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Celebrity Summit on her way to Freeport for dry dock. steamboats

Taxis are available at the port. Just follow the signs in the terminal building. They should wait right outside. steamboats

Hank, I´m sure you meant the People Mover to get to Piazzale Roma (not the vaporetto - the walking distance to the closest vaporetto stop is longer than to the People Mover). steamboats

Yes, but this was a protest right at Labadee. steamboats

CDG to CPN is pretty likely KLM. And it will be different terminals as the connecting flight is an inter-Schengen flight ("domestic EU flight"). So you at least have to change within terminal 2 (like 2A) from the international terminal to the Schengen terminal (like 2F) and those are connected by a shuttle bus. I have to correct myself. We had to go through security at 2F, then boarded the bus (Navette bleu) to 2F where passport control (immigration) followed. steamboats

Been there for the last one... steamboats

I´d say that´s pretty ambitous. You have to change the terminal. That´s done by an extremly slow bus. Then you go through passport control and security at the terminal you depart from. Did that last year coming from LA and connecting back home to Munich. But we had 5 hours. steamboats

The former sister boat Mississippi Queen was built in 1975 and has been scrapped. The historic Delta Queen was built in 1926. She´s sitting in Houma/LA waiting to get repairs. Recently the exemption was granted but she still needs a new certificate of inspection by the USCG. For that a lot of work has to be done. The current owners hope to get her back as a cruise ship in 2020. The Great Steamboat Race was from New Orleans to St. Louis ending there on July 4th. Used to be the Delta Queen versus the Mississippi Queen. This ended in 2009 (maybe 2008, not sure). I´ve done this in 2005 onboard the Mississippi Queen - lots of fun. Historical for the American Queen as she´s currently the only overnight river cruise vessel with a steam engine. steamboats

I´ve never seen any bag checks on a river cruise ship 😉 - they don´t mind if you bring a bottle onboard. steamboats

There are two cruise lines operating boats on the Mississippi river and tributaries. One is American Queen Steamboat Company operating the paddlewheel steamboat American Queen and the paddlewheel motor vessel American Duchess (and soon a third one called American Comtess). The other is American Cruise Lines operating the Queen of the Mississippi and America (paddlewheel motor vessels). Yes, the cruises are more expensive as they have to follow the Passenger Vessel Service Act (meaning US flagged, US crew, built in the US and owned by a US company). And yes, the passengers tend to be more older (but that´s the same on European river cruises). Anyway I was 28 yo on my first river cruise in the US (Ohio river) and my DD was 18 months old on her first river cruise. There are usually a lot of activities onboard and during the day you have the shore stops. So no need to worry that you get bored. But you will definitely slow down. BTW no casinos onboard. While American Queen Steamboat Company has their own evening shows, American Cruise Lines usually stays longer in port and has local entertainers. The American Queen is sort of a historic boat being built in 1995. Accomodations are nice but might be a little smaller. The other boats have pretty large cabins. There´s much more included than on ocean going cruises. American Queen Steamboat Company even has busses following the boats which you can use during the shore stops for a round trip (like a HoHo bus). steamboats

I can! 😂😂 steamboats

The last thing I need on a cruise ship is a Bavarian lunch 😂 or an "Oktoberfest"!!! Living in Munich for 40 years now especially the Oktoberfest are the worst 16 days of the year for me. And I´m really picky about my Obazda which I prefer to prepare on my own. So usually an a cruise ship I try to stay away from those events. Being "raised" up on Franconian wine I never became a beer drinker anyway. steamboats

I haven´t done one in Venice yet but one in Malaga and the other one in Tallinn. Both were really excellent! Both were experienced tour guides and spoke English very well (and no, I´m no native English speaker but German). You usually tip 10 to 15 Euro per person by the end of the tour and everyone was happy to give a tip. The concept actually started in Berlin. The thought is that the tour guides are more encouraged to give a good tour when they depend on the tips. Usually there´s an experienced company offering those tours and the company does live on the paid for tours which they offer too. steamboats

Photo credit goes to Florian Feimann steamboats

Besides the suggested gratuities (which I pay upfront) and a cash tip I usually bring a box of German chocolate which always is highly appreciated. Especially in the port of Warnemünde the crew is flooding a local supermarket buying all the chocolate (those who get time off buy for the others who have to work) and the shop owners have a hard time restocking the shelves. steamboats