American Duchess Review
Prison Ship for the Elderly provides no sternwheel and substandard food
Rating by category
Additional details
I chose this cruise because it had always been a dream of mine to cruise the Mississippi on a sternwheeler. I made it specific to my on-line discount travel clearinghouse that it had always been my dream. Firstly, American Queen failed to disclose the condition of the ship even though they had advance notice that the sternwheel had fallen off on a previous itinerary. This notice had been shared with other cruisers, but not all of us. We were not the only travelers disappointed by this lack of notice as we would have absolutely NOT booked this trip.
We were planning a 30 day itinerary and would have made other arrangements.
The Peabody stay, staff, and on boarding crew from American Queen were top notch, and I am grateful for their assistance when we were pickpocketed shortly after check-in. A shout-out to Peabody security for their efforts.
Response from BriannaH, Guest Relations @American Queen Voyages
Cabin Review
Bought the cabin for the paddle effect of the sternwheel off our balcony for sleep interruption. No sternwheeler = no paddle effect (white noise). THe company’s failure to disclose consitatutes bait and switch and we will be seeking compensation through all means available.
Port Reviews
Memphis
Memphis tour guide bs’d his way through the tour... gave incorrect info on The Firm references and locations (some of us are film buffs, you know) and was generally unprepared. In fact, all the tour guides with the exception of Danielle in NOLA were generally unprepared.
Baton Rouge
Every question that was asked by the passengers was met with, “Oh, I don’t know that... I’m sure you can Google it...”. Freckled-Fred redhead who was bubbly but uninformed.
St. Francisville
Guide’s lack of ability to pronounce an “S” made it impossible to understand anything he was saying (and NO, this is not a case of a heavy Louisiana accent! I lived in Louisiana and know the difference). Led footed drivers also could care less about their passenger’s enjoyment. It is matter-of-fact, pile ‘em on the bus, fly through the tour, get ‘em off the bus. At over $1,000 a day per person, this was the worst investment I’ve ever made in travel. Never again for American Queen.