs to become more friendly to direct posting of pictures (that will be viewable and not tiny thumbs!)

We are considering one of these cruises, so I am looking forward to it.

Nancy

Maybe you could bring your experience to the notice of whoever manages the CC website -- it needs to become more friendly to direct posting of pictures (that will be viewable and not tiny thumbs!)

I suggest you have a look at the Tapatalk mobile application - it makes it really easy to post pictures on CC without having to load them serperately on a hosting site. I suggest you select the Medium size option when posting images using Tapatalk

Just posting this one as a sample...in Medium resolution

And in Original resolution

Or same picture via the Cruise Critic iOS mobile application at the highest resolution it allows - unfortunately it's not as good as the Tapatalk option

Working on it....

Carolyn

Maybe you could bring your experience to the notice of whoever manages the CC website -- it needs to become more friendly to direct posting of pictures (that will be viewable and not tiny thumbs!)

I suggest you have a look at the Tapatalk mobile application - it makes it really easy to post pictures on CC without having to load them serperately on a hosting site. I suggest you select the Medium size option when posting images using Tapatalk

Thanks for the suggestion, but I (personally) tried Tapatalk and deleted it because I didn't like other ways that it works (or doesn't). But maybe Cruise Critic can figure out how to reverse engineer that particular function.

I'm going to try Tapatalk. Terry mentioned it a few posts back (LOVE the Sydney Harbour, Terry), and Kim (BrazilGirl) said she uses the same thing.

Terry from Ohio posts really great photos. Perhaps he'll chime in as well. We can always go to one of his threads (very heavily visited!) and ask him.

LOVE the Sydney Harbour, Terry

Even better when viewed from a Crystal ship :D

That one was the view we woke up to back in February when Crystal Serenity moored at Athol Buoy in the harbour - some would have preferred to have docked but we were very happy to have the panoramic views - and we even had a submarine come close by and practice submerging for a day

Hello from onboard American Queen. We headed out of St. Louis yesterday and are this morning docked in Cape Girardeau. A couple of first impressions:

*If you’ve only done larger ships, even luxury ships, you will be amazed at the boarding process on American Queen. It’s so easy. You can pre-register at the desk of the designated hotel (in this case the Hilton at the Ballpark in St. Loo), set your luggage outside by 8 a.m. the morning of debark, and just…literally…walk on after 3 p.m.

*There’s something just grounding and happy about this ship. It’s large for a riverboat (particularly for those folks more accustomed to the European rivers) and spacious and pretty and elegant. It feels more like an historic inn or small hotel than it does a ship – in fact, American Queen is part of the Historic Hotels of America hotel consortium, which fits. I’ll bet it’s the only member that floats.

*We’re not necessarily super social people but we’re loving how friendly passengers and crew alike are. It’s interesting to note that the first two couples we met (our neighbors on either side) both have done European river cruises and wanted to stay closer to home this summer. Another couple just about our age (50s) is on a mission to cruise every part of the Mississippi and this is the last tributary they need.

In fact, there are a lot of people onboard who’ve cruised three, four times or more and are really proud of the ship and the experience, whichever part of the Mississippi they’re on.

Any thoughts, please share!

Carolyn

Well, this came via TapaTalk, still kind of thumb-nail-ish, but something!

Carolyn

I'm going to try Tapatalk. Terry mentioned it a few posts back (LOVE the Sydney Harbour, Terry), and Kim (BrazilGirl) said she uses the same thing.

 

Terry from Ohio posts really great photos. Perhaps he'll chime in as well. We can always go to one of his threads (very heavily visited!) and ask him.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk