TinCan782

2 hours ago, califsealion said:

I haven't sailed on ACL, so I can't give you that comparison.  I landed on AQSC when I was looking at cruises on the Columbia River.  The thing that sold me on the line was the hop on, hop off buses.  I liked being able to see the sites at my own pace and made it easy for my mom to do her own thing.  We did two trips with them and I'd do another in a heartbeat.

Pretty much our story. Sailed the Snake/Columbia River on AQSC and had a great experience. Have another AQ cruise coming up and looking forward to it. 

I know its not a comparison but, I currently have no reason to look beyond AQSC and try ACL.

New version of the app on July 2, 2021. Not necessarily for the better. 

No longer shows your booked itinerary; you just select what boat you are on. That presents you with a list of all possible ports for that boat. Didn't see a way to select cities as "favorites" to filter the list. The filter they provide gives All, Running, and Nearby as options. I guess "running" is the current buses. When I select that, it shows three cities.

Speaking of the list, when you scroll down, it jumps back up to the top so, unless you are interested in the first three cities on the list (alphabetical), you are out of luck!

When you select a city, the HoHo route and stops are shown. You can mark stops as favorites and set an alert. Each stop has a recorded narrated intro about the stop. In addition to the active map with the route and stops, you can also open a digital version of the printed map they give you on the tour. Make sure you have good eye-site or a magnifier (even when zoomed in).

Gone is your particular booking info and itinerary.

Gone is the tab for managing your paid excursions (although nothing ever showed there any way).

Just got a call from my AQSC rep regarding our upcoming Duchess cruise. NO testing required.

Vax still required, of course.

Masks pretty much not required onboard, inside or out, (except perhaps during boarding, etc).

Not sure on masking requirements on the HoHo buses (which she said are running).

1 hour ago, LewiLewi said:

We have a question about dressing codes. Did people dress up for dinner or are we okay with casual short sleeved shirts for men and slacks and blouses for women?

Thank you.

Brief mention of attire is mentioned in the "Essential Travel Guide". You should be ok; we are going to stay pretty casual on our cruise. 

https://www.americanqueensteamboatcompany.com/your-voyage/essential-travel-guide/

The "Essential Travel Guide" makes brief mention of dinner attire...

https://www.americanqueensteamboatcompany.com/your-voyage/essential-travel-guide/

Down at Fort Madison, IA (just south of Burlington) there is a Virtual Railfan camera.

Although it is train oriented, they do also show river traffic and the swing bridge that crosses the Mississippi.

Would AQSC be able to assist - at least with info?

Might be worth a call.

2 hours ago, Floriduh said:

When we stopped in Natchez word got out to the crew that Walgreens was doing "no appt needed J&J vaccines". The boat was able to rotate some shifts around to get much of the crew vaccinated that day. They were very excited for the opportunity.

Wow...right when J&J is on "pause" due to reports of blood clots.

1 hour ago, Floriduh said:

Just got off the American Countess. The app is not really working. Everyone had to make their tour reservations over and over because they were erased or changed overnight.

 

Hopefully it will get fixed soon.

My cruise isn't until this summer and the app is showing excursions for last week. On two different cruises! A couple of excursions on two different cruises are on the same day!

This is pre-pandemic but, here is an album of images of the Empress from our cruise in 2016 - westbound Clarkston to Vancouver.

1 hour ago, denamo said:

Is the Steamboat Society the company's loyalty program?

 

https://www.americanqueensteamboatcompany.com/ssoa-membership/

Installed the app on March 29 (received an email to that effect). 

Once logged in it shows my itinerary for this summer's cruise with correct dates and guest info.

It was not showing "My Excursion Tickets" yet. OK, the app is new!

Checked the app today and now it shows a series of excursion tickets for 2 different cruises with this weeks dates!

I contacted AQSC and am waiting to hear back.

BTW...the app also has a "Motorcoach Tracker" - not active yet.

I just book several (paid) excursions for August; hopefully the HoHo are re-instated by then. 

Perhaps the July 1 vaccination requirement will be a factor for that.

Posted yesterday (3/24)...

Returning to Cruise Onboard a River Ship: Live From American Countess

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5984/

American Countess River Cruise Ship Christened in New Orleans

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5974/

Hmmm....haven't tried in a while.

Begins about 3:15 into the segment:

https://www.today.com/video/what-does-the-future-of-travel-look-like-108752965608

Clarkston, Washington October 2016....here is one of their HoHo buses.

1 hour ago, njhoo said:

Cyberchomp, like Tincan, we did this trip several years ago.  He is accurate about the ho-ho buses in the various ports.  We like to walk a lot and in many cases walked between the in-port sights that are included.  Of course, the bus circles around the stops and you just pick up the next bus as it comes along.  The evening before you select which bus you would want to start your day around town.  I think I recall that the initial buses start at 15-20 minute intervals.  We went on the optional tour in Richland to the Hanford Reactor, it was extremely interesting.  Our touring buddies went to Multnomah Falls (we’d been there previously). 

 

I kind of did a day by day on cruise critic.  I will try to find it and post the link, it was embedded on another thread.  

Afterwords, I could have kicked myself for not doing the premium Hanford tour!

When I went through the museum on the HoHo tour I realized it might have been pretty interesting.

We sailed the Empress in October 2016. "Hop on, hop off" buses were used for the complimentary tours in each port. Occupancy could vary from crowded to light. Passenger load varied; more crowded early less at later times. We enjoyed the HO-HO tours; didn't do any of the paid tours.

While reduced occupancy and social distancing is mentioned on their Health and Safety page, I don't see that in the section regarding Shore Excursions.

https://www.americanqueensteamboatcompany.com/health-and-safety/

American Queen Steamboat Company announced last month this vaccination policy:

VACCINATIONS 
COVID-19 vaccination is required for all guests and crew for all sailings beginning July 1, 2021.

13 minutes ago, LDVinNC said:

I don't think they are requiring COVID vaccination until the summer, are they?  That'd be enough to make me delay my trip, but again, personal opinion.

 

"VACCINATIONS 
COVID-19 vaccination is required for all guests and crew for all sailings beginning July 1, 2021."

Don't know how "up-to-date" this is.

From their website:

• American Duchess™
  The American Duchess, which sails on the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee rivers, will extend its suspension through March 14, 2021.
• NEW: American Countess™
  The American Countess, the latest paddlewheeler to join the AQSC fleet on the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee rivers, will extend its suspension through March 27, 2021.
• American Empress®
  The American Empress, which sails the Columbia and Snake rivers, will extend its suspension through April 11, 2021.
• American Queen®
  The iconic American Queen, which sails on the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee rivers, will extend its suspension through May 16, 2021. 

https://www.americanqueensteamboatcompany.com/alerts/

That would be up to the individual cruise lines - their own cancellation policies.

Here is AQSC's current "Risk-Free" Booking Policy:

BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE
Book your 2021 voyage with confidence and enjoy the flexibility of our Risk-Free booking policy. Cancel your voyage for any reason at least 61 days prior to departure and receive a full refund. Or, move your 2021 voyage to a later voyage date in 2021 or 2022 penalty-free up to 31 days prior to departure.

42 minutes ago, speedcat said:

Since it is not a permanent vaccination, does this mean it will be required year after year? 

None of us know the answer to that.

I just know we will be ready for our cruise later this year - with vaccination.

Next year is next year and if a "booster" vaccination is needed, I'll get one.