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American Empress 9/22/2019 Sailing


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Paddle wheeler first timer. Looking for fellow "paddlers" to communicate with prior to cruise.

 

Lewis and Clark itinerary. Should we buy coonskin caps?

 

Bop

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Paddle wheeler first timer. Looking for fellow "paddlers" to communicate with prior to cruise.

 

Lewis and Clark itinerary. Should we buy coonskin caps?

 

Bop

 

You might want to read my review https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=621323 as we just returned from this cruise. Had a wonderful time and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

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Djett,

Great useful review. We are really looking forward to this cruise. Anticipation is half the fun. We will cont

tact the hotel and furnish flight times, etc. when they are available.

 

Thanks a lot for your review.

Happy cruising!

Bop

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We will also be on this cruise and are first time river cruisers. We are Mike and Debbie from Albuquerque. NM.

Welcome aboard!

Thanks for the reply. Read Djett's review if you haven't already. Good information.

We are a group of 4 from Midlothian VA.

 

More later,

Bop

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There are 4 of us looking at this cruise and date?

 

Not really trying to jump on your thread before we actually book it....but I am wondering if anyone has / had a preference for either the Starboard or Port side? Was Either side better for sightseeing while cruising?

 

 

Thanks for letting me jump in here.

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There are 4 of us looking at this cruise and date?

 

Not really trying to jump on your thread before we actually book it....but I am wondering if anyone has / had a preference for either the Starboard or Port side? Was Either side better for sightseeing while cruising?

 

 

Thanks for letting me jump in here.

 

We just returned from sailing Clarkston to Portland. Our cabin was 415 on the starboard side. We liked it because we had afternoon shade.

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We just returned from sailing Clarkston to Portland. Our cabin was 415 on the starboard side. We liked it because we had afternoon shade.

 

Thank you. We hadn’t really considered needing shade, but don’t want sun blaring in either...especially if a little warm in September. I noticed your cabin is one of those with a semi private balcony. Were you bothered by people walking by at all hours - and did you use your balcony to move about the ship more than the interior access? We have only one prior river cruise and the previous ship’s configuration was totally different.

 

Thanks once again for your input.

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We just returned from sailing Clarkston to Portland. Our cabin was 415 on the starboard side. We liked it because we had afternoon shade.

We enjoy balconies but don't spend a great deal of time on them. Much more fun in the public areas. We always end up wondering if we should have selected the other side. (grass always greener?) Like the smaller vessels on European rivers. Flip the coin?

 

Buck, hope to see you on board. You can give me $1 for thread jumpin!

 

Bop

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Thank you. We hadn’t really considered needing shade, but don’t want sun blaring in either...especially if a little warm in September. I noticed your cabin is one of those with a semi private balcony. Were you bothered by people walking by at all hours - and did you use your balcony to move about the ship more than the interior access? We have only one prior river cruise and the previous ship’s configuration was totally different.

 

Thanks once again for your input.

You can walk out of your cabin onto your balcony area with two chairs and small table, then walk directly onto the deck. A waist-high railing separates your balcony from the deck. The opening onto the deck can be closed off with a chain, no gate. Each balcony is separated by a metal panel. We had four cabins next to each other and the crew removed the panels for us which really opened the area up. We used our balcony quite a bit and were never bothered by people walking by. In fact, met some nice people that way. We were in cabin 415 just forward of the River Grill so we usually went to the River Grill using the outside deck rather than inside hallway.

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You might want to read my review https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=621323 as we just returned from this cruise. Had a wonderful time and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Hello Djett . Happy to see your review . We are booked in 415 and 413 for a Dec 18 cruise . Do you have more photos from the cabin /bathroom ? My mom is in a wheelchair and would like to know about the step up into the bathroom? How high and Grab bars if you noticed? We have a portable potty chair we are thinking to bring as a back up . She can walk around the cabin with a walker I know rooms are small but what can you say about using a walker to walk around he beds ect? any advice, photos would be great . Thank You Doreen

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We enjoy balconies but don't spend a great deal of time on them. Much more fun in the public areas. We always end up wondering if we should have selected the other side. (grass always greener?) Like the smaller vessels on European rivers. Flip the coin?

 

Buck, hope to see you on board. You can give me $1 for thread jumpin!

 

Bop

 

I guess you will be seeing us (4 total) on board. I figure I don't owe you that $1 either since I'm going to be a regular here going forward - and not a thread jumper after all ! :')

 

Looking forward to this cruise.

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Hi Bill,

 

OK, debt forgiven! I was going to donate the 1$ to the indigent cruisers' society. I guess some poor family will have to stow away.

 

Bop;););):(:(

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Hi Bill,

 

OK, debt forgiven! I was going to donate the 1$ to the indigent cruisers' society. I guess some poor family will have to stow away.

 

Bop;););):(:(

 

Oh well that money would have come back to me anyway... I'm pretty sure I belong to the ICS!!

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  • 1 month later...

This thread sure is quiet.... of course River Cruises don't normally have a lot of Cruise Critic posters.

 

Maybe a few more will join over the upcoming months. When we did the Rhine River cruise several years ago, we did have a pretty well attended Roll Call... around 15 or so as I recall. So you just never know.

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Hey Buck,

I see you are still on the Boards. Yes, river cruises tend to have fewer folks but things usually pick up when we get closer to embarking date. I have met some great friends on the Boards starting on the old AOL only cruise Board in the late 90's. There was big resistance when the current Cruise Boards opened to everyone. Silly, right?

When we "switched over" to river boats, it was like starting over. Had to get used to checking European weather forecasts to see if we could get under the bridges and such. I think I saw Steamboat somewhere on here. He was very helpful to me on our Danube cruise.

Anyway, things will pick up in a few months and we can put days until cruise counters on our pages.

Look forward to meeting you.

Bop

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Hey Buck,

I see you are still on the Boards. Yes, river cruises tend to have fewer folks but things usually pick up when we get closer to embarking date. I have met some great friends on the Boards starting on the old AOL only cruise Board in the late 90's. There was big resistance when the current Cruise Boards opened to everyone. Silly, right?

When we "switched over" to river boats, it was like starting over. Had to get used to checking European weather forecasts to see if we could get under the bridges and such. I think I saw Steamboat somewhere on here. He was very helpful to me on our Danube cruise.

Anyway, things will pick up in a few months and we can put days until cruise counters on our pages.

Look forward to meeting you.

Bop

 

Funny when we did our Rhine cruise I had a guy make contact with me who was going to be on the riverboat just before me.....and was getting off the same morning we were getting on in Basel Switzerland. We actually were able to meet up and have a coffee that morning. We have kept in touch.....but seems as though we have not been able to coordinate going on a cruise together.

 

So you never know for sure who/how you may meet someone here on Cruise Critic.

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My husband and I will be first time cruisers on the Empress September 10-17th from Clarkston to Vancouver. Not sure what to expect. We’ve done 2 Viking River Cruises, Bordeaux and Normandy and loved them. We’re very worried about the fires in the area, but no one is posting about them.

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Hi LE,

Welcome aboard!

 

We are converted ocean cruisers who have done several European river boat cruises on AMAwaterways. Great cruise food, services. Hard to go back to the "cattle call" of the large ships. We still are very fond of Princess although haven't been on many since the ownership change.

Anyhow, I am not going to worry about fires and such quite yet. Surely the west coast will get some rain and mudslides to put out the fires . We will pray for the folks who are losing everything.

 

I am not sure about the AQSC experience but will try to keep my expectations low and enjoy the good parts which surely will materialize. It is always a fun experience to meet new friends. We watched the PBS special about Lewis and Clark and are looking forward to traveling on the Snake and Columbia rivers. Hope we don't need gas masks:eek:.:eek:

 

Bop

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My husband and I will be first time cruisers on the Empress September 10-17th from Clarkston to Vancouver. Not sure what to expect. We’ve done 2 Viking River Cruises, Bordeaux and Normandy and loved them. We’re very worried about the fires in the area, but no one is posting about them.

 

Hi LEAFEATER,,,,,,

 

Hopefully you will have a great cruise, and are able to pass on your thoughts afterward. This is our first (hopefully of many ) River cruises in the US. for us. We have done the Rhine River aboard the SS Antoinette a few years ago, via Uniworld Boutique Cruise lines. We LOVED it. Unfortunately we are no longer traveling to Europe (many reasons) so we are doing big ship cruises (not mega ships) and now hopefully a few river cruises in and around the US.

 

Hope to hear from you after your cruise.

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Hi LE,

Welcome aboard!

 

We are converted ocean cruisers who have done several European river boat cruises on AMAwaterways. Great cruise food, services. Hard to go back to the "cattle call" of the large ships. We still are very fond of Princess although haven't been on many since the ownership change.

Anyhow, I am not going to worry about fires and such quite yet. Surely the west coast will get some rain and mudslides to put out the fires . We will pray for the folks who are losing everything.

 

I am not sure about the AQSC experience but will try to keep my expectations low and enjoy the good parts which surely will materialize. It is always a fun experience to meet new friends. We watched the PBS special about Lewis and Clark and are looking forward to traveling on the Snake and Columbia rivers. Hope we don't need gas masks:eek:.:eek:

 

Bop

 

Yes, there is no reason to worry and most of the terrible fire news seems to be from California. We booked this cruise so long ago, can’t believe it’s in less than a month.

We still want to do another Viking river cruise in Europe, probably the Douro, Portugal one. The big worry in Europe is the river level, and I would not like to have to be bused, we love the the boat experience. LE

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Thanks so much for a great review filled with lots of information. You’ve answered a lot of questions I had. We leave in 3 weeks and are in the same room you were. The only thing that concerns me are the thin walls. I am a light sleeper, but I always travel with a noise generator , hopefully that will drowned out the neighbors.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We are on the Empress this week from Clarkston to Vancouver. This is our 4th AQ cruise and we sailed the Empress 11 years ago when she was owed by Majestic. We are finding the changes as a much needed improvement.

 

One warning though, if you stay at the Davenport in Spokane, either pre or post, the hotel slaps a $10 plus tax “Destination Charge” on your bill as you to check out. Waiting to hear back from AQ corporate why. The local AQ reps were no assistance in the matter.

 

Will try to answer any questions y’all have

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I hope you have a wonderful trip. We do the same trip in less than 2 weeks . We are most concerned at this time about the smoke from Canada and California and if it is affecting the air quality and scenery. My husband is a foodie, did you find a good restaurant in Spokane, we are there 2 days before we leave for the boat. Any tips as you travel and reviews would be appreciated. Thanks Bon voyage LE

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