American Empress 9/22/2019 Sailing

[Ropa2]

enjoyed reading all of your comments....we are on the 11/20 Empress cruise but not much action there yet

[Buck1949]

enjoyed reading all of your comments....we are on the 11/20 Empress cruise but not much action there yet

 

Hi Ropa2...

Wow your cruise is way out there. It always seems like the river cruises have very little activity. Our Rhine river cruise a few years ago was quiet. In fact I chatted with a gentleman who was on the river cruise just before ours and we met for coffee when he got off and we were preparing to get on. But did not chat with anyone else regularly.

 

One thought is..... to post something (most anything) every couple of weeks on your cruise roll call because that will move it back to the top of the listings. It makes it easier for others to find. Who knows you may run across someone like me - who chats quite a bit - and you can have an ongoing conversation till your cruise. We had an Alaskan cruise in 2012 with 8 of us (4 couples) and we posted over 1500 messages. But we recently did another Alaskan cruise again with 4 couples and there was little conversation at all. So you just never know.

 

Take care...

[LEAFEATER]

We just returned from the Empress cruise last Wednesday, we stayed 2 extra days in Portland. I had planned to post while we were on the cruise, but they keep you busy. We did the East to West, Clarkston to Portland. It exceeded our expectations. We had beautiful weather the entire trip, sunny, blue skies and 70’s every day.

We flew out to Spokane a day early to explore the town and enjoy the Davenport Hotel, which is beyond words. The usual 2 hour bus ride to Clarkston Monday turned into almost 3 hours due to road construction.

Our cabin was 416, which was perfect. We were 4 doors down from the River Grill, where we ate all out breakfasts and lunches. We chose not to eat in the Astoria dining room except for dinner because the weather was so perfect we would take our meals out on the open patio. The cabin is small, but the bed was comfy and my 6’6” husband could fit in the shower. We had no problems with noise from adjoining rooms, as others have complained about.

The food was delicious. My foodie husband gained 10 lbs and he is a picky eater. A few times he had 2 entrees because he couldn’t make up his mind. I had the best salmon I ever had, and that was for lunch. We ate dinner at the 5:30 seating, which is early for us, but worked out fine.

The hop on/hop off buses are a great concept. It’s convenient to make your own schedule. You get to know the bus drivers, and the local guides are fonts of knowledge . Our wonderful riverlorian, Lawrence, was an ever present guide, teacher and story teller.

We did not go to any of the entertainment, we preferred to take a glass of wine to the back of the boat and watch the stars (the fist time I have seen The Milky Way in 50 years) or the passing in the locks.

I could go on but will stop for now. We have done 2 Viking Cruises, and we worried that we would be disappointed, but we enjoyed it all.

Leafeater.

[Gsel]

Thanks so much for your posts, we are on the 10/22 trip east to west and have been reading your info avidly. So glad you did not find the walls as " paper thin" as some others have and found the food to be that good. We are veteran ocean cruisers and have taken European river cruises but this is our first in the US. Excited about this one!

Thanks again, happy cruising!

[Buck1949]

enjoyed reading all of your comments....we are on the 11/20 Empress cruise but not much action there yet

 

Sorry - I misread your posting. I thought your cruise was set for November 2020. Duh !!!

 

Oh well hopefully you will get some interest going for your UPcoming cruise before too long.

 

Would love to hear what you think after your cruise has ended.

 

Take care.

[Ropa2]

HI Buck1949, I had forgotten that I had posted on this thread...yes the responses to my 11/20 thread on The Empress has been a bit disappointing. On a number of our ocean cruises we had a very lively group for several months .sometimes we had a precruise party as many as 6-8 couples joined us...we got to know some of these folks pretty well before actually meeting them, about 6 weeks to go....we will hope for the best

[Cruze4Ever]

We really liked the cruise very much! There were some things that we thought were outstanding. We had a riverlorian speak every day, who was well-versed in the history of the places to which we were traveling and shared his wealth of knowledge with us. Unlike river cruises in Europe, where the nightly entertainment consists of either a piano player, singer, musical group or dancers, this cruise had a theater with an excellent 4 piece band and outstanding singers and dancers who performed every night!

 

The hop on hop off buses were very comfortable and most important always on time. Also, the driver was able to lower the steps to sidewalk level making it easy for guests who have mobility issues. The guide on the bus was very informative and the stops that we went to were great! I would highly recommend the 5 hour boat trip to Hells Canyone! It was outstanding and scenery was gorgeous!

 

The breakfast and lunch buffets were very good at the River Grill with the option to sit outside. The dinner in the Astoria Dining Room was excellent and staff very accomodating. The River Grill was a by reservation option for dinner, but we didn't find that the food was any better than the dining room and found it to be noisy.

We were in room #314 and it waa very nice, clean and bed comfortable! There was enough room in the closets and drawers to fit all of our belongings. It was quiet and very rarely did we hear people talking. The staff were all very courteous and helpful. We were able to meet with the captain, where she explained the operation of the boat and we took a tour of the engine room.

 

A great cruise!

~Carol

[Buck1949]

We really liked the cruise very much! There were some things that we thought were outstanding. We had a riverlorian speak every day, who was well-versed in the history of the places to which we were traveling and shared his wealth of knowledge with us. Unlike river cruises in Europe, where the nightly entertainment consists of either a piano player, singer, musical group or dancers, this cruise had a theater with an excellent 4 piece band and outstanding singers and dancers who performed every night!

 

The hop on hop off buses were very comfortable and most important always on time. Also, the driver was able to lower the steps to sidewalk level making it easy for guests who have mobility issues. The guide on the bus was very informative and the stops that we went to were great! I would highly recommend the 5 hour boat trip to Hells Canyone! It was outstanding and scenery was gorgeous!

 

The breakfast and lunch buffets were very good at the River Grill with the option to sit outside. The dinner in the Astoria Dining Room was excellent and staff very accomodating. The River Grill was a by reservation option for dinner, but we didn't find that the food was any better than the dining room and found it to be noisy.

We were in room #314 and it waa very nice, clean and bed comfortable! There was enough room in the closets and drawers to fit all of our belongings. It was quiet and very rarely did we hear people talking. The staff were all very courteous and helpful. We were able to meet with the captain, where she explained the operation of the boat and we took a tour of the engine room.

 

A great cruise!

~Carol

 

Thanks for the great recap/review. Even though our cruise is a year away - we are happy to hear that others liked their cruise.

 

Thanks again.

[Buck1949]

Looks like we are back online again!,

[Bop]

Thanks Carol for a great review.  Glad to hear that noise level is not high from adjacent rooms.  Bonnie is a very light sleeper so this may have been an issue.  We are really looking forward to the cruise.  It has been a while since we have enjoyed one and our first in the USA,

 

Bop

[Buck1949]

Well, I finally found this roll call......but it sure has been frustrating trying to negotiate the "new" Cruise Critic.  I guess like anything I will adjust... just the older I get the less I want to.... GRIN !!!!!

 

Does anyone know how to look for or just display a list of the roll calls that you have or are keeping track of, without looking at every single cruise line or topic.  In the old format you could click on your screen name up in the right corner and it would list all the boards you subscribe to.  Am I missing something, as I don't see that now....

 

Anyway...am still here .... but slow in figuring out 'stuff' !!!

[Buck1949]

Well it has been a month since any one posted.... and that was me..... so figured I would post another message here and wish everyone....................

 

Happy Thanksgiving !!

[njhoo]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!   To those who cruised with Greg & Lindy....

Liliana Marie Pendzick Born November 17th, 2018, 4:22pm 6 lbs. 10 oz.
19 3/4 inches long
 

[Buck1949]

1 hour ago, njhoo said:

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!   To those who cruised with Greg & Lindy....

Liliana Marie Pendzick Born November 17th, 2018, 4:22pm 6 lbs. 10 oz.
19 3/4 inches long
 

 

Congratulations !!!!

[Bop]

On 10/18/2018 at 2:09 AM, Buck1949 said:

Looks like we are back online again!,

Hi Buck 1949 et. al.  Happy Holidays to all cruising friends or soon to be friends.  Yes, we are still here and back on line too.  It won't be long before we are preparing for the American Queen Steamboat cruise on the Empress.  We will begin looking at flights soon.

 

 

 

So sorry to hear about the horrific fires in CA.  We are praying for all folks affected.

 

Bop

[Buck1949]

11 hours ago, Bop said:

Hi Buck 1949 et. al.  Happy Holidays to all cruising friends or soon to be friends.  Yes, we are still here and back on line too.  It won't be long before we are preparing for the American Queen Steamboat cruise on the Empress.  We will begin looking at flights soon.

 

 

 

So sorry to hear about the horrific fires in CA.  We are praying for all folks affected.

 

Bop

 

Hi Bop....

Interesting we were just talking this evening about airlines and possibly using flight miles for this trip.   I checked flights on American a few months ago, and it looked like we have flights to Spokane from Phoenix, but not sure about for the end of the trip. Also we may want to spend an extra day or so at the end doing some sightseeing.   Have to look more into all of that.  

 

Just paid off our upcoming February Hawaii cruise RT from San Diego, and am looking forward to that cruise as we were last in Hawaii in 1984.   

 

Yes, it has been terrible seeing all the devastation in California for sure. We have had a couple of smoggy bad air days here in Phoenix that they attributed to the smoke from California. Thank goodness the fires are now mostly out. 

 

Hope everyone one has a nice Christmas or the holiday you celebrate and a Very Happy New Year. Look forward to more interaction here in 2019. 

 

Take care, 

[obuoy4848]

We are anticipating a Columbia/Snake River cruise this year, so all of these comments are very interesting.  Is anyone considering a Queen of the West cruise?

[Buck1949]

19 hours ago, obuoy4848 said:

We are anticipating a Columbia/Snake River cruise this year, so all of these comments are very interesting.  Is anyone considering a Queen of the West cruise?

 

I personally chose American Empress for 2 reasons.  A friend of mine took this (Empress) exact same cruise last fall and absolutely loved it.  He had nothing but good things to say about the staff, food, accommodations and ship.  Also, when comparing reviews of both cruise lines, in my mind American Queen Steamboat Company seemed to have the edge overall. I also had received brochures from both companies for comparison.

 

Take care -

[Bop]

Hey Bill,

 

We're still around and vertical.  Almost time to start looking for flights and reviewing the ports and

 tours.  Winter has been wet and cold.  Ready for  a change of scene.

 

Am looking for some recommendations on must sees along the L&C itinerary.

 

Bop

 

BTW, just click on your picture and you will go to your page to review your posts.

[Buck1949]

15 minutes ago, Bop said:

Hey Bill,

 

We're still around and vertical.  Almost time to start looking for flights and reviewing the ports and

 tours.  Winter has been wet and cold.  Ready for  a change of scene.

 

Am looking for some recommendations on must sees along the L&C itinerary.

 

Bop

 

BTW, just click on your picture and you will go to your page to review your posts.

 

Hi there.   

We are preparing for our Hawaii cruise in about 3 weeks out of San Diego - round trip, then I will be able to focus more here.  Not sure beyond the ship provided excursions what other things we may be interested in. We are not huge museum type fans, but that just depends on what the subject matter is also.    

 

My focus is a bit more relating to photography as I have been doing more of that lately (thinking Hawaii will offer some good photos also).  When we were on our Alaska Land/cruise last July, I managed some great photos of the wildlife including getting photos of Mt Denali/McKinley and of a Moose and her two calves right off the back patio area of our lodge in Talkeetna, Alaska. 

 

Good hearing from you -

Edited January 23, 2019 by Buck1949

[Buck1949]

It is time for this Roll Call to start seeing some postings...... (as I say that - I will be gone for the next 3 weeks)...... 

 

When I return I can start looking a bit more at this trip...... I need to start looking at Flights....and also whether we want to spend an extra day at the end in the Portland area.  Not sure about that yet.

 

Only 7 months to go !!!!

[Buck1949]

Anyone still here?   

[obuoy4848]

Great to see some American Empress cruise reviews.  We are scheduled to take the June 2 cruise from east to west.

Plan to stay over in Portland for 2 nights.  Any hotel reviews there?  

[LEAFEATER]

We did the same thing last September, staying in Portland for 2 nights after a wonderful cruise.   We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites in the Pearle district and couldn’t have been happier with our choice. It was centrally located so we didn’t have to rent a car, it’s new with beautiful,  large rooms and a filling free breakfast. And the employees couldn’t have been more helpful. It’s right across the street from a wonderful market, and the hotel bar was a nice stop in the evenings for a nightcap.  There is a rooftop sitting area with a view of the city where we would take our coffee in the morning. 

[Bop]

On 3/13/2019 at 5:03 PM, LEAFEATER said:

We did the same thing last September, staying in Portland for 2 nights after a wonderful cruise.   We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites in the Pearle district and couldn’t have been happier with our choice. It was centrally located so we didn’t have to rent a car, it’s new with beautiful,  large rooms and a filling free breakfast. And the employees couldn’t have been more helpful. It’s right across the street from a wonderful market, and the hotel bar was a nice stop in the evenings for a nightcap.  There is a rooftop sitting area with a view of the city where we would take our coffee in the morning. 

Any suggestion on Clarkston?  We usually travel a day early before embarkation.  Things to see, where to stay etc.  It has been so long since we booked, I have to start from scratch in my port research.  Any must sees, tours to take, or miss?

 

Thanks,

Jim