AQSC April 3-11 American Countess Southern Sampler cruise

[denamo]

4 hours ago, wandb said:

 

When we did the Thanksgiving River Cruise on the American Queen, there was absolutely NO dressing up for dinner.  Men wore sport shirts and slacks, women wore mostly pants and nice blouses with sandals or flats.  One lady wore a dressy outfit each night, but this was not the norm. She seemed very comfortable in her dressy clothes (good for her!) and I’d say “Wear whatever is comfortable for you”. 

It was nice not to have to pack dressy shoes, clothes, etc. 

 

Remember that they do ask that you not wear jeans in the dining room in the evening. 

This is good to hear.  I will pack accordingly.  Thank you for your input.

[LDVinNC]

19 hours ago, denamo said:

  Wondering if the laundry facilities stay busy. I've never been a fan of doing laundry on vacation.  Just do it when I get home.

 

 

 

 

Can't speak for the Countess, but on the Queen the tiny laundry room - 2 washers, 2 dryers if I recall correctly - always seemed to be in use.

[uktog]

As a matter of interest can you send a bag of laundry out to be done. We will have been traveling on land for a few weeks before we board. 

[LDVinNC]

52 minutes ago, uktog said:

As a matter of interest can you send a bag of laundry out to be done. We will have been traveling on land for a few weeks before we board. 

They provide laundry - one bag a week - on the longer trips.  We were on the Mighty Mississippi 3 week trip a couple of years ago and got to send out a bag every Monday.  You could cram a LOT into the bags they gave you.  Laundry is provided for people in suites and for some upper-level Steamboat Society members, again I think once a week.  Not sure if you can send a bag and pay for it.  So, I guess I did not answer your question, did I😄?  Best to call about that.

[denamo]

Is the Steamboat Society the company's loyalty program?

 

[TinCan782]

1 hour ago, denamo said:

Is the Steamboat Society the company's loyalty program?

 

https://www.americanqueensteamboatcompany.com/ssoa-membership/

[denamo]

Thank you for the link, TinCan782

[wandb]

7 hours ago, uktog said:

As a matter of interest can you send a bag of laundry out to be done. We will have been traveling on land for a few weeks before we board. 

 

I’m not sure which cruise you are on, but most of AQSC cruises begin with one night in a nice hotel before cruising the next afternoon. Many of these have self serve laundry facilities and you could have everything done right there and start the cruise with no laundry worries!

[uktog]

32 minutes ago, wandb said:

 

I’m not sure which cruise you are on, but most of AQSC cruises begin with one night in a nice hotel before cruising the next afternoon. Many of these have self serve laundry facilities and you could have everything done right there and start the cruise with no laundry worries!

Thanks. Our reservation shows it as The Peabody Memphis. Looks like their laundry service is quite pricey though. 

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, uktog said:

Thanks. Our reservation shows it as The Peabody Memphis. Looks like their laundry service is quite pricey though. 

Maybe there is  a self serve laundry nearby  I would email them & ask for  any suggestions

 

[Floriduh]

Well, I am finally home and ready to write some more. Long details are hard on the phone.

 

I will start out by saying we had a great time. The boat is beautiful, the food delicious, the entertainment fabulous and the staff very friendly.

 

But, I do need to point out some very major issues. 

 

Dining:

Due to a combination of staffing issues and Covid there are two major problems. One, the River Grille is NOT open for dinner and only has limited offerings for breakfast and lunch. This is NOT what was stated on web site and advertising materials. And, two, there is NO ROOM SERVICE. Room service is advertised as 24 hour.

What this means, in reality, is that unless you go to dinner and sit in your assigned seat at your assigned time, you are not getting dinner. I never knew what a blessing it was to have 24 hour pizza available on Carnival ships.

 

Wheelchair access:

Once on the ship there are no issues with my wife's scooter. Getting on and off the ship for boarding, excursions and debarkation was nearly impossible. The staff was always there and willing to help, but it was bigger than that. Four inch thick water hoses in front of the debarkation ramp meant my wife's scooter had to be lifted over the hose. And they are not light. 

The ramps often had angles that were hard to get over without getting "beached".

Once off the boat, most of the docks were covered with gravel. And, in one case, about 8 inch high railroad tracks. Most of the elderly crowd had to be helped over the tracks. Walkers, wheelchairs and scooters didn't stand a chance.

 

Internet:

Guess what? There is no phone/Internet coverage while floating down the Mississippi. The ship has free wifi, but it is slow and unreliable.

 

Booking Excursions:

The new app doesn't work. We made our reservations and the next day they were gone. I added them back, printed my tickets and they were gone again. But I then had my tickets in hand and they worked with us to get our tours.

 

Again, I don't want to "bad mouth" the company or the cruise. We had a blast. The dining issues will be fixed with staffing and the app will be fixed soon, I'm sure. But, the wheelchair access was something that may be a deal breaker for some.

 

Hope you enjoyed my updates. I did what I could with the limited internet. It was great meeting Cindi and everyone else.

 

So good to be cruising again.

[graveytrain]

19 minutes ago, Floriduh said:

Well, I am finally home and ready to write some more. Long details are hard on the phone.

 

I will start out by saying we had a great time. The boat is beautiful, the food delicious, the entertainment fabulous and the staff very friendly.

 

But, I do need to point out some very major issues. 

 

Dining:

Due to a combination of staffing issues and Covid there are two major problems. One, the River Grille is NOT open for dinner and only has limited offerings for breakfast and lunch. This is NOT what was stated on web site and advertising materials. And, two, there is NO ROOM SERVICE. Room service is advertised as 24 hour.

What this means, in reality, is that unless you go to dinner and sit in your assigned seat at your assigned time, you are not getting dinner. I never knew what a blessing it was to have 24 hour pizza available on Carnival ships.

 

Wheelchair access:

Once on the ship there are no issues with my wife's scooter. Getting on and off the ship for boarding, excursions and debarkation was nearly impossible. The staff was always there and willing to help, but it was bigger than that. Four inch thick water hoses in front of the debarkation ramp meant my wife's scooter had to be lifted over the hose. And they are not light. 

The ramps often had angles that were hard to get over without getting "beached".

Once off the boat, most of the docks were covered with gravel. And, in one case, about 8 inch high railroad tracks. Most of the elderly crowd had to be helped over the tracks. Walkers, wheelchairs and scooters didn't stand a chance.

 

Internet:

Guess what? There is no phone/Internet coverage while floating down the Mississippi. The ship has free wifi, but it is slow and unreliable.

 

Booking Excursions:

The new app doesn't work. We made our reservations and the next day they were gone. I added them back, printed my tickets and they were gone again. But I then had my tickets in hand and they worked with us to get our tours.

 

Again, I don't want to "bad mouth" the company or the cruise. We had a blast. The dining issues will be fixed with staffing and the app will be fixed soon, I'm sure. But, the wheelchair access was something that may be a deal breaker for some.

 

Hope you enjoyed my updates. I did what I could with the limited internet. It was great meeting Cindi and everyone else.

 

So good to be cruising again.

Thank you for the update. It gives hope to those of us awaiting our return to cruising. Can you give an example of the entertainment provided at night?  Having only sailed on ocean cruises, I don’t know what to expect!  Glad you had a great time!

[Floriduh]

1 hour ago, graveytrain said:

Thank you for the update. It gives hope to those of us awaiting our return to cruising. Can you give an example of the entertainment provided at night?  Having only sailed on ocean cruises, I don’t know what to expect!  Glad you had a great time!

The band is great. They play in the bar and for the shows.

 

The shows had 3 singers and they were all top notch. I am a bass player and really enjoyed watching these musicians at work.

 

The shows were full of great "sing along" songs. The Themes included 50's and 60's, a whole different show for the 70's, A one woman show called Broadway On The Brain, and a couple more I can't think of right now (because I didn't see them).

 

There are two shows. Early seated diners can see the show after eating while the late diners can catch the early show.

 

During the days there were games, trivia and a couple of bingo sessions.

[graveytrain]

1 hour ago, Floriduh said:

The band is great. They play in the bar and for the shows.

 

The shows had 3 singers and they were all top notch. I am a bass player and really enjoyed watching these musicians at work.

 

The shows were full of great "sing along" songs. The Themes included 50's and 60's, a whole different show for the 70's, A one woman show called Broadway On The Brain, and a couple more I can't think of right now (because I didn't see them).

 

There are two shows. Early seated diners can see the show after eating while the late diners can catch the early show.

 

During the days there were games, trivia and a couple of bingo sessions.

Thank you Floriduh! Sounds like great entertainment!

[LHT28]

Thanks  for your comments

 

 Maybe being  a cruise during covid  things  were scaled  back  as far as dining options

[uktog]

9 hours ago, Floriduh said:

The band is great. They play in the bar and for the shows.

 

The shows had 3 singers and they were all top notch. I am a bass player and really enjoyed watching these musicians at work.

 

The shows were full of great "sing along" songs. The Themes included 50's and 60's, a whole different show for the 70's, A one woman show called Broadway On The Brain, and a couple more I can't think of right now (because I didn't see them).

 

There are two shows. Early seated diners can see the show after eating while the late diners can catch the early show.

 

During the days there were games, trivia and a couple of bingo sessions.

Thank you for your updates and for answering questions. It’s now a year until our trip but you’ve kept our excitement stoked up in these still locked down times 

[CoolNickname]

On 4/11/2021 at 9:26 AM, uktog said:

As a matter of interest can you send a bag of laundry out to be done. We will have been traveling on land for a few weeks before we board. 

I would probably call and ask where they have you stay the night prior to your cruise, then look online. The hotel may have a self service laundry or there may be a laundromat nearby. One of our ocean cruises we were able to send all our laundry out to be washed for a pretty nominal price just by searching for laundry by the pound services. We just dropped our laundry on the way to the hotel and walked over to pick it up the next day. You may even find a laundry service with pick up and drop off.

[CoolNickname]

On 4/12/2021 at 4:29 PM, Floriduh said:

Well, I am finally home and ready to write some more. Long details are hard on the phone.

 

I will start out by saying we had a great time. The boat is beautiful, the food delicious, the entertainment fabulous and the staff very friendly.

 

But, I do need to point out some very major issues. 

 

Dining:

Due to a combination of staffing issues and Covid there are two major problems. One, the River Grille is NOT open for dinner and only has limited offerings for breakfast and lunch. This is NOT what was stated on web site and advertising materials. And, two, there is NO ROOM SERVICE. Room service is advertised as 24 hour.

What this means, in reality, is that unless you go to dinner and sit in your assigned seat at your assigned time, you are not getting dinner. I never knew what a blessing it was to have 24 hour pizza available on Carnival ships.

 

Wheelchair access:

Once on the ship there are no issues with my wife's scooter. Getting on and off the ship for boarding, excursions and debarkation was nearly impossible. The staff was always there and willing to help, but it was bigger than that. Four inch thick water hoses in front of the debarkation ramp meant my wife's scooter had to be lifted over the hose. And they are not light. 

The ramps often had angles that were hard to get over without getting "beached".

Once off the boat, most of the docks were covered with gravel. And, in one case, about 8 inch high railroad tracks. Most of the elderly crowd had to be helped over the tracks. Walkers, wheelchairs and scooters didn't stand a chance.

 

Internet:

Guess what? There is no phone/Internet coverage while floating down the Mississippi. The ship has free wifi, but it is slow and unreliable.

 

Booking Excursions:

The new app doesn't work. We made our reservations and the next day they were gone. I added them back, printed my tickets and they were gone again. But I then had my tickets in hand and they worked with us to get our tours.

 

Again, I don't want to "bad mouth" the company or the cruise. We had a blast. The dining issues will be fixed with staffing and the app will be fixed soon, I'm sure. But, the wheelchair access was something that may be a deal breaker for some.

 

Hope you enjoyed my updates. I did what I could with the limited internet. It was great meeting Cindi and everyone else.

 

So good to be cruising again.

Thanks for all the photos and information! Really appreciate a boots on the ground report.

 

How was the quality of the food served? Sorry, I did not see where you mentioned.

Edited April 14, 2021 by CoolNickname

[Floriduh]

51 minutes ago, CoolNickname said:

Thanks for all the photos and information! Really appreciate a boots on the ground report.

 

How was the quality of the food served? Sorry, I did not see where you mentioned.

Quality of the food was great. And a good variety. My mom and I both like lobster tail (which is available every night) but only ordered it once. There were always lots of yummy options.

[denamo]

Well....we are extremely disappointed.  We were to have started our cruise on April 17 with a night's stay prior to the one the company provides in New Orleans.  Unfortunately, we've been informed today the boat was overbooked, and our reservation has been cancelled. We were a guarantee. ? So much for a guarantee.  They will honor our reservation at a later date and even up grade our cabin or fully refund our fare. 

 

Sadly this evening, I've been cancelling hotel arrangements and flights.  😞 We don't live in a very robust market with many flights, so it becomes necessary for us to typically go a day ahead and stay a day after the cruise ends. 

 

So, thanks Tim for letting us live vicariously.  We're not sure at this point if we'll reschedule or request a refund.

[wandb]

7 hours ago, denamo said:

Well....we are extremely disappointed.  We were to have started our cruise on April 17 with a night's stay prior to the one the company provides in New Orleans.  Unfortunately, we've been informed today the boat was overbooked, and our reservation has been cancelled. We were a guarantee. ? So much for a guarantee.  They will honor our reservation at a later date and even up grade our cabin or fully refund our fare. 

 

Sadly this evening, I've been cancelling hotel arrangements and flights.  😞 We don't live in a very robust market with many flights, so it becomes necessary for us to typically go a day ahead and stay a day after the cruise ends. 

 

So, thanks Tim for letting us live vicariously.  We're not sure at this point if we'll reschedule or request a refund.

Oh, no!!  So sorry about the cancellation. 
The bright spot in this could be that if you reschedule for a summer or fall trip, the vaccination of all passengers and crew will be in place.

(That would surely make me feel better—-our cruise is in June and I wish their target date had been June 1 instead of July 1!)

[Floriduh]

2 hours ago, wandb said:

Oh, no!!  So sorry about the cancellation. 
The bright spot in this could be that if you reschedule for a summer or fall trip, the vaccination of all passengers and crew will be in place.

(That would surely make me feel better—-our cruise is in June and I wish their target date had been June 1 instead of July 1!)

When we stopped in Natchez word got out to the crew that Walgreens was doing "no appt needed J&J vaccines". The boat was able to rotate some shifts around to get much of the crew vaccinated that day. They were very excited for the opportunity.

[TinCan782]

2 hours ago, Floriduh said:

When we stopped in Natchez word got out to the crew that Walgreens was doing "no appt needed J&J vaccines". The boat was able to rotate some shifts around to get much of the crew vaccinated that day. They were very excited for the opportunity.

Wow...right when J&J is on "pause" due to reports of blood clots.

Edited April 14, 2021 by TinCan782

[Floriduh]

4 hours ago, TinCan782 said:

Wow...right when J&J is on "pause" due to reports of blood clots.

My wife and I were glad to get the one shot J&J. We are fine. And, at 6 in 6 million, I would still get it if I needed to.

[graveytrain]

20 hours ago, denamo said:

Well....we are extremely disappointed.  We were to have started our cruise on April 17 with a night's stay prior to the one the company provides in New Orleans.  Unfortunately, we've been informed today the boat was overbooked, and our reservation has been cancelled. We were a guarantee. ? So much for a guarantee.  They will honor our reservation at a later date and even up grade our cabin or fully refund our fare. 

 

Sadly this evening, I've been cancelling hotel arrangements and flights.  😞 We don't live in a very robust market with many flights, so it becomes necessary for us to typically go a day ahead and stay a day after the cruise ends. 

 

So, thanks Tim for letting us live vicariously.  We're not sure at this point if we'll reschedule or request a refund.

Wow, that is VERY short notice of cancellation!  I had no idea it was possible to cancel that close to departure. I’m sure you are very disappointed.