Cabin Suggestions and advice on drinks packages

[uktog]

Hi

We are planning our first trip on an American river next year having done European river cruises and lots of cruises on smaller ocean ships.

We are trying to decide which room to book if we make the trip.  We know all about the open verandah but are wondering which Category C rooms people would recommend (or avoid) and why.  Is there any discernible difference between a B and a C?

 

Our second question relates to drinks prices onboard what is the typical price of a reasonable scotch and soda or a mint julep and does anyone know of the exclusions on the drinks package.  This is a perk someone is offering in a slightly higher fare and I am wanting to work out is it worth it or not - DH will have a drink lunchtime, a pre dinner drink and a post dinner drink (so three possibly four a day in addition to wines

 

Thanks

[Toofarfromthesea]

5 hours ago, uktog said:

Hi

We are planning our first trip on an American river next year having done European river cruises and lots of cruises on smaller ocean ships.

We are trying to decide which room to book if we make the trip.  We know all about the open verandah but are wondering which Category C rooms people would recommend (or avoid) and why.  Is there any discernible difference between a B and a C?

 

Our second question relates to drinks prices onboard what is the typical price of a reasonable scotch and soda or a mint julep and does anyone know of the exclusions on the drinks package.  This is a perk someone is offering in a slightly higher fare and I am wanting to work out is it worth it or not - DH will have a drink lunchtime, a pre dinner drink and a post dinner drink (so three possibly four a day in addition to wines

 

Thanks

 

Since my first time is upcoming I can only help with the drink restriction.  We added the drinks package (699 for a 16 day cruise for the 2 of us) and the notation on the confirmation says up to $12 per drink.

[uktog]

Thanks you, now I just have to work out our room dilemma 

[Calliope]

Which boat are you riding? That could make a difference as to how one feels about a given room category or if they can even comment about a type of room.

[uktog]

5 hours ago, Calliope said:

Which boat are you riding? That could make a difference as to how one feels about a given room category or if they can even comment about a type of room.

Sincere apologies should have said, American Queen New Orleans to Memphis in the heat of late August (can’t change when he was born it’s a cruise for a special  birthday)

Edited April 11, 2019 by uktog

[LDVinNC]

There is not a lot of size difference between the categories.  We have been in a C, a couple of B's, an A and an AAA (not worth the extra money in my opinion although the bathroom was huge).  For our next trip - the full Mississippi in June/July, we chose a B - 415 which we had before.  We once had a B (402) at the bow of the boat and I would absolutely advise avoiding that.  It was right by the Chart Room and people kept trying to come in to our cabin not realizing it was private space.  We talked to people who were very unhappy to be at the stern with noise from the paddlewheel.

 

I would look at the deck plan and choose by location more than by the size of the room. It looks like the categories are changing for 2020.

[Calliope]

I would go for one of the B rooms on the port side of the Observation deck (except 402, 404, and 406) as they have both an entrance from the guard and from the hallway. During inclement weather the hallway door might come in as being very handy. If none of the port side Bs are available I would go in a midships C room on that deck.

Edited April 13, 2019 by Calliope

[uktog]

Thanks, we have asked our agent to try for a B.  Fingers crossed. Really appreciate the advice, American Queen is a whole new venture for us, but having ready around, one that looks an excellent fit. 

[uktog]

Just an update, all booked in 414 American Queen, thanks everyone for the input.  It is more than a year away but we are excited at planning not only our stops on this cruise but also the land portion of our adventure pre and post cruise.  We will be watching all the posts and reviews with a keen interest and any advice anyone wants to give us please shout out.

Thank you

[LDVinNC]

Good for you!  You will love it.

[Calliope]

I think you'll be very happy in that room!

 

[Shineson]

Hi.  We too have booked the American Queen to celebrate a special birthday next year.  We are doing the same itinerary as you but in June/July - hot hot hot, but like you, can't help when we were born !!!!  We are flying out a few days earlier (BA non-stop from Heathrow) to New Orleans.  We are doing our own itinerary for 5 nights pre-cruise, and booking the ships extension after the cruise in Memphis and then on to Nashville.  British Airways fly non-stop home from Nashville to Heathrow, so that's a result.  So excited about this journey, and like you, enjoying the planning.

[hootmon]

We were on the AQ a little while ago and had port side  cabin 410. We had access to the deck and the hallway. The cabin and location were perfect.

[uktog]

On 4/26/2019 at 9:10 PM, Shineson said:

Hi.  We too have booked the American Queen to celebrate a special birthday next year.  We are doing the same itinerary as you but in June/July - hot hot hot, but like you, can't help when we were born !!!!  We are flying out a few days earlier (BA non-stop from Heathrow) to New Orleans.  We are doing our own itinerary for 5 nights pre-cruise, and booking the ships extension after the cruise in Memphis and then on to Nashville.  British Airways fly non-stop home from Nashville to Heathrow, so that's a result.  So excited about this journey, and like you, enjoying the planning.

Thank you. I had overlooked that Nashville option to fly home. I think we will probably push on to Atlanta though so we can explore a little of Georgia. As you say the fun is in the planning but I’m so happy the AQ is booked. We will be onboard for the big day 🙂 

[lyndarra]

On 4/17/2019 at 7:55 PM, uktog said:

Just an update, all booked in 414 American Queen, thanks everyone for the input.  It is more than a year away but we are excited at planning not only our stops on this cruise but also the land portion of our adventure pre and post cruise.  We will be watching all the posts and reviews with a keen interest and any advice anyone wants to give us please shout out.

Thank you

Good choice. My late wife and I had 412  June 2017. It was a bucket list cruise that we enjoyed immensely.

Edited May 18, 2019 by lyndarra
spelling typo

[uktog]

How kind of you to come and tell me that. Although it’s a year away the planning for the cruise plus pre and post is really exciting 

[Bestbubba]

We've just returned from our first AQ cruise, celebrating our 50th anniversary. It was superb, exceeded our every expectation. Every day was a delight. The boat, the staff, the food, the service, the entertainment, the brilliant hoho buses, all made this cruise a stand out for us. As for the calliope, it still makes me smile thinking about it! We've been enjoying ocean cruising since the early 80s, but this trip was a highlight from start to finish. You're going to have an amazing time I'm sure. Sue 😊

[Tinkerboy]

On 4/17/2019 at 10:55 AM, uktog said:

Just an update, all booked in 414 American Queen, thanks everyone for the input.  It is more than a year away but we are excited at planning not only our stops on this cruise but also the land portion of our adventure pre and post cruise.  We will be watching all the posts and reviews with a keen interest and any advice anyone wants to give us please shout out.

Thank you

Hope you enjoy. We were on the American queen in alril, Memphis to new Orleans. Only one thing to be aware of absolute no insulation between walls of cabins so could be noisy if you get lumbered with the wrong type of neighbour!! But we enjoyed it

[uktog]

49 minutes ago, Tinkerboy said:

Hope you enjoy. We were on the American queen in alril, Memphis to new Orleans. Only one thing to be aware of absolute no insulation between walls of cabins so could be noisy if you get lumbered with the wrong type of neighbour!! But we enjoyed it

Thanks - oh well knowing our luck that will happen!  So with that in mind, I saw someone mention something about a 10 drinks for $50 package - did you have that offer?

[LDVinNC]

I mentioned that drink card.  It was on the 21 day Mighty Mississippi cruise we just returned from.  It was not available all the time; I think they offered it 3 times over the course of the trip. So, maybe they would offer it once on a one-week trip.

 

It was usable for drinks up to $10.  Wine was $10 a glass and so was the B & B liqueur I enjoy.  Worked for us except that we mislaid the card and only found it again on the last night!

[Lady Meer]

On 5/18/2019 at 9:27 AM, uktog said:

How kind of you to come and tell me that. Although it’s a year away the planning for the cruise plus pre and post is really exciting 

 

The planning is exciting. Just a suggestion - has your TA booked your dining time and table?  We had the later seating (I can’t remember the time) and chose a table for 8 people. We thought that a 4 was a bit risky (may not gel with the other couple). If you have a 6, the others may be together, so we thought an 8 would be best and it was great! There are only a couple that size but they were nicely situated. Breakfast and lunch is open seating. I realise this may sound picky but who wants to be unhappy when eating and drinking 😉.

 

We thought the early seating was too early as we like a pre-dinner drink (or two).

 

 

[uktog]

13 hours ago, Lady Meer said:

 

The planning is exciting. Just a suggestion - has your TA booked your dining time and table?  We had the later seating (I can’t remember the time) and chose a table for 8 people. We thought that a 4 was a bit risky (may not gel with the other couple). If you have a 6, the others may be together, so we thought an 8 would be best and it was great! There are only a couple that size but they were nicely situated. Breakfast and lunch is open seating. I realise this may sound picky but who wants to be unhappy when eating and drinking 😉.

 

We thought the early seating was too early as we like a pre-dinner drink (or two).

 

 

Thank you so much.  Yes, at the time of booking we had asked for a late sitting (6 is too early for me) and using our early days of ocean sailing knowledge a large table and I see it’s noted on the booking.  Thanks though for the reminder, being so used to open seating these days, albeit with 700 guests, we do have a small amount of mind resetting to do during this exciting planning.