TinCan782

Same with the Duchess.

Found this link on a post by AQV on Linkedin: "American Queen Voyages has made the difficult decision to shut down." https://www.aqvinfo.com/ AQV Customer Claims Portal https://www.aqvrefunds.com/capture/upload

Haven't used it since my last cruise in 2021. I pretty much agree with ericosmith's comment above. The port info was nice to have available and the bus tracking wasn't particularly good. It can be used any time - aboard or ashore. No harm downloading it and trying it out to see for yourself. You can always delete it if is not what you want.

IIRC there are two show times which roughly correspond to the two evening dining times. I don't recall the actual times its been a few years. If you have early dining you can go to the later show and vice versa. Same thing on the Duchess a couple of years ago.

I was on that cruise in 2016 and IIRC the bus(s) departed Spokane early to mid-afternoon. There are several buses and passengers are assigned. We wound up on one of the later buses.

BTW, Lock #19 at Keokuk can be viewed any time here:

This video from August 7, 2021 caught my attention because my wife and I were aboard the Duchess (Red Wing to New Orleans) in this video. We were in the dining room having dinner at the time. I do remember this lock as I have a photo of the power plant that I shot from our dining room table. Until I saw this video I had no idea we locked through with another boat. The lock is more than capable of doing this. Being in the dining room at the time I wasn't outside (like I usually am) while locking through and wasn't aware of this (dang, I missed it!). While the video is a bit longer than an hour,if you fast-forward to about 54:00 the Hertiage has exited and the Duchess comes into view as she exits.

Based on the boat names, I think this should be on the American Cruise Lines board rather than here. We did the equivalent cruise on the American Duchess in August 2021. Since it was summer, we chose the port side of the boat so we would have sun in the AM and shade in the PM. Side of the boat didn't seem to matter beyond that.

Not to mention the cost of the actual repairs! Thanks.

Hopefully someone with more recent experience will chime in. Also, we were on the boat 2 weeks. A shorter cruise....I don't know. Like I said, I have not seen anything in writing from AQ about this.

We were on the Duchess last year for two weeks (Aug 2-16). I have never seen laundry services mentioned on AQSC's website. That said, we were able to have laundry done a couple times during the cruise. On inquiry I was told to check with our cabin attendent. Indeed she provided a bag on request and it was returned the next day. Although we were told $20 a bag, charges never appeared on our statement when the cruise was over. This seems to be an unwritten amenity. Also, we were aboard for two weeks. Don't know what others may have experienced.

V-drive or Z-drive? I ask because the Duchess (was on her last year) uses three Schottel Z-Drives. Anyway, thanks for the info.

As viewed on the Virtual Railfan camera at Fort Madison, it appears the Countess is getting an assist from a tug. vitrualrailfan dot com

Here are a bunch of images in, on and around the Duchess from our cruise last August. "Mighty Mississippi" Red Wing to New Orleans.

We did the Empress in October 2016...no real problems and overall pretty nice. Mostly pleasant sunny days with several showery days. Astoria had to be cancelled due to gale force winds and rain. Would have preferred June/July for longer days but, weren't able to travel until October. Yes, there are times when fires and other events are more likely but, even in likely times, nothing can happen. Summer/fall tends to be "fire season" on the west coast but exactly when a fire starts can't be predicted. Like hurricanes and other natural events you just don't know at the time you book. This weeks weather can be dramatically different than next. Personally, I don't spend a lot of time trying to dodge future weather events. Last August, we missed Hurricane Ida (Cat 4) in New Orleans by just a week. We were at the end of the "Mighty MIssissippi" on the Duchess and spending a couple of days in NOLA. Just the luck of the draw as the cruise was booked and paid for a year ahead of time. You never know.

I don't recall the particulars of the American Empress from a few years ago but, on the Duchess last August the only smoking area was one corner (outside) of the River Club and Terrace (all the way aft). Smoking was not allowed anywhere else including verandas.

Wow. That is contrary to our experience on the Duchess last August. All staff we had contact with were very friendly and accomodating. Our room attendant took great care of our cabin; the wait staff in the Dining Room and the River Club and Terrace were right on top of any requests we made. They quickly learned our preferences and quirks and made sure we were satisified. The onboard staff was definitely an asset for AQSC/AQV! BTW: I also enjoyed the Grammy Museum and the Sue and Bob King Railroad Museum in Cleveland.

We did the "Mighty Mississippi" on the Duchess last August. The first evening we spent some time out on the veranda leaving the sliding door open. Yes, I'm aware it shuts off the A/C in the cabin but, that wasn't a problem. When we returned inside the cabin we found it infested with many flying insects... attracted to the light in the cabin! After that, the door remaind closed when we were on the veranda in the evenings. Lights off helped too.