After having taken three ocean cruises, the cruise aboard the American Queen was a very nice change. We enjoyed the more personal service that is possible with a maximum capacity of 430 passengers. We appreciated the helpfulness and pleasant demeanor of all the staff we encountered. The boat and its furnishings are very nice and seemed to be well maintained. The only equipment problem I noted was that one of the two treadmills in the gym was non-operational. That was not a problem for us as we never encountered anyone else in the gym when we were there. Our cabin #332 included a private veranda. Although we have stayed in larger suites before, we found this one to be quite comfortable and to meet all our needs. Unfortunately, we had a problem with cigarette and apparent pipe smoke being very noticeable from our veranda several times when we wanted to use it. On the second day I reported it to the Purser's office and they sent a security staff member to our cabin. He also smelled smoke but said he could not determine from where it was coming. I was later told by a different staff member that it was probably coming from the staff deck below. Sure enough, when I looked down at that deck from my veranda I saw several cigarette butts on the decking below our cabin. When I later mentioned that to the Purser's office I got the distinct impression that they were aware of the issue from prior experience but just chose not to take corrective action. I consider that to be very inconsiderate that they do not at least advise passengers where this problem might be encountered so they can make a good choice of cabin. We found the food to be of very good quality. We ate half of our dinners at the Front Porch Café because we enjoyed the more casual service style here. The staff there was excellent and quick to address any service requests. We did not take any of the premium excursions and found the hop-on hop-off bus system to be well organized and easy to use. Read Less

I heard aboard that the owner reads all the reviews so after I sent in my 17 page complaint letter I waited weeks, just now received a response from the VP saying my letter will be used for training and if I'd like to book again before Feb 1st I will receive 25% discount. What an insult after asking for my money back. Day 1 room was clean but not stocked (no toilet paper and no water, only two towels? Then it just got worse..Disgusting room, housekeeper left a small key on the middle of bathroom floor, we left it for her to get, THREE days later she got it. Asked for water and cups in room, never got it. Thought our window was a broken dbl panel leaking and that's why we could see out of it until I CLEANED IT, and turns out it was just old dirt caked on. Interrior of the boat is old pale yellow couches and fixtures my 83 yr young Mom thought was old,boring,"Care-Center like". Blinds didn't work. I save a few people from tripping on extension cords throughout the week due to blatent stupidity when it comes to safety. One time at dinner I opened the rolls basket and found unbaked defrosted biscuits (yes like Pillsbury), I brought it to the attention of the wait staff and they rounded up all the baskets for the important part. Food was blah, vegetables were bagged frozen I guess, always wrinkly and blah. One of the staff told me he can't eat most of the food available. Staff personal things left here and there. Broken machines. Cheap bar choices. DO NOT DO THIS CRUISE ON THIS BOAT. I'm telling you, I can go on and on for 17 more pages, hygiene, crew with way too laid back of attitude, I was working on my vacation for the health and safety of my family and fellow passengers and as Mom said it "We are lucky we made it out of there in one piece" ...Our disembarkation was a flooded parking lot, rained the night before +an incoming tide. They had our flight information and could have told us this the night before and that morning, no one did. My Mom and I hopped a fence, rolled up our pants, threw our luggage in a dock cart and waddled and rolled to a street to get an Uber while the remaining passengers and staff just stood around, doing nothing but missing their flights and watching water. NOTHING was good about this cruise except the things we did away (tours, excursions) from it. WORST CRUISE EVER, and we've been on a lot. My first review because it was so bad I am shocked I didn't know ahead of time. VERY PRICEY for crap. A Thanksgiving we will never forget for the wrong reasons. And one more important thing to keep this short, Why would the VP ever think I would book another cruise with this company? -And there is no way they can be re-trined by Feb 1st, HA! What a horrible business plan to not have refunded our money. I have told many business associates, friends, neighbors about how bad this was and they have many friends as well. SHAME ON AMERICAN CRUISE LINES, jokers taking advantage of older people. Read Less

Great Cruise with top notch food, entertainment and service. In addition, very enjoyable and informative cruise tours at the ports. This cruise is focused on older adults as not much that would interest children. Small number of people on-board which gives ample opportunity to meet new people. There were some traveling alone, some in groups as well as couples. The ship was kept immaculate and our room was a nice size. We enjoyed the view from our balcony. We saw beautiful sunrises and sunsets. There was more than enough to eat and drink at all times! There was accommodation for those that needed accommodation to reach the tour buses and tour destinations. We also were very satisfied with the hotel the first night in New Orleans that was part of the cruise package. Loved that the food and entertainment was inclusive of the local area of the cruise. We highly recommend taking this cruise! Read Less

We had never been to this area and this seemed like a great way to experience it...historically and culturally. This was our first cruise on American Cruise Lines. While the ship is not new, it was very clean and comfortable, and decently decorated. Our stateroom was AAC on the third floor and it was as large as advertised as was the bathroom. The bedding was very nice and the king bed quite comfortable. The outside balcony would have been used more if the weather had been warmer. We sailed in early November and it was often quite cool and we had some rainy days. For us the trip was almost flawless and we had a wonderful time. Attire is casual but folks dressed neatly and tastefully. We were fortunate to find many congenial groups, couples, and singles to enjoy the cruise with. No young children or teenagers. The group ranged in ages 50 - 80's and was a fairly active group. The food was quite good. I am Vegan and the cruise chef was able to plan and prepare very good meals for me. My spouse enjoyed the regular cuisine. Although some crew members were quite new, the hotel (cruise) manager did a great job making sure all the parts worked really well together. She was very organized and the materials the company provides its passengers were very clear and complete. The itinery director was also organized, quite pleasant, and competent communicator. There was an onboard naturalist who gave several lectures and he was knowledgable and an entertaining presenter. The off ship excursions were enjoyable with several locals guiding us in their respective home towns. We did book another cruise while on this one as we so enjoyed it. No complaints. The crew and staff did a great job. Read Less

Always wanted to travel the Mississippi River by riverboat. It was a relaxing and very informative cruise. Especially liked the shore excursions to the Civil War battlefields. The boarding process was the easiest and quickest that I have experienced. We took advantage of the pre-cruise package that included a tour of Graceland, two nights as the Graceland hotel and transportation to the ship. The ship as immaculately kept and the staff could not have been more professional and attentive. Our cabin was the largest we have had on a cruise with floor to ceiling sliding glass doors opening to a private balcony with chairs and table. We made stops in Vicksburg, Natchez, St Francisville, Baton Rouge, Oak Alley, and New Orleans. There were on board lectures about the Mississippi River and the Civil War battlefields that we visited given by very informative experts. The shore excursions were excellent with very informative tour guides. The food was excellent and service was quick and efficient. Disembarkation was very organized. They provided transportation to the Airport in New Orleans as well as an optional two hour bus tour of the city on the way to the airport. We have already signed up for another cruise with American Cruise Lines in 2019 "Maine Coast and Harbors". Read Less

We have sailed on small and large ships and they both have something going for them. This cruise had about 150 passengers and was a great way to meet new people. On this size ship you see the same people all the time and it is easy to get to know each other. The lectures are very topical and even the entertainment although limited came down and joined us for our meals. On a large ship you may not see someone more than once with dinner shifts and sheer volume of people. On the other hand a larger ship has more entertainment and certainly more glam in the entertainment stage productions. It is all about what you want on the cruise. This trip to the coast of Main was certainly more enjoyable with new met friends and an excellent smaller ship and crew. The food was excellent and the daily menus offered a good variety of selections. Read Less

We chose this NEWEngland/Canada cruise because of the Oceania reputation and the quieter atmosphere of a smaller ship. Oceanis surely scored very high in terms of their wonderful staff, excellent dining room, and delicious food. While some aspects of the Fall Wonder tour were great, none of the great things included the ship itself and certainly not the poor decision made by the Captain to cruise into a Nor’easter. Best aspects include a wonderful team of servers, cabin stewards, and crew; these young people deserve an A +. Also excellent was the dining in the Grand Dining Room and the cuisine. However, while no one can blame the Captain for the terrible weather -including a nasty storm - the decision to leave a safely docked port in St John and cruise through a terrible storm in order to reach a destination which would not even allow us to dock was a reckless error. The night of the storm was no less than terrifying. The next day, as both glassware and unsteady humans fell to the floor there was not a word from the Captain to reassure anyone...only the messages announcing that we had no port to enter. Out of eight possible ports we missed four. Instead of one sea day we had four. No Happy hour offer could appease the disappointment of those who could admit to themselves that this trip was a loser.A valuable lesson for me was that for any future cruise I must do more research. Tonnage really matters in the middle of a Nor’easter. Insignia did not handle the Atlantic in a manner that helped six hundred passengers to feel safe.The loss of enjoyment with the port cancellations was disappointing, but the genuine fear for the personal safety of the people on that ship was a black memory I will never forget. Should I cruise again I will research the ship long before I book...and I will not return to Insignia. Read Less

Firstly I'd like to note I have cruised over 25 times and have never written a review or written to a cruise company with a complaint. However this cruise did not deliver on many aspects of what was offered. This cruise was advertised as 'Falls Splendour'. Sadly it had no splendour and we didn't see any of the fantastic autumn colours which we expected in Canada in October. When the cruise was booked it featured 8 ports of call, but after booking one port of call was cancelled,and another 3 ports of call were cancelled whist on the cruise. The first two days of the cruise went to plan. Then the following 8 days were far from what Oceania had stated it would deliver. We endured circling around in very rough seas on the planned port day of Halifax. Apparently this was because the ship needed to bunker for fuel but could not enter harbour. Many passengers were very ill and glasses in the restaurant and coffee cups in the cafe were flying off surfaces and shattering. It was 10 o'clock on a Sunday night when we finally were able to get off the ship in Halifax. There were no Oceania staff around to give any information so after 10 minutes on dry land, and nowhere to go at that time of night we got back on board. The gangway had many kitchen staff carrying supplies onto the ship who just continued whist we were trying to use the gangway. An health and safety issue. We asked at reception if the decks were open after being closed all day because of rough seas. The only person at reception said he didn't know and there was no-one to ask! The notices informing that the decks were closed were still in place even though the ship was in port. This seemed like a further examples of poor communication and a lack of priority given to customer service. We experienced water seeping into our cabin on two occasions during the cruise and cabin staff just placed rows of towels to soak up the water. No maintenance staff came to seal up the problem, even though I asked the cabin steward The outside pool was drained overnight before our planned port of call in Halifax and on the next day instead of being refilled a maintenance team was busy repainting the pool. When I enquired as to why this work was been carried out on a lovely calm day when I wanted to swim, and when the ship was going in for a total refit two weeks later, I was given a feeble reason that was a good day to do this work. No regard for passengers like me who wanted to swim. The room service was hit and miss. On the third day the breakfast arrived with no knife and fork to eat my eggs. The same day our lunch order was 'lost' which meant a wait of 40 minutes for our main courses. That night we decided to try the new restaurant room service that Oceania were introducing on this cruise. After calls to room service, reception and the concierge desk no one on the ship knew anything about this new service! I spoke to the hotel manager and he also was surprised to hear about this and took a copy of the paperwork I had showing the new benefits for concierge passengers on this cruise. The Captain was not to be seen at any point throughout the cruise and refused to meet with passengers to explain why we had so many ports of call cancelled. I emailed Oceania on my return and received an email in reply that did not answer any of my questions. It appeared to be an email that had been sent to another passenger then sent on to me. I replied and received an automatic reply stating I would receive a reply within 28 days. No reply was received and when chased up Oceania claimed that the second email had not been received, which of course was not true as I had the automatic confirmation. After 50 days I received an email that still did not address any of my questions and offering £300 each off a further cruise, even though I had made it very clear that I would never book another Oceania cruise. A phone call to the sender of the emails explaining that I did not want money off a future cruise but I wanted the payment in a cash refund/compensation resulted in an email stating that this was not possible. The atmosphere on this cruise was one of very unhappy passengers who felt the Oceania were totally dismissive of their comments and complaints. The same is true of customer services in Southampton. Oceania claims to be a luxury brand ...in my opinion, comparing this cruise experience with others, this cruise and customer care was far from this!. Read Less

We chose this cruise for its itinerary and to cruise again with Oceania. I've been on 24 cruises (ocean and river). Oceania to the Med was one of the best, and this one (Montreal to New York) was the only bad one. The buffet area was seriously understaffed. We were ignored at tea one day and then insulted by the maitre d when we asked (very politely and quietly) to be served. But the consistent problem was that bad weather meant no one could use any outdoor spaces and caused us to miss two ports. That mattered only because Oceania made NO provision for all the resulting crowding in all indoor areas and provided almost NOTHING extra for the two unexpected sea days (except for showing a movie that was already showing in the cabins and repetition of two craft activities). The food was good but not great. Two chefs did the best cooking demo I've seen on a cruise. We ate one nIght in the Italian specialty restaurant. It was excellent. We didn't try the other specialty restaurant. I've never before missed the evening show, but we skipped all the evening entertainment because it was only offered at 9:30 p.m. There was nothing we were interested in to do between dinner and then. Our cabin steward Min was the best I've had, but I suggest that you seriously reconsider sailing on the Insignia. Read Less

I had a wonderful time on the initial cruise on the American Song. The food was like a 5 star restaurant and there were plenty of choices available. The staff was friendly and very interested in making sure your every need was met. The accommodations were first class and they addressed any concern immediately. The cabins were spacious and it had a surprisingly large bathroom. We took this trip as our honeymoon! Our honeymoon was celebrated by the staff by sending us champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. The onboard entertainment could use some improvements, but was adequate. I was extremely impressed that the owner and his sons visited us while we were onboard. He spoke to the group, addressed any concerns and agreed that they are working on improving the onboard entertainment. I was very impressed with this river boat cruise line. I hope to sail with them again and would recommend this cruise line to my friends and family. Read Less