vino100

We love this hotel. We have stayed there 3 times and you can walk to so many places. Great food in the neighborhood too.

Arrived in Baton Rouge yesterday. We had no planned excursions , but walked to the old governor’s mansion. No fee to get in and it was very interesting. we have really enjoyed our fellow passengers. There are 46 West Point graduates from the class of 1961. They have such great stories to tell. Last night the entertainment was a duo who played the fiddle and guitar, well they also sang. Cajun and country music was well received and a good time was had by all. the cruise director has also done a superb job.

Up the river we sailed to Vicksburg. Very interesting on the Mississippi since there are so many barges being pushed by tug boats. Excursions Morning tour was Antebellum Vicksburg experience. Really interesting and informative tour . We had a great, great , great grandson of Jefferson Davis as our tour guide. So much southern history that this California girl is enjoying. We also toured an antebellum house where the owner gave a great presentation. Afternoon tour was Vicksburg National Military park. Since the park is huge, most was on a bus with narration . If the buss had better a/c it would have been a great tour. Still , I learned so much about the siege of Vicksburg. food we ate lunch off the ship at a great restaurant at the top of the hill, where the boat docked. The biscuit company of Vicksburg has not only great biscuits ,but everything was delicious. Dinner was very good on the ship. I have not mentioned the excursion director , but she is not only competent but very personable. Great job Anna.

Thanks, We are having a good time. excursions Natchez we went to Frogmore plantation and gin mill. I loved this excursion! the owner is the tour guide and a real delight. We learned how today’s cotton is processed and then the cotton gin of Eli Whitley. We also toured the areas of enslaved people. Very moving, but informative. also in Natchez was Monmouth historical Inn and garden. Not as good, but we were given a mint julep, which I have never had before. food we ate off the ship at Natchez at the Magnolia Grill. Awesome food and fun servers. soooooo, food on the ship. So hit and miss with more miss than hit. yesterday they ran out of hamburger buns , the day before vanilla ice cream and last night mashed potatoes. Okay, while this is not earth stopping, poor planning on someone’s part. we do love our servers , such fun hard working young people. today we are in Vicksburg.

What a wonderful review. Thanks for sharing.

I’ve tried 3 times to post and it keeps disappearing, hope this one goes through. Any help with posting would be greatly appreciated. yesterday was an out to river day. The water level was too low to dock at Houmas and Saint francisville. Disappointing,but not ACL fault. food lunch was at the back porch. My hamburger was good and they also served hot dogs and wraps. A bonus was the nice selection of ice cream bars . dinner was very disappointing. 3 at our table ordered the strip steak. It would have taken a chainsaw to cut through the meat. All 3 of us left the steak uneaten. One person ordered the osso buco and it was very good. since there are only 3 selections for dinner one would think they would all be good. this is not a cheap cruise and I expected better. please remember this is just my opinion. I'm using my own internet so haven’t logged onto the ships.

thank you.

Yes, I fully understand why they only offer 3 choices. I stand by my comment that I think it is strange since no other cruise I have sailed has this policy. Of course no one will go hungry. Lol

Dinner Great improvement over lunch. All 3 choices were delicious and substitutions were welcomed. Another wonderful server, Jasmine, was a delight. Now we have 2 areas to be pampered. One thing we do find strange is choosing what you want for lunch and dinner in the morning. entertainment Great piano man on board. Fun night hearing Elton John.

This will be my first attempt at a “live” post. The complementary pre cruise hotel was the New Orleans Inter Continental. Check in was very smooth and the boarding docs were well presented . Voucher for breakfast , boarding group and Covid test info was in a folder as well as lanyards with our name. Embarkation day a preset breakfast was served in a dining room reserved for ACL passengers. We had to show our vaccine card to be seated. We were offered mimosas which was a nice touch. Following breakfast we went to the Covid testing room where we handed in the health questionnaire and presented our vaccination card. A medical professional then swabbed each nostril. If he didn’t text us with the results, we were Covid free. Loved not getting a text. ! we were informed that no one tested positive. Good news for all We were in group one, so boarded the bus at 11:00. Short ride to the boat, or is it a ship? I guess I need to find that out. Lol first impression ( please keep in mind I have only been on a Uniworld river cruise) The outside looks similar to a European river boat. Once on board there was nothing similar to Uniworld . The decor is very sterile, but not necessarily bad. Just different. Our cabin and balcony are much larger than Uniworld, but once again the decor is very minimal. lunch This is where there is a huge difference between the two lines. We have been on over 30 cruises and never have we only had 3 choices for lunch. And no , that 3 isn’t a misprint. Realizing food is subjective, the choices and quality were greatly lacking. We are hoping dinner will be improved. We were given the menu for dinner and asked to mark our choice. Once again only 3 choices. On a positive note, we had a wonderful waiter named Cody. We will try to sit in his area tonight. I have always believed that if you don’t have a good time on vacation it is no one’s fault but your own. I’m feeling very blessed to be on this boat sailing down the mighty Mississippi. To be continued

we are at the pre cruise hotel right now. Looks like we will board in the morning. Now we just need to get through the Covid test. 🙀

I spoke with ACL today and my Oct 3rd cruise is still scheduled. The pre hotel is supposed to open at the end of the week. We shall see.

We are on the same cruise. Sure hope it sails. The pre night hotel is not open yet, so we shall see.

I’m wondering the same thing about my Oct 3rd New Orleans round trip.