LEAFEATER

We would also be interested in another river cruise in the states, however we’ve heard that so much of The Mississippi River is not very scenic, too industrial. What we loved about the snake/Columbia rivers were how isolated much of it was and we could cruise for days without seeing other ships.

   I’ve looked into a river cruise in the Puget Sound and San Juan Islands, but reviews of the company that does that trip haven’t been great.

The itinerary of the bus stops must have changed since we were on the cruise, as we didn’t have shopping stops..... which was fine with me as I’m not much of a shopper. There were street fairs at a couple of the towns, which were places to buy souvenirs. 

My husband and I and sometimes one other early riser were usually the only ones to see the sun rises, which were always beautiful. We always take our large insulated mugs with us, and the waiters were always ready for us 🙂

Bon voyage..... let us know how it goes☺️

No, we traveled in September and no bugs

My husband and I enjoyed this cruise so much last September, that my cousin and her husband and another couple signed on for this year. They just got back and said it surpassed everyone’s expectations. I hope you have the same experience 

We chose not to do this, but others who did, enjoyed it. My memory is that there is a bathroom on board. I don’t think you can plan on smooth ride and could be rocky. 

     I think the reason we didn’t was because of the time involved. 

We found Spokane very walkable. It’s a short walk from the Davenport to the falls, and there are small cable cars that give you a birds eye view. There’s also a lovely park with a refurbished, antique carousel that many adults choose to ride. 

You’re welcome Jim. I enjoyed revisiting my trip and I hope you have a wonderful cruise and wonderful weather.

    We’ve been thinking of doing the Viking Doro river cruise, but the European  river cruises seem to be having quite a few problems  and Europe has gotten so terribly crowded with tourists. I was very happy when I heard Venice would no longer allow cruise ships, but felt badly for those cruisers who have scheduled a trip to include Venice.

    I hope you post details of your trip when you return home, I will look forward to hearing if you enjoyed it.

We used Uber to get into Portland after the cruise. Cheaper than a cab and no money exchanged.

Yes, I called The Davenport the week before we left and made a reservation for the shuttle. They’ll want to know when you will arrive. They’ll probably be other travelers as well.

   The Davenport is one of 3 or 4 hotels owned by the same company, so we actually ended up getting on the wrong shuttle, 😂 . The driver was very accommodating and we got a tour of the other sister hotels, all very beautiful.

Our weather last September was spectacular. We’re early risers, having coffee on the outside patio by 6:30, and we would have to wear long sleeve shirts, my husband a lite jacket or sweatshirt. But after breakfast it always warmed up. In the evenings we were always on the top outside deck again, to watch as we sailed, going thru locks or to watch the stars, you can actually see the Milky Way, we were in jackets or sweaters. We had no rain the entire trip, Just beautiful blue skies.

       My husband took a pair of chinos and a couple lite sweaters for dinners, and I wore silky black pants with different blouses . No ties, jackets, a few  women wore dresses, but that’s not me. There were a few men who wore tee shirts with logos😾 and one who always wore a backward ball cap😼😒. uuup

I just saw this posting...I did the same cruise last Sept. and agree with Diamond Diva about everything. When you get to Astoria, the boat docks next to a Maritime museum. There is an admission, but it’s worth every penny. I went because my husband wanted to, but I enjoyed it also, we spent hours there. 

     I always take a small white noise generator when we travel, and we had no problem with noise from other rooms. You can also download an app for that (of course😉)

     Someone asked how this compares to Europe river cruises. We have done 2 Viking river cruises in France and we were worried we would be disappointed with this cruise, but it was just as good, even my foodie husband agreed. I liked the HOHO concept of touring better in that you could make your own schedule. Some of the small towns were not as spectacular as the European towns.... no ancient cathedrals and castles, but the rivers and towns weren’t over run with other boats and lines of tourists , so there’s the trade off. 

My husband and I are early risers. Our room was perfectly situated a few doors down from the River Grill where we chose to eat breakfast and lunch because the weather was spectacular and we could eat outside. In the morning we got their fresh brewed coffee by 6 AM, nice and strong , and we watched the sunrise with a few other regular early birds.

   We never went to an evening show, choosing instead the spectacular star show on the top deck..... the first time I’ve seen The Milky Way in 50 years. I envy you your trip. We have done 2 Viking river cruises and were  worried we’d be disappointed , but we thoroughly enjoyed the trip

I was on a September 2018 cruise and I think we received all the paperwork at the check in at the Davenport before the cruise. I think I did have a copy of our booking confirmation, but they’ll have your names there.

    One piece of advice. We  requested the 5:30 dinner seating. It was a little early for us, we eat around 7:00, but it worked out fine and gave us a chance to take a glass of wine to the upstairs terrace to watch the sunset. You should make your request before you go.

We had never been to Spokane or Portland so we added the extra day in Spokane and had a nice relaxing day walking around the falls and park. We stayed an extra 2 nights in Portland. We stayed in the Pearle district and visited many excellent microbreweries ( for my husband), Powell bookstore  ( for me....the biggest in the world, you need a map so you don’t get lost) . We didn’t have time to visit the rose gardens, but heard they are spectacular.

    There are many homeless everywhere, mostly due to their displacement by all the new building . It’s sad and distracting, but we never felt threatened or unsafe, and they never begged. We saw many social workers trying to get them off the streets, and giving them food and clothes.

      Leafeater 

Sorry it’s taken a while to respond, I’m on a dive vacation in the Caribbean. We did not take the extra trip to the falls, but that evening we had our lobster dinner at the river grill and had a wonderful, slow view from the window as we ate. We did book the wine and spirits on Red Mountain before we went. Really enjoyed the first winery which had a food and wine paring. 

    Do not miss the Nez Perce enrichment  on the boat given by a descendant, very educational and entertaining. In Richland be sure to visit the Reach museum, a history of the town that produced plutonium for WW2. Another not to miss is the maritime museum in Astoria. It’s right next to the boat, but there is a entrance fee,  but we found it very worth it. The hop on hop off buses are perfect for someone with walking issues.... they allow you to leave and return to the boat when you want, basically planning your own day. I hope you have a wonderful time, we did.

       Leafeater

The Dalles was very serene when we were there.

The falls and park are very close to the Davenport, within a short walk. There is a funicular at the top of the falls that gives great views of the falls, that would be a good choice for someone with walking issues. There are also vans and cars at the hotel front door, that I think are gratis, that will take you places. We ate at a brewpub, can’t remember the name, but it wasn’t exceptional. The 2nd night we ate at the Hotel and had a good meal.

We flew in to Spokane two days before the cruise because we wanted time to explore the area and enjoy the extraordinary Historic Davenport . We toured Spokane on our own, the waterfront park, the falls, the Merry-Go-round. And it gave us time to adapt to the time change (we’re from the East coast). We spent the morning before the bus ride to Clarkston exploring the hotel, gorgeous ballrooms and halls. It was well worth the extra day.

We did the same thing last September, staying in Portland for 2 nights after a wonderful cruise.   We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites in the Pearle district and couldn’t have been happier with our choice. It was centrally located so we didn’t have to rent a car, it’s new with beautiful,  large rooms and a filling free breakfast. And the employees couldn’t have been more helpful. It’s right across the street from a wonderful market, and the hotel bar was a nice stop in the evenings for a nightcap.  There is a rooftop sitting area with a view of the city where we would take our coffee in the morning. 

We just returned from the Empress cruise last Wednesday, we stayed 2 extra days in Portland. I had planned to post while we were on the cruise, but they keep you busy. We did the East to West, Clarkston to Portland. It exceeded our expectations. We had beautiful weather the entire trip, sunny, blue skies and 70’s every day.

We flew out to Spokane a day early to explore the town and enjoy the Davenport Hotel, which is beyond words. The usual 2 hour bus ride to Clarkston Monday turned into almost 3 hours due to road construction.

Our cabin was 416, which was perfect. We were 4 doors down from the River Grill, where we ate all out breakfasts and lunches. We chose not to eat in the Astoria dining room except for dinner because the weather was so perfect we would take our meals out on the open patio. The cabin is small, but the bed was comfy and my 6’6” husband could fit in the shower. We had no problems with noise from adjoining rooms, as others have complained about.

The food was delicious. My foodie husband gained 10 lbs and he is a picky eater. A few times he had 2 entrees because he couldn’t make up his mind. I had the best salmon I ever had, and that was for lunch. We ate dinner at the 5:30 seating, which is early for us, but worked out fine.

The hop on/hop off buses are a great concept. It’s convenient to make your own schedule. You get to know the bus drivers, and the local guides are fonts of knowledge . Our wonderful riverlorian, Lawrence, was an ever present guide, teacher and story teller.

We did not go to any of the entertainment, we preferred to take a glass of wine to the back of the boat and watch the stars (the fist time I have seen The Milky Way in 50 years) or the passing in the locks.

I could go on but will stop for now. We have done 2 Viking Cruises, and we worried that we would be disappointed, but we enjoyed it all.

Leafeater.

We made it back to the Commonwealth early Tuesday morning. Our flight to Dulles connected in Detroit and we were delayed almost two hours waiting for our flight crew coming in on another flight from Rochester.

 

Wow is it hot and humid this week. This afternoon I was at Arlington Cemetery for the dedication of the new section and the burial of the two unknown Union soldiers recently discovered in a shallow unmarked grave on the Manassas battlefield. Full military honors including the horse drawn cassions, army band, 21 gun salute. That hot sun though was brutal. Don’t know how the honor guard can handle the full dress uniform. The ceremony itself is extremely impressive. These were two who sacrificed their all for the preservation of the Union.

Glad you made it back safe and sound. Tomorrow we pack and Saturday we leave from BWI for Spokane. Just heard on the news that the new fires in Northern California are near the Oregon border:eek:

We attended a burial at Arlington cemetery in June for a friend who also got full military honors with horse drawn caisson, band and 21 gun salute. It was so moving and beautiful. What a wonderful thing to do for the unknown Union soldiers.

Hi Leafeater,

 

I assume you are back in the Commonwealth and temp and humidity are "seasonal" for VA. We are booked for the 9/22/19 voyage and I am going to read your review. We are looking forward to the Paddle Wheeler experience having watched the Lewis and Clark documentaries on PBS as well as the Mark Twain Ken Burns doc.

 

Bop (fellow Virginian Wahoo from Midlothian)

Actually, We are leaving for Spokane this Saturday for the cruise....we live in Maryland, but it’s hot and humid so we’re looking forward to cooler temps. I will try to be as good posting about the trip as njhoo was with his daily reports. LEAFEATER

Well, we’ve made it to our final stop in Vancouver, Wa. Folks have already departed and the airport transfer bus leaves at 7:30. Since our flight is at noon, we decided to use Uber and not rise quite so early and have a leisurely departure.

 

Yesterday was Astoria. We did the ho-ho as we’d already been to Ft Clapsop. Stops included the home of the wealthiest families in town at the turn of the 18th century. Of course the Astoria Column as well as the local county museum were stops. On Sunday there is a three block farmers market to enjoy. Not to be missed is the Maritime Museum right at the dock.

 

For some reason we were invited to dinner with a company VP that was on board for the week. Very nice gentlemen. The evening entertainment was Greg and Lindy with a salute to the silver screen. As always, well done. Very talented performers.

 

Those of you following in our footsteps, have a wonderful cruise. We are not looking forward to the 90+ degrees and high humidity upon return to Virginia.

We weren’t expecting to hear from you again, but glad to hear about the last day and what we can expect. Do they let you debark later ?

Yes, 90s all week until the weekend .... someone forgot to change the calendar to September :cool: