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Difference in 2 Cruises


wandb
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Can anyone tell me the difference in the Lewis and Clark Cruise (Sept 2020) and the Ohio River Exploration Cruise (June 2021)?  Both cruises are on the Duchess. 

 

They are both Pittsburg to Louisville cruises, and have the same Port stops. Would it be the difference in lectures by the Riverlorian?

 

Has anyone heard the programs on Lewis and Clark?  Wondering how informative they are. 

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Sorry, I was not clear in the original post. The Lewis and Clark Cruise on the Duchess begins in Pittsburg and ends in Louisville. We are scheduled to be on this cruise which begins on Sept 6. 

 

Lots of folks do do not realize that Lewis and Clark’s journey actually began in Pittsburg. Building and testing the boats, selecting the crews, and gathering supplies were just some of the accomplishments during this first leg of the journey. 

 

 

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On 7/28/2020 at 8:21 PM, wandb said:

Can anyone tell me the difference in the Lewis and Clark Cruise (Sept 2020) and the Ohio River Exploration Cruise (June 2021)?  Both cruises are on the Duchess. 

Have scrutinized both the AQSC website and brochures, and cannot find any reference to "Lewis and Clark Cruise."  The September Ohio River cruise on the Duchess is called the Ohio River Exploration Cruise.  This same cruise has dates in June 2021.  All cruises show the same itinerary, so don't see any reason to expect differences. 

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You are correct—-for the 2021 Schedule. 

 

Our cruise this year (Sept 6-14)  is listed as “Lewis and Clark (Pittsburgh to Louisville).  All of our paperwork attests to this. The reason we booked this cruise was to begin what we hoped would be a series of cruises following much of Lewis and Clark’s route, ending with the Columbia River Cruise on the Empress. 

 

Lewis and Clark is not offered in 2021, though the Ohio River Exploration is the same as far as ports, etc. 

 

I was simply wondering if anyone had taken this cruise before and could give me any info on possible Riverlorian lectures, or Hop On Hop Off tour stops that would qualify this as a Lewis and Clark Cruise. We didn’t want to miss any enrichment possibilities. 

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Sorry, I didn't do a good job "scrutinizing" the 2020 catalog -- today found Lewis & Clark under "themed cruises."  My apologies.

 

On our last cruise from Pittsburgh, while wandering the Allegheny River trail, we stumbled on a Lewis and Clark historical marker.  Surprised us, because, as you say, many associate Lewis & Clark only with St Louis to Colombia.  There were further historical markers farther down the Ohio River.  Too bad nobody cruises the Missouri River - that would reveal a lot of Lewis & Clark history!

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 So true!  I wish I had a list or map of Lewis and Clark historical markers and sites along the Ohio River. Will have to look that up on the Internet. 

 

I plan to call AQSC today to see how they handle the fact that several states we cruise through require 10 to 14 day quarantines for any visitors from states with a certain amount of COVID cases. They include GA on the list. Looks more and more like we will be changing to 2021 or 2022.  Not sure when they might offer the Lewis and Clark Cruise again. 

 

(Also, no apologies necessary!  I find much of the info from AQ to be a bit confusing. Different brochures and AQSC e-mails seem to have conflicing information.  Have to dig deep sometimes!)

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Good luck hearing back from AQSC about the quarantine question.  I asked the same thing via my travel agent and got a very short and not very helpful reply.  

 

I don't think they're taking adequate precautions and I'm strongly leaning towards rebooking at a much later date.  

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I did e-mail AQSC on Monday evening, asking for a call, and I did get a call on Tuesday from a very nice lady (Ann), who patiently answered my whole list of questions. She was unsure about a couple of things, but is researching those and will let me know. 

 

She did say that the quarantine does not apply to visitors on the cruise, but not sure how that would play out—-how would anyone (officials) know if you are from a cruise or not?

 

She said that AQSC will be coming out with a new COVID directive soon, probably within 48 hours, so I’m waiting for that before we take any action. We have decided to transfer to a 2021 or 2022 cruise (hoping the Lewis and Clark Cruise will be offered then.)

 

Our main concern has has not been the health measures taken on the boat, as I think AQSC is doing everything possible to provide a safe environment. Our concern is about getting back on the boat at every port stop with a whole group of passengers that may have been in situations where social distancing and wearing masks was not practiced. Even though they exhibit no symptoms for several days, they could be spreading COVID and not even know it. Just too big a risk. 

 

So sad not to be cruising this September, but for this year, we will stay at home or take a little road trip. 

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21 hours ago, wandb said:

She said that AQSC will be coming out with a new COVID directive soon, probably within 48 hours, so I’m waiting for that before we take any action. We have decided to transfer to a 2021 or 2022 cruise (hoping the Lewis and Clark Cruise will be offered then.)

 

Our main concern has has not been the health measures taken on the boat, as I think AQSC is doing everything possible to provide a safe environment. Our concern is about getting back on the boat at every port stop with a whole group of passengers that may have been in situations where social distancing and wearing masks was not practiced. Even though they exhibit no symptoms for several days, they could be spreading COVID and not even know it. Just too big a risk. 

 

So sad not to be cruising this September, but for this year, we will stay at home or take a little road trip. 

 

Check the website. New dates for suspension today. Suspended thru August 31, 2020.

We are a September cruise too. Don't understand how they can still be planning to cruise in September.

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11 hours ago, adstz said:

 

Check the website. New dates for suspension today. Suspended thru August 31, 2020.

We are a September cruise too. Don't understand how they can still be planning to cruise in September.

 

I got the impression that they are not (planning to cruise in September).  So was a bit surprised to see the extension only through August.  Hope they announce (soon!) their plans for the rest of the year, as they are not giving cruisers enough time to make or change plans before their cruise dates. 

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We have the end of October on the Countess from Memphis to Chattanooga.  All along I’ve tried to be optimistic and give it a 50-50 odds of sailing.  With yesterday’s new update delaying their restart until the end of September, guess have to admit that we won’t be sailing.  Now we wait for AQ to announce so we can make our decision on what to do with the fully paid fares last December. 

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2 hours ago, njhoo said:

We have the end of October on the Countess from Memphis to Chattanooga.  All along I’ve tried to be optimistic and give it a 50-50 odds of sailing.  With yesterday’s new update delaying their restart until the end of September, guess have to admit that we won’t be sailing.  Now we wait for AQ to announce so we can make our decision on what to do with the fully paid fares last December. 

 

I did not see an update published that extends till the end of September. Did you see this on the American Queen site?  Not sure where else to check. 

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Opps, my bad...you are correct with August 31st.  It’s another travel company with which we have a January trip booked that canceled thru September 30th.  Still don’t think we’ll be sailing in October though. 

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