Note: This is my first time on a river boat, I cannot compare the American Queen to any other river boat, I can only compare her to an Ocean Cruise Ship.
According to our Riverlorian, this is the largest and only working steamboat on the river. There is an American Flag flying from the ship and most of the accents are from different parts of the country, not different parts of the world. There are no children on board and the only 20 somethings I have seen have been staff . There are several Mother – Daughter couples and I just met a lady staying in the single person stateroom who is traveling with both her parents. *Update: there is one teen traveling with her mother.
As the guests meet each other, standard questions include your home state, how many children / grandchildren you have and how many trips you have made on the American Queen. Many people have traveled on her before and many of them have been on this same route before since our trip was changed from an Upper Mississippi River itinerary to an Ohio River itinerary. Only a few people are angry about the change, most are just irritated but know American Queen Steamboat Company cannot control the weather and the river level. It is really important that the boat be able to make it under a bridge when traveling on the river.
You board the boat on deck one, musicians and entertainers welcome you aboard the steamboat, setting the stage for a wonderful week. Each time you leave and return to the ship, you are scanned on and using your ID card. This is the only time you use the card since the room keys are actual physical keys and when you purchase something you just give them your room number (they have a picture of you to confirm your identity).
You walk your first flight of red carpeted stairs and through the doorway onto deck 2. The woman’s parlor and men’s card room flank the hallway to the Mark Twain Gallery. Everything is decorated as old style luxury but tucked in the corner is the computer/internet area and the coffee station. Beautiful artwork and models covered in glass surround the couches and sitting areas. There are games and puzzles and books for your entertainment. The pursers desk, shore excursion desk and gift shop are midship on this deck. We haven’t spent much time in those areas, the lighting is dim and we prefer the open deck.
There are elevators in the middle of the ship and stairs everywhere. There are only 6 decks but as much as we climb stairs, it feels like so much more. Mom has declared that we will not be using the elevators this week but I am not sure she will be able to keep that conviction all week, we are climbing lots and lots and lots of stairs.
The “Front Porch” is on deck 3 forward- this is the buffet. Drink machines, soft serve ice cream, soft cookies and popcorn also reside here. The buffet area is small but never seems too crowded. There is some inside seating but most of the seating is outside on the deck – it is covered so rain does not cause many problems. Tables, chairs, porch swings all combine to make this a nice place. We find this place to be very breezy.
The front of deck 4 is lined with rocking chairs. This is a beautiful place for coffee or simply sit and watch the river go by — however, it is open to the sun and the rain so it is not as popular as the Front Porch. The deck is a bit sloped and it is very difficult to convince yourself that you will not fall if you rock backwards — I had to reassure myself many many times throughout the week. Signs on this deck indicate that 6 laps around the deck is equal to one mile. The chart room is on this floor — this is where you find the Riverlorian – he is very interesting and will answer any of your questions.
Deck 5 forward is a private balcony. You can walk the remainder of the deck, but not the front. Deck 5 Aft is a bar and the location of the keyboard for the Calliope. A 1/2 flight of stairs up is the pool deck and the workout room (one bike, one elliptical machine, one treadmill and some free weights). Quite a few people use the workout room at all different times of the day. We have also seen people in the pool regularly. Mom even swam 20 laps the other day.
Deck 6 is the top deck and has some covered seating. We were there on day 1 during castoff and the steamboat race – the calliope is loud on deck 6. We were also fortunate to get a pilot house tour – it was pretty neat to see how the pilot determines our course and how they communicate with the engine room. This boat is a mixture of new technology and manual systems.
The dining room is on the first floor and it is elegant and beautiful. The servers are very nice and personal but they are not invisible. We move out of their way as they remove the unused glasses (the table is set with 2 wine glasses and a water glass), used plates and cutlery. Wine and water glasses remain full but sometimes we need to wave them down to ask for something different. Desserts are not on the menu, the server reads them to us from her phone-like device and we make our selection. The bar servers in the shows use these same devices to order our drinks.
The Grand Saloon is on the first floor and is decorated much like the Florida Theater. This is the site for informational meetings, line dancing lessons and the nightly shows. The entertainers are very talented and we have enjoyed every show.
At the back of the boat on Deck 2 is a bar called the Engine Room Bar. In this bar is a doorway marked Engine Room. At any time you can go through the door and walk down the stairs and talk to the guys in the Engine Room who are responsible for making sure the boat is moving. It is a loud and hot place BUT it really very interesting.
There is free wifi on-board. The best service is on deck 2 near the Computer area. Otherwise it is spotty. The T-Mobile service is not fantastic along the Ohio River either.
Traveled July 2019
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