TinCan782

BTW, I've seen and used K-cups that have a mesh sack rather than a plastic cup. Don't recall the brand. The only plastic is the "rim" at the top. Supposedly more environmentally friendly.

The American Empress (AQSC) has Keurigs in their cabins with several each regular and decaff. Water was poured in from a clean coffee cup.

We cruised Clarkston to Vancouver last October. Can't comment which direction is better. This direction worked better for us with Amtrak in Spokane and Vancouver coming from/to Los Angeles. Weather was mixed...some really nice days and some showery days. Astoria got canceled because of predicted gale force winds there so we spent the time touring Vancouver and Portland (provided by AQSC). I booked directly with AQSC.

You will need to fly out of Spokane to the UK...for the specific route/airlines you will need to research and book.

AQSC will get you to Spokane from Clarkston.

We didn't do that last October when we sailed Clarkston to Vancouver; just headed home. If we were to stay, we'd be more inclined to "do-it-yourself".

My Galaxy S7 IS wifi calling capable out of the box. No need to install anything else. It's worked a few times on our home wifi network.

Last October we were in Cabin 210...portside. That put us on the "south" side of the boat traveling westbound Clarkston to Vancouver. We enjoyed having the sun on the veranda. Not a lot of choice when I booked (nearly a year out). This cabin was nice, only noise was from the commode in the adjoining cabin! Don't know if it was better or worse than any other but was entirely satisfactory to us.

I am currently sitting in the Davenport Hotel in Spokane awaiting the bus to take us the two or so hour drive to catch the AMERICAN EMPRESS this afternoon. It is grey outside with occasional rain showers; the high today is only in the mid 50's. It looks as if that pattern will be with us for the entire week on board. That won't stop me from having a great time as there are places aboard to sit in comfort and watch America go by, and I've come prepared with the appropriate rain gear.

Was there last October...enjoyed my stay at the Davenport. It was overcast and drizzly in Spokane but by the time we got to Clarkston it was clear and sunny.

We enjoyed sunny days until we got to The Dalles where it stayed rainy the rest of the cruise. Astoria was cancelled because of a storm and predicted gale force winds.

Loved the entire week...rain or shine. The damp weather didn't ruin the cruise.

This won't help your application but, an article about recent delays...

Spike in passport applications extends wait times

http://www.9news.com/news/local/verify/passport-applications/420178636

If the budget (both time and money) allow, plan in extra time in Vancouver before the cruise and/or in Los Angeles at the end for some sightseeing.

In my case I do not find them interesting...never bother to "check-in".

We were on the Nov.13 journey last fall and are re-booked leaving this Sunday, Mar19, I found it quiet up on deck 4 forward room 403. The entertainment is really fun but our passenger were mostly of the "early to bed" variety so not much late night noise.

 

The piano player was fabulous, ragtime and more, sure hope we have the same entertainers this week.

Helen

Frank!

John, thanks for posting your photos! One question - do you have any suggestions for transportation from the airport in Spokane to the hotel? I understand the hotel's shuttle can be pricey.

I can't comment on airport transportation. We arrived by train in Spokane and it was a very short shuttle ride (free, provided by the Davenport Hotel).

We were on the port side of the boat which faced south. As we cruised in October, the sun tended to be toward the south which may have helped the view of sunsets. Our balcony, facing south, was warmed by the sun on clear days and quite nice. If you do a mid-summer (June-Juy) cruise, the sun will be more overhead. The American Queen is not that large so, its easy to head to the other side if you don't mind leaving your cabin.

Whoops...should be American Empress, not Queen!

We were on the port side of the boat which faced south. As we cruised in October, the sun tended to be toward the south which may have helped the view of sunsets. Our balcony, facing south, was warmed by the sun on clear days and quite nice. If you do a mid-summer (June-Juy) cruise, the sun will be more overhead. The American Queen is not that large so, its easy to head to the other side if you don't mind leaving your cabin.

BTW...here are the photos from our river cruise last October 8-16. We were in Category "C" Cabin 210.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/frensicpic/collections/72157675314886241/

We would love to do a September sailing --maybe in 2018.

A few questions however: where is the nearest airport to Clarkston? Does the company provide a transfer to the boat?

Are there tables for two in the dining room?

Thanks

Fly (or other) into Spokane...AQSC puts you up for one night in the Historic Davenport Hotel and then busses you down to Clarkston to begin the actual cruise. The cruise "check-in" takes place at the Davenport. The Davenport was really nice!

Yes, there are tables for two. We had 7:45 dinner seating. Although we would have preferred early, dinners worked out well. One evening we had dinner (reservations required) in the River Grill and Bar.

We did the American Empress last October...weather was mixed but not terrible. Some showery days but no long periods of heavy rean; several beautiful clear and comfortable days. Our day in Astoria was cancelled due to storm and wind warnings for that day. We spent that day in Vancouver and AE provided bus tours of Portland and Vancouver. We will definitely do it again...the Mississippi next time!

Don't know how AE compares to Viking - we had a great experience being on a smaller boat/ship. The food and service was great. We sailed Clarkston to Vancouver as it was a better fit to the Amtrak schedules in Spokane and Vancouver.

My wife and I no longer want to fly...we use Amtrak as our preferred transportation now. Two cruises by train as well as other trips...Grand Canyon, Washington DC, Navy Reunions, etc.. Later this year it will be Glacier National Park by train.

We budget the time including including arriving at the cruise port a day early into our vacation, sit back and relax.

The train is part of the vacation, not just a way to get there! Our Amtrak travel is in sleeper accommodations and paid mostly with points from the Amtrak Guest Rewards program.

Last October, we took the AE east to west so I cant directly compare the other direction. I didn't really take a close look at the details of times between the two directions. If we did this again (which we would, if it not for now wanting to cruise the Mississippi!), we might try the other direction.

I selected east to west which was a better fit with our Amtrak travel from Los Angeles (we no longer fly). We took the train up to Spokane and back from Vancouver. We really enjoyed the Historic Davenport Hotel in Spokane which is where you stay the night before the cruise. The bus trip from Spokane to Clarkston was out of the way at the beginning rather than the end of the cruise.

We did the NCL Pearl in July, 2014. Can't offer any specific advice however, we booked a mid-ship, mid level balcony cabin on the port side (looking at deck plans, we booked a specific cabin); spent a lot of time there and enjoyed every minute of the cruise.

In 2014 we did a round trip out of Seattle. We have Sprint and coverage was ok in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan...typically 3G or slower so, not fast for uploading photos. Our unlimited data and generous talk/text package was fine in the Alaskan ports. We had a special add-on (on month) for Canada to cover us for voice and text in Victoria and the Canadian portion of the WPYR (Fraser, Carcross). No extra charges although, we didn't really call and text, just data use for Facebook, etc.

On board ship, we bought internet packages (twice) which is when I tended to upload photos, etc. We used that access for two phones and a laptop. At that time, internet access was sold in packages of differing amount of hours and incurred the costs you mentioned in your post.

A few years ago when we cruised the Carnival Spirit, we drove down from LA and parked at a facility located between the airport and the cruise pier (I believe on Kettner). We parked for the week on one of the lower levels (not open to the sky). Very reasonable (less than $200 for the week) with a convenient shuttle van to/from the terminal. Sorry, I can't recall the name.

In October, we were on the American Empress - Snake/Columbia Rivers. The Empress has various paintings and crafts related to the northwest displayed on the walls of the public corridors on each deck. In the cabins, is a guide to the artwork (each piece is numbered). I neglected to take the guide with us at the end of the cruise.

A week or so after the cruise, I emailed AQSC asking if I could obtain a copy. Next day, a nice reply was in my inbox with a PDF of the guide attached. Its the "little" things like that, that keep customers coming back.

We did a river cruise (American Empress on the Snake and Columbia Rivers) in October....very relaxing week. I think more river cruises are in our future!