Pre-cruise:
We arrived in Memphis a day before the boat was to depart and stayed at the Riverboat Company hotel, the downtown Sheraton. In spite of having read a few negative reviews, we were well pleased with the hospitality shown us by the staff from our first greeting by the bellmen, front desk staff, early check in provided, service in the restaurant for dinner (on our own), and the comfort ...
We booked both a pre-cruise stay in Memphis and a post-cruise stay in New Orleans. They were great. We made use of the trolley passes in Memphis and visited several of the included attractions. The Sheraton hotel in Memphis was very nice. We appreciated that we could check in for the cruise at the hotel. Great idea!
The cruise started out great. Soon we started to hear that guests were sick ...
We so enjoyed our “Civil War” cruise on the Duchess that we booked this trip “In the Footsteps of Mark Twain”. Two days before departure we were told due to the high waters the trip was changed -every port was different except the starting point of St Louis. The Queen is much larger and the room we had chosen #502 was in the front of the ship-nice & roomy but so noisy we could not stay. The ...
We chose this cruise to get a lifetime experience on the Mississippi River. The advertising of the cruise was very effusive about the standard of the service and the experiences that were to be enjoyed. But, let me tell you what really was experienced.
Meals: The restaurant setting is comfortable but crowded. The furniture needs a good clean. The meals were presented in a haphazard style with ...
I always wanted to visit New Orleans and my companion had always wanted to go down/up the Missisipi River. This cruise offered the best of both worlds. Unfortunately i was disapointed to find that the food was not always of good quality and did not cater well for vegetarians. Unfortunately there was also a lot of fried fish rather than fresh fish. There were also times when the boat ran out of ...
Hudson River - Fall foliage peak times are hard to predict and we missed the color this year. I would recommend taking a late October cruise in order to see color on the Hudson.
Excursions - The excursions were fee-based, but the fees were reasonable. I thoroughly enjoyed the Lyndhurst Mansion, FDR's Hyde Park home and Presidential Library, Thomas Cole home, Olana, West Point, and the Albany ...
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 ...
The scenery on the Colombia River is outstanding. The sites were interesting but didn't get to stay long enough at Mt. St. Helen’s and the Rose Park in Portland. There was a lot to do in these two areas that warranted more time. The overall pace of the cruise is geared for seniors. Though I am one ( mid sixties and fortunately healthy, I would have preferred a bit more activity. Since most ...
The Queen of the West is an old paddle wheeler that should be retired. The crew was extremely friendly and helpful and the service was excellent. However the food choices were limited and my diabetic requests were never sent to the ship from the home office. The cost of the cruise is very expensive for one can sail for two weeks in European Rivers for the price of this one week on the Snake and ...
I always wanted to travel on a paddlewheeler and chose going on upper Mississippi since I was very familiar with all the ports on other cruises offered. Unfortunately rains had caused very high water and the itinerary was changed completely. This would not have been a problem but the company seemed very ill-prepared to make quick alternative plans. In Chester, IL there were only 4 stops with only ...