Mississippi River Reviews

My wife and l really enjoyed our 8 day cruise from Memphis to New Orleans in April 2016. We found the service and food to be excellent, but the stopover towns down the Mississippi aren't as exciting as expected - they looked like towns that time has left behind and a bit run down. The 1st few plantation were great visits, but soon became boring, however the history of Civil War was great particularly in Vicksburg. We had a internal room which was very small, but not really a problem with many public areas to sit back and watch the other guest and river, which l must say is dirty and after a while repetitive. Would recommend a European river cruise over this cruise with many castles and churches !!

While the cruise itself was very nice, dealing with this company to retrieve over charges is a nightmare, so think twice before putting down a deposit.
We booked a future trip while on a New Orleans Round Trip Cruise Dec 2014 - Jan 2015. The cruise itself was outstanding - good food, interesting ports, wonderful, attentive staff. Booking for a future cruise had the benefit of a two week window during which one could cancel the trip without penalty. As it turned out, they over charged us $1000, then we had to cancel one of the trips we booked and did so within the two week window. After 5 days, one week, 10 days, two weeks, 18 days, 3 weeks.....no refund, despite multiple contacts to the sales rep who ultimately stopped responding to my emails and calls to customer service (Maria Whitehorse) who assured that the refund request would be moved to the front of the queue. After another week, I finally disputed the charge with my credit card company and was issued a conditional credit. Probably because of THAT more than my continual calling, I AQSC finally issued a credit but of only $800 when the amount I was due was $1000. This is a digital, point and click age. They could have put the check in their pocket and rode a bicycle 1500 miles to my house faster! We feel sure that AQSC is floating the deposits and that the solvency as a company may be a problem. After this cruise, we will NOT book another one with them - we don't trust their accounting practices and don't care to engage with them over erroneous charges.
Our travel companions did not receive a deposit for a past trip for almost 6 weeks, during which time, their billing cycle with their CC company resulted in interest charges.
We will continue to pursue the balance due and will send THEM a bill for our time and interest due on the money. Think TWICE before giving this company a deposit; sadly, we're thinking twice about doing any more business with them at all.

March 2017 - Mom and I did the New Orleans to Vicksburg back to New Orleans American Queen Riverboat cruise. We had a great time. The small size of the boat made everything a little more personal. There was almost always something to do on board and plenty to do at the stops along the way. There were 3 eating areas and we used the front café often as we had been assigned the late dinner seating and that was too late for us. It did get boring. Food was good but wait staff left a lot to be desired. At almost ever meal we either did not get our beverages or they came as we were finished. One morning I asked for tea and it did not come with a spoon. I stirred with my knife and our waitress thought it was funny. BUT she never got a spoon for me either! Stage shows were cute for the size of the stage. The piano guy Phil was GREAT and we spent most of our time listening to him. The "Riverlorian" talks were also great. Our room attendant was super to us. This was an expensive cruise but one mom loved and a once in a life time experience. Rooms are compact but the outer ones have a great view. The doors open right on to the walking deck so be prepared. Inner rooms fine as there is plenty of places to go out and sit and watch the world go by. Handicapped accessible and very helpful crew. Kudos for that.

If you are under 70 bring a lot of movies to watch and books to read glad I went on this nice to see The Mississippi and the river historian was the best thing about the trip.Had a inside room which was fine i good value. Food was good service fair not like on ocean cruise ships Entertainment good for there was only four entertainers they did the best they could Changed plans due to low tide no plan b by cruise director who was also one of the four entertainers for what American steamboat charges for this trip hire more help for entertaining glad I went willNOT ho again

Civil war buffs will love this trip. But those who love a slower pace, enjoying nature, great food and jazz will also love it.

This Cruise is a Dr Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde Trip.The trips on the way down from Memphis to New Orleans were great,well organized and the guides exceptionally knowledgeable.
The Cabins and Housekeeping staff are generally polite and helpful.
However the Dining service and food quality could not hold a candle to European and Asian equivalents.
Service was slow and disorganized, food very ordinary and the presentation poor.
The staff were mostly helpful although we did receive some rude service from a so called 'Butler' who looked after the passengers who were accommodated in Suites. It seemed that there was nor organization between Kitchen and Waiting staff and could you believe it - on the 7 day trip they ran out of Corn Flakes and Breakfast Tea- RAN OUT.
Our party were 6 in number all well travelled and we all felt the same way as did other non americans on board.

My wife and I have taken many ocean cruises. When we saw the Jane McDonald TV series feature the American Queen, we thought we'd give it a go.

Overall a fantastic experience. Gently cruising along the Mississippi.
With only a few hundred passengers you never feel over crowded. Finding places to sit and watch the world go by is no problem. The staff are all very accommodating and couldn't be more helpful, and the food … oh the food (awesome!).

The entertainment is excellent, given the small audiences they have to perform to. Generally it is far more intimate and friendly than the ocean going cruises.

For me there are only a couple of negatives.
The standard rooms are overly cosy (we had to change rooms for the last two nights and got a much bigger room, which was disappointing to see had been available given so many people, including us, were celebrating anniversaries and an upgrade would have been a nice gesture).

Then there are the tours. These are very good but hideously expensive. We went on one to a mansion, that was $79 per person. The mansion charges $20 which means we paid $59 per head for a 10 minute coach ride.

The final thing, which is a personal hate of mine on all cruises, is the daily (per person) gratuities. We were quoted $17.50 per person but were charged $18.50. Thankfully these are optional but you are made to feel like a criminal when you ask to have them reduced. We asked to have ours reduced to $20 for the room.

All cruise companies would do well to remember, hotels don't generally slap on gratuities and even in restaurants they are per table not per person.

So, I'm a bit of a Scrooge, but I had already paid a substantial sum for the holiday, which to be fair, was fabulous.

Room 222 roared and banged. We just finished a cruise on the American Queen Steam Riverboat on 05/16/2016. We were very unhappy with our cruise due to the room. We have taken over a dozen ocean cruises including Hawaii and Alaska and two river boat cruises in Europe. We are experienced cruisers. We chose a room that was outside with a bay window. We were assigned the last room before the Engine Room Bar on the 2nd deck. The noise from the stream engine and the pistons driving the paddle wheel was deafening. Then to make it worse, the door to the Engine Room Bar did not seem to have any mechanism to stopping it from slamming. The door was attached to the outside wall of our room. It was also the only door to the smokers’ porch. So, after one night, we went to the Purser’s and asked if there were any other rooms available at any price. We had slept poorly and were desperate to move. They said that there were no alternative as the ship was booked full.

When we stayed at the Hyatt for the pre-cruise night, they had given us ear plugs as there was an outdoor concert next door at the Dome. We were on the 25th floor and heard nothing at the Hyatt. Luckily, we took the ear plugs. On the 2nd night in the roar room, we learn to flatten the plugs so they expanded in the ear and were better at blocking the sound. We slept the whole trip with ear plugs. Room 222 should not be used for paying passengers. We will never book with this steam boat company again.

In fairness, the other parts of the cruise, the dining, the hop-on hop-off touring, and nightly entertaining, were very good. Our servers in the dining room, Alicia and Mr. James (not to be confused with another James) were very competent and extremely enjoyable. We walked on deck 4 (Promenade Deck) for exercise and saw lovely rooms with exterior doors. Those cruisers seemed to have very comfortable rooms, especially away from the back of the boat and the extremely noisy engine. If you book and find yourself at the rear of the boat and on a lower deck, be prepared for a trip like being in the back of a jet roaring on a transatlantic flight. You will need the best ear plugs.

Disappointed to have our Snake river cancelled and even more to learn that our refund will take 90 days. This is unacceptable, it amounts to a 6 month loan to the company. After complaining a couple of times I did get a very polite response that said in effect yes its 90 days. I think its a deliberate policy and just don't see they are trying to get refunds out quickly.

We have been on four American Queen cruises and we can't pick which one we liked best as they were all wonderful. We just returned from the Bourbon cruise in July. We don't usually go in the summer because of the heat but we wanted to try the bourbon theme. It was hot so we didn't enjoy the deck as much as usual but inside had AC as well as the hop on hop off buses and most attractions. The Bourbon theme was well worth it. They had wonderful experts giving talks and lots of tastings. Included were tours of distilleries. If you are into bourbon, we highly recommend this cruise. Our first cruise was Memphis to New Orleans. We did one from Louisville to Nashville and one from Minneapolis/St. Paul to St. Louis. We have learned so much about the center of our country and have enjoyed many towns where the boat docks. The hop on hop off buses are a great way to get around the towns and they always have locals on the bus giving a talk about what there is to do and what you are seeing. We have never been disappointed in the premium tours. On many of them we were able to take the premium tour as well as do the hop on hop off of the town. They, also, have bikes you can take into town if you want some extra exercise. The boat itself is beautiful. It is decorated with Victorian furniture making it positively elegant. The service is excellent all throughout the boat. It is definitely not geared for children and teens although there were about three on our last one. There are not a lot of activites for them....no rock climbing and no large pools. I think they had a scavenger hunt one day. The food was excellent. There was a cooking demo using bourbon with the chef and a tour of the galley which we highly recommend. There are, also, tours of the engine room and the pilot house. The Riverlorian talks are wonderful if you want to learn about where you're going and how they navigate the rivers. They, also, have a chart room where you can go to see where we are on the river, where we're going or to take out a book. They, also, have a channel on the tv in your room to see where we are on the river and an information channel about the AQ. The entertainment is top notch. They have shows every night along with a piano player before dinner and a band in the Engine Room Bar in the evenings. It is a very relaxing means of travel, quite enjoyable, and we have met some wonderful people along the way. Our next cruise will be on her sister boat, the American Empress which holds only about 200 people and goes on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. We can't wait!

We've done many cruises, but this was our first in the US on the Mississippi. The American Queen was fabulous. Better than we expected. Our group of 8 were split between inside rooms and rooms with a window - didn't matter - they were both great. Most time onboard spent at the "front porch" where the view was great, always food and drinks plentiful. Dinners in the dining room were at least as great as Ocean cruises, and the waite staff were funny and entertaining. Dinner includes beer and wine, which flowed freely. Nightly entertainment was more fun than broadway caliber. A "Riverlaurian" taught us oh so much about the Mississippi. Stops along the river daily were excellent. Trip includes hop on hop off tours of each stop and premium excursions purchased were just great. Lovely plantations, swamps, you name it! We highly recommend this cruise.

We travelled with a couple who have been on a multitude of both Ocean cruises and European River cruises. They described the accomodations food and entertainment from Memphis to New Orleans as the best they had ever experienced.The civil war history aspect was both positive and enlightening. For us it was outstanding on our first cruise.. We would suggest re weather better in earlier autumn but it did not change our enjoyment.

We did not do the boat tour. But we sat on all the stairs to rest our legs from all the walking! Was crazy watch these humongous barges make their way down river and around the bends! We a great place to sit and rest for awhile!

We just got back last week from the DUCHESS (Oct. 6, 2017) on a NOLA to Memphis tri. Here is my review...This is our 4th river cruise and the only one I would never recommend to anyone... The American Queen Duchess sailed from New Orleans to Memphis Sept 25, 2017. The boat was not prepared to sail and needed at least 3-6 months more of training and preparation: the staff was untrained (we were told by a staff person that when the staff got on the boat, they were used to put things together instead of being trained for their job), parts of the “newly renovated” vessel were not renovated or were not working. Food almost always arrived luke warm, the servers were of below average quality of professionalism and worst of all, WE HAD PAID FULL FARE for a poor experience.
The best part of the experience was the entertainment - singers and band.
These are comments from the EVALUATION FORM we turned in.... 1. Housekeeping did not always have the things needed to replace in the cabin; 2. The reception desk often had no idea what was going on and could not answer questions; 3. The telephone system did not work properly, so messages left in a room did not get there or the phone never went into message mode; 4. Many staff seemed newly hired and were overwhelmed; 5. Wake up call only happened 1/2 of the requests; 6. In the dining rooms, dirty dishes were not cleared away in a timely manner - sometimes we had to ask them to clear dishes so we could get a clean table to sit at; 7. The umbrellas on the top deck were not ever set up and there were few chairs to sit on. The one umbrella that WAS installed blew over in a wind and nearly hit a passenger; 8. Breakfast choices were very limited; 9. The huge chandeliers in the dining room were hanging by wires, not having been affixed to the ceiling yet; 10. The one day with no stops was deadly - not enough activities.
THIS VESSEL, THE DUCHESS WAS HARDLY CRUISE-WORTHY and was certainly not worth the money. If anything, discounting passengers should have been offered until the boat was fully operational, as other lines have done - I have heard that the other boat, the American Queen, although larger, charges less. That the company allowed this vessel to sail was DISGRACEFUL. This is our 4th river cruise and the only one I would never recommend to anyone... The American Queen Duchess sailed from New Orleans to Memphis Sept 25, 2017. The boat was not prepared to sail and needed at least 3-6 months more of training and preparation: the staff was untrained (we were told by a staff person that when the staff got on the boat, they were used to put things together instead of being trained for their job), parts of the “newly renovated” vessel were not renovated or were not working. Food almost always arrived luke warm, the servers were of below average quality of professionalism and worst of all, WE HAD PAID FULL FARE for a poor experience.
The best part of the experience was the entertainment - singers and band.
These are comments from the EVALUATION FORM we turned in.... 1. Housekeeping did not always have the things needed to replace in the cabin; 2. The reception desk often had no idea what was going on and could not answer questions; 3. The telephone system did not work properly, so messages left in a room did not get there or the phone never went into message mode; 4. Many staff seemed newly hired and were overwhelmed; 5. Wake up call only happened 1/2 of the requests; 6. In the dining rooms, dirty dishes were not cleared away in a timely manner - sometimes we had to ask them to clear dishes so we could get a clean table to sit at; 7. The umbrellas on the top deck were not ever set up and there were few chairs to sit on. The one umbrella that WAS installed blew over in a wind and nearly hit a passenger; 8. Breakfast choices were very limited; 9. The huge chandeliers in the dining room were hanging by wires, not having been affixed to the ceiling yet; 10. The one day with no stops was deadly - not enough activities.
THIS VESSEL, THE DUCHESS WAS HARDLY CRUISE-WORTHY and was certainly not worth the money. If anything, discounting passengers should have been offered until the boat was fully operational, as other lines have done - I have heard that the other boat, the American Queen, although larger, charges less. That the company allowed this vessel to sail was DISGRACEFUL.This is our 4th river cruise and the only one I would never recommend to anyone... The American Queen Duchess sailed from New Orleans to Memphis Sept 25, 2017. The boat was not prepared to sail and needed at least 3-6 months more of training and preparation: the staff was untrained (we were told by a staff person that when the staff got on the boat, they were used to put things together instead of being trained for their job), parts of the “newly renovated” vessel were not renovated or were not working. Food almost always arrived luke warm, the servers were of below average quality of professionalism and worst of all, WE HAD PAID FULL FARE for a poor experience.
The best part of the experience was the entertainment - singers and band.
These are comments from the EVALUATION FORM we turned in.... 1. Housekeeping did not always have the things needed to replace in the cabin; 2. The reception desk often had no idea what was going on and could not answer questions; 3. The telephone system did not work properly, so messages left in a room did not get there or the phone never went into message mode; 4. Many staff seemed newly hired and were overwhelmed; 5. Wake up call only happened 1/2 of the requests; 6. In the dining rooms, dirty dishes were not cleared away in a timely manner - sometimes we had to ask them to clear dishes so we could get a clean table to sit at; 7. The umbrellas on the top deck were not ever set up and there were few chairs to sit on. The one umbrella that WAS installed blew over in a wind and nearly hit a passenger; 8. Breakfast choices were very limited; 9. The huge chandeliers in the dining room were hanging by wires, not having been affixed to the ceiling yet; 10. The one day with no stops was deadly - not enough activities.
THIS VESSEL, THE DUCHESS WAS HARDLY CRUISE-WORTHY and was certainly not worth the money. If anything, discounting passengers should have been offered until the boat was fully operational, as other lines have done - I have heard that the other boat, the American Queen, although larger, charges less. That the company allowed this vessel to sail was DISGRACEFUL. From reading the reviews, it seems like the QUEEN is a far better experience than the DUCHESS at this time. However, I would be reluctant to ever use this company again, as I don't trust their judgement for "cruise-worthiness".

I mean, it’s just a river, but it’s cool to see it in person still because it’s so famous and everyone’s heard so much about it, so it lives upto our standards :)

We and four of our friends (one celebrating her 80 birthday) were cancelled off the Aug. 2021 Big Band cruise from Memphis to Louisville because someone booked the entire boat on short notice. What kind of a company does that?? And to make matters worse, we have yet to get our refund and the company wants to hold back $500 as a future cruise credit. What kind of a company does that??

This was a very special trip for three couples since it was an 80th birthday celebration for one of the travelers. It was rescheduled after being canceled the previous year. The cruise was scheduled for 8/15/21 from Memphis to Louisville. On 6/24/21 we were notified by our travel agent that our booking had been cancelled by American Queen because someone had booked the whole boat! American Queen offered a different boat on the same date or alternate dates on the Queen. None of the alternatives were acceptable. The American Queen Steamboat made a business decision without an real regard for how it affected their customers. They should be ashamed of their lack of business ethic and total disregard of their customer base. We have traveled with them numerous times but will never do it again.
We lost money for our airline tickets and American Queen has not yet refunded our money. They are also refusing to return the full amount, holding back $500 as a future cruise credit even though we will never sail with them again. They cancelled the trip because they had a better deal and now they are holding back $500! What kind of a company does this?? As of 8/18/21 we have not received even our partial refund. We have contacted them numerous times. Most recently we talked with a Jackie at 812-551-3289, in customer service, and she stated that the partial refund had been credited to our card on 8/3/21. It has not shown up and she has not returned our calls. This is a terrible company that has no regard for their customers. We urge all to reconsider traveling with them. They can not be trusted.

The American Queen shuttles between Memphis and New Orleans. Both cities have a lot to offer so stay at least two nights in each. You'll get seven nights of the Queen - a very, very special craft. The crew are excellent, the food is good and the entertainment team put on a show each night that could could grace a Broadway or London theatre. They are great with guests of limited mobility - golf buggies can get you from boat to a hop-on-hop-off coaches that take you round the towns you stop at.

However, the river Mississippi itself is rather boring. It's very wide and the land either side is pretty flat, so it used to flood regularly. As a result, the country for miles on either side was very fertile. But towns on either side had to be on the very occasional bit of higher ground or get washed away. So between Memphis and Baton Rouge, the main attractions are the sugar / cotton baron's country mansions. From Baton Rouge to New Orleans the river has a well dredged channel and you'll see lots and lots of commercial barge traffic. It's SO different from cruising any of the European rivers.

The southern states have a long painful history of the capacity for man's inhumanity to man and I guess due to the guilt of what their ancestors did, many find it necessary to bare their souls and tell you about it . So prepare to be educated about the civil war, slavery, share crop farming and the floods and hurricanes that battered their homes. Learn of the comfort and opulence of the land owners and the poverty that their workers experienced.

Evening dining on board is in two sittings and you get a fixed table - hope you like your fellow diners. The service is amazing for the number of meals coming from kitchen to table and the quality of the dishes is very good to excellent. They serve just one red and one white wine of the quality you'd pick up in the UK for around £6 or £7 a bottle, but no one wine can match the range of dishes (two wines if you swap between white and red). You may get what they call Champagne - it is French, but not from anywhere near the Champagne. It's probably the quality you'd get for 3 or so Euros in France. It's a shame that the wines don't live up to the quality of the food.

America is an expensive place and the cruise expensive. But it is memorable and it is unique. That's probably why it gets well booked up.

Just fabulous trip up the Mississippi from New Orleans to Memphis, for a week aboard the American Queen. They just couldn’t do enough for us. It’s not a cheap holiday, but one that just has to be experienced once in a lifetime. Just Google them and see for yourselves….. a week of pure indulgences with everything included!!

We cruised the section of the Mississippi River between Memphis & New Orleans. It is not the most interesting, scenic-wise, but as the boat mostly remains stationary during the day & only cruises at night when it's dark, that doesn't matter too much.We began in Memphis, & the Light Blue Travel company which runs this tour took us on a coach tour of the city, including Graceland , the shrine to Elvis .After that we boarded the boat for a 9 day cruise along the river. We stopped every day at a port &, included, with the boat's own coaches, took a Hop on-Hop off trip around the small & not so small towns. Included were Natchez & Baton Rouge,before finishing in New Orleans, where again we were given a very comprehensive tour of the city & areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. Extremely informative.
On board, the cabin was roomy, with its own balcony, & the food was very acceptable. The breakfasts in particular were memorable with a vast quantity of fruits, cooked & uncooked dishes. The evening dinners were not so good.The boat holds 432 people. Each evening there was a sophisticated & lively show, with excellent singing & dancing. Apart from that there were small events around the boat - pianist, jazz groups etc.
All in all we enjoyed the trip very much & would recommend it. However, there is nothing between "Average" & "Very good" on the overall rating. I would say the trip was "Good" if given the chance.

A cruise down the Mississippi had long been on our wish list. Our April 8-15 cruise was unique as the attendees signed up through their college / university alumni associations working with a company called GO NEXT. More than 40 colleges / universities were involved and this made interacting with others even more so than on a normal cruise. Presentation by Dr. Bud Robertson, noted Civil War author added to the interest in this cruise.

The American Queen brings the travelers to the Sheraton Downtown in Memphis the Sunday prior to boarding the ship on Monday afternoon. On Sunday afternoon you get you pass for the bus the next day and the time you depart. The Sheraton is right on the trolly track so it was easy to visit downtown Memphis. Lots to do and coming a day or two early was a good move. Plenty of places to eat and the hotel restaurant did a fine job. They had a buffet breakfast Monday morning - included.

The ship had to dock at an alternative location due to electrical issues at the regular dock. We arrived to find luggage in our rooms. As we traveled down river adjustments had to be made as a result of continued high water. We were fortunante in that ours was the first crusie to have been able to dock in Memphis this year! Others had to bus long distances to start their crusie!

The Hop On Hop Off system works well. We were content with just the included tours except for Vicksburg - well worth it to tour the battlefield and still see most things in the am. Food and service were exceptional - such a varied menu. We had an inside stateroom - small with no chair, but then we were seldom in the room. What was amazing was the size of the bathroom -never have had such a large shower. Two elevators and they worked well. Shows were very well done in the evening. Crew was almost entirely American.

One service that was a bonus -they will ship a box of whatever home for you through UPS if you are worried about suitcase weight. Reasonable prices. I know others have seemed to have had some negative experiences. We really had none - even great weather. They have their act together - for departures you can get direct transfer to the airport or a hotel nearby (their trip hotel where those heading up river that afternoon stayed) and then you can catch a cab to your hotel if staying in New Orleans.

Read a lot of negative press concerning the quality of the food, service, tours, costs & kept an open mind.
I felt this trip was worth every penny. The food in the dining room was speedily served, varied & of a good quality. The menu changed daily. Entertainment on board is pretty much non-stop from mid afternoon and of exceptional quality, remember there is a wide age demographic to entertain & many nationalities. The tours are meticulously planned & arrangements communicated extremely well, there is the River Times in your room each evening to remind you of details. Hop On/Hop Off is easy to use & again, well explained & well planned. The staff, guides & vehicles used are all of a high standard. Five coaches shadow the Queen the entire trip ensuring minimal waiting for shuttle services. The premium tours are priced appropriately considering the aforementioned logistics & quality of guides & as a consequence some trips seem overpriced whilst others offer outstanding value. How the excursion staff remain smiling, balanced & sane is beyond my ken but nothing appears to be too difficult from organising 430 disorientated passengers to laying on extra shuttles when the river levels are too high to land as planned & printing tickets/information sheets and maps! This is where one's money goes.

The vessel herself is beautiful. Accept that the AQ is a machine of conveyance & requires probably three shifts of engineers & crew to run & maintain her as unobtrusively as possible. The whole impression is of a well run pleasure vessel delivering very high levels of service.

I found all staff to be extremely patient & willing to help. Note, the drinks package is well worth buying so bar costs do not spiral (you also get a bit better attention & selection of wine at dinner).

A mention of the passengers, not many youngsters on board & the pace, entertainment reflects this. For those with mobility issues, the Hop On/Hop Off tours will present few problems as all coaches possess lifts; the lifts on the AQ are well used so you may have a wait.

We visited New Orleans, St Francisville, Natchez, Vicksburg, Greenview, Memphis & Nashville

Because of the rains one of the locks was closed so we could not go down to St. Louis. So we started in Red Wing, MN, went steamboating to Prairie du Chien, WI. Our next stop was La Crosse, WI, then Winona, MN, Wabasha, MN,& back to Red Wing, MN. We got on the Hop-On, Hop-off bus which ran every 15 min. to several places at each port. Very interesting & enjoyable. The steamboat ride was nice & smooth. The food on the steamboat was excellent. This was a great trip! I would also recommend this trip for seniors. I am 70 yrs & I had no problems. We were well cared for. Thank you.

We did a cruise from Memphis to New Orleans November of 2017. We were unsure of this adventure but after the cruise it was a great and grand adventure. What a great 8 days. We saw so much interesting and amazing things. Everyday was new and unique. The boat was most enjoyable. The staff was friendly and very helpful The food was good. We found eating in the main dinning room not our first choice. Our server table captain was not the best so we ate many meals in the Front Porch Café. The food was excellent and not as crowded and no regulations on dress. Plus it opens very early for a first cup of coffee.
The excursions at the various stops were enjoyable. There was a bit of confusion with the excursion staff but everything worked out. The boat has lots of amenities. Pool, work out room, several bars, and some lovely common areas for conversation, reading or just hanging out. The shows in the evening were enjoyable also.
A plus for us a free self serv laundry area.
The rooms are small but they are very sufficient. We did not take this trip to sit in the room. The staff was perfect and the boat is kept very clean and neat.

My wife and I spent 2 weeks on the American Jazz cruise boat down the Mississippi . Although our NZ currency was running at 60c to the US dollar which made it eye wateringly expensive , it's definitely a case of "the quality is remembered far after the price is forgotten" . The boat was very comfortable and the crew were amazingly accommodating and professional . The dining was good quality and varied with nice wine as well . I was stunned at the beauty and sheer relaxation the river provided and the friendliness of the fellow passengers and also the locals when we stopped . Stress just faded away . I like these smaller cruise ships with less people , they are more intermate and you get to know most of the crew and passengers . No elbowing at the buffet for the last prawn , with 2000 other passengers , We will never go on a large cruise boat again where you feel that you are processed . We have many fond memories of this cruise and made some friends a long the way

We had a great time on the "American Queen" steamboat. Whoever designed this boat really put a lot of thought into it, and whoever built it did a beautiful job. The dining room is built to resemble a famous steamboat from a century and a half ago, with all the gingerbread woodwork. The hardwoods used in the Mark Twain Gallery are just beautiful. And even the paintings in the hallways are beautiful works of art depicting famous steamboats of the past and river scenes.

I found myself wanting to be in five places at once: On deck looking out to see what was around the next bend in the river. At the stern watching the big paddlewheel go around. In the engine room talking with the engineer (They let you go in the engine room!). Taking a tour of the pilot house (They let you go up there, too!). And, in the Grand Saloon listening to the ship's Dixieland jazz band.

It was a wonderful experience. I'd be delighted to go again tomorrow. The "American Queen" exceeded my expectations.

I enjoy the serenity of visiting the river at the landing in Kenner at Rivertown. There is a small parking lot on Jefferson Highway at the end of Williams which meets the river. This time of year the clover and honey bees are prevalent on the land side of the levee and is good to see the bees in action on the clover. Within the last week, the spillway had to be opened to keep New Orleans and surrounding areas from flooding so the water is actually up to the cement of the river side of the levee. Just a month ago, I was able to walk about 50 yards out from the levee to look for driftwood but with the melting snow from the north the river is moving at a fierce level and large downed trees and like are making their way down the river to the Gulf of Mexico. Once the water returns to an acceptable level and as the water recedes, some of the fish will be left behind so the smell will be a little on the pungent side but to see the river traffic coming around the bend upriver is still worth it. There is also a bike trail that runs the levee from New Orleans and upriver (I don't know where it ends). It is patrolled frequently and you will see cyclists as they get in their exercise.

First, negatives out of the way. There was a miss communication with the person we dealt with from the American Queen which wound up cost us a substantial amount of extra air fair. We were given a $50.00 credit which didn't cover a tenth of the that expense. Now on to the cruise.
Accommodations were very nice. We were on the same deck as the "Porch" where you could have all of your meals along with desserts, soft drinks and there is also a bar there. On a nice day you could just walk out and sit at tables and enjoy the weather. When we chose not to eat dinner in the dinning room we dined here and have no complaints.
Our accommodations were small and we could have done without a large sink and used a small vanity to place items on when needed but that is really miner. You don't spend that much time in your room as there is so much to do on and off of the river boat.
Of course you over indulge half of the trip with eating and drinking until you feel as if you will burst and then you tapper down a bit.

Activities to do all day long. You can take the extra coast expense of the off boat excursions or you can take the Hop On Hop Off bus that is always on the road following the ship. You have stops to hop off and enjoy the sites in most cases they are free and you learn the flavor of the area. You have to return to the ship by 4 p.m. as they start sailing for the next port.

We stopped at the Cotton Museum in Memphis which only cost $9.00 and it was so very interesting and put together as good as any museum. We learned a lot as cotton was and in some cases a main commodity in the area.

One disappoint is that they do not have a medical doctor on board so we had to go to a hospital by renting a taxi. My friend had an ear infection and I had developed a stye on each eye. She couldn't hear and I couldn't see but this did not stop us for having a great time. They really should have a doctor on board for no emergency situations. When we got to the hospital staff told us that there had been other people from the boat there also.

Entertainment was as good as any Broadway musical. There was a magician one night, shows on other evenings, a Mark Twain impersonator other times. There was never a lack of anything to do on board. Or if you preferred, you could sit in the area with wonderful Tiffany lamps and decor from that era to read, do puzzles or to just rest and enjoy the aviance of the room or sit in the ladies lounge or across from this room was the game room. You could lounge on one of the decks and enjoy the sun or pool. This is a small boat and not a party ship. I believe we had 420 people and a staff of 160.
American Queen must be a wonderful company to work for because if it were not for the staff I don't think the trip would have been as enjoyable. The staff was amazing. If I worked on this boat I would last 20 minutes if I were lucky.
In the dining room you return to the same table and you can have all 3 meals there if you like. We went just for dinner and we were very fortunate because we had great table mates.
So if you plan on this kind of trip do your homework. This trip might not be for everyone but we certainly enjoyed ourselves.
Our trip was 9 days. The first day we stayed over night at the Sheraton in Memphis which was very fine and on our last day we booked our flights early as we were ready to come home but you can stay and go for a tour in New Orleans.

During my trip saw the rive both in Memphis and New Orleans, first time was in Memphis where i was struck by its size , so i thought it would be bigger (wider) in New Orleans but i guess the delta deals with that. Amazing water way and I thoroughly enjoyed my walks along her banks, when i return with my wife a boat ride is a must.

We never got to take our cruise as it was cancelled the day before we were to check in. We were shocked to be told our refund would take up to 90 days to be credited to our credit card. We paid in full for the cruise months ago and now they will hold our money for 3 months. Their refund policy is unreasonable and makes me doubt their financial stability. We are going to do everything possible to bring this to everyone's attention.

We were in New Orleans area so we went to see the Mississippi River.

We were also on a cruise (NCL) and enjoyed taking the boat ride to the Gulf, So we got to see a fair amount of this part of the river.

We enjoyed the views and also seeing the oil industry areas.

We've visited the Mississippi River many times.

Cruised from Memphis to New Orleans in Dec 2019 on the American Duchess. Excellent food and service, (shout out to Ky in dining), excellent accommodations, great entertainment, and great shore excursions without needing to go on the "premium" excursions. Very relaxing atmosphere! You could have boarded in Memphis with a penny in your pocket and landed in NOLA with the same penny! We appreciated the fact that there wasn't always someone looking for a tip or needing to pay to get into a local museum or civil war site. Things were done very well. High quality wines and beer with suppers, prime rib for lunch? yes! Lobster for supper? Yes! Did I say the food was great?
We had an interior cabin and did not once ever regret the choice. The cabins seem large with a great bathroom.
We will travel this cruiseline again! Maybe the Columbia river?

The boat in general is lovely but the internet is not secure and functions abysmally. The cabins are small with non practical furniture and the bathrooms are old and tired with the faucets never seeming to produce cold water. Toilets need to be flushed multiple times. Safe is located on inaccessible high shelf (don't know why they bothered). There is little hanging space or storage for clothes. Food is good but service at breakfast and lunch is hit and miss with too much staff just standing around. Entertainment and activities on board are average. Hop on/off bus is great, offering flexibility to see the sights. Golf cart transport to top of hills is great. Lighting in public rooms needs serious improvement as most rooms are way too dark. Staff is friendly. Embarkation and disembarkation went smoothly. Cost is expensive given what is offered. Also, there are few offerings for cruises going beyond one week.

This was our second cruise on the American Queen and it was even better than two years ago. As before the whole experience was very relaxing and the hop-on hop-off tours were excellent, although we were sorry not to visit Baton Rouge this time. The food was really good, greatly improved, though the dining room staff seemed a little stretched at times, but always very pleasant and obliging, as was every other staff member we encountered. The highlight, though, was the entertainment on our music based cruise. As before we particularly enjoyed the entertainment in the Engine Room Bar and the visiting artists completely exceeded all expectations. Brilliant!

Excellent customer service. Nice clean river. Devilishly handsome sales rep. The exclusives available for Prime members seems worthy of the membership upgrade. 14/10.

W had been looking forward to this 9-day cruise down the Mississippi River for quite some time and had booked one of the more expensive staterooms. However, we were very disappointed, not in the boat itself, which is quite amazing, but the staff and excursions. The staff in the Pursuer's Office seemed uninterested and uninformed. The food was average. Deck paint is pealing. The optional excursions are expensive. Dinner is either 5:15 or 8 - one too early, one too late. Not much information is given about the stops/cities along the way. Two washing machines and you have to do your own laundry. The Mississippi River is amazing as is the traffic/huge barges and interesting.Most of the passengers were at least 60+. Would I do it again - no way. For several thousand dollars less, maybe.

We loved our whole trip. Flew into New Orleans the day before and had a nice stay in the hotel included in the price. Transfers to the boat was very nice and easy. Once on board were meet with snacks and we went to our room. Bags waiting for us. We could not stop at our first location and used that day to cruise up the river to Baton Rouge. We did the hop on hop off bus tour. Drivers were great and the first four hours a local guide is on the bus. Second stop St. Francisville. We had to dock the other side of the river and bus over the river to the little town. We visit the Myrtles Plantation included in the hop off hop on bus tour. While there be sure to visit Grandmother's Button store. Next stop on the river was Natchez and another day of hop off hop on touring. Last stop was Vicksburg and again we did the hop off hop on tours. The tours were great. During the day when not on land we spent a lot of time on deck 2 watching the river and life on the land.

The food was great and loved the Buffet for Breakfast and lunch and dining room for dinner. Lots of good food to eat.

Our room was an inside room on deck 3 and was a good size. Bathroom was good but not a lot of storage for items. Our attendant was great at cleaning the room and making sure we had enough coffee for us.

The talks about the river given by steve was very interesting. Nightly shows were enjoyable.

We had to stop in Baton Rouge on our last day of river cruising to New Orleans. There was a tugboat/barge wreck down river. We ended spending the night in Baton Rouge and in the morning we were bused back to the airport.

Over all we totally enjoyed our cruise. Loo

Have not been on a river cruise like other reviewers but have driven up and down the Mississippi many times and it has never failed to impress. Just standing on the riverbank fills you full of awe - a very special river.

There are many ways to see the Mississippi River, as it's close to plenty of other cool attractions. Nice to see!

We live ina vast and magnificent country. What a great way to see it! We traveled the lower Mississippi Riverwith friends and it was wonderful. It takes you back your a different place and time. Traveling the river gives you a chance to see big cities and small ones as well. The boat is authentic steam powered and the decor is from yesteryear. Food was excellent and the service was tops. Enjoyed it and will do others!

I had been on four river cruises in Europe and was very impressed by each one. On this American Cruise Line, from St. Louis to St. Paul, on the Mississippi. I paid a lot more money for a week than I did in Europe. I know American wages are higher but I thought I would get the same level of service as I did in Europe for the extra money. The food was not very good and room service, as in cleaning, was only available early in the morning. She wanted to clean my room at 7:30. I was on vacation!!! The shower had mold in it and the furnishings everywhere were kind of shabby. I met people on the boat who were very happy but they had never traveled on any other line. I met someone who had traveled in Europe and was as disappointed as I was. If I had this trip to do over I would drive along the Mississippi and take a day trip on the river.

Can't really fault the boat....staff, food, service, entertainment all excellent. We went from New Orleans to Memphis and every day was full on. Surprised at how quiet small American towns are (bit spooky at times) but everyone we met was so friendly and welcoming. Brief trip to Gracelands...a must even if you're not an Elvis fan - only complaint was not enough time overall and would have liked to spend more time exploring. Perfect time of the year to go...weather spring like and temperate

We boarded the American queen in St Louis, mid way throught their 3 week itinerary. We disembarked in Memphis.
We had included the precruise stay and tour in St Louis. We were picked up at our hotel and joined the travellers from the boat to tour the city. I was happy we did walk to the Arch the day before and did a tour because the ship tour only stop for pictures from the bus. We had free time to have lunch, a tour of the basilica and the Busch brewery. Then off to the boat (not ship). The trip was about 45 minutes from St Louis and when we arrived there our luggage was already in our room.
The boat itself is beautiful! A real classic...Loved the Lady's Parlour...always a puzzle on the table and people reading. men's salon had a card game always going and opened for private dinning in the evening.
Our room was nice. Had a small bar fridge that we couldn't get cold at all. But our room attendant brought us ice everyday. Beds were comfortable but be warned, they use is vinyl mattress cover and if you're heat sensitive, it's hot. Nice linens and toiletries. You have to be 6 ft tall to use the safe...and bring extra hangers...lots of drawers but not a lot of hanging storage. Bathrooms are dated and we did have a toilet problem on our deck one morning and couldn't flush for a few hours...they make a point that if you haven't eaten it..don't flush it.. They provide a turn down service with boat newsy for the next day.
We had room 501, which on line looks great. rooms 501-506 are listed as LS suites and opened to the deck. you don't have shade on the deck side, you are open to the weather when opening the inside door and lots of bugs. Take bugs spray..we got lots of ankle bites. Also the noise from the funnels and the wheel house being lowered goes on all night and you get the soot from the funnels. Ruined a nice pair of white jeans sitting on a deck chair.
The dinning room was very busy and we went on a waiting list in the evening for an earlier seating..8 oclock was too late for us. Only went to 3 different meals. Breakfast lunch and dinner. Service could be slow and they seem to only allow free two drinks with your meal. Food was good but the patio had just as nice food and it's a buffet.
We had reserved seating in the balcony for the evening shows. They provide a small self service bar with beer and wine. Shows were very good. The river talks are a must! Very interesting.
Wasn't impressed with the ports of call. We knew before hand that we would be docking in the historical areas of the towns but if I had an extra 430 showing for a look around, I'd make sure I was opened....most were close and after we did the little cruise tour around town, we mostly just walked around until we left. Not much shopping for me this trip! Shout out to Cape Girardeau...loved the ragtime band on the dockside and the local reps with maps information...even directed us how to take the local bus service to the mall for some essentials.
We dock in Memphis very early in the morning. We had a 7am train to New Orleans to catch so we kept our luggage in our cabin, got up early and headed to the gangway...it wasn't wh ere they usually had it....no signs to direct us to the correct place and the deck clerk had no idea where to disembark...luckily a deck hand found us wandering with our luggage and got us to the right place and even took us by golf cart to the street...got us a taxi ...thank heavens...
All in all...
We enjoyed our adventure..saw a part of the country we would never have ventured to, met some very nice people from all over but wouldn't do a 3 week. There's just not much to see and do.......

We just finished cruising the Mississippi on the American Queen Riverboat. What a wonderful trip we had. The food was excellent and they have great selections. If you have special dietary needs they go out of the way to prepare them for you.The service is impeccable . Beer & wine is free with dinner.

There are plenty of activities on the boat and free hop on/hop off excursions that are free in each river port you stop. There are also premium excursions that you buy. We did Angola Prison, A Plantation, and the Vicksburg Civil War Battlegrounds. All are excellent.

The entertainment is above any other boat I have been on by far. They are shows nightly and one is better than the other. There was also a sock hop and karaoke nights which are a lot of fun. Music in the bar afterwards as well.

And if you just want to relax, you can sit on the front porch in a nice rocking chair, spend some time in the Mark Twain library or just wander the beautiful boat. You just might run into Mark Twain.

We will definitely book another trip soon.

I want to make everyone aware:
All of you know my wife and I travel a lot and many of you reach out to us about your travel plans. I’m now up to 105 countries and all 50 states. So, when something happens in the travel industry that is so egregious that it goes against all good and ethical business practices, it’s important I let my friends know (and my friends may want to cross-post this to warn their friends).
Let’s keep a couple of things in mind as you read this: when the trip reservations and payment were made the Mississippi River had normal flow and businesses have (or should have) insurance for natural disasters or at least anticipate losses that could occur in their chosen industry.
This is a story about the American Queen Voyages, American Queen Steamboat Operating Company, LLC, Victory Operating Company, LLC, SEA Operating Company, LLC and Steamboat Society of America.
Everyone has probably heard of taking a paddle-wheeler down the mighty Mississippi River, right? Well, that was a bucket list item for us. But of course, the Mississippi River is now running dry which is beyond anyone’s control. American Queen Voyages has at the very last moment sent us a substitution for our trip that is in NO way acceptable. They want to send us from Louisville, KY to Clarksville, TN on the Ohio and smaller rivers. Not even close to what we signed up for.
Some pertinent points are:
1. We didn't purchase a trip to cruise a river- but to cruise THE Mississippi River. I have covered every inch of the smaller replacement rivers my entire life, having grown up in Kentucky. I could be the tour guide for every one of their land excursions and drive the boat.
2. The substituted stops hold no significance for us, and are of no interest to us - we were looking forward to civil war landmarks and immersion in the blues roots on the great Mississippi.
3. We don't see any value that would justify spending $7300 per couple on a weeklong trip that could easily be covered by car in 2 days or less.
We would have been happy to roll over the money and go on the Mississippi next year, but American Queen Voyages is refusing us that as an option. And canceling at this late date will cost all of us all our money, which was paid way in advance. Now after receiving no customer service, I began to search even more and found that recently America Queen Voyages has been receiving terrible ratings and reviews and has a VERY low “F” rating from the Better Business Bureau.
I will now be required to file suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana to get my money back. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. I do hope our Georgia Attorney General, Chris Carr, can at least warn Georgians, and you can caution all your friends, how the American Queen Steamboat Operating Company, LLC and the Victory Operating Company, LLC
who advertise and do business as AMERICAN QUEEN VOYAGES and its CEO, John Waggoner, refuse to take responsibility for a “Steamboat/Paddle-Wheeler” company selling the “Great Mississippi” experience by substituting an inferior product. They should know instances such as this can occur and should prepare and insure for them instead of trying to pass their losses on to their customers.

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Over the decades I've seen sections of the Mississippi River from end to end while motoring on the River Road, cruising on the American Queen and stopping to take photos from dozens of overlooks. For my money, the Twin Cities views of the Mississippi River are on a photogenic par with the best I've seen anywhere. Indeed, I've yet to see a single vantage point that presents more visually interesting features than the view from the Guthrie Theater observation deck in Minneapolis.

Looking for something different to do at the holidays, we chose the American Queen New Year's cruise. We boarded the day after Christmas and embarked the day after New Years. We chose a luxury suite on the Texas deck. While the suite was right over the Engine Room bar, there was never any noise. There was however noise from the working paddle wheel just to the right of our suite but we quickly got used to it. Also there was some vibration during early morning docking but nothing that was disturbing. The suite was elegant with plenty of room for two people. The sitting areas (love seat and table on one side and two arm chairs with table on the other) allowed for meals/snacks and quiet reading. There was also plenty of room to move event with the beds split apart. The bath was large with shelves to store things, and the additional sink with counter was a nice addition. Our river butler was amazing- we wanted for nothing and every detail for dinner arrangements, tickets and seating for the shows was expertly taken care of. Captain Bobby and all of the staff were amazing. We ate most meals in the main dining room- the food was excellent though a few more non beef and fish dishes would have been nice. Breakfast on the porch was a bit crowded so we opted for room service most mornings. Lunch on the porch was very good- the buffet changed daily but there were always soups, salad and desserts plenty. Shows were top notch- actually better than some that I have seen on bigger cruise ships. The ship was decorated beautifully for the holiday with Christmas trees on each level. The only down side was the weather- LA and MS were experiencing an unprecedented cold spell with many days in the low 30's and very damp. We did skip our swamp tour due to the weather and opted for the onboard mini spa instead. The hop on hop off busses are comfortable and a great way to get around at your own pace. Oak Alley and Laura Plantation are not to be missed. St. Francisville and Vicksburg are a bit light on attractions. Natchez had several beautifully restored mansions and quaint places to eat. Due to the weather, we were not able to take advantage of the heated pool but it was open. There is a small laundry room (2 washers and 2 dryers) on board stocked with detergent and softener.

My wife and I just completed a three-week cruise on the Countess. We very much enjoyed our cruise. This was our first time with American Queen Cruises and to be blunt we found our experience head and shoulders above that of the two times we traveled with American Cruise lines. Simply put, we would travel with AQV again and recommend them to others.

What made our cruise so great was the staff! My wife said, you are lucky to have one person stand out on a cruise for customer service, but we basically had everyone stand out:

Luke the Bartender was beyond wonderful. His goal with every drink is to do it your way, have fun with it, and impress you. And he did!

Bruce the Bartender was lighthearted and jolly.

Derrick the Waiter was positive and upbeat every time we saw him. He’s super respectful and makes you feel special.

Taneka the Waitress was our favorite! We were traveling with people who can have challenging personalities, but Taneka, Ms. T, had them eating out of her hand. Her people skills are amazing.

Halo the Waitress was positive and funny. She just seems to love people.

Cerenity the Waitress was the sweetest server we’ve ever had. She has zero attitude and just wants to please.

Jamie, our room attendant could not have been kinder. And she seemed to learn everyone’s habits, allowing her to descend on a room the minute you left it and would have time to make it up. She was always available but never in the way.

Deedee at the purser’s office was kind and easy going.

And William the Watchman was on duty, sometimes 11 hours straight, in 98 degree weather, with 98 percent humidity and never did anything but smile. He was always positive and in a good mood. He was always happy to send us off and wish us welcome back. Truly amazing and persistent positivity.

And Larry the Porter… What can I say about Larry….? He just exudes positivity. He’s happy and wants others to be happy. He’s happy to see everyone and happy to help everyone. He didn’t point passengers in the right direction, he led them. He really made our trip!

Now were these people perfect? No. They occasionally made mistakes. But they always seemed very concerned about making things right. They always seemed to care. And behind almost sll.of the comments you read, people are basically commenting on whether the company cared about them as guests. Well this staff had a high morale that is uncommon and they were truly kind.

So AQV nailed hiring people that care about people.

What did they fall short on? Well, a lot and it’s all corporate. Their website functions like it was made in the eighties. A child could honestly do better. That’s not an attack; that’s a statement of fact. There’s simply no excuse for not vastly improving their on-line interface with the customer. Further, their billing systems are atrocious. And if you want to upset passengers, just make their bills confusing and full of errors. This again is a corporate problem. And finally, their general organization from the top is extremely poor. There is evidence of poor scheduling and communication on a large scale. They are doing things via phone, paper, and email that should be fully automated and digitize.
Scheduling (both macro and micro), booking, add-ons, excursions, client dossiers (with every bit of history and notes available to everyone and updated by everyone), billing (that a child can understand), an integrated customer app (that actually works), etc., would be a start.

In closing, this is a good company that provides good experiences because of its frontline staff. They could be great if they rolled up their sleeves came into the 21st century and started managing their business with integrated business systems.

We have just completed a 7 night cruise on the American queen. I wish I had known that Viking will soon be doing it. We had one of the top suites and paid a lot of money for bad or no service. This had nothing to do with the height of the river. The places we stopped had little or nothing to do or you were rushing back to take one of the over priced and misleading tours we paid extra for. As the boat was only a little over half full they chose to have one dining time and one show. Big mistake! If you didn’t go down when dinner opened you would have to wait until after 7pm which then meant you would miss the show. Free drinks with dinner so they stayed and drank. Funny how they could all run for dinner but when it came to tours or the hop on hop off they crawled. We nicknamed the hop on hop off bus ‘crawl on crawl off bus’ . The food was of a very poor standard and often only Luke warm. We had to keep asking for bread ,butter ,water etc. and skntimes didn’t arrive at all. We were supposed to have prioritity in the dining seating. Well that was a joke,they gave our table away 4 nights in a row. We waited an hour after this. Not good enough when you have paid top dollar. The only saving grace was our river butler who went above and beyond. While the staff were very friendly the service was not good. We were charged for a drink we didn’t have and we didn’t even drink at the bar noted. There were many other issues too many to mention.
My advise is wait till Viking start the Mississippi I think that they will give these others a run for their money.
All this was put onto the feedback form.

We've crossed the Mississippi River in Memphis numerous times trekking across the country from Virginia to vacation haunts in Tucson, Arizona. After we moved to Tucson we never saw it again until last summer on the way to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. After seeing musicals and listening to "Old Man River" I frankly expected something much more dramatic. Once in all the years we crossed it the river was approaching flood stage due to spring rains. It covered a much wider area all the way out into West Memphis. Perhaps what is most memorable about crossing it is knowing that you're halfway across the country. On the western side you're in the West. On the eastern side you're in the East. Now that's impressive.

The Mississippi River is New Orleans riverfront. You can ride on a steamboat & enjoy dinner. Or you can sit & just watch all the different types of boats float by like cruise ships, freighters, or tugs. You can visit the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. You’ll see street performers, all sorts of statues & art. An interesting fact is that the river is at its deepest in New Orleans. It is 200 feet deep! Enjoy your time at the river.

Although my wife & I have traveled all over the world using many forms of transportation, this was our first riverboat trip. It was something we had always wanted to do since we used to watch Brett Maverick when we were kids. We were somewhat afraid the actual experience might be a let-down, but it certainly was not a let-down. And we were surprised to find that the majority of our fellow travelers were “repeat” travelers, not first timers.

Accommodations: We had one of the mid-range rooms with doors that open out on the deck. There are many options and it takes some studying to find what might suit you best. I would caution that the forward, port (left) side of the ship is a little noisier than rest of boat because of a very large exhaust fan in that area. We did not feel cramped like we did on an ocean cruise. We had a queen size bed, an ample closet, a small desk and a bathroom with a spacious shower. It is also worth noting that the boat ride is absolutely smooth to the point that we never knew if we were actually moving or standing still. Wi-fi and even cell service was not consistent due to some of the more remote areas we travelled through.
Food: All cruises have a reputation for good food and this is no exception. I talking to several other people on board and the consensus is that the American Queen food quality is slightly higher than average. Dress code for the main dining room is “country club casual” which we found to be very relaxed. You can get three good meals in the main dining room as well as food any time in several other areas.

Side Trips: The ship docks in a small town most every day. We were free to take either a “no cost” tour or an optional extra cost tour (not pressured to do either). We received very nice maps of the towns and could either take a narrated bus from place to place or walk between most museums or attractions. Admissions were included in our package. Although we would not call any single attraction “outstanding”, they were all very worth while and educational depending upon personal tastes. The people of each town were very enthusiastic to put their best foot forward to welcome us.

Entertainment: We considered the entertainment to be first class. Each evening there were two musical shows (to offset the two dinner seating’s). There was also entertainment in the one bar area each night, various lectures and many other activities. We were never bored and were not able to attend everything.

Crew: We found the crew to be exceptionally competent, well trained and friendly. Frankly, we were amazed several times to find crew members doing things that were clearly “not their job” but needed to be done. I thought that kind of dedication was a thing of the past. It was also refreshing to run into the entertainers throughout the week at various places on the boat and find that they were not above having a meaningful conversation with us lowly passengers. We were also impressed with how much the crew was available to assist passengers with mobility problems when they were going ashore.

A walk along the river front on the wharf is a great thing in the evening with a cool breeze coming off the river, ships cruising up and down stream and the lights on the GNO bridge and downtown buildings. It all makes for a very pleasant experience.

Sep 9-16 American Queen steamboat-New Orleans to Memphis-room 412, veranda, no private balcony; entry through hall and deck doors. Little noise from outside or other rooms. Room had an old-fashioned style chest of drawers that was totally inadequate for 2 people. Queen bed very comfortable. Bath had tub with shower head and was fine--no blemishes, problems with any of the fixtures. Boat looked fine--no mechanical problems. Elevators worked fine. Since I am gluten-free and dairy-free, there were few food selections in both restaurants--my biggest complaint--inadequate selection. The food service staff was wonderful. They worked with me to find things I could eat. Surprising since most of the folks travelling were seniors like me. Housekeeping also very good. Entertainers talented with variety shows nightly.

Do not book a cruise with American Queen Steamship Company for the rest of this year (2020) if you are over age 60!! You are at a high risk of serious illness. If only one person of the over 400 passengers and crew is diagnosed with the Virus you will be subject to mandatory quarantine-confined to your tiny cabin for 14 days. Close personal contact (within 6 feet), shaking hands, and touching any surface with the virus on it and then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes before washing your hands spreads the virus. The large, well financed cruise companies are all cancelling their cruises for safety and future good public relations purposes- not American Queen Steamship Company. After you pay fully for this very expensive cruise you will get less than 25% refunded minus a $250 per person processing fee & a future cruise credit for your loss if they are still in business!! This is less than a one star company!!

Our first experience was on the American Empress and our third is planned for the American Queen even if you think you have seen it all there is always something great along the river to see or do. The ship was crew wonderful and the food second to none on shore or on other cruses we have been on. The service was just what we expected, world class. We were traveling with friends and both their and out suite were beautiful.
If you are looking to relax this is the way to travel.

You climb the stairs to stand atop the levy and look down on the muddy river. You can walk down the backside of the levy for a closer view. Fog may limit your view at certain times of the year. Its not a view of the delta but is a view of one of Americas great rivers that you do not have to go far out of your way to expereince.

This was an impulse trip that my husband wanted to do. I thought going on this trip might be a little boring. Boy was I wrong. First of all the boat is beautiful. Fully renovated in the true style of the time. Our room had a veranda and it was great having coffee service bought to the room each morning and sitting out there watching the river roll by. The beds are as comfortable as any five star hotel. The crew is outstanding, always smiling and ready to help you. Most of the time they were coming over just to see if you need something. They have the formal dinning room which is beautiful and the food was wonderful. Great selections everyday. If you want more casual dinning, go to the front porch and enjoy the open air dinning. The shows are spectacular, a seven piece orchestra and great performers. Something unique each night. The ports that we stopped at are historical and very interesting. You have the option to do tours that are included in the price or premium tours that they offer. We did about half and half. One of the great things about the cruise is because this is not a huge cruise ship, you get to know the people on board. We made some lifelong friendships this week. All in all it was a great trip and we will definitely go again. They are several different routes you can take.

We recently returned from the American Queen Steamboat tour of the Lower Mississippi, from Memphis to New Orleans. We are experienced European river cruisers and were looking forward to seeing some of our country from the water. The cruise was interesting..lots of river traffic and small towns to explore on the hop on/hop off buses provided by the cruise line. The weather was perfect (late March) for sitting outside and watching the river go by. The experience, however, was disappointing The food was not very good, and no accommodation was allowed (nor the request even acknowledged) for an earlier than the 8 pm seating. It was requested because of the health needs of one of our party. Consequently, we ate steamtable food on the deck for most meals. Our cabin was small which was ok,
(you get what you pay for) but there were dirty fingermarks on the bathroom woodwork. They were there when we arrived and there when we left. It was discouraging to come across a staff person who had cornered 2 guests in the hall to complain about her job!
This is a good cruise for those who like a combination of ocean cruises (nightclub like entertainment and a spa) and daily included "tours" (hop on hop off) and river cruising. We have heard that Viking River Cruises will begin offering Mississippi River cruises, and frankly, unless American Queen pays closer attention to some of the small details, Viking is likely to eat American Queen's lunch!

We travelled from New Orleans to Memphis, over seven nights from November into December. Hopefully, I can find somewhere else to review the wonderful American Queen.
The places we stopped off at were Oak Valley Plantation, St. Francisville, Natchez, Vicksburg and Helena. We had a "Riverlorian" on board, who gave us a lot of information about the Mississippi in an entertaining manner. The trip was fantastic, with the exception of Helena, which is dreary, unloved and looks to have been deserted by any industry. Included in the river trip, were hop on hop off bus trips at each stop and visits to many museums and homes. We learnt a lot avout civil rights and the music of the Southern States of America.

I'll start by saying that the boat itself is the star of the show. It is BEAUTIFUL. They set out to create a nineteenth-century river boat on the Mississippi River and they accomplished that task. This is an authentic paddle wheeled River boat on the Mississippi River. The river is truly mighty and it is muddy. Unless you are in a port there is very little to see along the Mississippi other than muddy water, passing barges and trees. Frequent and unpredictable flooding keeps development away from the river banks. Very enjoyable sitting on the front of the boat in rocking chairs or other outdoor areas just watching the River roll by.
Now, for the practical stuff. We had an inside cabin and it was tiny... the beds are less than a twin bed, there's barely enough room between the beds, storage space is very limited and for two people to try to navigate the room at one time was difficult. The food is comparable to any cruise setting, very good. The service was not quite up to par with ocean cruising and sometime it is a bit slack. The sheets kept coming off the bed during the night; just one of those little irritating things you remember and the room steward never did totally remake the bed. The beds were very comfortable though. 'Just didn't feel pampered like I do on ocean cruises. There are no private balconies. Outside cabins open up to a veranda that goes all the way around ship. Waiters do not walk around, you get your drinks yourself from the four bars. This is a small boat, only a little over four hundred people are on board. The entertainment is just okay. The best entertainment was the day we missed a port due to river traffic and the stage band cut loose with an impromptu Jazz session!
Bottom line, if you would prefer rocking chairs and peace and the slow pace of life rather than casinos and fun in the sun this is your cruise.

Please be aware!!! AMERICAN STEAMBOAT COMPANY is the worst experience we have ever had!!! My husband and I have been on 18 cruises and for our 50th Anniversary decided we would stay in the United States and take the American Steamboat Cruise, "Charms of the South" with an extension to Nashville. The cost of our trip came to $11,550, not including airfare and some of the transfers, or insurance. We took this out of our retirement fund. As you can see, this was out of the ordinary trip for our anniversary. Booked June 25, 2021 and paid in full on July 7, 2021. On September 1st they called to tell us they were redirecting our trip from New Orleans to start in Memphis. Problem with that we already paid for our flights and now we were looking at having to cancel our flight into New Orleans and start a new flight on September 1, try and get a fly at that short notice and pay a lot of money because it was short notice!!!! I told them we wanted to cancel the trip and the agent told us we would lose 100% of our money. My heart dropped. So, I cancelled the flight and worked 7 hours to try and get a flight into Memphis. It was on Thursday. We started packing again to leave on the weekend. Now, costing us more money for flight to be directed, no help from anyone and felt emotionally upset. On Friday, I received a call in the morning, that they CANCELLED THE WHOLE TRIP!! Now I had to go back again and cancel our flights, transfers, etc. that we paid separately. The following is another imperative awareness the public should be aware!!! We paid in full on 7/7/2021, so from our deposit date of June 25th, paid in full on July 7, they had all of our money. Four months before our trip and then in September they cancel our trip so our money was held from beginning (June 25th until December (7 months )without a refund. We have records of date and times we called them with a request to speak to the accounting department to refund our money and customer service said all they would be able to do was email the accounting department with our request for a refund. They were the only human beings we were able to talk to and each time we called through December we never talked to the same person. They would not give us their extension. WE JUST WANT ALL OF YOU TO BEWARE of our discrepancies and this is just a little of what we went through. We are seasoned travelers and have never, never experienced such subservient treatment!!

We were lucky to see the panel that said: Mississippi River while we were on the bridge.

I took quickly some pictures, as it was attractive.

I saw the Mississippi River, some mountains and a nice view.

Worthwhile to see!

A fabulous experience on this grand boat. We started in New Orleans and sailed up river to Memphis. There is nothing not to like just varying degrees of splendour. The shows, the food, the service, the boat, the hop on and hop off bus. Everything was great and never a dull moment. It is expensive but you cannot take your money with you when you die so indulge yourself, spoil yourself and take the trip.

We took the American Queen from Memphis to Louisville. The stateroom and bathroom were larger than most other cruise lines we've experienced, but the food was mediocre, and the service was definitely not up to snuff. Some examples: (1) Promised free wifi was almost nonexistent, but when I politely inquired, the purser's staff was surly and rude. (2) We never got turn-down service, because housekeeping always came when we were showering for dinner. (Every other cruise we've been on has always coordinated turn-down service to when they KNOW you will be at dinner). (3) Excursions were poorly planned. In one port, a large group of us planned to take the excursion to a bourbon distillery and then ride the hop-on-hop-off bus (offered by the cruise company) to see other sites in the town. The shore excursion staff assured us that this was a good plan. But when the distillery excursion returned an hour later than promised, there was a hop-on bus waiting, but the shore excursion director stood there and REFUSED to hold the hop-on bus for one extra minute so we could all run to catch it. Hence, we missed out opportunity to see the town. (4) Wait staff in dining room was nice, but inexperienced. On the last night, we purchased a bottle of champagne for our table, but my husband had to leave the table to seek out the restaurant manager to bring champagne glasses and serve the wine. (Then they charged us for TWO bottles, and there was nobody available to correct the bill when we had to disembark in the morning.) I enjoyed seeing parts of the country I had never seen before, but I would never again travel with American Queen Steamboat Company.

We had a great time on the American Queen Steamboat going up the Mississippi and the week was fantastic. The positives about the American Queen Steamboat cruise were: 1) The boat is exquisitely decorated; 2) the food and the coffee were excellent at both of the restaurants including room service; 3) The entertainers and the band were wonderful and so entertaining. The shows were amazing. The entertainers were sweet and funny plus they all have great voices; 4) The beds were comfortable; 5) The bathroom is a full size bathroom and it even has a tub; 6) The rooms facing the river are roomy with comfy chairs. We didn’t even purchase the largest room either. There were two or three room sizes that were larger than ours and they cost more; and 7) they gave all of us metal water bottles that we could continually fill up at the filter stations.
All of the staff from the Captain to the Engineering Department was so friendly. The attendant for our room was a real gentleman and had a great personality. He didn’t seem to mind taking care of our rooms. The servers in the dining rooms really tried to accommodate us and they were so sweet.
Setting outside on the deck porch by our rooms was so relaxing and fun watching the sun go down and the moon going up. One night, we actually saw a large Harvest Moon.
The excursions and the hop on/hop off tours were so informative and fun. The American Queen Steamboat had every step of the way figured out and everything ran so smoothly from getting on and exiting the boat. Just go to all the informative meetings that they have for the cruisers.
There are only a few items that they should think about. First, the WiFi needs some improvement, second, the rooms have really thin walls (we could hear the other rooms televisions, when they would cough we could hear it and when they had friends in their rooms we felt like we were part of the party); third, they need to have more channels especially HGTV and the Hallmark stations. You can tell that a guy picked the channels. Fourth, there needs to be more photos of all the rooms on their website so we can decide which one fits us.
Fifth, our room was three rooms away from the paddle wheel so our doors and lights rattled including the metal grate by our room rattled all night. Especially, since the boat would wind up their steam and paddle wheel and cruise fast up the river. We think the captain should go fast during the day and go slower at night so our rooms wouldn’t rattle.

We started from Minneapolis and went to St Louis, about 580 miles over one week (7 nights on board the vessel). We stopped at a number of places where there were both premium (pay extra) and Hop-on-Hop-off bus tours. All were excellent.

Service was exceptional. Entertainment was exceptional. Food was very good (I'm fussy about exceptional food). But food had great variety, good choices, and was more than enough to satisfy anyone's hunger.

Talking about entertainment—there were several musical events each day: sometimes in the late afternoon (when moving downstream), always during the first and second dinner sessions, sometimes just after dinner, and always after nine. We were almost "musiced out," but somehow managed to be entertained all week. Three musicians were exceptional, and I will never forget them. Others (about 12-13 overall) were very, very good. The music alone was worth the trip.

In addition, there were several excellent lectures/presentations/discussions about Mark Twain, and the riverlorian gave educational presentations on the river, navigation on the river, and it's management. Overall, wonderful.

I recommend this cruise to anyone who is interested in Mark Twain, inland waterways, or simply a week (or so) away from the daily grind. I loved it. Apparently, 62 of the 420 or so people on board re-booked for additional cruises. That's quite an endorsement (although from the company—I could not verify the accuracy of this).

All staff were pleasant and more than helpful. It was a completely satisfying experience. Try it.

Also, I had no negative experience about cost or billing.

There was a $16.50 gratuity charged per day per person that went to food and other service staff. In my opinion, it was well worth it, and I tipped extra to the staff I dealt with daily. As I said above, great service.

Have travelled by ship many times but our trip on the American Queen was by far the best. The food was great, no excellent. The staff was better. The amenities were excellent as were the shore excursions. This is a first class outfit. The water levels didn’t allows us to complete our trip from New Orleans to Memphis but we almost made it. I can’t wait to do this trip again.

Just returned from a river cruise aboard the American Queen Steamboat from New Orleans to Memphis.

Beautifully restored boat with period furniture in staterooms and public rooms. This is a leisurely cruise, casual dress and good food. The ports are small with emphasis on Civil war museums and sometimes beautiful Southern mansions. Stop in Memphis gives you a chance to see Graceland, if you are an Elvis fan.

This tour had a theme of Music of the 50;s and the entertainment was excellent -- the Platters, Bill Haley's Comets, Mark Twain impersonator, and really good musicians playing Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis and Johnny Cash. Lots of fun to listen to or dance if you wish. There was always music on this boat -- calliopy, piano and banjo.

Main restaurant was lovely and food portions nicely presented and lots of Southern specialties. Excellent desserts. Services in the dining room was spotty not the professional manner we are used to on cruises. I think it was just a matter of training or not enough staff although the waitstaff was always personable and helpful.

The boat has a Front Porch -- half open with rocking chairs and swings and the other half enclosed and air conditioned with a wide variety of always available drinks and snacks and ice cream.

Although we had 10 children on board, I would recommend this for a slightly older traveler. It was very slow, relaxing and quiet with a little bingo, river talks and history. Dress is casual. Complimentary wine as good and you could ask for something other than was being poured.

Consider the weather if you book this cruise. We went June 21 for 8 days and it was extremely hot -- topping 100 some days. Otherwise it was a fun and different cruise and we learned a lot about the area of our country.

The American Queen Steamboat company needs to improve customer service from the company office. The experience on the American Duchess was very good and the crew went out of their way to accommodate. However, the corporate office did not care about their customers concerns about taking the cruise under these conditions and promises made by company representative (Cheryl) were not followed up on. We had to frequently visit ship personnel to get action on promises and compensations promised.

Our Mississippi River cruise was set to start one week after Hurricane Ida struck. No email was sent to us to tell us if our trip from Memphis to New Orleans was still on until two days before departure when our travel agent was notified that the trip was on and would end in New Orleans. When we arrived at the hotel in Memphis, the guest service representative did not tell us until I asked that our two day extension in New Orleans was cancelled and by the way you now have to rebook your return air flight. We were told that the refund for the two day extension will take up to 30 days. We had to fight to get the refund back to our credit card. The company wanted us to use our trip insurance.

The American Duchess ship and crew were excellent; so it is too bad that the main company can't offer good customer service. We will not use this company again.

just off Jackson Sq. is a nice spot to gaze at the mighty Mississippi. There were a couple guys playing river music and plenty of benched to rest.

We booked a Big Band Riverboat Cruise on March 17, 2021. We were booked for the August 16, 2021 Mississippi River Cruise. We and our travel friends were cancelled by American Queen Steamboat Company with no reason provided and no apology. Our travel agent notified us and was also unable to explain why this cruise was cancelled except to indicate the boat may have possibly been booked in its entirety by a large corporation. We were left totally uninformed and had to keep pushing to get a refund. Our flight costs were not reimbursed and cannot be cancelled; leaving us with hundreds of dollars invested in flights that we must use before March, 2022.
American Queen Steamboat Co. showed total disregard and disrespect to payed passengers who had invested their time and money in the Company. American Steamboat Co. never contacted us directly and we learned from our travel agent that they would offer us a nominal compensation if we rebooked a cruise immediately (having the gaul to think we would even consider rebooking after being totally dismissed by them).
I am urging all my acquaintances to NEVER, EVER book a cruise with American Queen Steamboat Co.

Just got back from a cruise from New Orleans to Memphis, with an extension of two nights in Memphis. Glad I went but would not go again nor would I recommend it to others.

I think I aged 10 years on this trip (I am 71, going on 81). This trip was designed for very old people who are dependent on walkers, scooters, wheelchairs, and canes. I have to say the boat handled those passengers with great care and concern. It was just not the type of clientele I was expecting.

Food I would rate 3.5/5.0 Service was so-so. They charge you an automatic $16/day in gratuities so, in my opinion, it is not a gratuity - it is an additional tax. They also tack on a 15% "gratuity" to already overpriced drinks. And the cabin attendant was trolling for more tips.

I hated the hop on-hop off feature. The weather was very hot and humid. On some stops the wait for a bus was 15-30 minutes. You just stand out in the heat (and sometimes rain) and wait.

I am used to the riverboats in Europe. All escorted tours, marvelous food, small boat with only about 150 passengers as opposed to about 450 passengers on the American Queen.

My room was very pretty and reasonably roomy. It stepped out to the public deck which was fine. The public rooms were very pretty, very nicely decorated.

The people in charge of shore excursions were very officious. The entertainment was pretty good for what it was. We had an obnoxious waiter at dinner who kept offering his "recommendations." He just wanted/needed an audience.

This trip is definitely for the older crowd who need help getting around. There were a few young children who looked bored to death.

The extension in Memphis was very disappointing. We didn't get itineraries until we arrived at the hotel. I had asked my travel agent if there was anything planned for the last day and was told no. So I made plane reservations accordingly. It seems the best day to visit the Civil Rights Museum was on Wednesday (per the itinerary), so I missed that.

Our hotel (Sheraton) was very nice but in a dicey part of town - pretty far from Beale St. and lots of homeless. The trolleys were not working and cabs were non-existent, so the walk back to the hotel in a downpour was not fun. Other than the hotel, there were no restaurants in the area. We did have a great "tour guide," Memphis Jones. He was wonderful!

We first traveled with American Queen Steamboat Co. back in 2017. That cruise from Memphis to Nashville was a replacement for our original booking on the Duchess, which was not finished to sail in time. Then our replacement cruise was fraught with delays because of river conditions. Because of this we missed a couple of ports. Which is really not a problem, because most are not really very interesting. Then, in Nashville we couldn't get on the city tour bus because they said we needed to book it before the cruise. Well, that meant a 7 hr. wait at the airport. The company did afford us a certificate toward a future cruise because of their original mistake of booking us on a boat that was unfinished. Using that certificate we booked on the Duchess for Sept. Of 2018. Well, because of river conditions this cruise ended up being canceled. The company offered to refund our cruise payment, but would only offer to refund our airline change fees if we would rebook in December. We could not rebook for that time. After many emails and calls. I was offered a $250 discount on a future cruise. That would hardly cover the $1000 that we lost on the airfare. Now I am left with fighting with the travel insurance company for my airfare cost. I really think that American Queen should refund my airfare plus the cost of the insurance for our flights. Besides, the cruise line, the ships and the cuisine and staff being mediocre. I would suggest to anyone that I know. DO NOT do business with this company.

This was our 3rd AQ cruise and a major disappointment! The food was awful, not even truck stop quality. the pastries and bread were store bought instead of home made. the sauces/gravies were congealed in an unappetizing glue when served. they ran out of earl grey tea. most of the waiters were surly and inattentive at best. we came for lunch one day, waiters standing around, no one offered to seat us. one waiter was at the salad bar scooping up salad fixings into a plastic bag with no gloves on. finally we seated ourselves at a table by the window and went through the buffet line. as i picked up my fork to start eating, a waiter came by, said 'this table is closed', took away my silverware and glass and left me sitting there! at the captain's receptions, the snacks offered were STALE croutons topped with very nice salmon, but the salmon couldn't make up for the stale bread. and the weirdest thing was that the waiters poured bottle after bottle of champagne, walked around with trays of champagne, but wouldn't serve it, and when the hour was over, they poured dozens of glasses of champagne into the garbage! we ordered a baked potato several nights and got that awful "been on the hot tray for hours" gluey textured insult to a properly baked potato. ordered a steak one nite, purportedly a new york strip. they were obviously out of steaks and had cut a thin slice off the brisket they were serving as pot roast that night. tough as leather and as thin as a pancake! there was a nice omelet/waffle station at breakfast but the cook/waiter hadn't changed his uniform all week. it was disgusting! NOT what one expects when you spend $700/day on a cruise! The tours were ok, but not nearly as interesting as on the st paul to st louis or the columbia river cruise. the entertainment was lively but not great. the banjo player mistakenly thought he was tremendous but he was VERY mistaken. the jug band was the only really good entertainment. more appropriate would have been a single or duo playing acoustic guitar and banjo and singing songs and ballads of the river. the riverlorian was great. his lectures were a 'don't miss'. i would not book a cruise with the AQ again. i don't know if they're fixing to go bankrupt and cutting costs or what but we left feeling insulted rather than pleased and relaxed from an enjoyable cruise. the other couples at our dinner table agreed that the cruise did not meet their expectations and they would neither go on another nor would they recommend the AQ to anyone.

Came in two days before sailing to check out New Orleans. Drove from Jupiter, Florida. First few to board and get set-up. Crew went out of their way to make your happy. Excellent food in main dining and the Front Porch. Super wait staff all around. Land tours were very good and you get to see and hear about much history of days gone bye.

We were in room #208 and you have to expect the usual noises that ships make. When I visited the engine room after we were under way to see the two steam engines up close and personal, my first remark to one of the engineers was that how quiet they were as I stood between them both. Not even having to speak loudly, I was amazed. The engine room itself was the cleanest thing imaginable. No dust, dirt or grease anywhere, truly, not what I had expected.

Having cruised dozens of times, this was a great one and our forth river cruise so far. Our first was down the Yangtze river in China, then two with Avalon in Amsterdam and Budapest. For an American crew I was truly amazed by the high level of service that they

8 of us traveled from Memphis to New Orleans on the lovely American Queen. It was the adventure of a lifetime and we had a blast. We were seated together for dinner each night. The food and staff were amazing ! We all had great rooms, but spent little time in the rooms as there was so much to do. Wonderful shows each night. The hop-on, hop-off was great. We all went in different directions and took different tours, but all agreed there was much to see and learn. The purser gave us permission to bring local friends onboard and show off the boat. They thought it was amazing and watched us take off with the carillion songs announcing we were off to the next stop. Would love to do upper Mississippi someday. 8 travelers, not one complaint.

I booked the 50s/60s Music Themed round trip from St Paul/Minnisota a surprise for my wife. We had the most wonderful and opulent time on board this magnificent vessel. She is beautifully kept and spotlessly clean and dressed in all her 1800s finery.

We were extremely well looked after with few exceptions by most of the crew in particular our cabin attendant and dedicated waitress at our dinner table.

Our only disappointment was the lack of 50s/60s Music. There were a few evening shows which featured the advertised theme music of about 1 hour each show, the rest of the time it was all Jazz and we hate Jazz. If I'd wanted a Jazz Cruise I would have booked one. Travellers' beware of what you are getting before you book. The only other down side we found was the Sun Deck which appeared neglected (used by the smokers) and the fact that the pool was unusable due to it's cloudy water and 'things' floating in it.

Embarkation and Disembarkation was a bit of a farce but then what cruise isn't!!

Ala in all a wonderful trip spoilt and marred by a coupe of things.

We took the American Queen Steamboat Paddlewheeler from New Orleans to Memphis in March this year. I would have posted this earlier, but I was giving the American Steamboat company time to respond to my critique of this relatively expensive trip that had some flaws. We had a top of the line Suite on the top deck and it cost us nearly $10,000 for the two of us for an 8 day trip (including one night in New Orleans at a hotel). Aside from the fact that this suite was about the size of an indoor cabin on an ocean liner, it was decorated in early "house of ill repute" as near as we could tell. Dark, dark, dark but with a great view when opening the door to the suite to the deck area. The bed was great, though difficult to maneuver since it overwhelmed the suite...no bed stand on one side of the bed and a narrow passage on the other side of the bed with a bed stand. Dresser drawers did not work properly; the closet (remember this is a $10,000 suite) has no closet doors and is smallish for two people. There was a sink in the hallway outside the bathroom which helped since there were two of us, but in the bathroom itself there was a shower in a bathtub and the bathtub was chipped and badly stained on the bottom...not inviting to say the least. The suite's door frame was broken leaving gaps and the locking mechanism looked like it had been broken into in the past. The rubber connecting pieces were loose and not making for a clean close.

The staff were great and the food was wonderful. Seriously good and welcoming crew members and the food was 1st Class all the way, though the evening sit-down dinners could have used either a few more chefs in the kitchen or a few more table servers in the dining room. The noise in the nicely decorated main dining room was to the point where you could not hear your tablemates. We give an A+ for staff and food,

Then there was the elevators, which are badly in need of repair...the facing kept coming off as the doors opened and closed, the elevators had minds of their own and went down when you punched up and vice versa. And, they stopped mid decks with a noticeable thud. Maintenance was apparently an afterthought for these elevators which were used by 90% of the guests, who average aged around 70 (including us!).

The common areas of the boat were nicely decorated in the style of the times of the paddlewheelers and kept in immaculate condition, and thank heavens, since no one would want to spend too much time in their suites or cabins as dark and uninviting as they were. Only one laundry area on the boat and they did not take laundry...it was all self serve, so take plenty of undergarments, nothing dry cleanable and blue jeans and a couple pair of slacks suffice for men. There is no need at anytime to "gussie" up as they say, though they do not allow (supposedly...as there were exceptions) shorts, t shirts nor jeans at dinner. Jackets are o.k., but not necessary.

The condition of the boat in general was not great with a lot of peeling paint and rust...yet when viewed from shore...well away from the boat...it was beautiful sitting out there in the Mississippi like the Queen she should have been.

There is very little need to buy their premium day trips, as they have a marvelous "hop on hop off" bus system (the buses travel at night between the ports so the same drivers show up at the next port). And at each location they have local guides who are really well versed in the history of the area like in Vicksburg, Natchez, Oak Plantation. All worthwhile and all included in your cruise cost...except for one...there was no need and no redeeming quality in the stop the night before we landed in Memphis the next day...it was in Arkansas and literally had nothing at all to offer.

Again, staff were excellent but at a mandatory (in addition to the cruise cost) of $16.50 per person per day (or $33.00 a couple) tip fee that you pay at the end of the cruise is exorbitant...they just need to pay their crew members better or something. it is like a slap in the face, even though you know this when you purchase your cruise.

Overall, we enjoyed it, and had wonderful table mates for dinner and the buffets for breakfast and lunch were outstanding, but I can only muster a "C" for the overall experience when you weigh the cost versus the river cruise in total. For $10,000 per couple, my wife and I do, with many years of cruising and lots of benefits,stay in magnificent suites on the ocean going cruises...no comparison to what you get on this boat.

Al Pierce

This is good and this also fun to. I want to go there again. I want you to vist mississppi river if you not see the Mississippi river before. Have fun!

Unfortunately, we needed to cancel our long planned cruise on the Mississippi (Wife had hip replacement surgery). Happily, we had trip cancellation insurance, and the CSA insurance paid us in 3 days after we submitted the claim, Three days to collect from CSA.. a remarkable and very nice way to do business.However, the port charges were to be refunded by American Queen.. that is another long story, but the bottom line is that it took my travel agent three calls and me another three calls to get them to process the refund. Each call more difficult that the one before.

Nice ladies on the phone but no results.The refund is supposed to be posted to our credit card in two days, but we have not seen it yet.Terrible service and I suspect that the attitude and aura indicated by their inattention to us may be evident on their cruises.

I took a cruise from New Orleans over 600 miles up the Mississippi to Memphis aboard the Ameican Duchess, a padedle boat that held about 160 passengers. It made daily stops where a bus waited to whisk you to various points of historical interest. There was a sameness to the views of the river since both sides had levies and were, for the most part, tree-lined so you could not see much of the countryside. There was occasional river traffic which was mainly tug-boats pushing large barges carrying freight up and down the river.

We cruised from New Orleans, LA to Red Wing, Minnesota. What a fantastic trip. It took 3 weeks and I learned more in those 3 weeks (about the heartland and the south) than I learned in 21 years of schooling. We cruised on American Cruise Lines, which wasn't a highlight of this trip. My wife is lactose intolerant and this was disclosed in our initial paperwork. She lost 6 pounds on this trip. They had no provisions to provide for anything but gluten allergies. On the other hand, the trip included alcoholic beverages and they did stock up on one of my favorite scotches when we hit ports where there were liquor stores. The first week on ACL was great. After that, they took the best waiters, waitresses, housekeeping managers, etc and transferred them to another ship they were launching. So, needless to say, our linens weren't changed when they should have been. Our room wasn't cleaned when it should have been. We had to complain to the general manager in order to get our rooms cleaned. The housekeeping staff would congregate on the stairs and share stories while the rooms went unattended. Not to say all housekeeping staff, there was one lady who pitched in to help the slackers. She was everywhere and I wish I could remember her name to give her a thumbs up. But the general housekeeping staff was inadequate. I doubt we will ever cruise on ACL again. We will take the Snake River cruise but next time we'll take it on American Queen Steamboat Company.

On Sept 26, 2022, American Queen cancelled our paid in full cruise, scheduled to depart on Dec 28, 2022.
It has been a month and they have not refunded the $2,226.00 I paid to them in Sept 2021. According to the woman who answered their phone, other customers have not received their refunds 60+ days after American Queen cancelled their cruises.
Will I need to file suit against them to retrieve my money? I will NEVER cruise with American Queen Voyages again.
(note - Sept 26, 2022 is when they cancelled the cruise)

My first river cruise, and my first trip to the United States. The AQ was an awesome experience - fantastic service, great food, fantastic entertainment, and excellent on-shore excursions. Very slick operation - first with boarding at the beginning of the trip, then with getting on-shore for the excursions, and then finally with disembarking at the end.

All the staff were friendly and helpful - the housekeeping staff were efficient and polite, the waiters and waitresses in the dining room were fun and efficient. The entertainers just kept on entertaining us with great music and stories, and the excursion team were just amazing. There were so many options to chose from, and the hop on/hop off bus ran like clock work. I was lucky to get onto all the premium excursions that I chose once I boarded the boat ( my advise would be to check these out and book before leaving home to make sure you don't miss out. Plenty of variety to please everyone.

And the big plus for me was the 'single cabin' for the solo traveller - a huge big thanks to the team for this. And for making the solo travellers feel so included in everything - This would have to have been my best ever solo experience.

I loved and enjoyed the walk on the river boardwalk while drinking my coffee and beignets. I love river, oceans, lake all type of water and I def. want it to see this amazing river.

We took a cruise on the American Queen, leaving from Memphis and ending in New Orleans. I would highly recommend it! The music on board was excellent. If you love country, rock, R&B, piano standards, dixieland, and just about any other American music form, you will love this trip. Separately: once in NOLA, we took a small dixieland jazz trip (just 2 hours) on the Natchez, which was OK but not particularly amazing. But if you haven't done any other river cruising, one of these shorter trips may give you a small taste for the river, and for the history of the area.

Beautiful river but smell like swamp water.I liked the scene of the bridge that goes across the river.It was great actually seeing this river because we talked about it when I was in school 15 years ago.

Relaxed and informative trip down the Mississippi River from Memphis to New Orleans. Excellent onboard facilities - spacious, well equipped cabin with balcony; two comfortable restaurants, fitness centre and library. Talented and energetic trio of entertainers, backed by an accomplished four-person show band. Food to good hotel standard, and some highly quaffable wines. Service is friendly, highly customer-responsive, and competent.

Most shore visits gave further insights into the multi-cultural history of Memphis, of Louisiana and of the Mississippi Delta. Some were less interesting.

I have been on 11 cruises with Regent Seven Seas, Norwegian, Celebrity, Holland America and Viking, and American Queen Steamboat Company beats them all!

I just Finished the cruise on The Countess from Memphis to New Orleans. Memphis is such a cool city. It has a great vibe. The first stop after Memphis was the Grammy museum in Greenville Mississippi. Did you know that more people from Mississippi have won Grammys than any other State?

The food is outstanding. They have prime steaks and lobster available every night included so you can order lobster with your entrée every single night. Which I did. They also have open bars all throughout the day with no limit and no excluded alcohol. Lots of people were experimenting with different cocktails and enjoy themselves every night before dinner. The wine pairings with dinner were excellent.

We had an inside cabin and it was spacious. There was plenty of room for the two of us to store our belongings. We never felt crowded in anyway. The bathroom was really large. Everything is beautiful on the Countess.

The highlight of the cruise was the entertainment. The stage band is comprised of extremely talented musicians from some of the best musical universities in the United States. The singers and dancers were fresh off of Broadway. Of course, Broadway he has been closed for a year, so it’s nice to see these people having a chance to earn a living.
One night we had a magician perform. He was funny, talented, and engaging. It was a great show.

Each day, all of the excursions were included.
We learned a lot about history and culture, music and food. The excursions are very interesting. The nice thing also is they have their own dedicated buses so your same bus driver stays with you throughout the cruise and the buses are extremely comfortable.

I am booking their Columbia and Snake River cruise for 2022 right now!! This was the best vacation of my life and I have been to 45 countries.

American Queen Steamboat Company hires only US citizens. Support America. Support our economy and our jobs! These River towns depend on the tourists to survive.

Book your cruise now!!

Lois and myself went on the Mississipi River Boat cruise today Thursday, 20/06/24. at 10.30 am.
John who conducted the tour was absolutely brilliant, his knowledge and commentary was amazing, such a lovely Guy with a lovely personia.
Would most definitely recommend this trip,
Thank you.
Lois and Marko

We stayed at a hotel across the street from here. The walk is paved, has benches and water fountains along the way. You can bike here, also. The River Boats and casinos are very photogenic. There is the USS Kidd and you must do the tour: inexpensive and full of history.

This Steamboat is the best, if you do any other cruise on the Mississippi when you see this boat, you will wish you were on it. We couldn't fault anything about the cruise. 7 days, New Orleans to Memphis with interesting port stops. This boat has authenticity and character, it's like being back in the days of Mark Twain. The Food was great, the service was second to none and e range of entertainment excellent.

Just got off the American queen after 7 day trip from New Orleans to Memphis. Had cabin 316 which was absolutely fine and well looked after. Average age on boat was 70+, holds 423 people but only 225 on our cruise. Dissapointing to see they were advertising 30-50% off the rest of the cruises this year while we were on board, not clever marketing I would have thought when most people had paid full whack. There was evidently over 100 passengers on board not from USA, most from Australia. Breakfast and lunch were ok with choice of 2 restaurants. Free coffee tea and soft drinks all day. Alcohol free with dinner only. Evening meals hit and miss with nice menus but cooking falling short. Considering these cruises cost more than seaborne and silver sea the food should match but it's nowhere near. Towns they visit are pretty run down with not a lot to see really.
If you do their paid for tours you have to be gone by 8am as boat sails most days by 1pm. Not much of a holiday. To be up and away that early. No one could see why they could not leave at 2pm and start at 9am. Especially as the boat stood still for the last afternoon getting to Memphis.Hop on hop off bus was a must otherwise you would have spent too much time on the boat. Wifi was woefull and must be improved. No possibility to use Skype on board, even emails struggled to send. Staff were mostly excellent especially the ones we had in the dining room. We sat with couples from UK and Canada and had a fun week. Had problems getting my ticketing buy email and evidently I was not the only one with some in USA having to get overnight post the day before they boarded. Hilton hotel pre cruise was convenient but we got the lowest room, I guess they pay the least. Tips $16.50 each added per day plus 15% on any drinks you buy.
Not a cruise line I would spend this much money on again. On board entertainment ok but geared for 60-70 plus audience. Street musicians in New Orleans put on better shows.

Got to see and drive near the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Jackson...such a wonderful experience!

We did a "American Queen Steamboat Company" Cruise- New Orleans-New Orleans on 5/8/2016. The 8th included the Hyatt Hotel and on the 9th we boarded the Boat.
We have been on many cruises both big ships and river cruises, in and out of the USA. This cruise is at the top of the list. The staff goes out of its way to please you. The food is fabulous. You have wine and beer included and they have food out 24/7. They have included tours everyday or you can pay for an upgraded tour. We didn't feel that was necessary for us to do. The boat is done in old Mississippi decor. The rooms are well done, just wish they had a clock in the room. We were in room E208 with a bay window. It was very comfortable and the bay window was big, so our view was always great. With hardly any traffic on the river we left our blinds open all day. I don't care for the balcony rooms on this type of boat because they actually open on the walkway with two chairs and a small table. People are always walking by, but that may not bother some people. As you do get the chance to say hello and meet a lot of passengers. The entertainment is excellent. I give them praise for a great job.

We had a lovely week on the American Queen fulfilling a lifetime ambition to see the river and its adjoining towns. The positives were the atmosphere on the boat was great taking you back in time to the 19th century. The hop on hop off excursions were very enjoyable and worked well giving lots of opportunity to see new places, museums and antebellum homes that will give us memories for many years. Entertainment was all singing but of a high standard.
The negatives were the noise from the diesel engines to generate power and steam, This can be overwhelming and is very obtrusive in places like the restaurant and our cabin sat above a generator and it felt like we were sleeping next to a washing machine on a constant spin cycle. If you plan to travel make absoloutely sure you get a quiet room. Our inside cabin was the smallest room we have ever slept in and there was insufficient space for a bedside table.Also the smell of popcorn in the front porch is nauseating and off putting. Food is a similar standard to an ocean cruise. The staff are generally helpful but many seem to have little training and do not compare to the professionalism of ocean cruise staff.

The Mississippi River is world famous and when you see the number and size of the boats that it supports you get an appreciation for it. Excellent!

We booked this cruise as part of a package (2 nights New Orleans, 7 night cruise and 2 nights in Memphis). Hotels were mediocre with poor service so I would recommend booking your own stays. Whilst I complained to AQSC about this they offered nothing in compensation other than some on-board credit should we decide to do another of their expensive cruises.
The steamboat itself if a quaint and well maintained vessel. It's decor is set Having watched Jane Mcdonald on TV doing the same cruise we expected at least a welcome when we first boarded but other than a man checking ID on entry there was no one there. We found our room relatively easily and found other amenities quite easily.
Our room was compact but comfortable and kept mostly clean (other than under the beds which had a thick layer of dust). The food and service at mealtimes was excellent. The boat itself is decorated in the late 18th century Antebellum style. The ladies lounge as well as the dining room were lovely and my favourite rooms.
The places we visited along the Mississippi river were interesting and varied and we learnt a lot. The tours organised by ASQC were good but pricey. The ASQC have their own coaches which follow the riverboat and when it stops they can either take you to your organised tour or act like a shuttle, taking you into and from town for free.
The entertainment on board is OK although more suited to the older generation of passenger which this type of cruise attracts and was mostly the same small group of performers most days of the week. I wouldn't say the caliber is Broadway as advertised but orchestral team were very good.
I found this cruise very 'chillaxing'. There was always room to sit somewhere nice and it was never hurried or noisy like larger cruises. It was a great way to see the Mississippi River and places I would probably never have visited or learnt the history about. I'm not sure I'd do another similar cruise but all in all it was a memorable holiday.

We decided to take a maiden, winter cruise aboard the American Duchess from Memphis to New Orleans.

We found the newly refurbished boat to be beautifully yet simply appointed with lots of eye appeal. The Duchess is small, able to carry 160 passengers and that adds to the intimacy that this lovely vessel affords. Our weather was not terribly accommodating with ice, snow and low double digit record temperatures but that didn't dampen the spirits aboard the boat.

We chose an outside cabin with a veranda. It was a decent sized stateroom and definitely NOT a suite, as advertised. They are single rooms with a queen sized bed and an adequately sized bathroom with shower, sink and vanity. Rooms were nicely appointed and comfortable and our cabin assistant kept it clean and neat as a pin. Nothing felt crowded. Their continued referral to these rooms as suites is simply not accurate.

We took no premium excursions and chose to use the complimentary hop on hop off buses and the sites that were provided with each stop’s location. I don’t believe we missed much when talking to other passengers.

Food, though not gourmet, was definitely well above the average, plated beautifully and delicious. Executive Chef Jeff Warner's careful menu planning insured that there was something to suit every palate. If not, they were ALWAYS able to accommodate requests. We chose to eat in the Grand Dining Room for dinner and in the River Terrace buffet for several breakfasts, especially if we had to leave early for excursions.

Alcohol was extremely expensive, however dinner came with complimentary house wine and one's glass was never empty due to the attentive wait staff. A red and white was made available each evening. Happy hour each evening shaved a dollar or two off each drink and that together with the complimentary wine at dinner would be adequate for us without breaking the bank. A beverage package runs approximately $250.00 per cabin and with an "auto gratuity" of $50.00 tacked on your drink package is an easy $300.00--definitely overboard for the quality of wine offered. Most bottles on the open market run less than $12.00 yet bottle prices began in the $32.00 range on up. Skip the package, save the money, use happy hour and drink wine at dinner.

The true gem in this company's tiara is its staff, which in my opinion is 5 STARS! They are highly attentive, yet not intrusive, knowledgeable, professional, and ever present with a wonderful sense of humor. The boat, though lovely, pales in comparison to this All American staff and it is my hope that the management of this company recognizes the value in what they have. We found officers, the Executive chef, managers and even Crystal, the Hotel Manager, waiting tables when the dining room was full. There doesn't appear to be a visible hierarchy, except for shoulder epaulets and the entire staff seems to work like one big, well-oiled machine focused solely on client satisfaction, accommodation and comfort.

A special mention of Serena W, a Purser on board the Duchess is essential. We found her to have exceptional skills with an ability to listen, hear, assess, intervene and problem solve on every occasion. She is truly outstanding in every way.

It is the staff and their genuine, earnest desire to serve that would bring this TripAdvisor reviewer back to this company. This All American staff gets a standing ovation from this passenger indeed.

Side Note: The company’s literature states that the included, pre-board evening would be spent in the Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. That is not the case. We were housed in the Sheraton, a huge, modern hotel that unlike the iconic Peabody is located away from most of the attractions. An upper level staff member at the Peabody told us that the company has been doing that for some time, so this type of seemingly deliberate deception is simply not acceptable as is the advertising of state room “suites.”

Best river ever. Far better than the good for nithing idiotic Rhine river. The river didn't swear at the rhine river. Best river ever

This was a 23-day trip with American Queen Steamboat Company from Red Wing, MN to New Orleans. It has been on my bucket list for years and I finally got it done! What a wonderful experience!
All along the river, there is wildlife: herons, snowy egrets, osprey and a lot of bald eagles. Fish were jumping and once in awhile, I would see turtles.
Our stateroom was on the starboard side as recommended by our booking agent. She said that we would get pretty sunsets on that side and we got beautiful sunsets! It is a little warmer on that side but it was August and this is expected. Also, the humidity was often very high. This is also expected.
Our stateroom attendant was always ready to help. She filled our ice bucket twice each day and our room was always spic and span even though she had to work around all of our junk and cords and computers, etc.
There are a number of bars and cafes so you can sit just about anywhere on the boat and watch what is happening along the water or the shore. If you don't feel like cleaning up and dressing for dinner, you can always eat at the cafe on the fwd end of the third deck. The food is good and you can sit either indoors or outdoors. Free hotdogs and chips are served at the bar and cafe on the aft fifth deck.
The company charges an automatic $16.50 tip/fee per day per person. This seems a little high but I understand why they do it. Some people are too cheap to tip.
The bar bills are way too high. $5 or $6 for one beer. $12 for a martini. That is ridiculous. They don't like you to bring booze on board with you but I sure don't blame people if they do. We carried booze on in our backpacks, otherwise our bar bill would have been sky-high!
We didn't like the assigned seating at dinner. We sat with the same couple for the whole trip. We aren't used to this. We like to mix it up and get to meet other folks. I don't know why they assign dinner seating.
We got to choose from many items off the menu at dinner, which was nice. The selections varied from seafood to red meat to vegetarian and I don't know how they do it. Other cruise lines want you to choose your dinner selection at breakfast or lunchtime. It's nice to choose from a menu.
The captain and crew were always around and available to chit chat. We thought that was nice. On the big boats, the floating hotels, you never see the captain. We were welcome to visit the engine room and boiler room whenever we felt like it and the engineers down there were really helpful, watchful and we had great teaching moments. The small boats like this one are much more comfortable and friendly and the crew was always happy, laughing and smiling and helpful to everyone who needed assistance. Deboarding and boarding during shore excursions was very easy. They had a lot of golf carts running to carry the less able folks up and down the ramps.
I would classify the cost of the trip as "mid-range." We have been on less expensive cruises but we have also been on much more pricey ones. We had a great time!

We have traveled extensively, both river and ocean cruising and found that this cruise would rate well below anything else we have taken.
There were a lot of other "non - Americans" who were, like us, very disappointed as well. The food quality, the service and most towns visited were below par.
In particular, the small towns were like ghost towns - with many shops closed.
Without the riverlorian, Gerry, this cruise would have been very boring.
We understand that Viking Cruises will be coming to the Mississippi - when that happens, American Queen will have to up there game to compete.

went to tis riva with the guys we saw some whales and fishes in there we took a boat from the start and wen about 22 miles over de sea

We booked this cruise from Australia as we wanted to see the Mississippi River and the southern states.
I enjoyed our time on the river, the accommodation was fine, the food was excellent but we didn't realise the majority of our fellow passengers would be elderly ( average age 70+) and that all the shore excursions would cater for this age group.
Activities for a younger more agile group would have been appreciated by the small group of us who weren't,t elderly or informed. I didn't think that we received good value for our money. We I

Took a cruise up and down the Mississippi River on a real paddle wheeler. Stopped at towns along the way for day trips and sight seeing. Our boat was wonderful and the crew was more than attentive.This review should be under the boats name,but Tripadviser does not have it listed. Special thanks to our bartenders Tammy and David and to our room steward Cleon as well as our server Nicola.

Had a great time on the American Queen paddle boat. Started in New Orleans and finished in Memphis. 8 days of good weather and meeting new friends. Went Thanksgiving week and enjoyed the dinner they served. Crew members very attentive and lots of amenities. Highly recommend this cruise line.

Beware of this company. Like several others I am reading about here, our trip was cancelled by the cruise company. We were informed that the $8,500.00 we had paid in full back in 2019 would not be refunded until 90 days after the sail date of March 30, 2020.

Abusive and totally unscrupulous to retain a customers money after you fail to deliver the agreed upon pre-paid service. My wife and I plan to return to cruising but American Queen is definitely off of our list of businesses we will use. Telling everyone we know and blasting this across social media.

It is a free and enjoyable experience to ride a ferry across Mississippi river. During May 2011 when I went for the ride, the river was even at its very high tide. It takes almost 30 minutes and it's a worth-while experience.

How deep is the Mississippi? How wide? It all depends on when and where you are on this ever-changing, nearly mythic waterway, according to the expert "Riverlorian" on our American Duchess paddle-wheeler cruising from New Orleans to Memphis. And the same must be said about the cruise and the Duchess itself.

After some complaints about its maiden voyages, the shakedown period has clearly led to welcome changes by the American Queen Steamboat Company. And we were served royally by the Duchess both afloat and ashore despite extreme river flooding during our late March-early April 2018 voyage.

In brief, most all problems in 2017 about which I have read on TripAdvisor seem to have been addressed. Food was fine, wine at meals plentiful, drinks less costly than in NYC, service responsive and friendly, entertainment terrific and varied every night (three singers, four-piece band), shore excursions (both included Hop On/Hop Off and premium tours) well-planned and locally guided on the three buses whose cheery drivers jump ahead to meet the boat at each stop.

"Laissez les bon temps rouler," they say in New Orleans, where the good times for us started with an included night in the classic Roosevelt Hotel, now a Waldorf Astoria property, off Canal Street near the French Quarter. The Duchess offers a premium bus tour but we found the independent Hop On-Hop Off bus that stops nearby quite sufficient for seeing the sights and enjoying outdoor lunch and jazz at the French Market Cafe (at St. Phillips and N. Peters), then heading further into the market for traditional beignets--fried dough filled with chocolate, praline or plain with powdered sugar.

Our cruise also included free transport from the Roosevelt to the docked Duchess, a former floating casino, where guests were ushered aboard with a glass of bubbly and elegant music by the ship's quartet. Less elegant was the required emergency drill when we donned orange life-jackets and assembled down on the main deck for instructions. The crew was kind enough to make an exception for my 92-year-old mother-in-law, who was permitted to sit at the top of the stairs.

Our first meal in the bright, high-ceilinged dining room (with the riverbank rolling by large windows), seemed suitably Southern with fried green tomatoes, a corn and crab soup and espresso-coated tenderloin. But, as at every meal, there were many choices for each of three courses. Over the following days we particularly enjoyed pecan-crusted snapper, glazed pork, excellent strip steak and salmon, blueberry pancakes for breakfast, pecan pie and chocolate torte for dessert and great baby back ribs in the less formal Terrace dining area. The only bummer, I thought, was the duck breast.

But afloat the main attraction was each evening's entertainment in the main deck Show Room with singers Dustin and Courtney Cunningham (husband and wife, also cruise director and assistant) and Jeff Hutson (also a singing gondolier at home in Indianapolis), backed by the quartet (which also played later upstairs in the cozier Lincoln Library, with its shelves of books, many board games and tables to play cards).

The range of the musicians was remarkable, with a different theme each night, including songs from the movies, country, sock-hop rock and light classical. Dustin even sang hymns at the ecumenical Easter Sunday Service he conducted.

The increased height of the Mississippi precluded any tie-up at our first scheduled stop--Nottaway, LA, with its grand plantation and mansion. And, while cruising, the high water reduced our view to a seemingly endless stretch of flooded woods way beyond the riverbanks.

But the crew got us to every other promised location: St. Francisville with its Old Market Hall; Natchez with its historic King's Tavern (the city's oldest building), the associated Charboneau rum distillery (with free tasting), more mansions and a premium tour to the restored and still-operating operating Frogmore plantation.

At Vicksburg the premium tour bus wends its way through that key, as-it-was battlefield of the Civil War, with markers for each engagement and monuments to each state that fought (Kentucky and Missouri with units on both sides). A Confederate Army "re-enactor" came aboard the bus in uniform to present a dramatic monologue about the debilitating, decisive siege there (May 18 – July 4, 1863). But he may have offended some passengers earlier on the boat when he declared us now fighters for the Confederacy, unfurled the South's Stars-and-Bars flag and urged us all to join his rebel yell.

Most all other local guides on the cruise seemed carefully, sincerely, politically correct, acknowledging both the inhumanity of slavery and its importance to the region's wealth. The Vicksburg battlefield itself now includes a memorial to black Union soldiers--three bronze figures on a base of black African granite.

In Greenville the premium tour to Indianola features the fascinating B.B. King museum, his gravesite and his still operating Club Ebony -- with free samples of breaded catfish, spicey corn fritter balls, meat po-boy and spirited blues that had some fellow Duchess passengers dancing.

The Memphis stop is much too abbreviated -- pulling in at dawn and requiring passengers to debark before 9 am to prepare for a new cruise back down to New Orleans. We should have paid for the extra day and night in Memphis that is offered to end the cruise. We also learned that cruising from Memphis to New Orleans would have been a better choice, as the speed of the river in that direction greatly shortens the time between stops, permitting full days ashore rather than half days, and adding Baton Rouge and Helena, ARK to the itinerary.

Another lesson learned: the lowest-priced "veranda suites" and "interior suites" are really just single rooms, larger and smaller, with the balcony providing an option for private viewing that many will forego to share the sights with fellow passengers from the sun deck or other public spaces. And veranda rooms seem to cost almost twice as much. But fear not, all rooms get Godiva chocolates on their beds each night.

We stood on the bank of the river and touched the water just to say we had. Nice to watch the boat coming and going. The steamboat played tunes and lights from the old organ. Well worth coming.