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Seeking information on the American Duchess


vlinbin
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Five weeks from today, we will check into the Hotel Roosevelt in preparation for our cruise on the American Duchess from New Orleans to Memphis the following day. We are interested in hearing from anyone who has been aboard the Duchess, though we realize that only a small proportion of cruisers (both ocean and river) participate on Cruise Critic.

 

We have read the overview of the Duchess by the Cruise Critic editor, and saw one reference by another cruiser to difficulties encountered aboard an early voyage. Since then we have seen nothing. We would really like to know whether the early kinks are being worked out.

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Thank you for the comment about the other thread. That is the one to which I referred that mentions the helpful article by the Cruise Critic editor and a comment by one cruiser on what was probably the first "paying" cruise. Since then, there has been no further information that I can find. Still hoping for a report from someone who has cruised on the Duchess more recently.

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Five weeks from today, we will check into the Hotel Roosevelt in preparation for our cruise on the American Duchess from New Orleans to Memphis the following day.

 

 

Seems that we will be on the River at the same time---just going in opposite directions! I wonder if we pass in the night, or if we might actually be in the same port on some day mid cruise?

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Five weeks from today, we will check into the Hotel Roosevelt in preparation for our cruise on the American Duchess from New Orleans to Memphis the following day. We are interested in hearing from anyone who has been aboard the Duchess, though we realize that only a small proportion of cruisers (both ocean and river) participate on Cruise Critic.

 

We have read the overview of the Duchess by the Cruise Critic editor, and saw one reference by another cruiser to difficulties encountered aboard an early voyage. Since then we have seen nothing. We would really like to know whether the early kinks are being worked out.

 

Just returned from a cruise on the Duchess(10/8-16/17). It was a great trip! We stayed at the Roosevelt during the Hurricane scare just before our departure. The mayor had a curfew for us, but removed it when it took a path to the east of NOLA.

It seemed to go pretty smoothly. 1 of the staff apologized for the "kinks" that weren't worked out yet, but it really had no effect on us. The coffee machine in the snack room(Perks) was well used, and had a few issues of getting our Cappuccinos:-), but the engines ran well, we had power, food, entertainment and excursions, so no issues there!

Our accommodations were fantastic!(we had a surprise upgrade upon arrival! What a fantastic 70th birthday gift) The food was good. We ate several times in the River Club, Chef Chris was superb, friendly and very accommodating!( reservations required, but no one seemed to know about this restaurant, until a few days into the cruise).We ate one evening on the deck at the River Club...at sunset-perfect!) The band was great; the cruise director was great and a good singer; pursors very attentive. It seemed so different to cruise for days with no buildings or houses along the river! I guess it floods so frequently that people don't build there. The history of course is extensive on the NO to Memphis cruise.

What are you interested in knowing? Please ask, and I'll try to answer.:D

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Sparty1 -- thank you so much for posting and providing information about your recent cruise. I am so glad that the cruise went well and that you enjoyed it. How nice to get an upgrade.

 

I will start off with several questions, but suspect I will have many more as the time for our cruise nears.

1) Was the boat full? or perhaps I should ask if the boat felt crowded?

2) Is it possible to get a table for two in either of the dining rooms?

3) Was it difficult to get on and off the boat? i.e. were there steep ramps or steps?

4) Were the HOHO buses accessible near the boat?

5) What were your favorite excursions?

6) Any food items not to be missed?

 

Once again, thank you for posting and for offering to answer questions.

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Sparty1 -- thank you so much for posting and providing information about your recent cruise. I am so glad that the cruise went well and that you enjoyed it. How nice to get an upgrade. I will start off with several questions, but suspect I will have many more as the time for our cruise nears. 1) Was the boat full? or perhaps I should ask if the boat felt crowded?The boat was sold out until Hurricane Harvey scare! Some cancelled(that's why we got an upgrade) The boat never felt crowded! The theater was full during shows, but we wondered where people came from, 'cuz we didn't see many around the boat!

2) Is it possible to get a table for two in either of the dining rooms? Yes, it was easy in both restaurants. The Head Waiter in Main dining area preferred to seat people with others, but you could easily get a 2 person table. Reservations needed in River Club, but we did not have any problems getting them.

3) Was it difficult to get on and off the boat? i.e. were there steep ramps or steps? Ramps were used in all ports(short and long, steep and not so steep)BUT they use "golf carts" to take anyone who needs or wants a ride to and from the boat. Worked well!

4) Were the HOHO buses accessible near the boat? Yes. Except where it was too steep, but the carts were used.

5) What were your favorite excursions? That would be hard to say. We took 2 Premium tours, and rest were the included tours, and we liked all of them. Natchez was probably our favorite town: so quaint, so many historical places to see! The included tours on the HOHO also include all entrance fees to any/all of the stops on the tours. You just say you are with the boat, and you go right in or through! Very nice and smoothe.

6) Any food items not to be missed? The food was good. Chef Chris could really fix things perfectly(River Club)filet, salmon, glazed chicken were all excellent. Perks is the coffee/snack area on deck 2, and they have fresh baked pastries/muffins/cinnamon buns in am, and cookies in pm, plus hot popcorn. Those were very good!

You''ll enjoy!:D

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Sparty1 -- your very helpful replies are much appreciated. And, as I expected, I now have a few additional questions, generated by the arrival of our Cruise Documents.

 

1) The clothing section made it sound as if most men will be wearing jackets to dinner and to the entertainment venues. I am sure my husband would prefer a sweater to a jacket. Would he feel out of place?

2) We learned there are no laundry facilities onboard the boat. For the most part, they would not be necessary for a week-long cruise. But, are there any facilities in the suites for doing hand laundry, i.e. a line for hanging clothes should the need arise?

 

Also, just looked at the description of the Duchess accommodations and don't see a hair dryer listed with the amenities provided. It has been quite a while since I have packed a hair dryer, so I am wondering if a hair dryer is provided?

 

Thank you again for taking your time to answer these questions.

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I am not Sparty1, however, I can answer 2 of your questions;

 

1. Regarding dressing for dinner or entertainment - a sweater or dress shirt or even a nice casual shirt is fine for dinner and entertainment.

 

2. Regarding hair dryers, ever cabin will have a hair dryer.

 

Have a great cruise.

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Thank you sailingmickey for chiming in with answers to the questions.

 

If there is anybody else reading these boards who has recent experience on the Duchess, your comments and suggestions would be welcomed.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Thank you sailingmickey for chiming in with answers to the questions.

 

If there is anybody else reading these boards who has recent experience on the Duchess, your comments and suggestions would be welcomed.

 

I am not Sparty1, however, I can answer 2 of your questions;

 

1. Regarding dressing for dinner or entertainment - a sweater or dress shirt or even a nice casual shirt is fine for dinner and entertainment.

 

2. Regarding hair dryers, ever cabin will have a hair dryer.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

vlinbin--I apologize for not getting back to see if you had more questions(I traveled to spend time in the hospital with my Dad who had a heart attack and to help my Mom)

sailingmickey, thank you for stepping up. Those would have been my answers also. I can not offer an answer to the clothesline either, as I did not use one, and do not remember if there was one:-(

Have a great trip! You'll love it!

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Thank you, sparty1, for following up. I am sorry to hear about your father's heart attack. I hope he is recovering nicely.

 

Our cruise is less than a week away and we are getting very excited. I hope to add another review about the American Duchess after we return from the trip.

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Looking at the itineraries for the Queen and the Duchess, it appears that both boats will be in Natchez on November 23rd, Thanksgiving Day. Perhaps they will be docked side by side.

It would be fun to meet up at some point that day. Have you decided what you will do that day? We will be doing the HOHO bus, as there are several great homes I want to see.

 

Do you have any info on about how much time to allow for the different stops in Natchez? There are so many great stops that day, and I'm wondering just how many we can fit in and still get back to the boat on time.

 

If you will e-mail me at 2 the sea 2 the sea at gmail dot com, we can exchange names, etc so that if we are docked together, we can look each other up.

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Thank you, sparty1, for following up. I am sorry to hear about your father's heart attack. I hope he is recovering nicely.

 

Our cruise is less than a week away and we are getting very excited. I hope to add another review about the American Duchess after we return from the trip.

 

Thank you, vlinbin. I appreciate your kind words.

You should be getting excited! It will be a nice trip:-) I look forward to your insight on the cruise and experience.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We have now returned from our very pleasant cruise on the Duchess. I am in the process of writing a review and will post it on the reviews section of Cruise Critic. So far there are two lackluster reviews there, but mine will be far more positive.

 

Will probably not get a chance to finish the review for a day or two, and will post a note here when the review appears.

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I submitted a review to Cruise Critic two or three days ago, but have not received any word that it has been posted. But since then, I keep getting e-mails about "deals" despite the fact I have unsubscribed from the e-mails.

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We have now returned from our very pleasant cruise on the Duchess. I am in the process of writing a review and will post it on the reviews section of Cruise Critic. So far there are two lackluster reviews there, but mine will be far more positive.

 

...I submitted a review to Cruise Critic two or three days ago, but have not received any word that it has been posted.

 

Apparently it has still not been posted -- now there are 3 reviews, one September, two October -- all rated the cruise Poor.

 

I just got off the AD in Nashville Dec 10, and if I get around to it, will also do a review. Like you, my rating would be much higher - between Very Good and Excellent.

 

Hopefully your review will show up soon!

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Glad to hear that you too enjoyed your cruise. I sent a message to Cruise Critic asking about my review and why it has not appeared. No answer yet.

 

If the review does not appear within a few more days, I believe I will just post it here. It bothers me that people will think there are problems with the American Duchess when, in fact, it is a lovely boat.

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We were also also on the Dutches this past week, shared many a good meal with Dave. Found the cruise to be very good. It turns out that I met the critic writer several times on the boat, knew he was a writer, but not a critic writer. Looking forward to his article. There is already one about Nashville under the river cruising category.

 

Dave, see you made it home safely.

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Just submitted a review of our Duchess cruise, comparing it with our previous Mississippi cruise on American Cruise Line.

 

vlinbin: Looks like Cruise Critic has to pore over our reviews in their own good time before they will post them. Like you, if this takes too long, I'll just post it here (I saved the text).

 

njhoo: Glad you made it back to the snowy north OK. When I saw Cruise Critic Chris' post, I guessed it was the young lady who always sat by herself near the entrance. Wrong guess, apparently.

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vlinbin, et al: Got an interesting e-mail from Cruise Critic, thanking me for submitting my review, and informing me that after checking my review, they would determine if it was one of the "five reviews we select for posting each month." (Huh?)

 

With only five per month, looks like it might be a long time, if ever, before our reviews appear.

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I did receive a reply from Cruise Critic regarding the review I submitted about ten days ago. Apparently there is a large volume of submissions and many staff on vacation at the present time. Thus the reviews are taking longer than usual to post.

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