American West (formerly Queen of the West) Review

Dated Ship But They Try Hard To Please

Review for North America River Cruise on American West (formerly Queen of the West)
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flyaz2018
2-5 Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Sep 2018
Astoria Tower
Early morning on Columbia River
Fish wheel at museum on cruise
Multnomah Falls
One of the locks we passed through on the Columbia River
Mount Hood sunset

Before I start, let me say that overall the cruise was OK for my wife and I. For my 87 year old mother who we brought, the cruise was better than OK and she enjoyed it a lot. Having never been on another river cruise, she had no real expectations and so it was a great experience for her. For us, this was the first and probably last US based river cruise. All of our experience is on Viking which we knew going in was going to be hard to compare.

As mentioned earlier, I am good with period décor and to some degree period accommodations. That said, when one pays for owner suite rooms, those rooms should at least be maintained/not dated. Suite 402 exhibited many squawks including several ceiling panels bent and one completely loose/hanging down at one end, carpet was stained, chairs were missing buttons and worn, chrome soap dish and toothbrush holder were loose, shower soap holder was chipped, outdoor candles on our balcony were all inop, back door handle was loose and back door had visible hinge wedge made out of balled up painters tape, all vertical blinds had at least one (if not several) bent vanes. These are ALL routine maintenance items that there is really no excuse for having not addressed either before or during the cruise - ESPECIALLY if one is paying extra for the owners suite. Last but not least, while I can almost rationalize the wine not being restocked daily in the owner suite, it is hard to imagine (other than lack of attention to detail) why the water and juice were not and why one of the days 1 used wine glass was taken but no new clean one left in its place.

Beyond the room squawks, a suggestion I might have is to put a Suite Number sign on the outside of the back door (similar to the sign on the front door). SEVERAL times during the cruise people presumably exploring the ship either walked into our room or tried to walk in (learned after day 2 to keep door locked). A suite marker might help them understand it is not just a passage to the other side or that there is not an inside staircase down to the deck below.

Cabin Review

Cabin Owners Suite

See review in body of main review. NO excuse for poorly maintained "owners suite"

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