I almost didn't write this review as I feel that we were not the demographic that this cruise caters to and comparing it to our other cruises might be unfair. However, if we had known a few things upfront, we could have made a better decision or been more prepared for what we got. The boat: The boat is very cute. The rooms are adequate in size but furnished in a drab and cheap-looking style. Bathrooms were very small in comparison but were functional. The closet is small, there are several drawers for storage, and there is no safe in the room. There is no refrigerator or water provided in the room but you can go to one of the lounges to get water at any hour. The outside seating areas are nice when sailing although I think more comfortable seating vs. the numerous rocking chairs would have been better. There are three lounges which were used for various activities such as bingo, river talks, evening entertainment, happy hour, etc. and were open all the time. The snack selection was not very good in the lounges as there were soft drinks and packaged snacks such as cheese crackers, fig newtons, and sun chips. Water and coffee were available but no iced tea and no healthy snacks. The cookies that were brought around twice a day were good and a nice touch. The crew: Most of the crew (interior staff) were college kids who were very enthusiastic and helpful but had little to no training. They would try to do anything that was asked of them but did not have the training to provide high-level service without being prompted--not their fault but don't expect much. They were super-nice people and we enjoyed meeting many of the crew members. Dining: What needs to be clearly stated here is that when the website states "Open seating dining allows you to dine where and when you want," what it really means is that every single passenger goes to the dining room at the same time since there is a short window of service and is squeezed into a room with tables that seat large groups of people with no option to sit as a couple. The way it was done is that passengers who came first might be on dessert and passengers who came a few minutes later would be forced to join them if there were empty seats. This was obvious chaos and didn't make a nice dining experience for everyone. Some folks probably really enjoy dining with strangers and that is fine but this could have been much better organized with options for passengers who aren't comfortable joining an already-in-progress table. I have to mention the food quality although this is a tricky subject. As someone who travels in search of the best restaurants and chefs, I feel qualified to say that the quality of the food was sadly very disappointing. It may not have been for some passengers but we found it to be uninspired and bland and some dishes seemed like an experiment of things that don't go together. Maybe the cooks were students in training also. Take that for what it's worth to you as I realize that everyone has different tastes and requirements for food and this may not be the opinion of some. Breakfast was probably the better meal and our room service (only offered at breakfast) was delivered promptly each morning. Dinner is at 5:30 pm and is over by 7:30. Happy hour was also disorganized with a long line for drinks and staff who were doing double duty and weren't really bartenders. Only a few knew how to properly mix drinks. They could have made it easier by having waitstaff take orders or having two lines and having the staff who didn't know how to make the drinks just pour wine and beer and soft drinks. But again, they were willing to try and were very polite and friendly. Entertainment: The evening entertainment that was provided was very enjoyable. It began at 8:15 and lasted about an hour. The first two nights were a musical and comedy show from the Riverlorians on board that gave educational talks in the afternoon and sang in the evenings. They were lovely people and were good singers and a lot of fun. We liked them a lot. The third night was a wonderful jazz duo with a piano player and a trumpet player. Both were amazing and we loved that they played songs we all knew as well as gave us tidbits of education about the music and the writers and famous performers of it. The last night was a cute show with the Victory Belles, three ladies who were performers based at the WWII museum in New Orleans and they did appropriate music for the time period and were very entertaining. Drinks, popcorn, and root beer floats were served. Daytime entertainment consisted of river talks, bingo, and such but that was fine for the size of the boat and the relaxing pace. Excursions and the cruise: One thing to know is that river cruises can change with the conditions of the river and excursions are sometimes changed or cancelled. The Mississippi is very high right now which prevented docking at some of our predetermined stops. This means we missed Oak Alley plantation but Rosedown Plantation was substituted in its place. It also meant that we docked for two nights at Baton Rouge and were bussed out to Houmas House on a longer drive than we would have been. I wish we would have been sailing at night instead of docked but I think that was largely beyond the control of the captain and crew. Both plantations were very nice with Houmas House being our favorite. Our guide there was wonderful and the owner was greeting guests on site which was nice. The grounds are spectacular. There wasn't any communication about these changes beforehand and I think there should have been but they did try to do as much as possible with the situation. Fellow passengers: As others have stated, most passengers are in the over 60-plus category with several over 80. We were younger but always enjoy meeting nice people and everyone was very nice. There is nothing for kids to do and excursions will not interest kids if they have no understanding of the history of the area. Read Less

First, the cruises offered by ACL are geared towards mature audiences - 60's and up, although there very people much younger on this cruise. Actually who's on the cruise really doesn't matter to me, as long as people are enjoying their experience. I have taken 7 ocean cruises and on rivercruise (20 years ago). If you are expecting in your face activities and craziness, pick something other than a river cruise. This was a celebration cruise for my husband and I, and when greeted when boarding the boat, we were congratulated and on the second day, after returning from a shore excursion, we found champagne and strawberries in our cabin! Every crew member is there to serve you and extend extraordinary customer service, which was evident every minute of the day (we had to ask someone to thread a needle, and they did so with a smile!). When crew members say they love their jobs, that says something about a company! Because the river was running high, a last minute change of itinerary was made and I thought it gave us an even better experience; also, Because we were in the height of Mardi Gras season, instead of staying in a hotel pre-cruise (part of your fare), we stayed on the boat - we were greeted by a lovely buffet and drinks. We were not able to dock at Houmas House or Oak Alley, but those excursions were changed to days when we were in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. We cruised up to St. Francisville instead on the first day, and had the choice of three additional excursions (only 2 of the many offered were premium at an extra charge, by the way...). Also in Baton Rouge, which is not the most exciting stop, they added a walking tour by their river guide, which made is all worth while. And because we returned to New Orleans a half day early, excursions to the WW2 museum and a French Quarter walking tour were added! I think this was all handle exceptionally well!!! On the ACL cruises, beer and wine are included at Lunch, cocktail hour, dinner and during the evening entertainment, so you are not running up a tab. The food was excellent and you could request half portions. There were also snacks, coffee, tea, fruit, juice and soda always available in two of the lounges. My husband had never cruised before and I knew that an ocean cruise was out of the question - he thoroughly enjoyed this and we are considering other itineraries in the future. The cost seems high at first, but when I compared it to an ocean cruise with similar accommodations (balcony), and considering that there is no charge for adult beverages, no tipping, free excursions, free WIFI, the cost is comparable. Read Less

Great Cruise with top notch food, entertainment and service. In addition, very enjoyable and informative cruise tours at the ports. This cruise is focused on older adults as not much that would interest children. Small number of people on-board which gives ample opportunity to meet new people. There were some traveling alone, some in groups as well as couples. The ship was kept immaculate and our room was a nice size. We enjoyed the view from our balcony. We saw beautiful sunrises and sunsets. There was more than enough to eat and drink at all times! There was accommodation for those that needed accommodation to reach the tour buses and tour destinations. We also were very satisfied with the hotel the first night in New Orleans that was part of the cruise package. Loved that the food and entertainment was inclusive of the local area of the cruise. We highly recommend taking this cruise! Read Less

4 night cruise from New Orleans, enjoyed the ports very much, though not a lot of a variety of things to do at each one, to be expected on this itinerary. Visited a few very nice plantation houses, plus Baton Rouge. For those who have cruised on the larger ships, this cruise will come as a bit of a shock. The ambiance is very low key, no fancy décor, with basically no activities and nothing to do while on the ship. After dinner for 3 nights a banjo player performed for an hour, that was it for the evening entertainment. Seeing this once was fine, but it got old fast, and I didn't need to see it all 3 nights. Other than that, after dinner there was nothing to do, no schedule activities. The daily happy hour at 5:30 with tasty snacks and open bar was a nice touch, as well as the daily fresh baked cookies, and always available snacks and beverages. The ship staff and crew are friendly, dining room service was fine too. The boat is small, which means no crowds, no lines, getting on and off simple. My overall rating would actually be "good" if that was offered between very good and average. Read Less

I wanted to travel to upper Mississippi to 4 states I had not visited. The cruise was promoted as Fall Foliage on the Upper Mississippi. My group had been planning for this trip for over a year. The route was changed due to flooding, and we were officially notified AFTER the boat left St Louis port. Management knew the situation and could have notified us before we flew from NC to St Louis the day before departure. The trip that was substituted was of lesser value/cost and the destination was of no interest to me, as I had already been several times to Nashville. The cruise lines has made no effort to compensate our group of 17 travelers. I was trapped on this boat to a destination that held no interest to me- not a very good taste to leave in a customer's grasp. The trip was the biggest disappointment in my travel history, and I have traveled quite a bit over the past 6-7 years. I will neither use nor recommend this company. Their interest is not customer satisfaction. This was a group of 17 people, and I believe American Cruise Lines should step to the plate and offer some compensation to this group, at least a monetary amount equal to the difference of the price of the trip that we paid for and the trip we were given. Letters have been written to management and they have not even bothered to respond. Read Less

We had a wonderful “small ship” experience on the American Cruiselines Queen of the Mississippi. The food was fabulous and the crew was top-notch. The ship was only a couple of years old, so rooms were comfortable size and bathrooms were clean and up to date. We had a room with a balcony, which offered space for a nice table and chairs for eating with a spectacular view, or to just enjoy the peacefulness of the river. Once on the ship we didn’t have to pay for another thing! Shore excursions at each stop were included at no additional charge and offered a variety of enrichment opportunities from museums, art and history to local flavor. At St. Louis, the boat docked right under the arch! All drinks on board were free, from soda and juices, to bottles of wine at each table for dinner. At the evening entertainment we were offered popcorn, ice cream sundaes and cookies and open bar. And then there were the cocktail parties every afternoon. We can’t say enough nice things about this trip. After 20+ cruises on Princess this trip was expected to be just a short fill-in. Boy, did we have a great time! With a passenger count of about 125 people, we experienced personalized service with an extremely happy crew. We booked another trip with American Cruiselines before we disembarked. Can’t wait to go again! Read Less

Wanted to do a river cruise, but didn't want to fly to Europe. Shopped for itineraries, and decided on the Mississippi. Shopped Cruise lines and decided on American Cruise Line. It was a really good package, including a pre-cruise hotel in St. Louis, all-inclusive cocktails and wine, highly rated cuisine, relatively new river boat, and an itinerary that sounded interesting. All-in-all, it matched our desire for a pleasant, relaxing vacation. Came home rested....not exhausted. It was an "age appropriate" experience for us They fed us well, kept us entertained with river talks, wildlife talks, evening entertainment by two very enjoyable entertainers, plus guest entertainers. It was all quite low key, with no high energy razzle dazzle to wear us out. The excursions were all nice, considering that the destinations weren't very exotic. Interesting, but no Taj Mahal.....or Eiffel Tower. We met many very nice folks along the way, and everyone on board seemed to be in the same mellow place as us. Loved it. Would highly recommend it for any active seniors. Read Less

We wanted to live like Mark Twain and watch the world go by while cruising the Mississippi. Our experience was exactly what we wanted! We spent most of our days out on our balcony, eating breakfast, reading and enjoying beautiful scenery. Being pampered by the staff was just a bonus. The food was delicious and the menus were very interesting. Vegan foodies will also enjoy the dining experience. There were a variety of activities aboard like daily river talks, warm cookies, bingo, family feud and happy hour. All of the various lounges were very comfortable with lots of seating and configurations for playing games or cards. The laundry facilities were first rate, and we were even provided the detergent and fabric sheets for free. The exercise room had many pieces of equipment, but most people got their exercise by walking up or down the stairs, which were not too steep and easy to use. We highly recommend this tour! Read Less

This was my second cruise with American Cruise Lines. I was a solo female traveler. I gave myself two days in downtown Pittsburgh and enjoyed myself very much. I stayed at the same hotel as the cruise line's designated night-before stay and appreciated that the hotel transition was smoothly done (Hampton Inn Downtown). We hit a snag the first day; we had to be bused down to Marietta, Ohio (three hours) as the ship could not get into Pittsburgh (too high of water, I believe). This was my first encounter with such a drastic schedule change (this is my fourth river cruise) but I found in speaking with other passengers that it happens. My single cabin was clean and roomy enough for my stuff. I loved having my own balcony! There were lots of places on the ship to go and enjoy the River (inside and outside lounges). I loved JoAnn and Steve who showed their love of the River in their talks and they were great entertainers! I loved the food. I took full advantage of the port and shore excursions (many complimentary) and enjoyed them. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour of Churchill Downs. I knew next to nothing about the Kentucky Derby and enjoyed learning about it. We were not there during the racing season but got to see some horses during their morning workout. Our young lady guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. It is generally an older crowd and I found many pleasant table companions. Read Less

On July 7th this year, my wife and I boarded the American Cruise Line Queen of the Mississippi for what we thought was going to be a wonderful and relaxing Ohio River cruise experience as promise by the information advertised on the latest sales catalog and expecting a nice relaxing and adventurous cruise. Unfortunately, this cruise was the cruise from HELL. My wife and I are seasoned cruisers (Large Ships, European river cruising and American Cruise Line). This was the worse cruise we have ever taken as well as being taken to the cleaners by ACL. Before you book with American Cruise line please check out “American Queen Cruises”. www.americanqueensteamboatcompany.com Please read all the negative comments and you will find mine similar to the problem’s others had. We contracted ACL for 10 stops and a cruise itinerary that resulted in stopping at all of the schedules cities as advertised in their cruise catalog, instead we cruised the river for more than 5 days and missed stops and excursions in 4 cities and only 1 day in Louisville instead if 2. Other MAJOR Issues: Dining & Food served On the first day, ACL’s the head chef came to 0ur table and told everyone if you wanted something special cooked let him know and he would prepare it: THAT WAS LIE #1. On about the 5th day for lunch I requested shrimp and grits which is a staple served on the America (another ACL BOAT). Our server (who was really wonderful and professional) came and told me he did not know how to prepare it. 2 days later it was on the menu – this time our server told us was he did not have all the ingredients the first time. Let’s break this one out – Grits, served every day at breakfast (which I had every morning) – shrimp – served with a number of meals – Cajon spices – most soups he prepared had Cajon spices incorporated in them I guess if you are going to lie to ACL’s passengers at least he needs to get his lies straight. On this cruise, this was some of the worse meals I have ever had (this is my 10th cruise both in the US and Europe). I was unable to consume at least 5 meals served – the meals served were not fit for human consumption – other guests were also complaining about food coming out of the kitchen. In 2 of the cities we stopped at, my wife and I had to go off the ship and dine at the local establishments to get a quality meal. ACL’s cook (he was not a chef in any stretch of the imagination) put out some of the world’s worse meals I have ever had in my life. The cook was probably fired from a CCC level diner. Unethical & Lack of Integrity with ACL’s Personnel Upon going to our stateroom, we were greeted by Guest Services Manager in our stateroom. We had asked her to replace the Pinot Noir wine with a Merlot which she did. Towards the end of the cruise, July 16, when I had had enough of the poor food coming out of the kitchen. So, at lunch I asked our server for a simple cheeseburger. We were discussing the cheeseburger with our server when the Guest Services Manager came up in a huff and asked what the problem was. I explained all I wanted was a simple cheeseburger. The guest services manager became ugly and tried to bully me into eating what was severed on that meal. I immediately got up and went and searched for the Hotel Manager. I was explaining to him the situation and told him I wanted to file a complaint against the guest services manager for what she did and wanted it in her personnel file. About half way through our conversation. The Guest Services Manager stomped up to us and broke into our conversation and started shooting her moth off very rudely. That was the last straw. I called and filed a formal complaint with the Manger for the Ohio and Mississippi river. Nothing happened. Later that evening I noticed the Merlot was gone. A staff member came in our room and STOLE the wine. So, now ACL has a member of their staff entering a guest room (outside of housekeeping) without our permission and stealing our wine. So not only did they enter illegally but also committed theft. Cruise issues The regional manager for the Ohio and Mississippi river came on board and talked to the passengers during the cruise trying to explain that there were issues with the river and we were going to miss some of our stops and the schedule was going to change slightly. Several passengers inquired on what authority this decision was made. The regional manager for the Ohio and Mississippi tried to evade the question and point back to corporate. The passenger’s inquiring about the source of information were getting irritated and wanted a substantial answer. I observed the regional manager for the Ohio and Mississippi and watched him continually lie through his teeth to ACL’s paying passengers. He talked to us like we were dumb and stupid and would believe whatever we were told because as he said came from corporate. The passengers asking the questions were highly intelligent people So, is this the new ACL Company Model, take the passenger’s money, change the schedule on the fly, lie to the ACL guests, steal item’s out of their room, bully the guests, feed them food not served at any decent restaurant? There was another couple we met that had their air conditioner leak and drip water in their bed. ACL refused to correct the issue. Their solution – put a bucket in your bed to catch the water. Ships Amenities Cabins The cabins were very small and the bathrooms were the size of two port-a-potties next to each other. The shower was so tiny a large person could not fit into it. House keeping made the bed and replaced the towels and nothing else. This was the poorest house keeping service I have seen in all of our cruising. Cappuccino Machine in the Sky lounge. A paying passenger would expect little things like a Cappuccino Machine to be functional 24x7, especially in a lounge most used by them. The Cappuccino Machine in the Sky Lounge never worked from day one and then after 5 days of complaints the crew removed and never replaced it. When guests asked the crew about when the Cappuccino Machine would be fixed – their reply was “You can use the one in the Wheel House Lounge” -- Really, go down 2 decks because ACL can’t provide something as simple as a working Cappuccino Machine. Ship’s Maintenance Crews washing Sky Lounge in morning while cruising. A couple of days while cruising the passengers were unable to sit outside of the Sky Lounge because the crew was power washing the windows and getting the outside flooring material soaking wet, which basically made the area (a shaded area) totally unusable (unless you wanted wet feet– wet socks, water absorption footwear, etc.) until it dried hours later. 3 of the 5 days while cruising the crew had a very loud compressor going around the Shy Lounge and the deck above which made it very uncomfortable to relax. The burning question I have – why didn’t the crew do the window cleaning and maintenance while in port when most of ACL’s guest were on shore or excursions? Was it necessary to disturb and irate paying customers? Tours The tours were grossly misrepresented and some were missed. This is another example of how ACL defrauded the passengers. Final I brought all of the to the attention to the Senior executives of ACL. Neither did I hear back, they did not return my phone calls or offer us any compensation. They just wanted our money. One thing they made very clear to us and our credit card company who tried hard to get out money back – OUR LAWYERS ARE BIGGER THEN YOURS SO GOOD LUCK. So, once you give them your money it is gone for good. ACL is just a greedy corporation that care mire about revenue that their customers. Hell will freeze over before we will cruise with American Cruise Lines again!! Read Less