Kathy53

We're sailing on the Eclipse to Alaska on July 21st, 2019 out of Vancouver, where we live.  Your kind and generous comments about Vancouver is much appreciated.  This truly is a beautiful city with lots of amazing things to do and see.  Sometimes we become 'tourists in our own city' to remind us just how beautiful it is.  The Pan Pacific and Fairmont Waterfront are both luxury hotels and the rates are around $600 CDN which would be about $420-$450 US.  I'm looking at hotels in Ft. Lauderdale for April, 2020 when we cruise on the Silhouette and the prices appear to be equal but I don't think the hotels can compare to either the Pan Pacific or Fairmont so if your budget allows, either one is a great place to stay.  Location, location, location!  You won't regret staying in Vancouver for a couple of days before your cruise.  Enjoy!

On our first riverboat cruise and our trip to date has been amazing. We stayed 3 days in New Orleans before our cruise departed on Monday. We stayed at the AQSC hotel, The Hyatt Regency for 2 nights which we booked ourselves and then Sunday night was arranged through the AQSC. The hotel did NOT have us change rooms.

Breakfast on the day of the cruise was excellent. It was a full fare breakfast; many selections and very good. The check-in for the cruise was well organized and quick and the transfer to the AQ was easy. Our luggage was in our stateroom, together with keys and a copy of the River Times when we boarded.

We are in a private veranda stateroom on Deck 3 (Texas Deck). Albeit small, we quite enjoy the privacy of our veranda. There is plenty of luggage storage under the bed, lots of hangers and the bathroom is complete with tub/shower combination. The bath linens are excellent quality and Clarins soap, body wash, shampoo & conditioner.

The bed is very comfortable and again, the linens, are perfect.

The room does NOT have an alarm clock so if that is important to you, bring a travel clock. Our 'wake up' call request failed so luckily we are early risers.

The food in the dining room is first class. We've enjoyed the snacks in the Front Porch - ice cream and popcorn, to name a few. Deon, the Maitre 'D in the J.M. White Dining Room does whatever he can to accommodate his guests. We are in 2nd seating and requested a 2-top table and he made it happen for us although we were originally assigned to a table for 4.

The Entertainment staff is fantastic! We had the pleasure of being entertained by the 2 Co-Cruise Directors from the American Empress last night who did a presentation of "You Oughta Be In Pictures" rendition of broadway musicals. The AQ Entertainment team is amazing. They are very pleasant and very amusing.

The demographic is definitely older. We are 63 and 67 years and while there are folks in their late 60s, there is a significant number of guests mid 70s and older. All, such a great group of people and great to engage in wonderful stories.

The Hop On Hop Off bus is the best! The AQSC truly go to a lot of work to organize tours with the system. We are in Nachez today and visited Stanton Hall, Rosalie Mansion, King's Tavern, Charbonneau Distillery, to name a few, all part of the Hop On Hop Off bus system. Unfortunately, the Angola Penetentiary tour in St. Francisville had to be cancelled as the road is flooded due to the recent floods in Baton Rouge. The only thing I am going to say about this if it happens to you....RELAX. The AQSC has no control over these types of things and they did everything they possibly could have done to get more buses to take us around St. Francisville. We witnessed some guests, actually, many guests being very rude and completely unreasonable, which is very unfair.

The scenery along the river and the commerce ie. barges and tugs and on and on, is breathtaking. This was a cruise on our bucket list and we are not disappointed. The American Queen is pristine and absolutely beautiful. The staff is second to none.

I've just tried to include some things that maybe first-time riverboat cruisers would like to know about or those anticipating a cruise. We are very glad we took this cruise and still have 3 more days on this beautiful boat. We are lovin' it!

If anyone has any questions, I can't promise when I will have the time to get back on but I will try and answer to the best of my knowledge. We are now off to the Pilot House Tour :)

Cheers,

K&B

Thank you so much for taking the time to write your fact-filled report. We will be on the Antebellum South cruise - our first AQSC cruise, New Orleans to Memphis on September 4th. Needless to say, your report is providing us with very valuable information and adding to our excitement. We look forward to reading more and thank you again. Much appreciated. Enjoy!

Hello Chris,

Thank you for your response and kind words about our city and also Canada. It truly is a lovely place. Little bit of trivia for you that you may find interesting. My husband's family owned The Sedan Chair on the Mall in 1944 and we believe up until the mid 1970s. Unfortunately, when I saw it, it was being renovated & under construction so I could not appreciate what it was like back in the day.

As for your comment about keeping the AQ in good order for when you embark. I know, it's a rowdy crowd on the AQ so I'll keep my eyes out for anyone misbehaving :) Enjoy your cruise as well!

We've been reading your posts Brissle and enjoying as my husband is from Bristol and immigrated to Canada on the Queen Mary in 1951 as a wee boy. Father was in the RAF and Mother was a Canadian war bride. I had the privilege of visiting your fine city a few years ago when we sailed on the Queen Mary 2. Unfortunately, you will be starting your cruise in Memphis as we depart as we are on the New Orleans to Memphis leg. This is our first cruise with AQSC and very much looking forward to it. Enjoy your cruise.

I appreciate and thank you your comments. It's now a moot point as they didn't move us afterall. Never being on this type of cruise, I was relying on the recommendation of our reservation agent who made a point of suggesting 'starboard' for this voyage. I will, however, make a note for the Dining Room. We chose late seating and somehow I get the impression that the early seating is more popular so we will inquire at the time.

Thank you 'njhoo' for responding. I, too, was surprised by 'must change'. When I initially made the booking, I asked the AQSC reservation agent which side of the boat (starboard or port) would she recommend for the New Orleans/Memphis cruise and it was on her recommendation that we chose Starboard. With not having done this cruise before, I'm not sure which would be best. I'm waiting to hear back from AQSC as to why they are making this request.

We are first time cruisers with AQSC and in August, 2015, we booked the September 4th, 2016 cruise from New Orleans to Memphis. At the time of booking we reserved Stateroom 333 and this was confirmed by way of our Booking Confirmation. At that time, the room selection for this category (AA), was wide open. I just received an email from AQSC advising that they 'must' change our stateroom from 333 to 338. I asked them to explain 'why' this has to be done before I am prepared to make such a change. To repeat cruisers, does AQSC do this and if so, why? I just find it puzzling and if someone can shed some light on this, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

"Riversights", thank you. This cruise has been on our bucket list and so very excited about it. We're excited to spend, basically 3 days in New Orleans pre-cruise; 2 days in Memphis post-cruise and then we're heading up to Nashville for 2 more days before we return to Vancouver, Canada. This is going to be one great adventure. I sure hope we don't have delays but, we have some leeway if that happens. Fortunately, we only have one stop each way in Denver so keeping our fingers crossed. And, can't get any better than enjoying the savings and putting it towards great food in these 3 amazing cities. Wishing all of you in this thread a great cruise. Cheers!

I appreciate your feedback. Interestingly enough, I called the Hyatt Regency New Orleans last evening to be told that our room for the 2 nights prior to our cruise was NOT as yet booked. There was a significant difference so I booked the 2 nights and when we finalize our payment in June, AQSC will then book the night prior to the cruise which, as we all know, is included in the cruise price. We don't want to change hotels either for one night, and some may not want to change rooms, but the person I spoke with at Hyatt said to tell the Front Desk when we check-in the arrangement with AQSC and we will likely be allowed to stay in the same room. I then booked 2 nights in Memphis through the internet and sent an email to AQSC asking them to remove those bookings from our invoice and send an updated one - minus the hotel stays, which was done immediately.

I understand that AQSC commits to a block of rooms for their passengers since their offering is to book everyone in a hotel the night prior to the cruise. Consequently, they negotiate an exceptionally good rate because of volume and while I appreciate the offer that they will book any additional nights, I didn't appreciate paying well above the posted rates on the hotels' websites. I don't expect to pay what AQSC pays for the rooms but paying such a high premium on that rate, is somewhat unreasonable. But, it is up to the traveller to make sure they do their homework.

Thank you so much for your comments. Believe me, while I found the rates quoted by AQSC rather high (considering our CDN $ has no prospect of recovering within the next 6 - 8 months) I thought that we should at least be given the 'preferred' rate as promised. I just might make a call to the Hyatt in New Orleans and get the $171 rate rather than the $255 per night rate we are paying AQ because they do have availability for the nights I need. The Sheraton is only a $10 difference to AQ advantage so will probably leave as is. In any event, I appreciate the feedback. Enjoy your cruise. We are very excited about it as well.

We have reserved the New Orleans to Memphis cruise from September 4 - 12, 2016. We are actually arriving in New Orleans on September 2nd, so when booking the cruise, our booking agent through AQSC suggested that she reserve those 2 nights at the same hotel we will be staying at before our cruise so we wouldn't have to change hotels. The hotel is the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. We then told her that we would be staying in Memphis for 2 nights post-cruise and she made the same offer. This is at the Sheraton Memphis Downtown. This is not a pre or post cruise City Stays, just a hotel booking. Consequently, we booked through AQSC because I was told that they offer a better room rate for cruise guests. I noticed that the posted room rates on the respective hotel websites were lower than what we were quoted. I inquired with AQSC and was told that the manager of both hotels confirmed that we were getting a preferred rate. Our invoice indicates a Standard Room. Has anyone booked hotels through AQSC in this way and found that their rooms were upgraded? Has anyone found it best to book independent of the AQSC? This will be our first river cruise and while both of these hotels are excellent properties, we are not familiar with how AQSC treats these bookings. Any information you have, would be most appreciated.

Thank you!

Thank you for your lovely report. We just booked American Queen - New Orleans to Memphis (Sept. 4 - 12/16) as this was on our bucket list. We booked the Great Steamboat Race many years ago but the cruise was cancelled. Consequently, had mega cruise ship cruises and land holidays but now at our time of retirement, we want our Steamboat wish cruise to happen. We reserved Stateroom 333 (AA) category because of the private verandah. Albeit a year away, time goes quickly and it's nice to have something to look forward to. We love the history so enjoying reading up on all that we will experience, not to mention being very excited to go back in time on the American Queen.