American Heritage (formerly Queen of the Mississippi) Review

Training Ground

Review for North America River Cruise on American Heritage (formerly Queen of the Mississippi)
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jancookz
10+ Cruises • Age 20s

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Sail Date: Apr 2015

First of all, be aware that this 7 day Mississippi cruise is quite expensive. It is not a "value" cruise at all. We traveled from Memphis to New Orleans on the Queen, truly enjoying the sites at the ports. However, this is where the pleasure ends. Apparently, the boat is used as a training ground for young people, to teach them skills for the hospitality industry. This is not an ideal situation for training, given the cost of the cruise. Except for a few quality servers, many of the waitresses were extremely incompetent: mixing up orders, failing to meet food or beverage requests, with painfully slow service. Food was often cold by the time it was served. Occasionally, substitutes were made without notifying the diner of any changes (salmon instead of lobster on a special eggs benedict, for example). Repeated requests for a beverage refill went without results. If an order went back to the kitchen (raw steak), it may or may not return in quite a long time. The food served was supposed to reflect the region, but it was often tasteless and mediocre--nothing special at all.

Housekeeping was another problem, with towels and washcloths not replaced, even though they were on the bathroom floor, as requested. On several occasions, I replaced our towels, having found the linen closet where they were stored. Entertainment on the boat was very good, as were the included shore excursions. Otherwise, this trip is simply not worth the money paid. We will not travel with this line again.

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