Bop

On 4/3/2019 at 12:16 PM, Buck1949 said:

What are your thoughts about coming in to Spokane a day early?   We have bounced back and forth about coming in the day before...... or just coming in the 1st day.  The flight from Phoenix is about 3 hours.....and if for some reason we did not make the 1st day....with the cruiseline schedule being in Spokane over night..... we most likely would not miss out on a lot being late.  PLUS....looking at the schedule....the ship does not actually leave Clarkston until 2:30p on the 24th. 

 

That being said...we 'normally' go into a city the day before our cruises,  just to have a little time in case of delay's and sometimes to rest up, get acclimated and sight see.   

 

Anyway.... is there sufficient things to see or do if we did decide to come an extra day early?  

Hi Leafeater,

Thanks for the response.  We will be sure to follow your recommendations. We usually go a day early to avoid and last minute panics caused by transportation issues.  Our TA may add a bonus day to our itinerary.  Would it be better to add a day at the beginning or end of the trip?

Thanks,

Bop

On 3/13/2019 at 5:03 PM, LEAFEATER said:

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. 

Any suggestion on Clarkston?  We usually travel a day early before embarkation.  Things to see, where to stay etc.  It has been so long since we booked, I have to start from scratch in my port research.  Any must sees, tours to take, or miss?

Thanks,

Jim

Hey Bill,

We're still around and vertical.  Almost time to start looking for flights and reviewing the ports and

 tours.  Winter has been wet and cold.  Ready for  a change of scene.

Am looking for some recommendations on must sees along the L&C itinerary.

Bop

BTW, just click on your picture and you will go to your page to review your posts.

On 10/18/2018 at 2:09 AM, Buck1949 said:

Looks like we are back online again!,

Hi Buck 1949 et. al.  Happy Holidays to all cruising friends or soon to be friends.  Yes, we are still here and back on line too.  It won't be long before we are preparing for the American Queen Steamboat cruise on the Empress.  We will begin looking at flights soon.

So sorry to hear about the horrific fires in CA.  We are praying for all folks affected.

Bop

Thanks Carol for a great review.  Glad to hear that noise level is not high from adjacent rooms.  Bonnie is a very light sleeper so this may have been an issue.  We are really looking forward to the cruise.  It has been a while since we have enjoyed one and our first in the USA,

Bop

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.

 

 

Sounds familiar. The last time we transferred at DWI, we also had to wait for a flight crew which arrived in about 3 hours and then, THEY COULD NOT FIND OUR PLANE!!!! I tend to avoid DWI when possible. How the heck can they lose a plane?

 

Welcome back! Maybe the hurricane will cool things off.

Bop

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.

Hi NJhoo,

Read your cruise log. Now I am ready to go but must wait for a year.

Assume you are a fellow Hoo. Maybe this year will be better?

Bop

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)

Hi LE,

Welcome aboard!

We are converted ocean cruisers who have done several European river boat cruises on AMAwaterways. Great cruise food, services. Hard to go back to the "cattle call" of the large ships. We still are very fond of Princess although haven't been on many since the ownership change.

Anyhow, I am not going to worry about fires and such quite yet. Surely the west coast will get some rain and mudslides to put out the fires . We will pray for the folks who are losing everything.

I am not sure about the AQSC experience but will try to keep my expectations low and enjoy the good parts which surely will materialize. It is always a fun experience to meet new friends. We watched the PBS special about Lewis and Clark and are looking forward to traveling on the Snake and Columbia rivers. Hope we don't need gas masks:eek:.:eek:

Bop

Hey Buck,

I see you are still on the Boards. Yes, river cruises tend to have fewer folks but things usually pick up when we get closer to embarking date. I have met some great friends on the Boards starting on the old AOL only cruise Board in the late 90's. There was big resistance when the current Cruise Boards opened to everyone. Silly, right?

When we "switched over" to river boats, it was like starting over. Had to get used to checking European weather forecasts to see if we could get under the bridges and such. I think I saw Steamboat somewhere on here. He was very helpful to me on our Danube cruise.

Anyway, things will pick up in a few months and we can put days until cruise counters on our pages.

Look forward to meeting you.

Bop

Gsel,

Thanks for suggestion. Will check site for quotes.

Bop

Has anyone found a better deal on cruise insurance At our age, the insurance is as much as the flights. AQSC insurance premiums seem very high.

Bop

Hi Bill,

OK, debt forgiven! I was going to donate the 1$ to the indigent cruisers' society. I guess some poor family will have to stow away.

Bop;););):(:(

Amen!

Positive attitudes go a long way in enjoying life and enhancing travel experiences. Some of our fondest memories have been in dealing with travel difficulties with new- found friends. On one trip to Sirrince (sp?) in Turkey, our tour guide drove across a pasture and cow path and our van got stuck on a hump. We all had to get out and push the van back on solid ground through the mud. It turned out to be a laughing good time and a cherished memory. We still keep in touch with the tour guide and have sent other friends to him.

Bop

Just checked our reservation. We are amidship on the starboard side of the boat.Looks like we will be facing north from our veranda.

Bop

We just returned from sailing Clarkston to Portland. Our cabin was 415 on the starboard side. We liked it because we had afternoon shade.

We enjoy balconies but don't spend a great deal of time on them. Much more fun in the public areas. We always end up wondering if we should have selected the other side. (grass always greener?) Like the smaller vessels on European rivers. Flip the coin?

Buck, hope to see you on board. You can give me $1 for thread jumpin!

Bop

We will also be on this cruise and are first time river cruisers. We are Mike and Debbie from Albuquerque. NM.

Welcome aboard!

Thanks for the reply. Read Djett's review if you haven't already. Good information.

We are a group of 4 from Midlothian VA.

More later,

Bop

Djett,

Great useful review. We are really looking forward to this cruise. Anticipation is half the fun. We will cont

tact the hotel and furnish flight times, etc. when they are available.

Thanks a lot for your review.

Happy cruising!

Bop

Paddle wheeler first timer. Looking for fellow "paddlers" to communicate with prior to cruise.

Lewis and Clark itinerary. Should we buy coonskin caps?

Bop

Thanks Carol.

I pretty much surmised that American Queen may be the best bet, however, some reviews are less than complimentary about the American Empress. Like Ocean Cruising and Euro river cruises, there are some folks who just aren't satisfied. I tend to look for the good and usually find it in the experiences and people I meet.

We are currently ready to book for mid sept 2019. We have always had good weather in Sept and with luck, maybe a touch of fall colors. We picked the Lewis and Clark itinerary after watching the great pioneer series *****

n TV. Learned a lot that I did not know about L&C, Daniel Boone, Davey Crockett, etc. Now we gotta buy our coonskin caps for our cruise.

Thanks for the response and happy cruising.

Bop

Thank you so much for the info. I enjoyed looking at your amazing pictures!

 

~Carol

Hi Carol,

Never been on Riverboat but have heard great things and some not-so-great about American Empress condition, etc. Currently booking for the sept 22 cruise. Would appreciate candid review and recommendations on tours. Enjoyed your pictures. Maybe I can leave my "good camera" at home.

Jazzbeau,

 

Thanks so much for your extensive review. We are looking so forward to our first river cruise, 12-day Vineyards of the Rhine & Mosel (with pre 3-day Paris stay) on the AMA Dolce in early November.

 

 

 

Thanks again,

-Cat & Dave

Hi Cat and Dave,

Found you and Jazzbeau's entertaining and informative review and blog. We enjoyed our Amadeus river cruise in 2006 and welcome the newer, larger, and improved boat. I am starting to get excited about the prospect of cruising the Rhine and visiting Paris. Thanx Jazzbeau!

See you guys in Paris.

Bop

Sorry, NO review this time. :p My fingers are STILL tired from typing the last one! :)

Shucks! That's no fun! See, we feel entitled now!:D

Jim

Thanks for the info. I will do some more hunting. This looks like a good option. I will be interested to hear how your Danube cruise goes.

Hi G Money,

We did the Danube cruise 2 years ago on the Amadeus Symphony. It was quite a difference from the usual ocean cruise but we liked the fact that we were "up close and personal" with all the towns along the way, you usually dock right in town and just have to step off the boat. Tours were small and several cuts above the usual "cattle call" cruise line tour. Guides were excellent. We will do another riverboat cruise for sure. Be sure to go to the opera in Vienna and Budapest. The Statsoper in Vienna was Grand but the opera house in Budapest was grander. I hope you are lucky enough to be entertained on board bu the Aphrodites in Bratslava. A really pleasant surprise. Most entertainment was not great. They were world class entertainers and not hard on the eyes, for sure.

Have fun!

Jim