We sailed November 2-9 on the American Symphony from New Orleans to Memphis. Less than 48 hours before sailing we were notified that we would be bused from Vicksburg to Memphis because of low river levels. The cruise line can't control the river levels, but this was a major change and they didn't offer any opportunity to cancel and get a refund. Once we got to Memphis the hotel and food arrangements they made were a disaster. I found out later that a previous ACL boat had the same issue so they knew of the problem but made no adjustments in their policy. Another cruise line had to shorten a Mississippi River cruise but they gave their customers a refund (USA Today October 9, 2022). A lot of extra time was spent on the buses going to shore excursions because of problems docking. There was no mention of this prior to departing. It seems like the main office was making the decisions and the crew on the boat had to deliver the messages and take the heat.

The boat was new and nice The cabins were clean and adequate size. The food was good. Onboard entertainment was average. Some of the shore excursions were very good, a few weren't as good of quality. The crew was friendly.