July 2022 - My wife and I have been on numerous cruises (26+) throughout the world on various cruise lines over the years. This was our third cruise on American Cruise Lines (ACL). Our New England Islands cruise started on July 16 in Providence, Rhode Island.

Our flight from Florida arrived a day early, July 15, so we could enjoy the Providence area. We stayed at the Renaissance Providence Downtown. The hotel was across the street from the Rhode Island State House (Capitol) and also a very large mall. Several good restaurants were in the area. The hotel staff was very helpful and friendly especially since ACL never made a reservation for us (we just signed up for the cruise a week before). On Saturday, we were given a brief tour of Providence which was very nice. We actually boarded the ship in Fall River, MA to the east.

Boarding the American Star was very easy. We were not tested for COVID 19 but we did sign a form indicating that we had no symptoms. Read more