Just back from Queen of the West

[3rdGenCunarder]

We just got back from our Columbia and Snake River cruise on Queen of the West. (Clarkston to Portland) I will write a review (eventually), but since there is so little recent info here on this ship, I wanted to post a few comments now. And if you're thinking about this trip and have questions, I'll do my best to answer. (I can't guarantee my answers will apply to your cruise, as they seem to make a lot of changes on the fly, and the itinerary didn't match what the brochure says. Not sure if that was just our cruise, or if they always change things.)

 

A few posters here had bad experiences, especially with food and service, a few years ago, so I want to comment on that.

 

We found the food to be good, although choices were limited. Fortunately, we're easy to please and have no allergies or special needs, so we could always find something we liked. Service in the dining room was generally good, but I think that varies depending on the experience of the waiter. Several of the staff had come to the end of their 12-week contracts and were leaving at the end of our cruise. So the cruise after ours might have some service issues if people get a newbie waiter. But for our cruise, the waiters got everyone's order right the first time, and were very pleasant.

 

My biggest complaint was that many things were not as advertised. there were changes in itinerary and tours. The brochure description was inaccurate. Cabins are not 300-500 sq feet. We were in the next-to-best grade of cabin and I estimate it was around 220 sq feet. Cabins do not have windows that open. Yes, there is free wifi and satellite TV, but much of the time there is no signal, so no service. I'm sure their other ships are in places where they can get a signal any time, but in the Columbia gorge, we were out of range, and they should tell you that in advance.

 

The scenery along the river is beautiful, and going down through the locks was interesting. The tour to Mount St. Helens was a long bus ride, but worth it. We had a gorgeous day, and it was a fantastic experience to see the mountain and how wide the devestation was. Also interesting to see vegetation redeveloping in the area.

 

It was a good trip overall, but not one I'd do again.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks for the detailed and balanced review.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[alexandra cruiser]

Was thinking of this,but after this review.Will PASS on it.

 

I took a steamboat on the MIss.yrs.ago and sadly,also one I d never repeat.

 

Too bad we can t have better AMerican rivercruises.

[Keith1010]

Thanks for your review/report.

 

Keith

[Hydrokitty]

We just got back from our Columbia and Snake River cruise on Queen of the West. (Clarkston to Portland) I will write a review (eventually), but since there is so little recent info here on this ship, I wanted to post a few comments now. And if you're thinking about this trip and have questions, I'll do my best to answer. (I can't guarantee my answers will apply to your cruise, as they seem to make a lot of changes on the fly, and the itinerary didn't match what the brochure says. Not sure if that was just our cruise, or if they always change things.)

 

A few posters here had bad experiences, especially with food and service, a few years ago, so I want to comment on that.

 

We found the food to be good, although choices were limited. Fortunately, we're easy to please and have no allergies or special needs, so we could always find something we liked. Service in the dining room was generally good, but I think that varies depending on the experience of the waiter. Several of the staff had come to the end of their 12-week contracts and were leaving at the end of our cruise. So the cruise after ours might have some service issues if people get a newbie waiter. But for our cruise, the waiters got everyone's order right the first time, and were very pleasant.

 

My biggest complaint was that many things were not as advertised. there were changes in itinerary and tours. The brochure description was inaccurate. Cabins are not 300-500 sq feet. We were in the next-to-best grade of cabin and I estimate it was around 220 sq feet. Cabins do not have windows that open. Yes, there is free wifi and satellite TV, but much of the time there is no signal, so no service. I'm sure their other ships are in places where they can get a signal any time, but in the Columbia gorge, we were out of range, and they should tell you that in advance.

 

The scenery along the river is beautiful, and going down through the locks was interesting. The tour to Mount St. Helens was a long bus ride, but worth it. We had a gorgeous day, and it was a fantastic experience to see the mountain and how wide the devestation was. Also interesting to see vegetation redeveloping in the area.

 

It was a good trip overall, but not one I'd do again.

 

I'm one of the people who wrote a negative review! I'm glad your trip was better, our issue was primarily with the food and the dining room service.

 

How did they change the itinerary? that was one thing I had no problem with, and Mt St Helen's was amazing. We were in a balcony room and while the windows didn't open, we had a door that opened to the balcony. Wifi was spotty but that's more a function of the area than the ship. But I agree with you, there were too many things advertised that weren't quite what they said they were and that's why I still won't book again or recommend them. But the scenery was amazing wasn't it?

[3rdGenCunarder]

I'm one of the people who wrote a negative review! I'm glad your trip was better, our issue was primarily with the food and the dining room service.

 

How did they change the itinerary? that was one thing I had no problem with, and Mt St Helen's was amazing. We were in a balcony room and while the windows didn't open, we had a door that opened to the balcony. Wifi was spotty but that's more a function of the area than the ship. But I agree with you, there were too many things advertised that weren't quite what they said they were and that's why I still won't book again or recommend them. But the scenery was amazing wasn't it?

 

The scenery was worth the whole trip! And except for a bit of drizzle the morning we were in Astoria, we had glorious sunny weather. I took a thousand photos, and now I have to sort them!! The tours were good. We did the tour to Pendleton. The Pendleton mill stop was a waste of time, but the "underground" tour was fantastic, lots of fun.

 

One of the odd things about food that I didn't mention earlier was that things were oddly/inaccurately named. A "grilled Portobello salad" was an ordinary spinach salad with a few pieces of Portobello on top. Why didn't they call it "spinach salad with Portobello mushrooms"? A "blue cheese Napoleon" was not at all what we expected. A Napoleon is layers of flaky pastry with custard between the layers. We expected pastry with blue cheese between the layers. No, it was an ordinary salad. What I suppose was the "Napoleon" was two slices of tomato with some crumbled blue cheese between them. Hardly something that could ruin a cruise, but why do they do this?

 

Another "not as advertised" thing was that the brochure shows a sample menu with three choices for each course, and there were always just two. You could write in a request for something not on the menu, and they would do what they could. Supposedly, they would even send someone out to a supermarket to pick up special items. I never tried that. The devil in me wanted to write in "Taylor Ham," something you can only get in New Jersey, just to see what they'd say! But the waiters were so nice I didn't want to put them on the spot like that.

 

The itinerary changes were to do with timing. We were supposed to be in Richland until 10:30 at night, and there was a microbrewery we wanted to try. When we got on board, we saw that we were sailing around dinner time. We were on an all-day tour, and the boat sailed about 45 minutes after the bus got back, so we missed a chance to go for a walk and see something local. We were supposed to be in Astoria overnight. There were a couple of micros and a nice walk along the river. We thought we'd go out for a walk and maybe a drink after dinner. But as we sat at cocktail hour, around 6 PM, the boat pulled away and headed back to Portland. So another chance for a walk and some local color was lost.

 

The scary thing was that we had NO idea we were going to leave Astoria early! Some people were told by crew at the gangway, but that was hit-or-miss. We might have gone for a local beer instead of a drink in the boat's lounge, planning to re-board at 6:30 in time for dinner. And we'd have missed the boat!!! From what we could see, they had no way of counting how many passengers were on board and how many were off. No cards to scan, not even a "clicker" counter for the crew on the gangway. I guess with an older clientele, they figure nobody strays too far from the boat--or chooses to miss cocktail hour!

 

The early departure from Astoria got us to Portland in the morning so that the Portland city tour could be done in the AM, as it was July 4 and the city gets busy as the day goes on. So that afternoon, we were docked by a hotel way out from the city center with nothing to do. We walked by the nearby condo developments to kill a little time, but other than walking to a shopping center, there was nothing to do and nowhere to go. I was sorry we didn't have the original plan of sailing in the morning and touring in the afternoon.

Edited July 19, 2014 by 3rdGenCunarder

[Hydrokitty]

Only rain we had was Astoria too!. I don't remember how they kept track of who was on and who was off the ship. I know we were last to board in Portland because we were sitting in our hotel (Red Roof from where boat sailed) waiting for them to pick up our luggage! No way was I boarding that boat while our bags were still in the room and it turns out that was a good thing because they had no idea we were in the hotel until I called down to the desk and asked when they were picking up our bags! When I got home there were 3 messages from ACL asking if we were planning to cruise! But like you, the ship sailed early. Departure was supposed to be 1 p.m. and this all took place around 11:30 a.m. Apparently as soon as everyone was on board they sailed! My biggest complaint with the food was 1) at breakfast all the milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and butter were set out on a table by the dining room entrance without any ice or refrigeration and 2) When I filled out the menu at breakfast I asked for a hamburger for dinner instead of lunch and only a salad for lunch. They said no problem and I did get my hamburger for dinner but only after everyone else was getting dessert and I threw a temper tantrum! We didn't do Pendleton Mill because I don't usually like factory tours and I knew they'd be selling woolen clothing and I'm allergic to wool, so what's the point? My favorite excursions were Mt. St. Helen's, Multnomah Falls and the Snake River boat ride. Have fun with your pictures....I'm still doing mine (980+) from Black Sea trip I just returned from.:D

[3rdGenCunarder]

Only rain we had was Astoria too!. I don't remember how they kept track of who was on and who was off the ship. I know we were last to board in Portland because we were sitting in our hotel (Red Roof from where boat sailed) waiting for them to pick up our luggage! No way was I boarding that boat while our bags were still in the room and it turns out that was a good thing because they had no idea we were in the hotel until I called down to the desk and asked when they were picking up our bags! When I got home there were 3 messages from ACL asking if we were planning to cruise! But like you, the ship sailed early. Departure was supposed to be 1 p.m. and this all took place around 11:30 a.m. Apparently as soon as everyone was on board they sailed! My biggest complaint with the food was 1) at breakfast all the milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and butter were set out on a table by the dining room entrance without any ice or refrigeration and 2) When I filled out the menu at breakfast I asked for a hamburger for dinner instead of lunch and only a salad for lunch. They said no problem and I did get my hamburger for dinner but only after everyone else was getting dessert and I threw a temper tantrum! We didn't do Pendleton Mill because I don't usually like factory tours and I knew they'd be selling woolen clothing and I'm allergic to wool, so what's the point? My favorite excursions were Mt. St. Helen's, Multnomah Falls and the Snake River boat ride. Have fun with your pictures....I'm still doing mine (980+) from Black Sea trip I just returned from.:D

 

At breakfast, the fruit and dairy buffet table was in the middle of the dining room. Nothing was on ice, so that hadn't changed. I don't recall seeing anyone ask for something off-menu for lunch or dinner, so I don't know how well the kitchen coped with special requests.

 

The day they had burgers for lunch, we ate in town (Astoria) and had a delicious fresh burger. I later heard that the boat's burgers weren't great. A few people stood in the very long line for fish and chips near where we docked, so we weren't the only one taking a break from the dining room that day. It was the next-to-last day so we were ready for a break in the routine.

 

Did the floozies show up to welcome the boat when you got to The Dalles?

[Hydrokitty]

At breakfast, the fruit and dairy buffet table was in the middle of the dining room. Nothing was on ice, so that hadn't changed. I don't recall seeing anyone ask for something off-menu for lunch or dinner, so I don't know how well the kitchen coped with special requests.

 

The day they had burgers for lunch, we ate in town (Astoria) and had a delicious fresh burger. I later heard that the boat's burgers weren't great. A few people stood in the very long line for fish and chips near where we docked, so we weren't the only one taking a break from the dining room that day. It was the next-to-last day so we were ready for a break in the routine.

 

Did the floozies show up to welcome the boat when you got to The Dalles?

 

Weren't they a hoot? They were all over DH like white on rice!! We were at The Dalles during g the terrible forest fire. It got pretty close to the museum and I was watching helicopters fill water buckets from my balcony. Did you try that little fish caboose? DH said best food ever! I don t do fish but fries were incredible ....waited 30 minutes for them.

Edited July 20, 2014 by Hydrokitty
s

[3rdGenCunarder]

Weren't they a hoot? They were all over DH like white on rice!! We were at The Dalles during g the terrible forest fire. It got pretty close to the museum and I was watching helicopters fill water buckets from my balcony. Did you try that little fish caboose? DH said best food ever! I don t do fish but fries were incredible ....waited 30 minutes for them.

 

The floozies were recruiting! They were handing out little cards saying they were taking applications!!!! There were some other "townspeople" in the group, including a farmer and his very non-floozy wife. She was funny, too, tut-tutting at the floozies.

 

Do you mean the fish place in Astoria? A few people did go there for the fish and chips, but we didn't want to stand in a long line. The people who went there said it was delicious.

[Hydrokitty]

The floozies were recruiting! They were handing out little cards saying they were taking applications!!!! There were some other "townspeople" in the group, including a farmer and his very non-floozy wife. She was funny, too, tut-tutting at the floozies.

 

Do you mean the fish place in Astoria? A few people did go there for the fish and chips, but we didn't want to stand in a long line. The people who went there said it was delicious.

 

Our floozies weren't recruiting! But there were other townspeople too, and the cutest little girl who played the violin like a pro. Yes, the fish place was in Astoria. did you go on the Snake River jet boat? The place we stopped for lunch was the best meal of the trip! When the chef came to our table to see how we liked the food we offered him whatever he wanted to come back with us and cook dinner! He said he got offered that a LOT!!

[3rdGenCunarder]

We didn't do the Snake River boat. We got to Spokane the night before the cruise and were taken directly to the ship on their bus service, so we didn't have the chance to do that.

[Hydrokitty]

We didn't do the Snake River boat. We got to Spokane the night before the cruise and were taken directly to the ship on their bus service, so we didn't have the chance to do that.

 

Now that I think about it, in order to do Snake River you had to depart from Portland and end in Richmond. We started in Portland a week before cruise and did Crater Lake NP, Mt. Hood and the Cascades and flew home from

Spokane. It was a fun trip, although no where near as exciting as I thought it would be. We did jump a few small rapids but for the most part I would categorize it as a float trip. Still very nice though and it was included and the lunch was the best of the trip!