ericosmith

Go Green! I've done this on AQV and also just one my own. I doubt that you will find any independent excursions other than at the ends of the trip. Most everything in between is right along the river. I would suggest spending some time either along the Pacific cost or in the mountains from Portland. I'm sure there would be a couple of private trips but a rental car is probably the best option.

While the Duchess is the only one of the boats I haven't been on it never really appealed to me. It's been described as a floating convention hotel by some. Before the Countess it was the more inclusive of it vs. the Queen on the Mississippi and commanded a higher price. Once drinks became included on all the boats I think it lost it's appeal vs. the Queen and the Countess.

Some more info. https://maritime-executive.com/article/american-queen-paddlewheelers-sold-to-american-cruise-lines Looks like they didn't think the Duchess was worth much more than scrap. It also appears that they must have purchased all of our past customer information.

And on occasion they push more than one chair.

Of course if you're just interested in the former Great Lakes vessels you don't even need to worry about the auction. Both of them are on sale right now with the price reduced to a paltry $14,995,000. https://www.yachtworld.com/boats-for-sale/type-power/class-power-cruise-ship/

I did see something about the auction being postponed by the debtor. I don't believe any new date has been set.

I don't know if I'd call 3" more leg room and a free drink a premium experience.

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/03/american-queen-cruise-ship-fleet-heading-to-auction/

Just make sure that you're going to get charged the meter rate before you get in.

Forgive my naivete but much of this discussion seems to indicate there were design issues that contributed to this situation. That begs the question of whether these issues can be corrected and if so, have they been.

I find this rather interesting as most new ships seem to be moving away from "traditional bows" to more vertical designs.

I was talking about MVJ but it's back today so it must have been a temporary something or other...

Is something in my browser blocking it or is it no longer available? I found it useful for quick questions.

Be careful. Some carriers charge for calls even when using wifi calling. T Mobile for example charges $.25 per minute. Other carriers may be more or less.

Does no one use a password manager that will autofill personal information and credit card data in forms. It's a quick and easy way to check out with a card.

I see question after question about included wines but not much of anything about beer. Yes, I'm a beer snob without any desire for, or appreciation of, wine. So my question...what are the included beers with lunch and dinner? Off the menu or just the "beer of the day"? Draft or bottles and cans? If it's just the "beer of the day", can you upgrade for an upcharge? Now, having asked all that, I've not seen any recent drink lists that include an IPA on the beer menu. That alone might drive me back to Princess or Celebrity. Can someone help ease my fears so I don't have to go beer shopping in town and haul my own cooler to dinner?

Nah, the bus shuttles transfer to smaller vans with drop off at the cruise terminal. https://www.re.is/tour/flybus/

Thanks, Hopefully that will work if I jump on it at 90 days. A follow up question...are there separate cars for cruise excursions vs. Norway's Best vs. VY? If so are there separate queues for each?

According to the crew on the Countess the paddle wheel does provide part of the the propulsion so I'm not sure why it's any different in that respect from the other boats. It just doesn't use steam.

They're also not correct.

I had good luck with chat...

By the same token, I prefer they be added automatically. I don't want to have to go to a desk to add tips. I know, many people like to tip individually and personally but how else are the people you never see going to share in the tips. Yes, I'd prefer they'd be included in the fare but it's not much different when they charge them automatically. Oh, and I've yet to see a line whose price includes gratuities that doesn't point that out in capitol letters.

Can you book more than one included excursion at a port when two are offered?

Looking at the Shetland Islands the included excursion is Panorama and Ponies. Does anyone know if you can pet the ponies or just observe from a distance. Asking for a friend (well actually my wife)

The one that has me scratching my head is: Port of San Diego $480,288 Any idea what that could be for?