wandb

Thank you for your excellent reviews and pictures. Loving it!!!

What a fun cruise!!! Of course it would probably take one's life savings to book!

Or even start a new thread in "All Other River Cruise Roll Calls" in the Roll Call section of CC.

You will probably get more response if you start a new thread with the above info.

Can someone tell me which hotel is used in Vancouver, WA after the post-Cruise excursion to Mt St Helen’s? Thanks!

Thanks, alohadave, for the weather report for the Nov. cruise!! 😁 We have booked the June 4th cruise---Spokane to Vancouver. We are really looking forward to it, and hoping the weather and smoke from fires will cooperate. Are you talking about in room history programs during the cruise? Are they about the local area, or explorers of the area?

I wish I could remember the specific timing of that afternoon. It was a nasty cold and windy day, but we were so enthralled by Malcom’s presentation that we would not have hurried that for anything. I do remember that afterwards we got the best hot chocolate in a cafe in the village, and we took lots of pictures of the town stork on her nest. Maybe someone who has done this more recently will remember the timing.

I have to agree with you about the WWII Colmar tour. We have done many tours on many cruises, but this was the BEST tour we have ever been on. I think you had the same guide we had on our 2016 cruise. His name was Malcom, and he was from Australia. I’ve never seen anyone so passionate about his subject. He believes that the young American soldiers who fought there changed the course of the war, and he said that as long as he could, he was going to make sure that no one ever forgot. He was amazing and inspiring. It really put all of us Americans to shame, that we did not have the knowledge, understanding, or passion about this event in history. We enjoyed the Black Forest tour in the morning (18 inches of snow the night before, so it looked like a beautiful Christmas card! ), but I would even skip that if necessary in order to see the WWII Colmar tour. Barb

Thanks for your comments. We have decided to try and avoid the extensive summer/fall fire season. So we have booked the June 4th cruise, hoping any smoke issues will be a lot less at that time. Hoping for good weather, no smoke, and a great cruise!

Not sure what time of the year you did this cruise, so wondering when low water levels are a problem. We have booked this cruise for early June and would love some info from anyone who has cruised the Colorado/Snake River before. Really hoping for some feedback on excursions. We generally don’t do the premium excursions, because the HOHO has been more than adequate. However, this time there are 3 premium excursions that we are considering. (Lewis and Clark, Jet Boat on the Snake River, and post cruise Mt. St. Helen’s). Help!! Are they worth the money?

Thanks for the great review. We love AQV, and in one week will be on the third of their riverboats--the Duchess. (Alton to Red Wing). I have not heard much about the Chicago to Alton cruise. What were the highlights/ favorite ports for you?

Neither have I !!

Thanks! That is a big help! Trying to figure out how much clothes to take.

Does anyone know if there are laundry services on The Duchess? And if so, what are the fees? We have never used laundry services on a cruise, but we are about to embark on a 3 week journey (the middle week is aboard the Duchess) and will need to launder clothes this time. Thanks!!

Interesting article, and a pretty good overview for a first time riverboat cruiser on just a two day cruise. However, I don't know where she got the idea that eating in the dining room means you have to dress formally. The dining room on the Queen is beautiful, but on our cruise there was just one woman who dressed formally every night. She seemed to be having a wonderful time! Every one else on board dressed informally every night and also seemed to be having a wonderful time!! Some folks changed for dinner into fresh (but still very casual!) clothes. Others wore to dinner what they had worn during the day.

Bob, did y'all have much smoke from wildfires (California and others) in July? I am so allergic to smoke, that I'm almost afraid to take this cruise. I had hoped that by September, the smoke would be gone, but for the last several years, it has evidently been a real problem through October. The friends who want to do this cruise with us want to go in late July or August. I think I would be confined to the cabin for the whole cruise!! I'd really like to go in early June, but wonder if it will be too cold then. We will also be doing the westbound cruise. Tell me more about the jet boat excursion. Just how scary is it?!? 😳

Thanks for the great review, Bob. You had a similar experience to ours. We loved the Queen---it's beautiful Victorian decor, cheerful and helpful staff, the fun calliope, a great cabin. I agree that the dining room servers could have used a bit more training (but maybe I was just spoiled by the service on ocean cruises.) At any rate, the food was great and the dining room was beautiful! I think I would have given the entertainment a 5*---it was SO much better than we expected!! And we loved getting to chat with some of the band and performers while getting snacks after the show! So fun! We decided to try all 4 of the riverboats before cruising on the Queen again. So far we've done the Countess, the Duchess is in about 2 weeks, and the Empress next year. Can't wait to be back on the Queen!

Thanks!

Bob, how much of an incentive did AQV offer if you book onboard? There was no future cruise consultant on board our last cruise, so we couldn't get any first hand info on that.

What a great review!! I’ve read every word, and you have answered many questions we had. One of my main concerns was the smoke impact from wildfires in much of the northwest. I’m terribly allergic to smoke, and yours is the first review I’ve seen that seems to address that. Do you think late September or sometime in October would be less smoky? Will it be too cold then? Surely hope someone can share thoughts on this. Barb

Hi, Edna and Steve, We never did hear hear how your cruise turned out, and I have a couple of questions. Hope you are still following, or someone else please jump in here and help. I’m trying to plan this cruise for next year (2023) and having a hard time deciding just when to cruise. —Was it too cool for this cruise by October? —Was there a problem with smoke from wildfires? —Did you take any premium excursions? If so, were they worth the money? —I’ve heard that there is “spectacular color” there in the Fall. True? Thanks, Barb

Thanks Bob. I forgot you were already on the first leg of your cruise when the new Covid regulations took effect on August first, so you had to test under the old rules. Hopefully, these new rules will be successful and we can continue to cruise without the ineffective Covid testing. A lot of folks on our last cruise (in June) got Covid by the end of the cruise, and a few got it a few days later. All tested negative the day before the cruise began. I'm looking forward to this Upper Mississippi/Mark Twain cruise in 3 weeks. Just wish someone else would sign in. It's always fun to meet up with the folks we have "met" on CC.

We love the Queen and can't wait to be on her again. But first the Duchess---in just 3 weeks. Can you tell us a bit about the procedure for checking in. Is there a health questionnaire in place of the Covid test? Or is health not addressed at all? Check-in should be pretty quick, I think.

Does anyone know the new protocol? Maybe “IamAlyce” or someone else cruising this week can tell us. A questionnaire? Sign a form that you don’t have Covid? Something that asks if you’d ever had COVID, or how long it’s been since you had COVID?

Wow!! You are right!! I'm not sure it ever helped "keep everyone safe" At least 3 of the people at our dinner table came down with Covid by the end of our last cruise in June (Ohio River). All tested negative on the day before the cruise.