Leaving HAL temporarily

[lcruiser]

We are trying the American Queen next week. I hear that it is different than regular cruising but that we will enjoy it.

[localady]

We are trying the American Queen next week. I hear that it is different than regular cruising but that we will enjoy it.

You will have a lovely time! Is is a paddlewheel or just a smaller cruising ship??? With less people it will feel like your own ship! And if it's a paddlewheel I hope you are taking some Mark Twain novels with you:) Please let us know how you enjoy your trip and more of the specifics!!

P.S. No sure how that quote got up there, gonna take a bit to get used to the new boards!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hi Fran & Jorge,

Good to hear from you.

Hope you and the kids enjoy your trip on the American Queen.

We will be anixous to hear about that cruise.

Yonnie & joe

[sail7seas]

Hope it's great. We talked of doing a paddleboat trip a while ago. I forget why we never did book it.

Have a wonderful time and please come back and tell us all about it.

[lcruiser]

Thank you S7S, Yonnie and Joe. I will let you know.

[SharonN]

Hope you have a great trip. We've booked the American Queen in Oct so will look forward to hearing how your trip goes. We did a cruise on the Delta Queen about 12 years ago and had a great time. It was different but we found it very relaxing. Hopefully it's back to HAL in January when I'm planning to book the Westerdam using the free cruise I won in Bingo on the Veendam earlier this year.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:) Sharon

We are already booked for back-to-back cruises on the Westerdam in January.

What date is your cruise?

:)

[SharonN]

Just booked the Jan 23rd Westerdam today. What weeks are you on?

[iluvcruzin]

You will love your steamboat cruise! If you were traveling on the Ohio I would run down to the riverbanks and waved a big hello!! I used to work on the Kentucky side of the river and watch the steamboats & barges come in to dock.

Congrats Sharon on winning a cruise! How wonderful!!

[rsbvinin]

There is an additional option for those looking for something different. The River Explorer "hotel barge" is very good for senior citizens. It operates on the Mississippi River system. We have taken four trips and are signed up for two more trips on the Missouri River ....going from Sioux City to St. Louis and participating in many of the local Lewis and Clark celebrations.

[tankerjo2]

We did the American Queen a number of years ago,,,found it to be an interesting change. Inside cabin was somewhat claustrophobic, very small but comfortable. Did the 7 day St Louis to New Orleans...was slow and lazy with some interesting stops. I don't know what changes have been made since we took our trip but back then (late 90's) food and service were very good and our table-mates at our table for 8 were some of the best we have ever encountered on a cruise. We were in our early, early 50's at the time and felt like spring chickens compared to the rest of the passengers. The wife particularly enjoyed early coffee in the morning on what they called the "Front Porch" and it cracked me up to see more than one person show up in their bathrobe. As for myself I found a comfortable rocking chair and just watched the river traffic as it went by. and of course the highlight of the whole cruise for my wife was our visit to Graceland. One trip on the AQ is enough for me but I think it was well worth the time.

Enjoy.

[BJane]

We tried the American Queen in 1996. Since I'm a huge fan of SHOW BOAT I thought it would be perfect for me. Wrong!!! The inside cabin we had was beyond small. We had cruised so many times that the entire boat seemed very tiny. The paddle wheel was broken, but fortunately they had other means of getting from here to there. The smoke stacks had the capability of lowering to go under bridges. However, one of them was stuck in the down position. The one thing that was really good was the entertainment. We made it a point to see both the early and the late show every night. And I did get to sing in the piano bar every night so I could pretend I was Julie in SHOW BOAT! I also got to play the caliope. Needless to say I was really glad to get back to cruise ships and that great big ocean. I should add that the folks we met on the boat loved the river boats and went over and over again on them. It's just not for me.