Columbia/Snake River questions

[mnkauf]

Can someone provide pictures of breakfast, lunch dinner menu's and/or describe the various food options?  Do you have buffets for any of these meals?  Can you describe the various daytime and evening entertainment options.  

 

If you have a rollator, can you get this through the doors to the cabin?  What about getting off ship with a walker?   Do the elevators on the ship get you everywhere you want to go if you have a walker?   

 

[BaumD]

Do not have copies of the menus, maybe someone else will post. Typically, they do not have any Buffets. During the day, you’re typically in Port, and most people are off the ship. When on the ship during the day, They will have a lecture about the area or possibly a bingo game. Every evening between 530 and seven is happy hour, then, at about 830 they have evening entertainment. The entertainment may be an in-house entertainer that plays the guitar or several times during the cruise, they will bring in local talent to perform.

many passengers have walkers or wheelchairs, and the staff is excellent in dealing with them. The older ships, mostly paddle wheels, may have one old style elevator, which may or may not go to every level. those elevators will stop at all levels that have lounges and cabins, but may not go up to the top deck. The newer ships usually have two modern elevators, which go to all levels. You can look at the deck plans online for each ship to determine where the elevators go.

[travelbuds]

My wife and I are doing this river trip from east to west and starting off a day early with the Hells Canyon boat trip. Looking for a list of shore excursions for the remainder of the week. Do passengers do any excursions independently from the ship, or just stay with ship offerings? Thanks.

[BaumD]

if you go on the ACL website, find the Columbia River Cruise, click on ITINERARY, then click on DAY BY DAY ITINERARY.  Under each port they is a list of excursions. Click on each one for details. As far as going on your own, it depends on how comfortable you are doing this. Just be sure to be back on board at the designated time before the ship leaves. Probably not to many "private" excursions on your cruise as they are smaller cities. Just was in Key West on an ACL cruise and did several excursions on our own, but in Key West, there are hundreds of private excursions as it is a big tourist destination.

[travelbuds]

3 hours ago, BaumD said:

if you go on the ACL website, find the Columbia River Cruise, click on ITINERARY, then click on DAY BY DAY ITINERARY.  Under each port they is a list of excursions. Click on each one for details. 

Thank you. It would have been nice if ACL had included more details for the excursions such as times and prices for the non-complimentary tours. We like to squeeze in as many activities as we can at each port. We usually do independent excursions. Will also check out trip advisor for things to do. Looking forward to this cruise. Have bought a couple Lewis and Clark expedition books. First time with ACL.

[ericosmith]

On 4/2/2024 at 12:01 PM, travelbuds said:

My wife and I are doing this river trip from east to west and starting off a day early with the Hells Canyon boat trip. Looking for a list of shore excursions for the remainder of the week. Do passengers do any excursions independently from the ship, or just stay with ship offerings? Thanks.

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.

[travelbuds]

11 minutes ago, ericosmith said:

Go Green!  ....... I doubt that you will find any independent excursions other than at the ends of the trip.  ........

Go White!  After a little time on TripAdvisor, it doesn't look like independent excursions will be in the cards. Bought a couple Lewis and Clark expedition books, so I'll have something to do during slow or down times.

Edited April 4 by travelbuds

[DaveinCharlotte]

14 hours ago, travelbuds said:

Thank you. It would have been nice if ACL had included more details for the excursions such as times and prices for the non-complimentary tours.

ACL does provide these details, but only after you've booked, and even then not until 60 days before the cruise starts.

[adstz]

3 hours ago, DaveinCharlotte said:

ACL does provide these details, but only after you've booked, and even then not until 60 days before the cruise starts.

This is a problem to me. I would like to be able to see the excursions and prices so I can make an informed decision at 60 days. I am also traveling with 3 other people and some of the things we would like to do together. But not knowing what is available or what the price is until the day you need to book it is not a great idea. I understand some of the excursions sell out quite quickly as they are very limited in capacity.

I wish they would consider changing their policy.

[travelbuds]

6 hours ago, DaveinCharlotte said:

ACL does provide these details, but only after you've booked, and even then not until 60 days before the cruise starts.

Seems strange, but we have only been on ocean cruises before. No river cruises.

[travelbuds]

7 hours ago, adstz said:

This is a problem to me. I would like to be able to see the excursions and prices so I can make an informed decision at 60 days........... But not knowing what is available or what the price is until the day you need to book it is not a great idea.....

Looks like a problem we'll just have to deal with for now. Maybe post-cruise surveys will help out for future trips. Maybe try trip advisor and Facebook to see if  past cruisers can help out for upcoming trip. May give ACL a call.

[BaumD]

Probably difficult for American to come up with a final excursion list until 60 days before the cruise. Excursions can change from cruise cruise due to local conditions or situations with the vendor. For example, a visit to a winery may have to be canceled if there is a wedding planned for that day at the winery. Sometimes special activities going on in the city may cause another excursion to be cancelled. Prices can also change. Imagine you see a price for an excursion six month before your cruise and when the 60 day list comes out, the price of the excursion has gone up by $15. imagine the negative feedback that the cruise line will get.

[DaveinCharlotte]

When we booked our Key West cruise, one of the highlights I was looking forward to was the day-boat excursion over to Dry Tortugas.  I knew that this was pretty much an all-day affair, so expected the cost might be close to $100.  When 60 days arrived, discovered it would only be via an airplane, and the flight would be around $500 pp!.  And you had to meet the pilot at 6:30 am.

 

To my surprise, one couple on the ship actually did sign up and off the ship they went before it was even light.  Only to get to the airport, wait another couple of hours, and be told, sorry, too windy today!

[travelbuds]

5 hours ago, BaumD said:

Probably difficult for American to come up with a final excursion list until 60 days before the cruise. ........ Prices can also change. Imagine you see a price for an excursion six month before your cruise and when the 60 day list comes out, the price of the excursion has gone up by $15.

With the cruises we have been on, we've been able to make excursion reservations and pay for them many months in advance, locking in the reservation and price. I guess going with a smaller company doesn't afford that luxury.

[BaumD]

If there is an excursion, you really want to do in a certain port, you should book it yourself direct with the vendor. When the ACL excursions come out 60 days prior, you can decide whether to stick with the one you booked or transfer over to American. Most excursions you book online can be canceled within two weeks of the excursion so you don’t lose any money.

[westcoastsue]

We are leaving from Clarkston on April 24th. Are luggage tags provided at the hotel? We’ve checked in already.