This was a trip that we had planned for many years. We were a group of 6 and each of us were very excited. Unfortunately, we were disappointed. I wish we had seen some of the posted reviews prior to booking. This cruise is indeed pricey and not worth the cost. The staff were all very inexperienced however, their improvement during the course of the trip was really remarkable. However, We did not sign up for a teaching experience. If this is the case it should be reflected in the price with a reduction. We found out that the experienced staff was on the newly launched boat and the Mississippi Queen got the short end. NOT fair.

Another issue we had was the matter of seating in the dining room. We were told it was open seating but there was reserved signs on at least 4 tables. We were upset and spoke with the cruise director who told us that there was a large group and the smaller groups he was told to give them reservation seating and this came from corporate. Wake up corporate, treat all your paying customers equally. Either offer reserved seating or open seating. We had to scramble into the dining room 3 times a day to ensure we would sit together.

On the plus side the food we had was great.