midwestchick

Ahhhhh….forgot your dates.  Again, I’ll ask was the food as bad as what was posted?  Someone said they only served buffets. What was your take?  I also read some negative things on social media.

On 10/5/2021 at 4:09 PM, willift said:

Sorry for the sometimes sideways info

Thanks for posting the menus. Are people actually being served in the dining room on your cruise?  Some people have posted they only get buffet food.

How is the cruise co pared to the last one?

18 hours ago, Frncie said:

Actually, we have communicated with them by email and in a lengthy telephone call. Their representative said they have received complaints from many of our fellow passengers. They’re building a lengthy file on our particular cruise, and it has gone up to the highest levels of the company. So they are taking these problems seriously, and I commend them for that. 

I wonder if people will be able to cancel for a refund.

On 10/2/2021 at 10:13 PM, Frncie said:

Because our stops in Nottoway, Vicksburg, and Greenville were all cancelled. We did have one more stop that was a late addition, Terrene Landing. Some people went to the Grammy Museum there, and they said it was good. I skipped that one.  So yes, only two times off the boat all week 

You need to write to guestrelations@aqvoyages.com amd voice the complaints and your bad experiences. I have written to them as well. I no longer wish to take this cruise but I doubt they’ll comply with my request. 

I spoke with AQSC yesterday. I was advised to write to guest relations @ AQ voyages which I have done. I sent them the link for this thread so they could read the complaints from the passengers and also how they handled the Covid outbreak. 
I requested a refund because this type of service, food and treatment is not what I was sold. 
 

12 hours ago, Evesham said:

We had to cancel the current cruise departing yesterday because of USA travel restrictions from the UK.  Gutted at the time, but seems like it may have saved us from a bad experience - both in a struggling city of New Orleans after the storm, and then aboard the American Queen. 😢.  Staffing & training problems are being experienced everywhere, as countries begin to open up & it is probably a little unrealistic to not expect some disruption, whether on land or water.  I do hope that things improve for everyone on board though.
We are now booked for 2023🙄

Did they refund your money?  

For those of you on the boat now, please come back with updates.  I have been following closely.

6 minutes ago, Frncie said:

Because our stops in Nottoway, Vicksburg, and Greenville were all cancelled. We did have one more stop that was a late addition, Terrene Landing. Some people went to the Grammy Museum there, and they said it was good. I skipped that one.  So yes, only two times off the boat all week 

Oh no! 😱 What reason did they give for canceling those stops?  I’m really becoming  more and more concerned with this cruise. I wish I’d just booked with Azamara and be done with it.  This is supposed to be our 55th anniversary trip. 

9 minutes ago, Frncie said:

It seems as if our upstream trip got all the food, and your downstream trip got all the excursions. 🙄 Not necessarily an even trade, to be sure. I only got off the boat twice, in St.. Francisville and in Natchez.

Tell us about your shore excursions. 

Why did you only get off twice?  You could walk around on your own, correct? 
 

9 minutes ago, willift said:

We’re trying to make the best of it. They’ve shifted to all buffet meals which is quicker but not nearly as elegant and enjoyable as in the past.

 

The shows, boat, and shore activities are pretty much up to standards.

 

Its a manpower and training thing, maybe by November they will have it under control 

The wonderful food was a big selling point. We are accustomed to really good food on cruises. We didn’t pay their price to eat buffets the entire time. 
Is there any way to find out if they will be going back to sit down meals?  We will won’t be able to cancel but yet, they are not holding up to what was promised.

That’s horrible to read. They need to be open and honest in a situation that you presented. The masks don’t concern me as much (hold the criticism please) as the lack of transparency, as well as putting many others at risk. I contracted Covid WEARING A MASK when I had to have. CT scan last November. Eight days later I had Covid.  We were around no one. We did all curbside pickups, wiped everything off with disinfectant wipes before bringing them in the house and no one came in our home. We didn’t even see our kids or grandkids.  The scan was the only exposure I had to other people.  

14 hours ago, ericosmith said:

I've also taken the HOHO one way and then walked back to the boat.  Seen a number of interesting things that I never noticed through the bus window.

It definitely calls for good walking shoes which we normally pack anyway. 
We’re doing a road trip next week along the Great River road. Hope to see a lot of WI and IA.  Next year we plan on adding more states a

ong the Mississippi. 

On 9/30/2021 at 11:02 PM, TinCan782 said:

On the Mighty Mississippi cruise in August, many of the docking areas were pretty much in town, several less so. Besides a river walk, many of the communities are walkable from where the boat is tied up. You would have to check maps to see what is accessible from the boat (walking, biking). Also, on the hop on, hop off tours you are free to wander from any of the stops. You can walk between stops if you want. Just remember to catch the last bus back!

Don't know what "activities" you are looking for.

We like to play things by ear but try to stay active.  Sometimes it’s fun to check the downtown areas, local sites….each stop varies.  

These posts are so disheartening. After not cruising for two years and hearing all these bad things makes me regret booking.

2 hours ago, TinCan782 said:

If you forgo excursions, you can do whatever you want, go wherever you want - walk, etc. The Duchess, in early August, had walking sticks and bicycles available for use by passengers.

Are you close enough to activities when you dock that you don’t need transportation to get to those spots? We love river walks. Dubuque IA and Gutenberg IA have beautiful river walks. We really try to stay as active as possible.  It helps make up for the extra calories and extra cocktails.😉 😄😂😂

5 hours ago, Calliope said:

Yes, both the Observation Deck and Promenade Deck can be fully circled.  Neither are designed for running or jogging. The former though can get some spray at the stern from the paddlewheel while the boat is running, but the guards (the river term for the open deck running down along the side between the superstructure and the railings.) are wide and easy to pass other passengers. The Promenade Deck's  guards are not as wide and there is an area forward that is under cover that you have to carefully go through due to stairs from the pilothouse and a hallway intersecting the deck there.

Thank you.

4 hours ago, Frncie said:

I apologize. “Seedy” was probably an overstatement. We are still reeling. 
 

This was the Hilton Riverside. There are other Hilton properties in New Orleans, but the Riverside is where we spent two nights. The first night we booked independently through Priceline. The second night was part of the AQSC booking. 
 

As for the hotel itself, there were problems. There was one elevator where you could get in, push a button, the door closes, and nothing happens. It got to be a running joke. The only food service was an understocked Starbucks in the lobby. Housekeeping only if you request it (they do not tell you this when you check in). Our first room had an unbearable roaring noise coming from the bathroom fan that could not be turned off. They moved us. Our second room featured a domestic dispute in the room next door with yelling, pounding on the walls and doors, throwing furniture, etc. After several calls, hotel security finally showed up. I will say, however, that the AQSC breakfast buffet on Monday was outstanding. Too bad nothing like that was available the rest of the time. 
 

The other problem with the Hilton Riverside did not affect us, but we heard about it from numerous people on board the Queen later in the week. Multiple groups, including some as large as 24, were notified on very short notice that the reservations they had booked months earlier for Wednesday through Saturday were just abruptly cancelled. No reason given. No alternatives offered. The fact that our booking was through Priceline seems to have made the difference for us, but a lot of people were left scrambling at the last minute. 
 

Hopefully these problems are temporary. Good luck!

 

Whoa!  I believe that is where we are staying. What did those couples do who were canceled?  How was the day of the cruise and the tour they provided.  

2 hours ago, Frncie said:

I see from cruisemapper that the Queen is currently in Vicksburg. Good for them. On our northbound cruise last week, we had to skip Vicksburg, Nottoway, and Greenville due to a 28-hour delay departing New Orleans. Replacement portable generator finally allowed us to get started. 
 

Between the Covid-19 onboard, the missing ports, the seedy New Orleans hotel, the disastrous disembarkation in Tunica (a couple dozen people missed their flights due to hours-long delays), I would never dream of booking another cruise with this company, no matter where, when or how. 
 

(Edited to add: One more thing. They lied to us. They told us we could not dock in Vicksburg because of low water levels. Amazing how that water level could have improved so much in less than a week that they are docked there today! The communication on this trip was disgraceful. I wonder what else they lied about.)
 

Everyone onboard the September 20 cruise should have gotten 100% refund. 

What New Orleans hotel did you stay at?  Now I’m concerned about AQSC

7 minutes ago, TinCan782 said:

The Duchess just has the completely open "Sun Deck", Deck 4 with a few benches and "fold-up" canopies. I was on the Duchess beginning of August and it gets hot up there if no shade is provided. You also have the two (real) exhaust stacks to be aware of towards the aft part of the boat (different than the fake fold-down stacks). None of the other decks have an outside around the boat promenade.

I’m specifically asking about the Queen. Thanks.

58 minutes ago, ericosmith said:

If memory serves me correctly you can go all the way around on deck 4.  

I will look. Thank you.

1 hour ago, ericosmith said:

You can, but I doubt that will work.  We went directly from registration to the covid test room.  I doubt that you're going to get on the ship without going through that process.  You do the test on day 1 and get the boarding card on day 2.  

Okay. Thanks I’ll call them tomorrow.

On 8/31/2021 at 12:25 PM, bebtwice said:

Just returned from a cruise on the Empress a week ago and had no knowledge of there being any Covid issues. If anyone got sick during the cruise, it did not become public knowledge, There were plenty of hand sanitizing stations throughout the ship and of course everyone had to be vaccinated and pass a Covid test before even boarding the ship.

Can we get a Covid test at home before we cruise?  I would rather not do a rapid test. Too many false positives and negatives. 

7 hours ago, travelerdj said:

Hi all. If you like to hike/walk and other forms of exercise, is ACL or AQ a better fit (pun intended....)?

Good question. Does AQS have a walking track or walking area on board? I am not able to tell looking at the deck plan.  We sail on the Queen in November. 

28 minutes ago, ericosmith said:

Frankly I think Beale St. is over hyped.  IMHO the Civil Rights Museum is not to be missed.  Sun Records is also a great short tour.  Both are an easy hop on the trolley (as well as Beale St. for that matter).  Some great BBQ places but they're not really on Beale St.

Thanks.  We will have time to squeeze both of those in.  They are on the agenda. I’m reading about the many restaurants. 
I have a friend and former high school classmate who is very familiar with Memphis. He was guitarist for Eddy Rabbit and was part of a local band here in high school. I’ll ask him if he wants to do lunch and get his recommendations as well. 

25 minutes ago, ericosmith said:

I had no issues with the Sheraton. For one or two nights it's just your basic convention hotel.  Having said that I did want to correct one of your points.  The Sheraton is at the very end of the trolley line.  It's close but not necessarily in the center of activities.  In fact, as I recall there wasn't much around there at all.  We took the trolley to see the sights and to eat.  That was a simple exercise and I'd hazard a guess that you'd end up on the trolley no matter where you stayed.

Thank you for the correction. I was misinformed and I try to only post factual things. I guess I didn’t realize other hotels were on the trolley line. I believe the river walk is close to the Sheraton   The plan was to take the trolley to get around. We will do our best to see as much as we can in a short time.  We’re not able to stay longer because of Thanksgiving