ABOARD QUEEN OF THE MISSISSIPPI-Long famous as the Gateway to the West, St. Louis is today serving as Gateway to the North for about 145 Queen of the Mississippi passengers — bound up-river on a 7-day voyage to St. Paul. As mentioned in my pre-cruise post, I was joined in St. Louis Thursday evening by my lady friend and assistant Melinda Renner — allowing us the full day on Friday to explore some of the city’ visitor …
Well, this is pretty interesting news. We’ve seen resurgence over the last couple of years of river ships sailing the American waterways, and I’ve just learned that renowned line Avalon Waterways is getting in on the game here in the U.S. Avalon, which normally features European river cruises, will be offering a limited number of Mississippi River sailings in 2013 through a partnership with American Queen Steamboat Company. Apparently, the line has seen an increasing demand from …
The American Queen is almost ready to return to the Mississippi! Last week, the steamboat ran through its first set of builder’s trials on a successful trial run. Great American Steamboat Company’s EVP of Vessel Operations, Greg Brown, reported that the paddle wheel achieved 17 revolutions per minute with plenty of steam in reserve, and the propulsion and control system worked perfectly. This trial run lasted approximately three hours before berthing in front of the Café Du …
Some years ago I had the wonderful experience of sailing on the American Queen riverboat when it was still being operated by Delta Queen Cruise Lines. As I recall, we sailed from New Orleans to Natchez, but maybe even further north. We enjoyed it so much that a year later we bought a trip for my mother-in-law and friend to celebrate her 80th birthday. Yesterday we received confirmation of what we had been hearing for months, the …
River cruises are a whole different experience in cruising, and one of my favorites. The slow roll of the current as it wends its way through the scenic countryside, with its unique destinations, is an experience not to be missed. These cruises can be hard to come by in the U.S., so I was pleased to hear that American Cruise Lines (ACL) is bringing the river cruise experience here in 2012. ACL recently announced that it is …
Good news for those of you who’ve requested options in domestic cruising! Small ship line Cruise West recently announced new itineraries aboard the Spirit of America (formerly Spirit of Glacier Bay) sailing on the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers, starting in March, 2011. The line has added these itineraries in response to overwhelming consumer request; they are now the only line offering overnight cruises on these American Rivers. Many cruisers are rejoicing at the opportunity to cruise …
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