American West Sternwheeler Cruising Alaska

[olefin32]

We are planning a cruise aboard the elegant Empress of the North for 06.

 

We rode the American Oriental Express this summer and liked it... they are the same company as American West.

 

Not interested in any more floating hotel cruises. ;)

 

Anyone have any experiences with American West or Empress of the North?

 

Thanks

[steamboats]

olefin32,

 

We´ve been on the last 7 night cruise on the Empress this year (Sep 3 - 10). You will find facts and a review on our (private) website:

 

http://www.rivers-rails.com/boats-eon.shtml (main site for the Empress)

 

http://www.rivers-rails.com/boats-eon-review-1.shtml (review)

 

The cruise was one of the best we ever made. Food is really more than outstanding. Crew is very friendly and helpful. The shore tours cover all you want to see. Some schedules are a bit crowded and I wished I had some more time to see all. Wildlife was great! We spent about 1.5 to 2 hours in Frederick Sound watching humpbacks coming as close as 150 ft to the boat. If you´ve enjoyed AOE you sure will enjoy the Empress!

 

Feel free to ask if you have any specific questions!

 

steamboats

[Adventure_bound]

We are also thinking about seeing Alaska next summer on the empress.

 

 

We are looking at late june and july dates. What dates do you plan to go?

 

We are from Massachusetts and in the mid 60s.

 

A_B

[olefin32]

olefin32,

 

We´ve been on the last 7 night cruise on the Empress this year (Sep 3 - 10). You will find facts and a review on our (private) website:

 

Thanks for your excellent review.:)

 

I notice you said there were two formal dinner nights:

* 2 formal nights (Captain´s Welcome Aboard Reception - attire is casual ; Captain´s Farewell Dinner - men wear suit, sport coat, tie optional / women wear cocktail dress, dressy pantsuit)

 

In American West brochure under "Helpful Hints":

Only for the Captains Farewell Dinner do some gentlemen were suit or sport coat, tie optional / women wear cocktail dress, dressy pantsuit.

 

I also read somewhere that about 30% of the men were not in suits/ties or sport coats. I'm asking about this for I don't plan to pack a suit that I would only be using for about two hours.

 

We are booked for a CC stateroom on the Discovery Deck in June for the 7 night cruise.

[olefin32]

We are looking at late june and july dates. What dates do you plan to go?

We are from Massachusetts and in the mid 60s.

A_B

 

We are booked for middle of June for the 7 night cruise. This will be for our family of seven, ages 15 to 71. Also will be for our 50th wedding anniversary.

 

We had to change our first choice of date and take a week early to get three staterooms together. Seems people are booking early.

[steamboats]

olefin32,

 

Rereading my fact sheet I realized that there was something like a Welcome Reception. This was right when you´ve boarded the boat. We were greeted by the Captain and other officers, got a glass of champagne and went directly to our stateroom to get rid of our carry-ons. So this is not really a "night" and it´s not formal at all.

 

The Captain´s Farewell dinner is the only real "formal" night. But it´s like written in the brochure. You don´t need to pack a suit. Many people dressed up a bit but a sport coat with a polo is o.k. too. I didn´t see many suits (maybe except DH but he had to carry it with him anyway). I even saw one man wearing a pullover over a shirt. As long as you´re dressed up nicely I guess it´s o.k. (no shorts or T-shirts might be the only rule). One woman dressed up as a Southern Belle (I don´t know how she got that dress and hat in a suitcase :D ). So don´t worry about that.

 

steamboats

[olefin32]

olefin32,

One woman dressed up as a Southern Belle (I don´t know how she got that dress and hat in a suitcase :D ). So don´t worry about that.

steamboats

 

My wife got a laugh out of that....:D

 

How was the temperature? Light jacket sufficient?

 

Thanks again

[steamboats]

olefin32,

 

Temperatures were mainly low 50ies / mid 50ies but we´ve been early September at the end of season. Dressing up in layers might be the best advice. I usually started the day with jeans and T-shirt. I bought a fleece vest in Skagway and used that mainly aboard. I had a rain/wind prooved light jacket with a thin fleece lining which you can zip off. Some days a wore a sweater over my T-shirt. The coldest day was the last one although it was sunny. But getting close to the glaciers it can get quite cold in the wind. Take some gloves with you and a warm hat (I bought a fleece base cap in Skagway :) ). Rain prooved over-trousers (or however this may called in English) will come in handy if it´s raining and you like to walk. Weather is quite unpredictable in Alaska. We had a nice and sunny day in Ketchikan which has an average rainfall of 13 ft per year. I think last year there was a record high and a dry and hot summer with temperatures up to the 80ies. So my best advice is be prepared for every kind of weather!

 

steamboats

[olefin32]

Thanks again for the excellent info. :)

[jtamchay]

We are booked on the 11 night cruise from Juneau to Seattle September 8-19, 2006..

We are in three CC cabins on Discovery Deck

344, 321 and 313

We are an extended family traveling together...Mother age 89, brother 65 and us, married couple 63 and 60...are we about the right age demographic for this trip?

We have travelled frequently together so no problems with that

mother and I (daughter) did the Delta Queen Pittsburg to New Orleans trip in 1989...that was wonderful although we are expecting much more from this boat.

It is my understanding that Glacier Bay is on the itinerary for 2006, however I was not aware that they do not have a permit to enter the bay with the boat and have to use the smaller transportation...is the smaller boat easy to get on and off for soemone with limited mobility?

We have been to Alaska 3 rimes by cruise ship and in 2004 a 10 day land trip so have seen most of the sights. We are very much looking forward to more up close and personal time with the wild life.

I would very much like to correpond with you off line...jtamchay@yahoo.com

thanks

[steamboats]

Jo,

 

The average age on the Empress was a bit younger than on the Delta Queen boats (more like 50+). But you sure fit into the average. I don´t remember passengers with limited mobility on this cruise (no wheelchairs, walkers or canes). There wasn´t too much walking or climbing stairs on the shore tours (if you don´t regard climbing on the train or buses). I remember that there was a call for passengers needing assisstance on the Glacier Bay trip. But the Empress is applying for a permit for 2006 so maybe you don´t have to change the boat for this tour. I sent you an email if you have any further questions.

 

steamboats

[SLOduck]

So glad to hear good reviews about the Empress. We are booked for the 3/5 sailing of the Columbia and Snake Rivers. We also have a friend that recently went and said it was his best cruise ever (but don't know what his cruising experience is, so … ).

 

Is there any time for other shopping (especially in Pendleton??)

I'm also guessing the weather will be … shall we say … brisk? any comments???

[steamboats]

SLO duck,

 

We did the Columbia River on the Columbia Queen. Their schedule differs a bit from the one of the Empress and Queen of the West but there are a lot of similarities. So maybe you want to read my review (see link below).

 

Regarding Pendleton our schedule was quite tight. We made the museum, the Pendleton Underground, the Wild West Show, Lunch and then the Tamastslikt Center. We haven´t been to Pendleton Wool but we were told that prices there aren´t lower than anywhere else. The lowest prices and a wide variety of Pendleton Wool products can be found in the Tamastslikt Center Gift Shop.

 

Except Astoria and Stevenson (which is a very small town) we didn´t have any free time to do any kind of shopping. Don´t know if this is the same on the Empress/Queen of the West. But also on our Alaska cruise on the Empress there wasn´t much free time to go shopping (if you make all offered included tours). I had some time in Sitka, in Ketchikan and in Petersburg but all was more or less one hour in each town.

 

The Columbia River is really great and the change of scenery is very impressing. Regardless which boat I would highly recommend it. Actually the CQ seems to be in financial troubles so I won´t really advise to book now but wait. The sister company, Glacier Bay Cruise Lines, filed for Chapter 11 in October. TA´s haven´t received their commissions for CQ cruises since August and right now their is no response from the company. I heard that it´s very likely that the CQ will do her 2006 schedule but it´s still not sure. AMCW, the owner of the Empress of the North and the Queen of the West, has been sold to Ambassadors International and a new CEO/President is installed (David Giersdorf). The whole thing is to be fixed until spring 2006.

 

Happy New Year!

 

steamboats

[cstrick]

We are thinking about cruising on the Empress of the North in 2007 for our fourtieth anniversary. Could someone please tell me if it is very noisy on board ? Also what are your impressions of the cruise as compared to Holland Alaska cruises.

[steamboats]

cstrick,

 

I don´t remember it being noisy at all although our cabin was next to the stairs. The only nightly noise which occured was the announcement by the captain that northern light can be seen on the starboard side a couple of minutes past midnight. But I think that´s been a welcomed "noise" :D (BTW you can turn off the in-cabin PA system).

 

The Columbia Queen was much noisier and I needed ear plugs in my cabin to fall asleep.

 

It´s always a good advice to choose a cabin midships and not at the lowest deck to avoid noises from the engines. But I walked all the decks on the Empress and couldn´t hear anything (after our experiences on the CQ the week before).

 

There had been slight problems caused by passengers walking on the upper deck for some exercise. Now there are signs asking the passengers not to exercise prior to a certain time (which I forgot).

 

Hope this helped!

 

steamboats

[SLOduck]

We just returned from the Empress of the North. I'm going to start a new thread so check it out under Empress of the North review!!!

 

SLOduck!!

[Enna]

We'll be on the Empress of the North 7 day Alaska cruise starting July 15 for our 30th Anniversary on the 17th.

 

It's a small world SLO duck, we moved from Los Osos to eastern San Diego County four months ago. It was a real surprise to see someone from our former area on this board, and especially having been on the same cruise we are booked for.

 

Any information on this cruise is greatly appreciated.

 

Our only previous cruise experience was December 1996, with out two teenage daughters on a Royal Carribean Catalina/Ensenada Christmas Cruise.

[SLOduck]

Enna:

That's too funny because my husband's daughter lives in Carlsbad!!! WAY too small of a world!!!

 

We LOVED the Empress. I did a FULL review of the ship (Empress of the North Review) that should pretty much cover any question you might have regarding the ship and our experience--It's either under the 'other cruise ship' board, under A for American West Steamboat Co. or on the River Cruising board--I know it's SOMEWHERE!!! he he

 

You will have a different experience since you will be doing Alaska, but there were two couples that had done Alaska on the Empress the year prior and had returned for the Columbia River itinerary, so it must have been ok!!!

 

You WILL have a good time as there is WAY less hoopla than the 'floating hotel' feel of larger ships … AND there's no pesky photographers trying to snap photos everytime you turn around either!!!

[steamboats]

Hi Enna,

 

We´ve been on the last 7 night Alaska cruise of the Empress last year. You will find my extended review linked in my signature.

 

steamboats

[Enna]

Hi SLO duck and steamboats,

 

Great reviews, lots of information. It is really helpful to have some idea of what to expect from someone who has actually been there and not just depend on the fancy brochure!

 

Enna:o

[SLOduck]

Enna:

Isn't that what these boards are all about??? he he