2018 AQSC Itinerary Recommendations?

We are leaving in a couple of weeks for our first cruise on the American Queen. I am excited about this New Orleans-to-Memphis cruise. We're thinking that we will probably do at least U.S. one cruise in 2018 and I have heard good things about the more northern itineraries in the Midwest. Does anyone have recommendations for one of the AQSC boats and itineraries in the Midwest? (We’ve already done a Columbia River trip with National Geographic/Lindblad.)

Also, does AQSC book future cruises aboard the ship at a discount like some other cruise lines do?

Thanks for the wisdom.

Gary

Louisville to Pittsburgh or St. Louis to St. Paul itineraries are wonderful, and scenery wise so much more beautiful than the lower Mississippi River. The Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers too are lovely too. All of the trips above have locks and dams to traverse. Also the cities on the upper Ohio and upper Mississippi are quite nice. Madison, Indiana; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Marietta, Ohio are friendly cities with wonderful museums and interesting histories.

Thanks, Calliope. I guess we have lots to choose from. Looking forward to the choice.

Gary

Yeah, Upper Mississippi or Upper Ohio. If nothing more, its a lot better to look at when cruising because of the terrain.

Great advice from Calliope (and I envy the range of the river you've traveled already!) -- one other tip is to look into theme cruises that AQSC does. We did a bourbon spirits themed cruise last summer. We didn't pick it for the itinerary (St. Louis to Cincinnati, which, aside from the two bourbon-focused stops in Kentucky didn't seem all that exotic) and yet, wow, we loved it! Madison, Indiana, which Calliope mentions, was a huge surprise -- it's got the largest contiguous historic district in the U.S., we were told. Louisville was awesome, it's on our list to go back to for a long weekend. Paducah was another great surprise. As was the fact that the Kentucky bourbon country reminded us of England -- and while not huge bourbon fans, had a great time doing the bourbon equivalent of the Napa Valley "thing".

You may find a theme that hews to your own interests, which just makes the cruise that much more interesting and fun.

Carolyn

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

Louisville to Pittsburgh or St. Louis to St. Paul itineraries are wonderful, and scenery wise so much more beautiful than the lower Mississippi River. The Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers too are lovely too. All of the trips above have locks and dams to traverse. Also the cities on the upper Ohio and upper Mississippi are quite nice. Madison, Indiana; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Marietta, Ohio are friendly cities with wonderful museums and interesting histories.

Thank you for your kind compliments! I love steamboatin' and have since even before my first overnight trip on the DELTA QUEEN during 1974. It's a truly wonderful and relaxing way to see the heart of America. I equally enjoy sharing what I know about the steamboatin' experience with others, and I guess that it shows.