ACL or Pearl Seas?

[MOcruiserman]

We greatly enjoyed our recent cruise on the ACL Serenade and are thinking of our next one.  But we're torn between the Columbia/Snake River cruise and the Great Lakes cruise on Pearl Seas, the other line in the ACL family.  I would appreciate any input from people who've had experience on both.  Thanks. 

[BaumD]

Both lines run their ships in a very similar manner. The biggest difference is the crew. On American, the waiters, housekeepers and deckhands are mostly young inexperienced Americans, who work for ACL for one, maybe two seasons. On Pearl, the waiters, housekeepers and deckhands are mostly Filipino. Many have been with Pearl for 10 years, since the ship first sailed. They are a lot more experienced than the crew on American.

[twototravel]

The Pearl Seas ship has recently been redecorated - that had been a criticism in the past. On the other hand, the American Cruise Lines are mostly all knew, and the Columbia/Snake River cruise gets high marks.