Chattanooga to St. Louis, September 21-28th 2013

[LDVinNC]

We just returned from a wonderful trip on the American Queen. Here are some observations that may be of interest.

 

We were part of a tour group, and arrived in Chattanooga by bus and went directly to the boat. The check-in on the boat went well, but since there were about 100 of us it might have been good if more than two staff members were handling the check in. My DS and BIL, who have a common last name, were given someone else's id cards, but this was remedied fairly quickly.

 

We had stateroom 315, one of the lowest priced verandah cabins on the Texas Deck, about 10 away from the Front Porch. We loved the location, just a single flight down to the Mark Twain Gallery and two flights down to the dining room. And, of course, so close to the Front Porch and the popcorn! (Lots of other good things, too). Since the elevators were pretty slow, we used the stairs most of the time, to leave the elevators available to those who really needed them. The passenger contingent was older, many with canes or walkers - in fact, at 65 I think I brought the average age down!

 

The cabin itself was small, but we expected that. We had to have the two beds separated because of the configuration of the lights over the bed; when the beds were together we could not sit up without bumping heads on the lights. Beds had the highest mattresses I have ever seen, which caused an issue with the bottom sheet staying tucked in, and in my opinion they were too soft. Storage space quite adequate for a week, lots of hangers in the wardrobe. Free bottled water in cabin, refreshed daily. Bathroom surprisingly spacious, larger than most cruise ship bathrooms. Tiled shower, pedestal sink, and toilet. Toiletries were in large 5 oz tubes. Nice. Excellent cabin service.

 

We liked the "public" verandah with people passing by and chatting. Only once were "our" two verandah chairs occupied by others since there was plenty of seating on the Front Porch. Most of our time was spent on the deck, sitting outside of our stateroom.

 

We ate most of our breakfasts and lunches on the Front Porch, at the buffet. Most dinners were eaten in the dining room. The food was uniformly excellent, far exceeding the quality of regular cruise ship food. The service was friendly and good. We liked having dinner in about an hour and 15 minutes - they did not rush us, but they did not dawdle either. House wines (free at dinner and at the Front Porch until they stopped serving there) were fine. Sodas were free all day. Our statement at the end of the voyage was probably the lowest we have ever had, due to the free soda and wine! The service charge at $16.50 pp/pd was a bit high maybe, but we were happy with the service and even tipped a couple of people a bit extra.

 

The ports were somewhat interesting and the hop-on/hop off bus system worked well. We walked to town whenever we were close, like in Paducah and Cape Girardeau. The calliope was played as we left each place - for example, she played "Popeye the Sailor Man" as we left Chester Illinois, the birthplace of Popeye's creator. Lots of Americana tunes, as well.

 

There were two free washers and dryers on deck 4. We did not use them, but others were pleased. There is only one computer for general use, but we usually were able to use it after a short wait. Not so easy to get it going, though. BIL brought a tablet and was able to connect most of the time. Cell phone service was available.

 

Bus service to the airport ($25 each) worked well but was very early. Off the boat by 7:45 and at the airport before 8:30. We'd been advised to book a flight after noon, so long wait times if you did so. Others were smarter and booked earlier flights.

 

All in all, a great trip. If anyone has any questions, I will try to answer them.