Thread: Riverboats Claim Little Impact from Low Water Levels

While it is slow going on the Mississippi due to low water levels, the two cruise operators on the river claim to have been minimally affected. According to a spokesperson for the Coast Guard, an 11-mile long stretch has been reduced to one-way traffic with northbound traffic during the daytime, and southbound during the night. At press time, there were




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Nice to hear. I am rooting for American Queen Steamboat!

I am glad they got it moving, even if it's going slowly. Our American Queen cruise had to make a couple of adjustments (namely, they bussed us to Memphis to board instead of us getting on in Vicksburg) but other than an extra day in Memphis and a surprise bus ride, it wasn't that much of an inconvenience. It turns out there was a lot to see in Memphis, and this allowed us extra time to do what we wanted...in addition to going to the Vicksburg battlefield. The crew and management on the American Queen could not have been nicer in what had to be a logistical nightmare for them.

Please, tell me more about the cruise! How was the food? I heard the rooms were a bit small but really nice. Your opinions?

What did you think of Memphis? I thought the city had some nice touches especially around downtown and the river but most of it looked very depressed and the whole southern section that we saw looked very segregated. Hope that has changed.

Originally Posted by nealberk

Please, tell me more about the cruise!

I will have to sit down when I have about three hours to spare!


How was the food?

Outstanding, better than any ocean cruise or European river cruise. THAT good.

I heard the rooms were a bit small but really nice. Your opinions?

WELLL... we had a suite so I really can't say what most of the rooms were like. It was really (really really) nice. Bigger than a European river cruise cabin but smaller than a suite on an ocean cruiseship. That is to be expected, I mean we are going down a river, right? The rooms can't be huge! But it oh so nice, very classy with antiques everywhere, all done in Victorian decor and trim with good wood, pictures from the old days, etc. Cushy beds. Our room even had stained glass windows. Imagine what a bedroom must be like in one of those big antibellum mansions with the pillars in front and magnolias in the yard - and you get the idea.

What did you think of Memphis? I thought the city had some nice touches especially around downtown and the river but most of it looked very depressed and the whole southern section that we saw looked very segregated. Hope that has changed.

Memphis was very attractive and not at all depressed. We docked at a pretty area called Mud Island, which has some really high end three story condos and quaint homes all along the river, with bike trails in a long strip of a green park-like setting. The boat has free bikes you just take off on any old time...and we did. Fun. Nothing I saw was segregated, we saw all sorts of people living and working everywhere we went. We toured Sun Recording Studios...loved it...and Graceland. I figured everybody needs to see Graceland once. Wow was it ever cheezy! But we happened to be there during Elvis week, so we got to see people in the crowd dressed like Elvis from all different countries. Seeing a Japanese and East Indian Elvis made the trip worthwile. That, and the car collection.

The best part of our trip was the Civil War battlefields of Vicksburg and Shiloh, very heart wrenching. We had on-board historians who were charming and entertaining, true southern gentlemen (actually super brilliant professors and authors who were also southern gentlemen) who had everybody on the edge of their seats listening to their animated stories about the places we were about to visit and the people during the times of the Civil War. By the time we got off the boat to go visit a place we knew so much background it was a very personal and touching experience.

The boat itself had a nice selection of things to do and little places to explore. It was just big enough that we never felt crowded, but small enough to be intimate. We saw a lot of the same people here and there, but sometimes we might be the only people standing there watching the sunset. Perfect. There were some great public areas different from any other cruise we have been on, including an area they call the Front Porch which has rocking chairs and porch swings...which seem perfectly natural in that setting and were a nice place to sit and watch the river. There were a few bars, with live music and stage shows. The theater was a replica of the Ford Theater where Lincoln was shot. I have to admit it is the prettiest theater I have ever seen on any boat or ship...bar none.

I am sure this trip would not please everybody. There are no casinos, not much shopping, no rock walls or newlywed games or hairy back contests or anything like that. Kids would be bored. But the friendly and eager people we met in the small towns we visited, and the new friends we met onboard in the Engine Room Bar, where you can see the paddlewheel churning up the river through the portholes right behind the piano player, where every single person in the room was singing to every single song and buying each other drinks...well that sure made for a nice way to travel.

How much did we like it? We got home and immediately booked another trip for 2013.

It does sound like a really interesting trip and elegant way to travel. Even had a replica of the Ford theater ? that's impressive. What were the shows like ? typical Cruise ship ones ?
Was there a dance floor ?

I have been to Memphis, an interesting place with lots of atmosphere to soak up. I didn't notice any segregation either.

Originally Posted by tonylinsdell

It does sound like a really interesting trip and elegant way to travel. Even had a replica of the Ford theater ? that's impressive. What were the shows like ? typical Cruise ship ones ?
Was there a dance floor ?

I have been to Memphis, an interesting place with lots of atmosphere to soak up. I didn't notice any segregation either.

Tony, here is a picture of the theater. One of the nice things was that we could get an upper box seat with an outstanding view just by showing up ten minutes before each show. No problem at all. Gotta love those small ships.

The entertainment was very good. I believe it changes and rotates based on the route of the cruise. We had everything from a nice production type shows with very talented singers, dancers, and orchestra...to specialty acts such as Civil War era musicians playing instruments from those days...to a guy in the lobby bar who played piano and changed it up from Irish Night to Show Tunes (every time we walked by he yelled "hello TEXAS!!!", to two guys we really liked in the before mentioned Engine Room Bar who were funny besides being so talented. There was always something to do, often more than one thing going on at once. Late at night they had a dance band, and yes there is a dance floor...they move all the chairs out of the theater and people danced on that beautiful wood floor. But we never made it, because our happy routine became dinner, Engine Room, and bedtime. I talked to people who said the dance music was great and they loved it.

Sounds like my kind of cruise. You get to learn something while truly enjoying it. As they have discovered the best way to teach people is to give them someone who is truly in love with the subject matter and can convey it to an audience with the humor, respect, and awe that it really deserves.

Graceland is cheezey, isn't it. We did not go in but did check out the shops across the street. Phenomenal how people can but an Elvis spin on almost anything. I would not buy any of that stuff except as a gag gift but there are some people who adore it. To each his own.

I remember mud island and the pier (?) to get to the museum/visitor center. Very enlightening. Our problem was that we decided to find an ice cream shop for dessert after having an early dinner on Beal. We managed to get ourselves totally turned around and drove for quite a while on surface roads looking for the Cracker Barrel. We found it, but the section of town we were in was unsettling.

Originally Posted by Texashorselady

Tony, here is a picture of the theater. One of the nice things was that we could get an upper box seat with an outstanding view just by showing up ten minutes before each show. No problem at all. Gotta love those small ships.

The entertainment was very good. I believe it changes and rotates based on the route of the cruise. We had everything from a nice production type shows with very talented singers, dancers, and orchestra...to specialty acts such as Civil War era musicians playing instruments from those days...to a guy in the lobby bar who played piano and changed it up from Irish Night to Show Tunes (every time we walked by he yelled "hello TEXAS!!!", to two guys we really liked in the before mentioned Engine Room Bar who were funny besides being so talented. There was always something to do, often more than one thing going on at once. Late at night they had a dance band, and yes there is a dance floor...they move all the chairs out of the theater and people danced on that beautiful wood floor. But we never made it, because our happy routine became dinner, Engine Room, and bedtime. I talked to people who said the dance music was great and they loved it.

Thanks for the photo I can see it has a great dance floor and an elegant setting. Got to try this cruise one day.