Our ship check-in was done at the DoubleTree St. Paul Downtown where we spent the night before the cruise. The process was efficient and since we were traveling with a group of twelve, our dining room tables had already been assigned. We took the optional city tour, which was enjoyable, and delivered to the ship. We went straight to our cabin and unpacked. The ship is beautiful and the entire ship staff was friendly and helpful the entire trip.

There are two eating areas, the Front Porch (located on the bow of the ship) and the main dining room. We ate dinner each night in the dining room and the food was delicious with generous portions. Our waiters Smooth and Butter did a wonderful job and handled whatever request we had. The provided wine was good and poured generously. Our breakfasts and lunches were eaten at the Front Porch where service was buffet-style. There was both indoor and outdoor seating at the Front Porch. Since we had wonderful weather, we ate most meals outdoors. Coffees, teas, popcorn and soft-serve ice cream was always available at the Front Porch. The ship had plenty of public areas where you could simply sit and relax. We went to the evening shows each night and enjoyed all of them. One of the highlights was an actor portraying Mark Twain.

At each port we enjoyed the hop-on, hop-off bus tours. A local guide on the bus provided information about the city. You could get off at designated stops, see the attractions and get back on the bus as it completed the route about every 15 minutes. There were several optional paid excursions offered. We took the pre-cruise tour of St. Paul, the Hoover Presidential Library and the post-cruise St. Louis tour. Each one was enjoyable and worth the extra cost. Read more