American Pride Review

Originally built for the Mississippi River - and named Queen of the Mississippi - American Pride began its life in 2012 exploring cities like St. Louis, Memphis and Louisville. In 2016, the line renamed the paddlewheeler and moved it to the Snake and Columbia rivers for itineraries that focus on Lewis and Clark, as well as Pacific Northwest cuisine and scenery. While Cruise Critic sailed on the ship's Ohio River itinerary, most of the vessel's attributes have stayed the same.

Onboard, the service is superb, which is somewhat surprising, considering American Cruise Lines' employment policy limiting waiter/room attendant contracts to three months per any nine-month period. The mostly young crew, therefore, is new to the job, though they make up for any lack of experience with friendliness, an eagerness to serve and a genuine interest in your well-being.

The food is excellent, the accommodations spacious and comfortable, and your fellow passengers, of which there are only 150, are keen to meet you and chat. With no assigned tables, you quickly get to know the majority of others on the boat.

It might feel unbelievably small to anyone who's only been on a giant cruise ship. If you're looking for a lot of activity, you're not going to find it here. Onboard life is geared toward the older crowd. All activities are seated, from listening to lectures and enjoying some golden oldies tunes to participating in a marathon jigsaw puzzle contest. At times, we craved a stroll around a nice promenade deck.

But despite our occasional need to get up and move, we found it quite enjoyable to sit at the front of the boat in a rocking chair watching for birds, chatting with new friends or reading a book.