I last cruised on American Cruise Lines in 2012 and had a disastrous experience. See my review of the American Glory under "Maine to Providence Disaster." On that trip the itinerary was great, the crew was mediocre (bad really) but what was really terrible was the small ship trying to go out on the ocean. It has no business on the ocean.

The American Eagle trip from Memphis to New Orleans was a breath of fresh air for this cruise line. The itinerary was as advertised, the crew, fresh-faced and eager to help and the ship brand new with no break downs. I've read a bad review of this cruise and I've got to say, "picky, picky, picky!" You've got to pour your own wine? Oh no! The food is good and appropriately regional with a lot of fresh local fish and creole dishes. The ship and cabins are in great condition (since the boat is brand new) and the crew was above-average for an American crew (this will vary from trip to trip as there was still major shuffling of crew from voyage to voyage). The in-house Mississippi river experts, Bill and Laura, were above average, I never missed Bill's very entertaining lectures on the history of the Mississippi. The ports were better than I thought they would be (Natchez Mississippi charming, really? Yep). The most startling discovery about the trip for me was the fact that the Mississippi river is pretty dull in spots. There is a 150 mile stretch south of Vicksburg where there is no bridge over the river. So sometimes there was not much to look at.

Unlike another review we enjoyed Longwood plantation very much. Read more