midwestchick

28 minutes ago, wandb said:

The River Road trip sounds wonderful. I'd love to do that. 
As for tips on the cruise---

We loved everything!  We knew going in that it would not be like an ocean cruise so we did not miss all the 'bells and whistles' that some cruisers expect. We found AQSC to be professional efficient, and friendly, from the entire crew on board to the staff at the hotel to the HOHO bus drivers. 
We took advantage of all the free HOHO excursions and found them to be interesting and informative. I especially enjoyed touring the house and grounds of Nottaway Plantation, but every home that we had time to tour was great. 
The Flood Museum in Greenville and the River Museum with Tugboat tour in Vicksburg were great. 
At every stop we met warm, wonderful folks who were proud of their towns and happy to have us there. 
 

On board, be sure to do the Chef's tour of the galley. You will be amazed at all they do in such limited space. The Riverlorian's talks were interesting, as was the Csptain's talk. We enjoyed exploring the boat and imagining ourselves on the boat in Victorian times. The decor is beautiful, but we are happy for "modern updates"!

Not sure if they still have the "snack area" post Covid, but it was a favorite with everyone. Self serve warm homemade cookies and other snacks as well as specialty coffees and teas available  24/7 ! What a treat!  
 

if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. I'll help if I can, or someone here will know the answers. 

Your response was extremely helpful and informative. Thank you so much. 
I was amazed to find the Great River Road covers 10 states. Amazing!  We will just be doing IA, WI and MN. 
We had a sampling of a Riverboat this month. We did a riverboat from one Iowa town to another and back. The package offered one night in a hotel. We loved it and I’m sure there is no comparison to American Queen Steamboat cruise.  
From what I’ve been told they still have the snack area.  I’m going to be mindful of that…the older I get, those snacks tend to land on my body like never before…😂😂

On 8/12/2021 at 5:46 AM, wandb said:

You will love the Queen and this cruise!  We did this in reverse a few years ago, and I've been missing the Queen ever since!  I'd love to be sitting in the Ladies Parlor or the Gentlemans Lounge right now, watching the river go by!!

 

One thing you should know in advance so that you won't be disappointed, is the fact that you will not see much scenery as you are going up the river. Due to the high levees, that are lifesaving necessities on the lower Mississippi, you do not see the riverfront towns and scenery until you disembark and get to the top of the levee. (Maybe from the top deck???)

i would highly recommend the flood museum (one of the HOHO stops)--a very unassuming place, but very informative with a great short video. You will then understand the blessing of the levees. 

Sounds interesting. Do you have any other tips to offer?  
We’re very familiar with the Mississippi River since part of it is less than an hour from us.  We’re doing a long road trip in October along the Great River Road. It’s a beautiful drive no matter which state you’re driving in 

On 2/22/2021 at 4:26 PM, adstz said:

This is the host hotel for the first night of our Memphis to New Orleans cruise.

Has anyone got personal knowledge of this hotel? It has pretty crappy reviews.

We are coming in a few days early. I had hoped to just check in and stay until we board the ship.

Now I'm thinking we should find someplace else for a few days then move to the Sheraton for the last night before the cruise.

Thoughts?

I’ve also read some very positive reviews but the bad one made me pause before booking. There was a big difference in price for a regular room at the Peabody and it was about $100.00 more. We are staying one night post cruise on our own amd then flying home the next evening.  I did book the Sheraton but I booked a higher level room and it was still less than the Peabody. Our Sheraton includes the executive lounge, drinks and appetizers. We’ll only be in the room for a short time.  The Sheraton seems a little closer to activities, not to mention the trolley.

30 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

A US river cruise will often cost more than a European river cruise. American Queen Steamboat Company, American Cruise Lines, and even Viking Cruise Lines for their US river cruises use US flag ships and US crews working under US labor laws. These are more expensive than the laws in most other places.

 

This is the reason that an Alaska cruise on American Cruise Lines (US flag) is more expensive than one on Victory Cruise Lines (foreign flag subsidiary of American Queen Steamboat Company).

I’m well aware of that fact 

40 minutes ago, wandb said:

Great!  Which cruise?

From NOLA to Memphis on Nov. 14-22 on the Queen. I used the website and what a great promo, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have. I felt the original price was overpriced for a U.S. cruise. Flights were a good price to. I became my own travel agent…😂😂😂

29 minutes ago, willift said:

I'll try to remember and take some camera shots of the menu.

If your interested in history & museums, NOLA has a great WWII Museum and Memphis has the National Civil Rights Museum, both worth a side trip if you're into that kind of thing

Hubby has never been to NO so he may want to see the Crench quarter, Bourbon St., etc.  Neither of us have been to Memphis so we may just do Beale St. Deciding now if we should stay extra days 

Pics of the menu would be great 

On 9/16/2021 at 9:59 PM, willift said:

Hi, we just booked that same cruise this afternoon. Laundry is up on 4 midship. They have had soap available in the past but we always bring a couple of "pods" just in case. Pretty informal and not often crowded.

 

Looking forward to getting back on the Queen after this whole Covid thing. Sailed on Empress earlier this summer and their Vaccine Policy gave us a sense of safety.

We just booked the NOLA to Memphis, cruising on Nov 15. Riverboat cruising is totally new Toni’s and we’re looking forward to it.  
My booking agent said the food is wonderful. I’m going to see if I can find any type of menus.

I booked an American Queen river cruise today. We’re really looking forward to it.

5 hours ago, TinCan782 said:

They will be in this forum:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/546-all-other-river-cruise-roll-calls/

Thank you. That title is river cruise roll calls.  That’s what I needed. I kept looking for American cruise line.

On 9/22/2021 at 2:45 PM, TinCan782 said:

You are currently posting in the American Queen Steamboat Company (AQSC) board. This is where you should find answers. 

Dinner dress code (at least on the Duchess last month) is pretty casual - shorts about the only thing not allowed in the dining room.

Pretty inclusive amenities including an open bar for standard drinks.

 

Thank you. I’m thinking about booking a November river cruise.  This would be totally new for us.

Are there roll calls for American Queen Steamboat ships?  I don’t seem to be seeing any like they have for other cruise lines. 

On 9/22/2021 at 4:34 PM, willift said:

 

American Queen Steamboat Company is different from American Cruise Company. We have sailed on a number of American Queen Steamboat Company sailings and they all have turned out enjoyable. Relatively casual dress code, food and service has been great, Daily tours and enrichment type presentation, entertainment during the evening, and kind of an open bar set up. The population demographic is definitely older 60+ probably average at 70, but if you don't mind older people you'll be welcomed and do just fine at any age. It's not inexpensive but we have found it a good value

Thanks for the information. I’m seriously considering booking.

2 hours ago, Tipsy252 said:

El Corte Ingles is the name of the store, I assume you have the address? Just show the taxi driver and he will drop you there.

We have booked a walking tour of Vigo, but it looks like you could walk around to see the sights quite easily on your own.

Thanks Tipsy. We have canceled this cruise. I’m not playing Celebrity’s games with you can and you can’t do this and that. Who is to say whether or not they will change their minds. And now we must wear masks in all public areas unless we’re eating or drinking? That makes no sense. Once you take a mask off (the boxes say they don’t protect against illness) airborne germs are spreading anyway. 

1 hour ago, LDVinNC said:

American Queen Steamboat Company.  4 boats: American Queen, American Countess, American Duchess and American Empress.  Or am I missing one?

I’m not seeing that cruise line on CC like I do the other ones. Thinking about booking a November cruise., would like more information though. Dinner dress code….what is included, etc.

Is this the American Steamboat company?

3 hours ago, Tipsy252 said:

Hi midwestchick

Look on google maps. El Corte Ingles is about 15 mins by taxi from the cruise port.

 

What date is your cruise in Oct as we are on Silhouette 27 Sep - 08 Oct, sounds like the same itinerary.

We sail out on the 18th from South Hampton.  Is that the name of the mall or the store I’m looking for?  How large is that shopping mall.

9 hours ago, iancal said:

Our experience is that both are very easy to do on your own.  We have spent a fair amount of time on land trips in both locations.  Lots of options.  

 

As others have said, spend some time with tour books, on line guides to decide what you want to do. 

 

One of our days in Lisbon was spent training to Sintra.  Then bussing to Cascais.  Then train back to Lisbon.  Another day was spent wandering about on our own, riding the streetcars, etc.

 

If you do not want to visit the Port firms in Porto you could very easily rent a car and spend the day driving in the Douro Valley.

We are only there for a day on a cruise.

5 minutes ago, SoccerMom#3 said:

We were in Tenerife but they also do Las Palmas.  https://www.spaindaytours.com/all-our-tours/  I don't remember how many people we had but if you email them, they are quick to respond.  

Yes, I know. We have Tenerife booked with them and I used them in Barcelona. Excellent tour company

37 minutes ago, SoccerMom#3 said:

We were there on a Sunday in 2018 during our Celebrity TA cruise.  Most places were closed.  

 

We booked a tour Spain Day Tours with other shipmates.  The tour was fantastic!

Thank you for the response. Do you remember the name of the tour you booked and how many people you needed?  I don’t know what it is but we aren’t seeing the interest for roll call members to join tours this time. Very unusual. 

25 minutes ago, erby2283 said:

You could email Lison Riders and see if they can try and accommodate you.  We took a tour with them in 2019 (we were not there for a port day though - but flew there for 3 days after a Barcelona cruise).  We actually booked a private tour since there were 5 of us and the cost was only minimally more than joining a group tour. Their website is: https://lisbonriders.com/   Never hurts to ask. 🙂 

Thank you but we have Spain Day tours booked for Lisbon.

We’re now looking for Gran Canaria and Lanzarote.

Unfortunately we will be in Las Palmas on. Sunday. I know a lot of things in Europe are closed on Sunday.  Is it the same there or do they open when ships are in port, assuming business are closed.

Also looking for a good excursion that I could share or not share with other pax.  All suggestions welcome. 

On 3/6/2020 at 5:44 AM, Despegue said:

if you want to just walk off the ship and tour the city, I advise to do this in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The ship docks near the new centre, and you can have a nice walk on the promenade, admiring the Atlantic and the surfers,

Then,  take a taxi to the historical centre which is very nice indeed.

Don’t forget to have some local food and wine.

 

For Tenerife, I advise to rent a car, and tour the Island. Traffic is not that bad, roads are mostly very good and the scenery, dominated by the Pico del Teide stunning.

 

 

Are any of these things or the shops open on Sunday?  Unfortunately that is when we will be there.

On 3/3/2020 at 4:20 AM, GCHAN said:

We went to Tenerife via a cruise and did a Volcano tour.

 

It was very good value and a really great scenic tour.

 

We used Tenerife Private Tours and John the owner was punctual, very knowledgable and gave us a great explanation of the island and its history. The car was comfortable and we were picked up and dropped off from the port.

 

We had such a good tour we skipped lunch because we didn't want to miss anything but of course that was our choice and not necessary.

 

I would do a tour at this location. 

 

 

I do have John booked for Tenerife.  I will try and remember to post back here.  I also read very good reviews about him on TripAdvisor.  We’re excited to spend the day with him. Thank you.

Watching this one also. We are only in port from 7:00 to 3:00. Not much time to visit a city I’ve looked forward to seeing for years. Right now we have a ship tour booked, but I think  we all know how those are. 

1 hour ago, Mrs f. said:

The drive up the mountain was great. Down even better.  At the top our driver knew a spot to pull over and we walked around.  We loved the winery we went to.  Just a lovely day

So, it wasn’t a frightening drive? That was my fear.