Ray in NH

2 hours ago, gailellen12 said:

Is your  American cruise Company  still a go and are you going?  We are thinking about a New England cruise later in August.  So many things to obviously ponder at this point.  Thanks

Per a letter from the line's President, received via my travel agent, this morning, our Grand New England Cruise (01 August, 2020) will sail as scheduled.

We do plan to be aboard -- Although "these days" one can never be too sure what the future may hold.

NRayH

1 hour ago, gailellen12 said:

Has anyone booked any of their New England tours for this August?   Thanks   Gailellen

Hi Gailellen,

We are booked on the Grand New England (Sail Date 01 August).  As per an e-mail from ACL's President (via my travel agent), our cruise is "currently scheduled to depart on schedule". 

Hopefully, this will hold up, and we will not need to reschedule.

NRayH

On 6/14/2020 at 1:19 PM, jimdee3636 said:

Ray;

Thanks to you and to the others for your insights. I know now more than I did before.

Jim

Hi Jim,

Happy to be of some assistance.  

I think we have all been in that "What should I do now?" situation.  What I try to do is to explain what I was trying to accomplish and what the result was.  It is not always a pretty picture, but sometimes better than "doing nothing", and wondering what the outcome would have been.

My lovely wife refers to it as "Learning from your mistakes" 🤔  Over ther years, I have "learned" a lot.  Now, the task is remembering what it is that I "supposedly" learned.

NRayH

22 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Here in my area of Georgia, cases are up due to more testing, many asymptomatic, hospitalizations are down.  
 

Scheduled on the EQ this Sept 25, I hope she goes.

PTC Dawg,

We are scheduled on the cruise preceding yours.  Still no verification of cruise/cancellation from Celebrity.  Keeping positive thoughts.

NRayH

On 5/20/2020 at 12:53 PM, jimdee3636 said:

My wife and I have been on nearly thirty ocean cruises. No matter which line we sail on, the crew members who interact the most with the passengers---room stewards, dining room servers, bartenders, etc.---are from outside the U.S., primarily the Philippines, Indonesia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, most of whom are dedicated and extremely hard-working people. My understanding is that American Cruise Lines hires only U.S. citizens. If that's true, are they as good as the foreign-born crew members on other lines? It's a very tough job, and I wonder how many Americans these days are up for working 10 or 11 hours a day, 7 days a week, for months at a time. Or do U.S. labor laws require that they can't work such demanding schedules? I want to be sure the service will be good before I book a cruise on ACL.

We have been on well over 125 cruises (ocean and river) reaching all continents, on many different cruise lines, seven of which have been on ACL

I do not think I could classify any one line as absolutely superior to all others.  We have experienced some "mishaps" on a number of different cruise lines, as well as many more "outstanding" situations -- one of the reasons we keep returning.

As others have stated, on ACL just about all the wait-staff and cabin are  "relative newbies", as their tenure is purposely kept short by Senior Management, of the cruise line.  The staff service has sometimes been less than stellar, but has always been acceptable (at least I cannot recall any situations where I felt it necessary to bring any "shortcomings" to the attention of senior staff).

Mostly, our ocean cruises have been in upper level suites, where our expectations are usually higher.  Having said that we are looking forward to a number of future ACL cruises.  I cannot truly say that about all the ocean cruise lines we have sailed aboard.

NRayH

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

Booked on EQ this September, ready to go, barring wearing a mask...not doing it. 

Which September cruise?  We are booked on the (supposed) 14 Sept. sailing.  If it doesn't go we will obviously need to move it.

NRayH

This has been an interesting thread-.

We have cruised both lines (HAL 20 times ~300 days; and Celebrity 15 times ~ 150 days), most times in some sort of "suite" (various "definitions").  We have enjoyed both lines (most of the times).

Smoking in the casino is not an issue with us -- we avoid casinos.  We have always found some sort of entertainment (to our enjoyment) on both lines.  However, we do not go looking for additional entertainment after midnight.  Also Michael's Club (Retreat Lounge) is a nice "perk".  We have had many enjoyable evenings there, with new-found friends.

We find that Celebrity offers somewhat more "suites amenities" than HAL.  For the most part, we have found suite services more consistently "excellent" on HAL than Celebrity -- both have always been, at least, :Very Good".

As to every-day dining, we find Celebrity ( with Luminae) a cut above, but comparing Main Dining Rooms, HAL would get the nod.  Specialty restaurants are a "tie" in our estimation -- it often depends upon the individual servers, and chefs.

Hope this helps.

NRayH

22 hours ago, holidaylover10 said:

This is my confirmation.

Holidaylover10,

Did you book via travel agent?  If so, they should be able/willing to explain whichever codes you cannot decipher.

I know our TA always reviews all the promo-codes with us to make sure everything is covered, and explained.

NRayH

On 5/24/2020 at 9:34 AM, jebhoward3 said:

We received a phone call from American Cruise Lines about a week ago that our cruise is to happen.

 

Our Alaskan Explorers cruise which was to start on June 26, 2020 with a hotel stay the night prior will now start with going directly to the American Constellation from the airport.  I'm not clear on if we sail on June 25th or wait in Juneau until June 26th for any passengers not arriving a day early.  Which ever it is is fine with us.  Just happy to be cruising again.

 

We were on the last full HAL Rotterdam cruise just prior to it being canceled 2 days into the cruise after we debarked.   My NCL round-trip Rome, Italy cruise with my daughter and granddaughter for June 7th was canceled.

Good News for you.

Hopefully, this means there is a (perhaps) better than 50% chance that our 01 August cruise will also still be a "GO" (fingers crossed).

We have not heard much either way -- they "probably" have many details to still sort through.  Fortunately, for us, we do not have to take into consideration any air fare connections for this cruise. 

Hope all goes as expected  for your Alaska cruise.

NRayH 

On 5/13/2020 at 10:40 AM, Izena said:

According to cruise critic some river cruise companies are making some changes for safer cruising.  ACL has not announced any changes.

it wouldn’t be unrealistic for no more open seating   Instead being assigned a table and eating with the same people all week.  
 

I am bored and have been making masks.   For all the mask makers  I  have an idea.   I will be bringing 6 extra masks (all the same fabric)

for possible table mates.    It would be fun if other mask makers would do the same.  (if multiple masks are made for same table we could vote —- if that is the case we should bring 8 extra then we could offer another table the masks that are extra)I will also be bringing fabric markers so cruisers could label their masks.   I’m praying my July 25; 2020 Puget Sound Cruise  does not get cancelled.

 

 

 

Sounds like a "do-able" idea, although we are not big fans of masks, especially at meal times.

Dining will present enough "problems".

We also have an upcoming ACL cruise (sailing 01 August -- hopefully).  Fortunately, no flights , nor pre/post hotels involved, for this cruise.

NRayH

17 hours ago, whoopie said:

Anyone taking an American Cruise Line trip this summer? We are booked on one and I am not sure if it is wise or foolish to do it. We can get a full refund. 

 

Hi Whoopie,

We are booked on Constitution -- Grand New England Cruise -- supposedly sailing on 01 August.

ACL just requested the "Guest Information and Homeland Security Form" from us, so we are hoping that they are still intending to sail on that date????  If so, we fully intend to be on board.

NRayH

Hi All,

Anyone else booked on this sailing, aboard ACL  Constitution?  Hope it will still sail -- have not heard any thing contrary from the cruise line -- keeping fingers crossed.

NRayH

Wow!!!

Sure has been quiet here?  Isn't anyone planning to cruise with ACL in the near term? 

We are booked on the ACL Grand New England  Cruise (departing Boston on 01 August 2020).  Anyone else going along??

NRayH

25 minutes ago, smogfarmgirl said:

Due to an issue with our booking, Celebrity gave us each 2 credits to specialty dining on our Infinity cruise next month. Very nice of them, I didn’t ask for them. Here’s my question....we are Aqua class so just planned on eating in Blu for all dinners. Now what? It’s only a 5 night cruise, and I’m not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth (where on earth did we get that expression😂) but I’m not excited about eating specialty. My question is in parts...

 

1) Am I wrong...should I be excited?

 

2) Also, they said the credits would be in our room as tickets, so I won’t be able to make advanced reservations...is this a problem?

 

3) Is it wrong/presumptuous/possible to ask them to change this to some other kind of perk/benefit?

 

4) Which specialty restaurants do I go to if I need to use them? Which are your favorites?

 

Thanks in advance for all your wisdom!

 

 

Congratulations,

You are somewhat fortunate that Celebrity chose to offer you some compensation for whatever difficulties you had with your original booking.

As to the Specialty Dining options, I would say "go for it".  In our opinion, the most sophisticated of the venues is Murano, although the service can sometimes feel "contrived".  We have always enjoyed the slightly less "formal" feeling of Tuscan Grill -- there are also some great window seat tables, for a fabulous view whilst dining.  We are not fans of Le Petit Chef, although many folks seem to love it.  We view that venue more as "entrainment" rather than "fine dining".  

As stated this are merely our opinions.  The only way you can decide which is your best option is give them a "trial run".  At least it won't cost you any charges -- unless you "really" like it and it becomes a "must do" for future cruises.

Enjoy your cruise -- wherever to choose to eat.

NRayH

7 hours ago, BJR52001 said:

ACL will be making some pretty big changes for 2021 according to their cruise schedule.

 

American Harmony will move to the Columbia by March of 2021.  Her finally Mississippi cruise will be in November.

American Jazz will come in late 2020 and will be exclusive to the LMR and Cumberland routes.

American Melody will come mid to late 2021 and will be primarily for the UMR.  It seems to be a little bit smaller, closer to the American Song

Queen of the Mississippi will, ironically for its name, shift primarily to the Ohio

America will be the boat that reinforces the other three.  

There' s no news on modern riverboat 5.  

 

With the Modern Riverboat series in general, ACL promised maybe an expansion of the routes, but instead you're seeing them add capacity to the existing routes.  There's no Red, Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois, or Missouri routes to be seen.  

It is a bit surprising, to me, that they are only adding to the present itineraries.  Some of the other rivers would add more possible incentives (in my opinion) to try river cruising to those unfamiliar with the product, or those tiring of the same old/ same old.

Maybe someone at ACL will read these boards???

NRayH

On 2/4/2020 at 5:09 PM, DaveinCharlotte said:

We did this cruise in the fall, and a hurricane in the Atlantic, though distant, messed up our itinerary.  Due to swells, captain had to run the itinerary backwards, and we missed out on the offshore islands (e.g., Martha's Vineyard).  But we had a great time anyway.  Not to be missed:  Owl's Head Transportation Museum in Rockland, and the lobsterbake.  These were on the same day, and because the bus was late, we missed the entertainment that precedes the actual meal.  So my advice -- try to do the Owl's Head as early as possible, so as to not interfere with the lobsterbake.  This cruise does require use of the launch for some of the ports, but we didn't find this a problem -- the American Constitution has a large launch.  Another excellent excursion was the schooner trip out of Gloucester.  Another was the lobsterboat excursion from Camden.  I would certainly recommend this cruise.

Hi Dave,

Thank you again for sharing your experiences.

Somehow my first reply did not allow me any comments ???

Even though we live in New England and have been to some of these ports, we are looking to do this cruise.  We think ACL does a good job with their product -- despite comments from some of the "Nay-sayers".

NRayH

On 2/4/2020 at 5:09 PM, DaveinCharlotte said:

We did this cruise in the fall, and a hurricane in the Atlantic, though distant, messed up our itinerary.  Due to swells, captain had to run the itinerary backwards, and we missed out on the offshore islands (e.g., Martha's Vineyard).  But we had a great time anyway.  Not to be missed:  Owl's Head Transportation Museum in Rockland, and the lobsterbake.  These were on the same day, and because the bus was late, we missed the entertainment that precedes the actual meal.  So my advice -- try to do the Owl's Head as early as possible, so as to not interfere with the lobsterbake.  This cruise does require use of the launch for some of the ports, but we didn't find this a problem -- the American Constitution has a large launch.  Another excellent excursion was the schooner trip out of Gloucester.  Another was the lobsterboat excursion from Camden.  I would certainly recommend this cruise.

Good Morning,

We are curious about any "first hand" comments concerning ACL's Grand New England Cruise.

We have done a number of ACL cruises, but not this one.  Anything special, or "not to be missed" about this one?

Thank you for whatever you are willing to share.

NRayH

16 hours ago, Izena said:

I differ with your interpretation.  I understand that there are weather variables.     I think it would be good business practice to keep the clients / passengers informed of changes.  That means ahead of time.  

 

Having done a number of river cruises, in Europe and/or U.S., we have seen a number of "changes" from the original itinerary -- some very "last minute".  There are often not many "immediate options".  For that reason, independent tours can be more "subject to change".  Fortunately, many times the ship's staff are attuned to these "possibilities".  We fortunately, have never had a cruise "ruined" by such deviations.

NRayH

4 minutes ago, royalcruz said:

I love the corner suites. What negative impact are you afraid the pole will cause? I really don't understand how the pole is intrusive for the short duration of a cruise.

We have stayed in these suites a number of times.  The only "pole intrusion" was very minimal, at first sight.  Then it was no more intrusive than a chair or table -- plenty of space to go around it easily.  As mentioned, previously, it is a long walk from the mid-ship elevators -- my excuse to avoid the gym.

We really enjoy these suites.

NRayH

11 hours ago, KAE27 said:

Well, we'll see.  I'm not retired and able to take the long cruises many love, so this is what I can do.  After many Celebrity experiences, I'm eager to see how Azamara will differ, and I'm excited for the trip in any case!

I think that is a proper attitude.  Only you can decide if Azamara Cruise Lines meets your needs/expectations.  I agree that you will probably not get the "total experience" but should still be able to get a "feel" of the Azamara experience.

We have completed over 125 cruises on about 15 different cruise-lines (river and ocean), and have found most of them enjoyable (some more so than others).  Please stop back and let us know how you found your Azamara cruise experience to be.

NRayH

We leave here in nine days, and spend a day in San Juan prior to boarding Azamara's Journey for a Caribbean Journey.

Then we will have to wait until we board Silhouette for fourteen nights on an Iceland/Ireland cruise (May 2020). Then we have a cruise aboard American Cruise Line's Constitution (August 2020) for their Grand New England cruise.

Perhaps we might also be tempted into booking some additional "Future Cruises" whilst aboard any of the up-coming ones.

Unfortunately, the circumstances do not permit doing this continually.

NRayH

4 hours ago, cruzinchar said:

Thank you so much for this very informative review!  We will be on the Harmony in a few weeks going from New Orleans to Memphis, Nov. 16th to 23rd.  Your review gave us a great idea of what to expect ..........we are very excited!

 

I do have one question for you...or others with experience on American Cruise Lines.....I understand that during the day, the dress code is very casual...but how much dressier is it at night? There are two couples in our group, and we think we will probably wear slacks and sweaters/nice tops/shirts in the evening.  Are nice jeans totally out of the question?  If so, that’s fine, but just wondering. The husbands are happy not to need to pack a sport coat.....assuming that’s true.

 

Thanks again for a great and positive review!

 

 

Hi Cruzinchar,

We have not been on ACL's Harmony, but have completed six other ACL cruises.  I have never felt "underdressed" at any meal on ACL, and have never packed a sport jacket`.  There are no "formal nights", but I feel confident that there would be no adverse reaction to you, if you chose to wear more formal attire.

Hope that you enjoy your time on ACL as much as we have.

NRayH

On 10/19/2019 at 12:08 PM, SauvBlanc said:

While I'm aware that we can bring bottles of wine on board, I was wondering if we could request a bottle of the "house" wine to drink in our room.  Has anyone done this?  

Hi SauvBlanc,

Whilst we have not personally done as to what you were inquiring about, I will share some of our experiences whilst aboard ACL cruises.  

At dinner, if my wife and I were ordering the same wine, we have usually been asked if we wanted the bottle for the meal.  We usually have finished it there, especially when involved with some great dinner conversations with other guests.  When we haven't finished the bottle (rarely) we have been asked if we wanted to take the remaining wine with us.

I have also observed folks leaving the Dining Salon carrying wine  bottles (I cannot vouch for how full/empty they were).  Our personal after dinner routine has been to adjourn to the venue for the evening's entertainment, where there is a full open bar until the completion of the evening's activities, and usually a tad longer.

Without having done so, personally, I do think your request would probably be honored.  This is based upon our experience of six ACL cruises over the last two plus years.

Hope you enjoy your cruise.

NRayH

Hi All,

It is with great anticipation that we leave tomorrow morning for a cruise we have been looking forward for some time now.

We have seen mostly positive reviews from others and NOW it is our turn.  I probably will not be doing a day-by-day posting review, but will try to post a complete review when we return home.

Thank you to all that have offered positive reinforcement, and suggestions in our discussions of this itinerary.

NRayH