Dinner dress Code on the American Queen

[moyer424]

Leaving Saturday on the Queen. Wondering what is proper dress for the dining room?

[Calliope]

Country club casual is what the majority of passengers wear to dinner. I'm in the minority, but I like to wear a jacket and tie to dinner.

[moyer424]

Thank you very much. Do we need a suit or a sport coat for any occasion on the boat?

[Calliope]

Sad to say, but the answer is no you do not need a suit or jacket. Most people stick to the country club casual. I miss the nights on the old DELTA QUEEN when it was a bit dressy. Back then I never would have thought about going to either the welcome aboard reception or farewell champagne dinner without a suit and tie.

[hrprof]

We just returned from our first AQ trip - packed a blazer, but never wore it! We were seated at the 5:15 early service and often barely made it following the return from premium tours - also missed the captain's receptions. which were scheduled for 4:30. If you feel the need to "dress up", better sign up for late dinner or dress up for the tour.

[Calliope]

We just returned from our first AQ trip - packed a blazer, but never wore it! We were seated at the 5:15 early service and often barely made it following the return from premium tours - also missed the captain's receptions. which were scheduled for 4:30. If you feel the need to "dress up", better sign up for late dinner or dress up for the tour.

 

 

How was your trip? Hopefully, it was wonderful and everything went as planned, except for missing the captain's reception.

 

Then how are things in the Holy City? I'm headed there shortly to check on the construction of my new house in West Ashley.

[hrprof]

How was your trip? Hopefully, it was wonderful and everything went as planned, except for missing the captain's reception.

 

Then how are things in the Holy City? I'm headed there shortly to check on the construction of my new house in West Ashley.

Calliope,

Our trip was better than expected. We have been curious obout AQ for a couple of years - have taken a bunch of river trips - Amazon, Nile, Yangtse, Irawaddy, Danube, Orinoco Seine, etc. but only one in the US - the Columbia. So why have we not ventured on the grandest river in the US?

So, we did it and were not disappointed.

 

We spoiled ourselves by reserving room 502 up on the bow. A room with amazing furnishiings which recaptured the essence of 1800's decorative magic - had to climb up 2 steps to get into a very comfortable bed - had to be careful sliding out in the middle of the niight! The other furnishings were captivating, but short on comfort. The huge private balcony presented a wonderful panorama which we enjoyed everyday.

 

The food was very good, and contrary to many negative reports on this site, the service was outstanding. Our largest add-on gratuity went to our server. We reserved a table for two on the starboard side of the DR based on a recommendation on this site. The convenience of the "front Porch" was attractive and the food great, but was often crowded - the ship was effectively sold out for this trip.

 

On our "cruise" cruises, we normally skip shows. On AQ, we went to every one. Theme was "Music of the 50's" - brought back many memories. (Now you appreciate my comment about "climbing" into bed!" we are seniors.). We had early dinner and perfect service allowed us to get to the early show leaving the rest of the evening to reading, imbibing,and other activities. And, oh yes, our room gave us access to one of the 4 seat boxes in the lounge. We also attended all of the " Riverfolklorean" talks in spite of their being scheduled at 8:45 AM.

 

The tours were first class - The Vicksburg battlefield was the best - outstanding guide and full exploration of the scenic area. The worst (it was our mistake in taking it) was Graceland prior to boarding - a lot of effort for nothing. It was clear that it was a spriritual experience for Elvis worshippers. However, visiting the Civil Rights Museum more than made up for it as did the World War II Museum in New Orleans.

 

Calliope, your counsel was a key element in our decisions and choices. Perhaps we could get together when you find your way to Charleston.

[hondorner]

Calliope,

Our trip was better than expected. We have been curious obout AQ for a couple of years - have taken a bunch of river trips - Amazon, Nile, Yangtse, Irawaddy, Danube, Orinoco Seine, etc. but only one in the US - the Columbia. So why have we not ventured on the grandest river in the US?

So, we did it and were not disappointed.

 

We spoiled ourselves by reserving room 502 up on the bow. A room with amazing furnishiings which recaptured the essence of 1800's decorative magic - had to climb up 2 steps to get into a very comfortable bed - had to be careful sliding out in the middle of the niight! The other furnishings were captivating, but short on comfort. The huge private balcony presented a wonderful panorama which we enjoyed everyday.

 

The food was very good, and contrary to many negative reports on this site, the service was outstanding. Our largest add-on gratuity went to our server. We reserved a table for two on the starboard side of the DR based on a recommendation on this site. The convenience of the "front Porch" was attractive and the food great, but was often crowded - the ship was effectively sold out for this trip.

 

On our "cruise" cruises, we normally skip shows. On AQ, we went to every one. Theme was "Music of the 50's" - brought back many memories. (Now you appreciate my comment about "climbing" into bed!" we are seniors.). We had early dinner and perfect service allowed us to get to the early show leaving the rest of the evening to reading, imbibing,and other activities. And, oh yes, our room gave us access to one of the 4 seat boxes in the lounge. We also attended all of the " Riverfolklorean" talks in spite of their being scheduled at 8:45 AM.

 

The tours were first class - The Vicksburg battlefield was the best - outstanding guide and full exploration of the scenic area. The worst (it was our mistake in taking it) was Graceland prior to boarding - a lot of effort for nothing. It was clear that it was a spriritual experience for Elvis worshippers. However, visiting the Civil Rights Museum more than made up for it as did the World War II Museum in New Orleans.

 

Calliope, your counsel was a key element in our decisions and choices. Perhaps we could get together when you find your way to Charleston.

A great review which is more in tune with the experiences we've had on AQ, although we didn't have the LS cabin. We've been very happy with 455 on one cruise and 401 (next to the chart room) on our last one. We have 402 in about 2 weeks, and our friends, first-timers, are in 404. We, too, schedule early dinner then usually finish in time for the early show. This has worked out great for a couple of shows that were so good, we went back for the second showing! Fortunately, not being overly enthralled with Elvis, we skipped Graceland. We were supposed to get to Vicksburg on our first 2012 cruise, but low water on the lower Mississippi held us to Memphis. We'll get to Vicksburg on this next cruise, and I hope the battlefield tour is as good as yours.

 

One thing I picked up from your review was the seating privilege in the showroom lounge; is this something new? In 2012 and 2013 the seating in the loge boxes was pretty much first come, first served -- we just barged in when there were empty seats. We made friends who were in one of the bay window cabins just across from the doors to the boxes; they had the best chance of snagging one of the boxes and usually saved seats for us.

 

Were there lecturers on your cruise, other than the Riverlorian?

[hrprof]

Hondorner

I wish we had sought out your views on Graceland early on - what a waste of time! Do take the Vicksburg tour - much more captivating than Elvis.

 

I guess the access to box seats is new - when we checked into our room, there was a "key card" there to open the designated box - 4 chairs held for 502 and 501 - we never saw our neighbors there. I wish we had thought to repeat the early show - we really enjoyed them. There were no lectures other than the Riverlorean.

 

When is your next AQ cruise? It seems to me that our paths have crossed on an Oceania or Regent cruise. O is now our preferred "cruise" cruise line.

Edited December 2, 2014 by hrprof

[hondorner]

Next AQ cruise is next week, N.O. to Vicksburg and back to N.O.

 

It's been on our bucket list as all the plantations are supposed to be decorated for Christmas. We got a great offer as past guests, otherwise we would have waited until 2016, as we are booked on the Oceania Insignia 180 day World Cruise leaving Miami on Jan 10 and getting back to Miami on July 8.

 

Oceania has been our favorite since our first cruise with them in 2006. We have 10 "official" cruises on O, one we won in a contest and two christening cruises on Marina and Riviera for a total of 13; we'll get credit for 15 more on the world cruise. Our second favorite is AQ, this will be our 4th cruise since the rebirth in 2012. Our budget is often limited, at which time we choose NCL, usually in a suite -- which makes our choice synergistic since the NCL purchase! We have a 21 day repositioning cruise booked on NCL Jade from Venice to Houston in Oct, 2015.

 

My goals after that are to sail the maiden voyage of Regent Explorer, sail the maiden voyage of Oceania Sirena after the purchase from Princess (both in 2016) and figure out where we want to go on our free Oceania cruise for going over the 20 cruise mark. I have at least one more AQ cruise I want to do, St. Paul to St. Louis, probably in 2017.

 

I've been following your posts on Cruise Critic for years with respect; I'm sure our paths will cross sometime.

[Calliope]

Calliope, your counsel was a key element in our decisions and choices. Perhaps we could get together when you find your way to Charleston.

 

 

I'm deuced glad that you enjoyed your steamboat trip! Thank you so much for your kind words. I greatly appreciate knowing how much I helped someone else enjoy steamboatin' like I have since I was little.

 

As I type this I'm sitting at the King Charles Inn on Meeting Street in a very foggy Holy City. I would like to get together one time soon. My partner and I have reservations to return during early February. Hopefully, by that time the walls will be up and a roof overhead. As of today the foundations for the house and garage have been laid and cabinet, counter top, and appliances have been chosen. Tomorrow it's time to look at rugs, tile and wood flooring.

[hrprof]

Best luck in your project - it's an exciting transition. We still remember building our retirement home on IOP.

 

Ted

[MaChere]

Enjoying reading the threads about the American Queen. Considering a cruise soon. We were on the Delta Queen many years ago. What a special memory. Glad to read that the AQ also has the Riverlorian; we loved sitting in the rockers on deck listening to our Riverlorian.

[1char]

Calliope,

Our trip was better than expected. We have been curious obout AQ for a couple of years - have taken a bunch of river trips - Amazon, Nile, Yangtse, Irawaddy, Danube, Orinoco Seine, etc. but only one in the US - the Columbia. So why have we not ventured on the grandest river in the US?

So, we did it and were not disappointed.

 

On our "cruise" cruises, we normally skip shows. On AQ, we went to every one. .

 

The tours were first class - The Vicksburg battlefield was the best - outstanding guide and full exploration of the scenic area. The worst (it was our mistake in taking it) was Graceland prior to boarding - a lot of effort for nothing. It was clear that it was a spriritual experience for Elvis worshippers. However, visiting the Civil Rights Museum more than made up for it as did the World War II Museum in New Orleans.

 

Thanks for your info. This will be our 1st American River cruise. We have taken river cruises on the Nile, Yangtse, Danube, Main, Seine. Glad to hear you were not disappointed with AQ.

 

Your info about Vicksburg battlefield and the Civil Rights Museum is helpful. Are there any other places that we should/or should not visit along this route? Thanks, Char