American Queen - NOLA to Memphis 3/14/15

As I sat down to begin this review, I went back and reread the one from October 2012. In some respects the experiences were similar and others different. So shall I begin..

We booked this trip about two weeks before sailing as we were in the midst of yet another snow storm. We live in Virginia, not Boston, so were generally do not have these many storms; the local school systems were closed 13 days this year!

Booking at the last minute left little choice in cabin selection, we ended up in cabin 464, a 140 sq ft inside cabin as we decided we could “rough it” for a week. In actuality, while it was tight, we found it was very comfortable and we had to just plan our maneuvering around the bed.

We arrived in New Orleans Friday morning, landing just before 11:00; a quick taxi ride to the Westin hotel where we joined AQ 30 guests as overflows. Our room was ready and by 11:40 we were already in a wonderfully spacious room overlooking the river and the French Quarter. We grabbed our lighter weight clothes and off we were to walk the Quarter. Having friends that had lived in NOLA we had a pretty good walking tour laid out for us. Overall we walked close to six miles that afternoon. A stop at Café Du Monde was a nice mid-afternoon break for coffee and beignets. The line was easily manageable with a short wait…..the next day when we passed it was very, very long. Certain that some of you will cringe when you hear what we did for dinner with so many excellent choices in the city. First off, we had a 6:00 first leg of our flight and an hour time change. By 5:00 we’d be up almost 15 hours with only meal for the day breakfast in the Atlanta airport. We walked from the hotel to the first nice looking restaurant we came to – Landry’s. Actually had an enjoyable dinner. AQ staffed a hospitality desk at the Westin where we picked up the information for check in and boarding the next day. The luggage pull was to be at 8:00 am. As you might suspect it was an early turn in for us that night.

Saturday we had bags ready and then went down for a nice buffet breakfast. Talked for a bit with a small group at the next table that were also cruising with us. We needed to be ready for the bus transfer to the Hilton by 9:00; we grabbed our carry-on bags and actually walked the two blocks to the Hilton. We made sure to let the AQ rep know that’s what we were doing so she wouldn’t hold things up looking for us. The cruise check in process at the Hilton went smoothly and we surprised the staff member taking the ID pictures when my wife’s mug shot was already on file from the last trip. They did an update though. Since we were doing the city tour, we made our way to the loading area downstairs. The city tour was okay, saw more of NOLA than you can by foot. We planned to come again and will certainly just jump on a street car to move around. There was a 90 minute stop for lunch in the French Quarter. We hoofed it over to Napoleon House for our Muffuletta and Por Boy sandwiches. Delicious! We were dropped off at the boat around 3:30 with a scheduled sailing of 5:00. However, due to other guests arriving late, departure was a little before 8:00.

We had early seating for dinner and were in the front starboard section. Being late to book this trip we were assigned to a table for just the two of us by the window. We always enjoy meeting folks and having a robust dinner conversation. Our waitress was Candice assisted by Julius. I will immediately say the service was much improved since the last time. They were attentive, kind of easy to do with just the two of us. The team also had three tables of four and a table of eight. The table of eight seemed to take longer for the meal, but we noticed that at least one of the couples was always arriving 5+ minutes after everyone else, plus they also ordered something off all the courses whereas we ordered either the appetizer or the soup/salad. We thoroughly enjoyed the meals and their soups always are a hit with me. The only time we ordered anything off the alternative menu was March 15th when I just had to order the Caesar salad in honor of the emperor. The asst. head waiter was Cori and she continually worked her section chatting with the guests and making sure service was excellent. She also has a wonderful personality.

The cruise director was Carson, who advised us that he was in the cast on our previous trip. The show that evening was a melody of “river” songs as an introduction to the entertainment staff. The musicians were talented as were the singers and dancers. Enough for now, more to follow.

We did this trip last year and your report is bringing it back to us!

Day 2 – Oak Alley – I tend to be an early riser and today was no exception. I quietly made my way to the Front Porch around 6:00 for that all important first cup of coffee. I’m also prone to chatting with the folks I meet; the Queen was hosting a group of about 40 on a Road Scholar trip. Their experience included additional educational lectures, a separate bus and most of the premium tours. The couple I spoke with was from NY State and filled me in on their trip. Having done two Road Scholar events we had a good conversation. At 7:00 it was time to bring a coffee to the room and get ready for a morning at Oak Alley. We partook the breakfast buffet in the dining room, it’s open seating and we were seated with a couple also from Virginia. We ended up sharing a lot of time with them on the trip as we had a lot of common interests. The boat docks right at Oak Alley and it’s a short ¼ mile to the house. We had a 9:20 house tour so we disembarked around 9:00 to stroll along the pathway and take in the beauty of the surroundings.

It was back on board for a 1:00 departure. Enjoyed lunch outside on the front porch and spent the remainder of the afternoon in the rocking chairs front and center on deck four. Did venture to the stern to watch Phil play the calliope as we left the plantation. Before first dinner seating there was the captain’s champagne reception in the Grand Salon. Had the opportunity to meet and talk with a lot of the boat’s staff. The show that evening was “Bourbon to Belle.” The entertainment was excellent.

Looking forward to more, LDV

Ira

Day 3 – St Francisville – By and large for the remainder of the trip we were at the mercy of river conditions. Due to the snow melt along the Ohio River basin there was a lot, and I mean a lot of water flowing into the Mississippi. All the way north we dealt with an 8 MPH current, tons of floating debris and a lot of flooding. In at least two instances the captain did some fancy maneuvers to dislodge tree trunks from the paddlewheel. We also experienced morning fog that tended to lift as the sun rose higher in the sky. Today in St Francisville was no exception. Breakfast was in the MDR and the four of us grabbed one of the earlier HO-HO buses to the town. We landed about ½ mile from the town which sits up on a bluff. Left the bus at the first stop and walked around for about 4 hours. My friend gave us some must sees and these were also included on the tour sheet. This stop was a highlight for us because it was such a nice place to visit and the locals we met were so friendly. No one was able to go into the church due to ceiling issues under repair. There was also a funeral so we kept a respectable distance. Lunch was in the MDR with a draw being a delicious soup offering. We made our way to the ice cream station on the front porch and again enjoyed the afternoon views from the rocking chairs, this time on deck three. We met a very interesting gentleman whom I will never forget that started with a brief announcement by me to our group regarding the upturn in the stock market that day. The show that evening was “A Night at the Movies,” again very entertaining

Greatly enjoying your day by day review of your trip! :p

Day 3 – St Francisville – By and large for the remainder of the trip we were at the mercy of river conditions.

I have enjoyed reading your posts. Looking forward to the rest of your trip. Thanks, Charliebeth

Day 4 – Natchez – this was also St Patrick’s Day! We’ve been there before in 2003 for a couple of days so besides seeing the town we also toured the outlying area. Arrival was 8:00 with a later departure of 5:00. This gave us a lot of time to walk about the town. We dock at a section called Natchez Under the Hill so we made a point of getting early shuttle tickets up to the first stop and basically walked pretty much the rest of the day. The evening before, our dining room section decided to have a little fun with dressing up in green with a prize for the most outrageous/gaudy. We asked Cori to be the “judge.” Our city walk included stops in most shops looking for that “something special.” Wished we would have thought of this in NOLA!

We walked the bus route and stopped in the various antebellum homes on the tour. We decided to have lunch in town and enjoyed southern BBQ at The Pig Out Inn. It was very good. The visitor center is interesting and the movie is included for those off the boat. It was a good day in Natchez and we logged the most walking on the river today.

One gal from a four top table won the contest and in addition to getting our applause she received something cute from food services. The evening show was “Through the Years” – classic hits from the 50’s 60’s and 70’s, we enjoyed it. We did not stay later for the St Patrick’s sing-a-long with Phil, but heard from others the next day that it was a good time had by all.

Day 5 – Steamboatin’ This was certainly a laid back day enjoying the trip upriver. We all slept in later and as such the breakfast room was a bit more crowded than usual late in the morning. We even got the head of bar service to come in early to make several of us Parisian Screwdrivers after I described a group of us drinking these at 6:30 in the morning in the Caribbean on a different trip.

The weather was not the best so there was a lot of hanging out and just talking away in the lounges. Lunch was a grand buffet in the dining room – and grand it was! Definitely a highlight. In the afternoon we participated in an early MGM musicals trivia contest….before our time  Other activities that day included BINGO, Blackjack Tournament, movie matinee, and a spirits tasting.

An afternoon highlight was Mark Twain joined us for an interesting talk in the grand salon. The evening show was “Bravo Broadway.”

Your review is very enjoyable. Can hardly wait for the "next day" review.

Your review is very enjoyable. Can hardly wait for the "next day" review.

Ditto! :p