Columbia/Snake east bound vs west bound?

[travelbuds]

My wife and I are interested in a Columbia/Snake river trip. Looking for pros and cons cruising eastbound vs westbound. Flying in from Phoenix. Thank you.

[adstz]

I live just north of San Francisco. I am considering this cruise and looking mostly at westbound. My thought is that I want the shorter easier flight home after my vacation. (Portland is an easier jump than 

Spokane)

[ericosmith]

I kind of like going east bound against the flow of current.  You spend more time on the river that way.

[Host Jazzbeau]

29 minutes ago, ericosmith said:

I kind of like going east bound against the flow of current.  You spend more time on the river that way.

That's usually the trade-off with river cruises.  Upriver gives more time cruising [a benefit if it's during the daylight – most European cruises sail at night].  Downriver may give more time in port [in Europe that's usually the benefit – at least so queuing for the locks doesn't take away from time in port].  I have no experience with the Columbia and Snake rivers, so don't know how it plays out on this itinerary.

[westcoastsue]

My husband & I opted for east to west because we heard the scenery becomes more lush the further west you go. We live in south Orange County so flights are about the same either way.

[travelbuds]

Thank you all for your comments. We have never been on a river trip before. Deciding between paddlewheeler and riverboat that ACL offers. Any words of wisdom one way or the other? Thanks.

[DaveinCharlotte]

On 12/16/2023 at 12:31 PM, adstz said:

My thought is that I want the shorter easier flight home after my vacation. (Portland is an easier jump than Spokane)

True! I do think it's more likely to have trouble on a SFO-Spokane booking than on a Portland/SFO booking. But for this very reason I would want the harder part to be at the end of the cruise.Why? Having flight delays/cancellations at the START of the cruise can wreak havoc with the whole trip, if you miss the ship.  Having these problems at the END of the cruise doesn't bother me so much -- the trip is over, so what if I'm late getting back home.

[DaveinCharlotte]

8 hours ago, travelbuds said:

Deciding between paddlewheeler and riverboat that ACL offers. Any words of wisdom one way or the other?

One thing to consider is the layout of the cabins, vis-a-vis the location of the lounges, how close (or not close) you want to be to them, and the relative cost of the cabin.

 

We, for example, like to get a cabin handy to the lounges.  On the paddlewheel class, the next-to-the bottom cabin category adjoins both the main lounge and a paddlewheel lounge.  These cabins are relatively cheap.

 

On the riverboat class, the relatively cheap cabins aren't near anything, and the cabins that are are much more expensive.

 

The riverboat ships (most of them) are newer, have a nifty walking track around the entire topside, and a small outdoor cafe that we like very much.

 

The paddlewheelers are older, but have been refurbished and are in great shape.  No outdoor cafe, but they make up for this by maintaining a buffet in the sky lounge, with great food options.

 

If cost didn't matter, I guess I'd slightly prefer the riverboats.  But the paddlewheelers are the better deal, in my opinion.

[travelbuds]

5 hours ago, DaveinCharlotte said:

True! I do think it's more likely to have trouble on a SFO-Spokane booking than on a Portland/SFO booking. But for this very reason I would want the harder part to be at the end of the cruise.Why? Having flight delays/cancellations at the START of the cruise can wreak havoc with the whole trip, if you miss the ship.  Having these problems at the END of the cruise doesn't bother me so much -- the trip is over, so what if I'm late getting back home.

Have been considering Lewiston airport rather than Spokane-----2-3 miles vs 2 hours drive-----if I could get good times. 

[travelbuds]

5 hours ago, DaveinCharlotte said:

One thing to consider is the layout of the cabins, vis-a-vis the location of the lounges, how close (or not close) you want to be to them, and the relative cost of the cabin.

 

We, for example, like to get a cabin handy to the lounges.  On the paddlewheel class, the next-to-the bottom cabin category adjoins both the main lounge and a paddlewheel lounge.  These cabins are relatively cheap.

 

On the riverboat class, the relatively cheap cabins aren't near anything, and the cabins that are are much more expensive.

 

The riverboat ships (most of them) are newer, have a nifty walking track around the entire topside, and a small outdoor cafe that we like very much.

 

The paddlewheelers are older, but have been refurbished and are in great shape.  No outdoor cafe, but they make up for this by maintaining a buffet in the sky lounge, with great food options.

 

If cost didn't matter, I guess I'd slightly prefer the riverboats.  But the paddlewheelers are the better deal, in my opinion.

Thank you for your comments. Regarding cabin location for this river trip, do you know if the scenery is nicer on the south side or north side of the river? I see that you have been on WBC cruises in the past. We enjoyed the 5 that we were on. We were on the Fantome two times, the last time the year before she went down.

[ericosmith]

6 hours ago, travelbuds said:

Regarding cabin location for this river trip, do you know if the scenery is nicer on the south side or north side of the river?

IMHO it's better on the south side.

[DaveinCharlotte]

17 hours ago, travelbuds said:

Regarding cabin location for this river trip, do you know if the scenery is nicer on the south side or north side of the river? I see that you have been on WBC cruises in the past. We enjoyed the 5 that we were on. We were on the Fantome two times, the last time the year before she went down.

Hello fellow barefoot windjammer! We too were on the Fantome, the year before the disaster, though just to visit for a couple of hours (while Captain Matt had our ship, the Mandalay, tied up alongside).  I still remember Captain Casey and the huge aquarium behind the bar!  There was a great book written about the ship and the hurricane; maybe you're already read it.

 

Re side of ship.  I agree with ericosmith about the south side.  But a couple of other considerations:  If the weather is very hot and sunny (a real possibility on the Snake, especially), your balcony could be unusable in the afternoon.  And conversely, in cool weather, that would be the preferred side, of course.

And if you're a photography buff, the hills on the south side will be in shade, which doesn't make for good shots.  But to tell the truth, I don't think there's enough difference to worry about.

[travelbuds]

7 hours ago, DaveinCharlotte said:

Hello fellow barefoot windjammer! We too were on the Fantome, the year before the disaster, though just to visit for a couple of hours (while Captain Matt had our ship, the Mandalay, tied up alongside).  I still remember Captain Casey and the huge aquarium behind the bar!  There was a great book written about the ship and the hurricane; maybe you're already read it.

 

 

I read the book, The Perfect Storm, by James Carrier. Captain Guyan was the captain of the Fantome at the time. He was the captain of our Yankee Clipper (Grenada) sail three years prior to the tragedy. We partied with the Mandalay when we tied up on Palm Island. Guyan's brother, Paul, was second mate on Fantome (Captain Pete) when we were on it in Mexico the year before disaster. We have a ship painting by Captain Max of the Polynesia on our first Windjammer.  Other trip was on Flying Cloud with Captain Adrian in British Virgin Islands. Some of our best vacations! Too bad owner's kids couldn't keep business afloat. Now just to pick a boat for the Columbia!

 

[ericosmith]

One of my favorite pictures of the south shore taken around dinner time on Labor Day

[DaveinCharlotte]

8 hours ago, ericosmith said:

One of my favorite pictures of the south shore taken around dinner time on Labor Day

Nice shot.  Fortunate that you were not passing that spot at mid-day.  Great timing!

[CarolynFH]

We cruised Portland to Clarkston in April 2022, and I’ve decided that I’d like to cruise the other way if I get the chance - because I’d like to have a better idea of Lewis and Clark’s experience! The eastbound cruise reverses their path. And I’ll also agree that cruising from the very dry, less scenic Snake River to the much more scenic Columbia River and finally to the Pacific Ocean would be desirable too. 

[travelbuds]

My wife and I have decided to go on the American Song from Clarkson to Portland and picked a port side cabin. Flying into Lewiston a day early to do the Hells Canyon package. It is a Lewis and Clark themed cruise. Looking forward to this as it will be our first river cruise of any kind.

[websailor]

We plan to go on American Song from Portland to Clarkson. We're just looking at some of the details now. 

 

I've been trying to find out where this ship actually departs from. On Google Earth, I can see our Holiday Inn and right across the street is American Cruise Lines, and a ship docked right there. But I've seen other web references that they leave from 121 NW Everett St along the Willamette River....but there are no facilities there on Google Earth... 

 

Anyone know where they leave from and if we just walk across to the ship?

 

Also, do people typically take a taxi from the Airport to the Holiday Inn because it is a short trip?

 

Ernie

[DaveinCharlotte]

18 hours ago, websailor said:

I've been trying to find out where this ship actually departs from. On Google Earth, I can see our Holiday Inn and right across the street is American Cruise Lines, and a ship docked right there. But I've seen other web references that they leave from 121 NW Everett St along the Willamette River....but there are no facilities there on Google Earth... 

 

Anyone know where they leave from and if we just walk across to the ship?

 

Also, do people typically take a taxi from the Airport to the Holiday Inn because it is a short trip?

 

Ernie

Am booked on Harmony departing Aug 1.  Am expecting the ship to depart from Hayden Island, right next to the Holiday Inn.  What is the reference to 121 Everett?  Doesn't sound right.

 

I'm guessing we bring out luggage down to the lobby, the crew transfers the luggage to the ship, and we do indeed just walk across.

 

You're probably right about the taxi from the airport, but I haven't investigated that (we

are planning to take the MAX red line from PDX to downtown, then the MAX yellow line to the Expo center by Hayden Island, and walk to the Holiday Inn from there).

 

Hopefully somebody who's already done this will chip in...

[CarolynFH]

@websailor and @DaveinCharlotte
In April 2022 when we sailed Portland to Clarkston, we planned to take a taxi or rideshare to the Holiday Inn, but when we got to baggage claim we found out the ship had a bus there to take us and our luggage, free of charge. So you might want to check with ACL (and might need to check again as time gets closer).

 

The ship docks directly in back of the hotel - we were excited to see it from our hotel window when we woke up that morning! We simply put our luggage right inside our hotel room door before breakfast, and the staff picked it up and transported it from there to our cabins. All we had to do was walk from a rear exit of the hotel onto the ship. It was very easy and efficient. The most stressful aspect was having Covid testing done that morning, and of course you won’t have that now. 
 

The dock in Clarkston is the same - directly in back of the hotel. We didn’t stay at the hotel, so I’m not sure how embarkation works from there. 

[RRFPresident]

On 3/1/2024 at 3:02 PM, CarolynFH said:

@websailor and @DaveinCharlotte
In April 2022 when we sailed Portland to Clarkston, we planned to take a taxi or rideshare to the Holiday Inn, but when we got to baggage claim we found out the ship had a bus there to take us and our luggage, free of charge. So you might want to check with ACL (and might need to check again as time gets closer).

We booked the same Portland to Clarkston route for this April and are trying to figure out flight options. Could you share what airport you flew into and out of on each end? Did you fly in on the first day of your itinerary or before then?

 

Changed to this cruise a couple weeks ago when American Queen Voyages ceased operations. Thankful that we hadn't gotten around to booking flights for their trip yet. We've done one back to back ACL cruise but it left out of our hometown so we only had the one flight back home and no hotel stay. Thanks!

[CarolynFH]

3 hours ago, RRFPresident said:

We booked the same Portland to Clarkston route for this April and are trying to figure out flight options. Could you share what airport you flew into and out of on each end? Did you fly in on the first day of your itinerary or before then?

 

Changed to this cruise a couple weeks ago when American Queen Voyages ceased operations. Thankful that we hadn't gotten around to booking flights for their trip yet. We've done one back to back ACL cruise but it left out of our hometown so we only had the one flight back home and no hotel stay. Thanks!

We flew from IAH (Houston) into the Portland airport the day before embarkation. On the way home, we flew from Spokane to Denver and then DEN to IAH. 
 

There were three of us, so it was less expensive to rent a car and drive to Spokane than it would have been to take ACL’s bus. The ship docked in Clarkston the evening before disembarkation, so we took an Uber that evening to the Lewiston airport to pick up the car, I think due to either the rental car agency’s hours or the ACL bus schedule to the Lewiston airport, or maybe both, and were able to park the car very near the dock. We arrived at the Spokane airport just a few minutes before the ACL bus did. 

Edited March 3 by CarolynFH

[DaveinCharlotte]

On 3/1/2024 at 3:02 PM, CarolynFH said:

In April 2022 when we sailed Portland to Clarkston, we planned to take a taxi or rideshare to the Holiday Inn, but when we got to baggage claim we found out the ship had a bus there to take us and our luggage, free of charge.

18 hours ago, CarolynFH said:

We flew from IAH (Houston) into the Portland airport the day before embarkation. 

 

We too are planning to arrive in Portland the day before the embarkation.  Until we saw your post, we had planned on taking Max rail from our airport hotel to the Holiday Inn the next morning.  But if ACL really does run a shuttle, we would go back to the airport and use that.  What puzzles me is...sounds like ACL did't tell you about this shuttle ahead of time, you discovered it at the airport.  Since you were there a day early, how did you discover that there would be a shuttle the next day?

 

We don't want to return to the airport just to see if ACL is running a  shuttle, but on the other hand we don't want to miss out if there actually is one.

[adstz]

I posted this information a few weeks ago. We are booked for May 2025, Portland to Clarkston.

 

"Just received my pre cruise information for our Columbia/Snake River cruise in May 2025. This is the information provided.

Shuttles are only at the end of the cruise.

The shuttle to the Lewiston airport is free. It leaves approxiamately 8:30 am.

The shuttle to the Spokane airport is $120. It is scheduled to arrive at the airport around 9:00 am, which would mean it leaves the port around 7:00 am.'

[CarolynFH]

On 3/4/2024 at 8:18 AM, DaveinCharlotte said:

We too are planning to arrive in Portland the day before the embarkation.  Until we saw your post, we had planned on taking Max rail from our airport hotel to the Holiday Inn the next morning.  But if ACL really does run a shuttle, we would go back to the airport and use that.  What puzzles me is...sounds like ACL did't tell you about this shuttle ahead of time, you discovered it at the airport.  Since you were there a day early, how did you discover that there would be a shuttle the next day?

 

We don't want to return to the airport just to see if ACL is running a  shuttle, but on the other hand we don't want to miss out if there actually is one.

Actually, it was a surprise to us to find the bus at the Portland airport, because I had been told by ACL we’d have to make our own way from there to the hotel. It’s been two years, so my memory isn’t clear, but I believe my husband struck up a conversation with someone at baggage claim and found out from him that there was a bus, and IIRC it may have been there to pick up other passengers but agreed to take us (a small group formed via word of mouth). IOW, if ACL says you need to make your own way from airport to their hotel for embarkation, that’s what I’d expect.