Ray in NH

how is the taxi service at the Seattle port:)

Unfortunately, it seems to be one of those "it all depends" situations. Usually, it is not a problem, plenty of taxis waiting. A couple of times we have had to wait in the "Taxi Line" (anywhere for 10 -35 minutes. It seems a function of how many ships are in port (obvious) and/or who is managing the "Taxi Line". Usually not bad, but have heard of waits of over an hour, even approaching two hours, but that has never been our experience, usually it has been a "non-issue".

NRayH

Can points for the royal caribbean card be applied for obc with celebrity?

Yes. Did it just last month.

NRayH

We are interested in this itinerary as well and have no experience with ACL either. Have been on 3 cruises (Princess, Norwegian, and Royal Carribbean). Smaller boat with quieter setting would be nice but prices have scared us away. They offer no discounts per se. There are some reviews of ACL on this website. Mostly favorable. Will watch the reviews and decide from there. Are there any other companies that service NE?

I fully understand what you are saying about the pricing seeming very high. With over 100 ocean cruises, and two river cruises (in Europe), we decided to give American Cruise Lines a try, earlier this year./

We thoroughly enjoyed it, enough to book two additional ones whilst still aboard. Whilst the initial price is higher, we felt we received fair overall value (of course, that is a value judgement that we each need to make for ourselves).

NRayH

Yes, we met you and Janet in 2004, Vision to and from Hawaii (b2b). It was one of my favorite Hawaii cruises, all the more so because we met you. You were also on Serenade Hawaii RT from San Diego in autumn of 2007, where the roll call thread was, shall we say, interesting. It became more interesting every evening from about 5pm on, if you get my drift. It was the most interesting roll call thread I've ever participated in. (To refresh your memory, we had to turn back to Hawaii after 1-1/2 days at sea for a medical emergency. Maritza, the Concierge, spent the next 3-1/2 days listening to everyone complain about their potentially-missed flights in San Diego.)

 

 

 

Now you know! :cool::cool::cool:

YES !!! I remember that trip. As to the Roll Call, we have seen a number of "interesting" ones, and a larger number of more "civil/sedate".

The "turn-back" was absolutely necessary, and whomever was calling the "shots", in my opinion, did a wonderful job of handling the disruption, and trying to assuage the passenger disturbance, like opening up all the telephone lines (gratis) so folks could make other arrangements.

We were flying, using mileage rewards, and could not get an immediate flight back home from San Diego, However, I was a "real trooper" in "putting up" with an extra two days in San Diego. :cool:

Yes, Maritza was her usual "Class Act", although, at one point she was almost in tears, after being berated by a passenger who acted as though the whole situation was her fault. I surely miss her. It was really nice to see her again when we were on Allure. Of course, you and Pete were also on that sailing, so you recall. I wish I had your recollection ability. :o

Eric, sorry for high-jacking your thread. :o

NRayH

Now I'm curious lol :confused:

Me too. :confused: :confused:

I guess we wait to see if an explanation is forthcoming, or not.

Then again, we seem to meet interesting people on every cruise.

NRayH

If you're referring to 2007, "interesting" is not the word I would have chosen. :eek::D

No, I was referencing (affectionately) 2004, when we first met you and Pete. We did not do that sailing in 2007. Sounds as though we really missed something (someone) different?

NRayH

Do the SS have the same extra benefits as the RS?

Some, but definitely not all the same benefits. Hence the large differential in pricing.

NRayH

Royal did these Hawaii RT's in 2006-2008. A lot of people liked them, but for a 15-day cruise, we had 5 days in port and 10 days at sea. We did this itinerary 4 times, and it's a LOT of sea days. :eek:

True. But you have the opportunity to meet some VERRRY interesting people. :cool: :D :halo:

NRayH (Vision 2004)

I have a review posted in the Review section, and also on this thead (I thought)

Currently on board another ship with limited on line access.

NRayH

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Hi,

 

I've never cruised with this company, but have read some good things and also some not-so-good. I'm also planning a cruise with Pearl, and I've read that both Pearl and American are owned by the same company. The new Grand New England trip, that starts this summer, looks like a really nice itinerary. It will be on their new ship, the Constellation. I love the idea of there only being 175 passengers!

 

Any thoughts or suggestions regarding sailing with American (or Pearl for that matter) would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Keith

Hi Keith,

The Grand New England itinerary is another one we have some interest in doing. So, we would be very appreciative of you sharing your impressions.

NRayH

Hi Erik,

Thanks for doing this. Now I do not have to worry about keeping up with my note taking. :cool:

See you on board.

NRayH

We just returned from our American Cruise line Historic South Golden Isle one week vacation. We have mixed reviews of the trip.

 

A quick overview of the ship itself. We cruised aboard the Independence. We had a lower level room 114 with large opening window. The room is quite spacious with plenty of room to unpack and get comfortable. The bathroom is large compared to any other cruise we have taken. There is also lots of storage. The shower has great water pressure. We felt the decor is somewhat dated and could use a freshening up. I had read that comment a few times before our departure and now whole heartedly agree. Having been on A few European cruises with Viking and there is no comparison in luxury. Traveling with an American crew can not be compared. They were fun, happy and attentive but lacked the professional European flair.

 

We flew into Charleston and stayed at the Holiday Inn Riverview. We enjoyed this hotel very much. There was a free shuttle bus into town and the driver was quite knowledgeable. There is a decent restaurant on the top floor with a gorgeous view of the harbor. We took a cab to the cruise ship for 5$ each. While in Charleston we took a carriage tour and were a bit disappointed as the routes are randomly chosen for you and we missed highlights we had hoped to see. We then hired a pedicab to take us about to see a few of them. They charged 5.50 every ten minutes but a delightful way to see the city up close. We had a wonderful lunch at Hymans seafood restaurant. Oh my is was delicious. Be warned the line to get in can be very long but we felt worth it.

 

Beaufort. We took a bus tour with American cruise lines. This was a wonderful tour. One of our very favorites. The guide was such a delight, she was an amazing storyteller. Every tour we took left at approx. 9 am with a return to the ship in time for 12:30 lunch.

 

Hilton Head. I loved this beautiful resort location. We rented bikes on our own and rode all around the area exploring. The bike paths are easy to navigate and wide. We went to the beach, a golf resort, Heritage farms, and out to the lighthouse. On our return to town we had a lovely lunch at the Crazy Crab. Very good. There were quite few shops right by the harbor.

 

Savannah. Our excursion was a trolley tour and we relay enjoyed it. It gave you the ability to hop on and off after our lunch back at the ship. We went back to the market area for a few souvenirs. The ship was docked at a great location for strolling the Riverview with restaurants and shopping

 

Sapelo island. We felt this was a wasted stop. The ship anchored with nothing in sight except the small dock to tender over to. The only excursion offered was a school bus tour of the area followed by an oyster roast. No one in our group took the tour so I can not give any feedback on it. We took the time to just relax top deck and read.

 

Jekyll Island. The excursion was a tour of the turtle rescue followed by a tram ride narrative tour of Jekyll Island. We thought the two excursions could have been offered separately and charged a lesser fee. We were not interested in the turtle rescue but found the Jekyll island tour fascinating.

 

Amelia Island. We had to tender into town and spent the day strolling around sightseeing with a bit of shopping. A quaint pretty yet touristy area.

 

The food was excellent and some of the best I've had on a cruise. The chef came out and visited every table to ensure satisfaction.

 

About half way through the the cruise about a dozen or more people got very sick. With vomiting and diarrhea. My husband being one of them. The crew were busy bleaching everything and putting out hand sanitizer. It was evident at dinner with all the empty seats how many passengers it effected. Luckily it only lasted about 24-36 and didn't run the course of the entire trip.

 

All in all we had a lovely vacation and loved touring the historical south. My honest opinion of the cruise is it is overpriced for experience. I guess we like the European professionalism and flair. It is just a matter of opinion. We will stick to Viking in the future.

 

 

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Thank you for sharing your impressions. We agree that the level of professionalism of the dining room staff has been higher on Viking River Cruises, but the service on America was still very nice, and quite acceptable. We are more than willing to repeat on either cruise line.

NRayH

Also interesting that they say the pool deck chairs will face the sea yet the photo above this blurb shows the loungers facing the pool! This is like a what's wrong in the picture puzzle! But still excited to try her

Yes, the loungers closest to the pool face the pool, but the other loungers face out to the sea.

NRayH

We are going the end of August.

We are going the second week of September so be sure and come back to let us know how your cruise was.

 

Mike:)

Along with Mike, we will be looking for your comments on this itinerary.

NRayH

NanaBanana3,

 

We are taking the New England Island Cruise.

 

I hope you will love Charleston. It's a beautiful historic city. We enjoy a carriage ride, there are several routes (to which you are assigned randomly most of the time), and all are interesting for an overview of the city. Wondering on foot ALWAYS is fun with many interesting things to see. The Aquarium is very nice if that is your thing.

 

Check out these restaurants on tripadvisor. We like all of them: Peninsula Grill, 82 Queen (Southern cuisine, we enjoy lunch there and love the courtyard atmosphere), Anson, Slightly North of Broad, Magnolia (longtime favorite of many), Hank's Seafood. I usually choose seafood at any of them and love it.

 

Hilton Head is very busy, but if you view it as a resort destination it is a beautiful spot. You might enjoy Harbortown in Sea Pines. The harbor is filled with Luxury yachts, the Lighthouse offers lovely views of the area, and the shops are fun to explore with some uniques gift ideas. There are several restaurants for a nice lunch. If you enjoy the beach, the wide, white sand beaches are some of the best. The golf courses are great!

When are you doing the New England Islands cruise? We are scheduled for that itinerary next March.

NRayH

Ray, thanks for your awesome review of your recent ACL cruise.

 

I must say we had the same experience on our first ACL Historic South and Golden Isles cruise and also booked a subsequent cruise while onboard.

 

After many years as a loyal Princess cruiser (always in suites) we were quite impressed with the hospitality of the crew and have taken our last big ship cruise.

 

We have never experienced better food in any of our previous cruises.

 

Thanks again,

 

Mike:)

Hi Mike,

Thank you for the kind words.

We also thought the food and service was awesome. While we are not yet ready to completely close the door on ocean cruises (usually in suites). We will still look to Holland America, Celebrity or Royal Caribbean, based upon itineraries, for fulfilling our "ocean going" fixes.

Having said that, ACL has surely upped the ante for the ocean cruise lines getting our cruise dollars.

NRayH

Hi All,

After over 100 ocean cruises (and two European River Cruises), we wanted to see more of the United States, via our preferred mode of travel (cruising). We originally booked with a different river cruise company, before doing due diligence information gathering. The more we learned, the more consideration we gave to American Cruise Lines (ACL), before finally casting our lot with them.

We finally settled upon the seven night, round trip itinerary offered by ACL, aboard the paddle wheeler America. Here are some of our findings/opinions.

The folks at ACL's Connecticut Home Office are extremely knowledgeable and easy to work with. We received quick, timely and (as we learned) correct answers to our questions, without being shuttled to different folks for complete answers. All the information we received proved to be "spot on"

We chose to book and schedule our own air transportation (creatures of habit). Not even sure if there was an option to book through the cruise line. We did choose, and enjoy, the complimentary pre-cruise night at the Intercontinental Hotel in New Orleans. The included complimentary transfer from hotel to boat was handled efficiently and without any major snafus. We found the on-board cabin accommodations very comfortable and space efficient, not in the least bit cramped. The housekeeping was very thorough and efficient, without being at all bothersome (sort of magically invisible).

The dining experience was excellent. We had absolutely no complaints concerning the quality of the menu choices, nor the quality of the service. Granted, these are very individualistic observations/gradings, but seemed to be echoed by most, if not all the other passengers we discussed them with. Another seemingly popular aspect was the complimentary beer, wine and soft drinks offered at lunch and dinner seating.

The boat seemed immaculately clean at all times, and the entire crew were extremely friendly and helpful throughout the cruise.

This was a Civil War themed cruise, so there were a number of lectures/talks presented on that period of history. Additionally, there was a resident Riverlorian aboard giving daily (and a few extra) presentations on the historical impact of the river upon travel, commerce, exploration and development of this part of the country, and the overall history of the United States.

There were three lounges (on this boat) for passenger use, when other events were not scheduled in them. Two of these had complimentary pre-packaged snacks (chips. cookies and such) as well as beverages: coffee, tea, sodas, juices, water -- available 24/7.

Additionally, there was entertainment each evening provided by on-board entertainers, and also some local artists brought aboard at various ports of call. All were very entertaining and enjoyable -- again, from our personal perspective.

Each evening, in specified lounges, before dinner, there was a complimentary cocktail hour, offering varied hors d'oeuvres, and beer, wine, assorted spirits and cordials, sodas -- as well as the coffee, tea and juices that are available 24/7. Most folks seemed to enjoy this opportunity to mingle, meet, and chat with fellow passengers, and various members of the crew and staff. There was also a Library which had two computers and a printer for passenger use. Boat-wide Wi-Fi was also available (complimentary).

There was at least one complimentary excursion at each port of call, and sometimes additional specialized excursions were offered, at an additional cost.

We were so impressed with the overall experience that we booked two additional cruises with American Cruise Lines, and have placed a few others on our "possible to do" list.

Booking future cruises onboard also offers some nice incentives. On this cruise the benefits were a 15% discount off per-passenger pricing, plus making the "Port Charges and Fees" complimentary.

Sorry for the length of this. I hope you find this useful. If there are any specific questions, I will try to respond to those also.

NRayH

Thanks Ray! So glad you guys had a great time!

 

Question? Were they offering a $1500 (or similar) incentive for booking subsequent cruises while onboard?

 

Looking forward to your full review.

 

Thanks again,

 

Mike:)

Hi Mike,

Yes they are still offering a discount for booking on-board. It is 15% discount of the listed price and also they are making the "Port Charges and Fees" complimentary. A very nice "incentive".

NRayH

Hopefully you are having an awesome cruise since we have not heard from you since sailing.;)

 

Mike:)

Hi Mike, and others,

WE are currently back in New Orleans, after disembarking America earlier today. We had an absolutely wonderful time -- some of the excuse for not posting during the cruise. The "on-board" internet is not very fast. It did we not interfere with our enjoying the cruise experience, but did keep us from sharing as freely as we what hoped to be able to do. We will be home on Monday, and then hopefully, I will be able to share some more of our cruise experience.

As I previously stated we had a very pleasant experience. So much so, that we booked two more cruises, for next year (the rest of this year is already planned -- cruise wise).

Pre-cruise we stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel (as Part of our cruise reservation). The hotel was O.K. But somewhat less than I had been expecting, based on past experience. For one night it was fine, especially since it was included in the cruise fare. Post-cruise, we are staying two nights at Chateau LeMoyne, in the French Quarter. The Quarter is very crowded, this being St. Paddy's Day (Irish) and St. Joseph's (Italian) feast days.

I will try to get some more cogent thoughts together by mid-week.

NRayH

I thank you both for your replies! I will look into the recommendations you have made.

 

I will definitely write a review after the cruise. I seems like there is not much information for River cruises in America. Especially in the south.

 

 

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Maybe, we can all help change the "no information available" situation, by posting our experiences when we return.

NRayH

This is my third attempt to respond this morning ???

 

I do not know what is going on with Cruise Critic, from this end.

 

NRayH

Hmmm, that is interesting. New postings have not been going through, but the response did.

Thanks for joining in with reviving this thread.

After well over 100 ocean cruises and two European rive cruises, we have been favorably impressed with the level of pre-cruise support and assistance offered by American Cruise Lines. we have received a number of mailings (snail and e-mail) offering assistance and information. we even received a "Welcome Aboard" e-mail from the boat's Hotel Director.

We leave in a couple of days and then will spend some "post-cruise" time in New Orleans. I will "try" to send some up-dates from the boat (but no promises here). After we return home I will put together our impressions of the cruise.

NRayH

Likewise we are booked on ACL for Oct.2 to do the Upper Mississippi from St. Louis to St. Paul, MN. Then we'll explore the MN area before returning a week later. This will be our first American river cruise, but we have done 3 other river cruises and really enjoyed them. We have been to all fifty of our states in leisurely travel driving across our great country eight different times-so this will be from a different perspective. Our first choice would have been to do a themed 50's-60's ACL cruise, but those were all in the summer and would have been too hot for us; so we decided to do a foliage one, as the weather then will be much more to our liking.

This is my third attempt to respond this morning ???

I do not know what is going on with Cruise Critic, from this end.

NRayH

We are booked on America for the round-trip New Orleans leaving 11 March 2017 and returning 18 March 2017. If this cruise offers what we are expecting, we are looking forward to doing the Full Mississippi in August or September, of next year.

 

NRayH

Does anyone else read this thread???

NRayH

Insiders also call this "wine" La Terrible :rolleyes:

 

I wonder why :D

"A little taste will tell yah". :D :eek:

NRayH

Or a reserve bottle of 2008 La Terre they found hidden in the wine cellar. :D

Those were "hidden" for good reason. :eek: :eek:

NRayH