River Cruises - All Cruise Reviews

This was our third trip on the lower Mississippi and this New Year's Eve cruise was the best staffed by far. I can only rave about the service and genuine hospitality from the staff. We even had the opportunity to share the dance floor with some of our servers during the New Year's Eve party and the crew talent show was the most attended event on the cruise. Excellent food/wonderful staff - everything I could have asked for!

Overall, the cruise was interesting, educational and exciting when we found out that the two barges had broken loose from their tugs. In addition, in was highly informative as to the impact Climate Change has had on the Mississippi River. There were places where one saw sand dune after sand dune as the Mississippi's water level is 25 feet below where it should be. In fact, the shallowness of the water and the narrow water way was part of the cause of the barges breaking loose from their tugs. It was well worth taking the cruise as I learned a lot about our back door to Illinois and Wisconsin!

Recently returned from a Viking Rhine trip on 10/14. The good: Rhine water levels were good, no issues. Service on the vessel was A+, excluding one attendant with “attitude” at the front desk. Entertainment was low key but acceptable. Viking succeeds in creating a laid back atmosphere. Viking is like a clock - they run on time. Cabin was nice and shower was exceptional. Most (not all) tours were informative, guides ranged from good to excellent. Tour buses were top shelf with experienced drivers. The not so good: All 6 in our group were disappointed with the food (not service but food) all week excluding breakfast. All felt the food offerings got “old” real fast. Food appeared to be prepared in advance and then reheated. Plenty of TV movies, tv and internet reception poor all week. Most concerning Viking, customs, and airline never asked to see our proof of vaccination. While Viking did a excellent job in keeping the boat itself clean and sanitized we had an issue on one of the bus tours. A unmasked woman sitting directly behind my wife was sweating & coughing non-stop. Not a occasional sneeze or cough, it was obvious this woman was ill. At the first stop multiple riders relocated to seats as far away from this individual as possible. Regrettably, Viking said/did noting. Viking claims they are not the Covid police and if we felt compromised we should have put on a mask. Absolutely ridiculous that Viking felt we should have masked but took action to pull this woman aside, require her to mask with a suggestion to see a physician. Again - we’re not talking about normal coughing and sneezing- this woman was visibly ill. Viking was willing to put 30 travelers at risk rather then ask a visibly ill woman to mask up. It’s Vikings boat, tour, bus but they say and do nothing. Of course 2 of 6 in our group contracted Covid. Viking had a obligation to do everything within their control to protect us as best possible. In this instance they didn’t even try. Not trying to trash Viking, just being truthful.

For the price of the cruise American Cruise Lines should invest in their company and develop some usable docks at each of their stops. Viking Cruise has done it, so I'm not sure why an American Company hasn't as well.

The Good: The ship is a marvel of excellence. It’s beautifully appointed with an air of luxury. When we were welcomed aboard, the comment most heard from my fellow passengers was, “I was blown away.” Many of the tour experiences when the ship docks were a real pleasure. They would have been difficult to find or afford without the guidance provided by Ama. Standouts for me were the bicycle ride through wine country and the tours to the truffle farm and the town of Beaujolais. The crew is well-trained, efficient, excellent at their jobs, engaging, hard-working, and a true pleasure to deal with. The entire operation is a model of efficiency. They deliver on their promise of seamless luxury, most especially by ensuring you won’t have to handle your luggage. From shore to ship and back to shore, you’ll find your bags waiting in your room. All of this is executed with military precision. If you love cruise ship luxury and experience, read no further. Ama is your place to be. More than half the passengers had been on an Ama cruise before. The Bad: All that military precision comes with a price. In order for your bags to get where they’re supposed to be before you get there, you’ll have to put up with a lot of “hurry up and wait.” A very military experience indeed. On Day 3, the transfer from Barcelona to Avignon by TGV required us to have our bags in the hallway by 6:45 a.m., which in turn required us to get out of bed at the time we would be going to bed if we were still in NY. Then, of course, Ama must keep you busy because the bags get to the next stop by truck, and you’re traveling by TGV. So, they set up a city tour in the morning (when I should be sleeping). These tours take you by bus through a city where a guide tells you what you just past on your right or left. Free time is limited because, well, there’s a train to catch. There is constant pressure to be where you have to be and be there on time. It’s understandable but not much fun. Hurry up and wait describes the entire experience. The tour starts at 9, be ready 10 minutes before, get your ticket, what color is it, follow the guide with the paddle of the same color, get on the bus, ride the bus for an hour, take a tour, you get 45 minutes of free time after the tour, but be on the bus at this location to keep us all on schedule. And so on. I go on vacation to relax. Nothing about this experience was relaxing. The food, in my opinion, was mediocre by European standards. Enjoying freshly prepared food at great restaurants is at the top of my list of reasons to vacation there. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The Ugly: Worst of all, I never felt I was seeing Europe. Despite the pleasure of the tours I mentioned above, there were as many that were unenjoyable. Instead of spending time in Europe, experiencing their cuisine, their culture, and their people, we spent our time on buses, trains, and ships. Bottom line, going on an Ama cruise and thinking you’ve been to Europe is like going to Lion Country Safari and thinking you’ve been to Africa.

This was a bucket list holiday for my husband and I travelling from Minneapolis, Minnesota to New Orleans. We paid over £6000 each for a 14 day holiday - a majority of Americans paid $20,000 per cabin. We travelled from Redwing Minneapolis to New Orleans in an inside cabin. This was the cheapest cabin available. Our holiday started on 12th September and ended 26th September 2022. The weather throughout our holiday was sunny and warm. Our holiday started with an included city tour of Red Wing before arriving at the American Queen at 4.00pm. This was ridiculously late as the boat was due to depart at 4.30pm. The welcome drink of a glass of a champagne was a shambles and none was available as the coach trips came aboard, We, along with others, hurriedly made our way to our rooms for the compulsory safety drill. Our room had not been vacuumed, there was rubbish on the floor, only one towel between us and no toiletries. After the safety drill we unpacked and went to dinner as we were on a 5.15pm sitting. We requested another towel every day for 4 days (only one was ever left). We were resorting to taking towels from outside housekeeping trollies as we rarely saw any staff. Breakfast was a disaster if ordered from the menu either not arriving, not matching the menu description or fridge cold!! IE ordered eggs benedict this came without ham, no garnish and obviously straight from the fridge. It took 2 complaints to get right. Another example was Croque Monsieur which turned up as a toasted scrambled egg sandwich! Ordered corned beef hash and were given hash browns twice and when I got up to ask if the correct breakfast was coming as I then waited 30 minutes the waiter said sit down its coming! Which it never did!! Finally complained to Hotel Director who agreed level of service was unacceptable and gave us a free bottle of champagne. Service at dinner didn't improve. We did get 2 towels and room was vacuumed but housekeeping were knocking on our door at 7.05am for access next day! Dinner often took 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 mins each night to ge5t main course. The Hotel Director confessed that they were very short of staff, they were poorly trained and often didn't return after their compulsory on shore leave despite being paid American wages. The worst case of attitude I experienced was when an African American nurse (member of staff) came into the guest laundry which consisted of two washing machines and two dryers and started verbally abusing two elderly guests one of whom was disabled because they had taken her washing out of the two machines. They had removed it because the machines had been stopped for some time and wanted to do their washing. They had placed it in the two dryers in readiness for being dried. She stated she had OCD and found it very disrespectful that they had touched her washing. I told her it was a guest laundry and with 400 passengers and 2 machines guests were waiting all the time for them to become free. She was totally unrepentant. I reported this incident to the Hotel Director who was appalled! He stated staff had been told not to use guest laundry. On the top deck the majority of chairs were broken and unusable with pieces of metal hanging off. Also, soot from the two chimneys left chairs and sun longer covered with an oily residue which got all over our clothes. Staff never wiped down chairs or warned us. The final blow to our holiday was the cancellation of the last two stops at Natchez and Nottaway, (St Louis) was cancelled a few days before we sailed. The two ports were cancelled due to barges breaking free the night before which meant a 10 hour delay in our sailing. Therefore, we missed the antebellum mansions which was one of the chief reasons for our trip!! No compensation has been offered for inclusive trips that didn't take place because of this cancellation despite staff telling guests compensation would be offered!!! As experienced river cruisers I can honestly say that this is the worst experience we have ever had.

Another great cruise on ACL - first time on a paddlewheel. We really enjoyed the Ohio River - one of the prettiest we've been on. Lots of lochs for those who enjoy watching those operations. Each town had something of interest to see, and learning more about the southern / midwestern culture and history was so enlightening to this westerner.

The river levels caused considerable replanning of the itinerary by Viking. I believe that they did the best they could given the circumstances. There was no additional compensation or ship credits or future cruise credits given because of the changes.

This was a beautiful, historical cruise. We enjoyed our experience on this cruise vey much.

New England Islands offers the best in scenery, history and preserved coastlines to add to your preferred bucket list. If you want a relaxed and leisurely coastal cruise with ample planned tours, activities suited to your interest with the addition of on board programs by professionals, you should consider this cruise.

Historical Southern living was a great adventure for people of all ages. The Mississippi river was a little low but the ports were always available with a golf cart ready to help those that needed it and a cold water bottle was always offered to each passenger . I have done this one two years in a row and saw more the second time because I knew what to expect. It was great both times with this cruise line. Each days adventure is what you make of it!

I'd never had a chance to see the heartland of the U.S., so this was the perfect getaway. The two weeks on the Upper Mississippi gave me an appreciation of the beauty of this part of the country...and the incredible Mississippi. Having sailed with American Cruise Lines before, I knew to expect wonderful service from the staff, tasty offerings from the chef, and meaningful excursions including the not-to-be-missed John Deere Pavilion in Davenport, IA; the Field of Dreams near Dubuque; and the Maritime Art Museum in Winona. Even more than these off-the-ship experiences, though, was the on-board entertainment and speakers. Steve and Joanne are a "terrific twosome" who have talent and knowledge to spare. They were great! Other entertainment at night that was a HUGE hit with the passengers included Blair Carman (Jerry Lee Lewis reincarnated!); The GiGi's; Mermemec Valley Duo; and Flashback. Other on-board activities included daily trivia games, great craft classes, and the always welcome nightly cocktail parties and sweet treats during the entertainment hour. All in all, another great experience with ACL! We'll be back.

Small Ship Cruising is the perfect way to travel if you want an intimate setting where you may embark as a stranger but you soon will meet many new travel companions!

I really enjoyed my relaxing cruise. Staff really catered to all of our needs. Cruise price included daily excursions which were fascinating. I had the chance to visit museums and very interesting plantations and found the tour guides to be excellent. The civil war guide was really a wealth of information. Back on the ship we had relevant lectures and the opportunity to take a fun art class. In the evening we had local entertainers who were very enjoyable. We even had a piano player who gladly played our requests. It was impossible to go hungry on the ship as in addition to three meals there was a daily cocktail hour and snacks available 24/7 in the lounge. In fact in the afternoon we even had homemade cookies. Since the ship was small we got to know other passengers and crew which really made for a special experience. Thank you American Cruise Line for providing such a nice experience.

As you all know, we were so excited to take our first Viking River Cruise and travel thoroughout Europe from Basal to Amsterdam. Unfortunately, it was the trip from hell. On the second night of the cruise, My husband and I were taking a “selfie” with the Maître D’. As we were taking the pic, the Maître D’, inappropriately and painfully grabbed me twice (sexual assault). My husband and I tried to make a formal complaint to the Captain and the Hotel Manager, who blatantly did not care and refused to give us a formal complaint. Instead, basically gave us the attitude that I was lying and responded, “we will be monitoring you for the rest of the trip and we have the ability to cut you off at the bar”. They then asked, “if we wanted help getting off the boat, different arrangements would be made to get us home! The way they treated us while on that boat and the lack of empathy was disgusting! So Unbelievable! Well, Viking Cruises - I have proof. 🙏🏼 Thank the lord, during this “selfie pic” that we took, IS THE EVIDENCE. 🙏🏼 …. In the reflection of the boat’s glass you can clearly see exactly what happened. Thanks to Stock Legal Law Firm and an amazing team, THIS will be reconciled. I am pressing charges. We will make sure new laws/policies are put into place to Never allow this to happen to another human being. Just because we are on another country’s soil/ water does not give the right to assault. Also, The food is horrible! Raw bacon, same food and menu for lunch and dinner for the whole week. And you can ONLY eat from 7-9 am, noon to 1 pm, and 7-9 pm. There is no room service, salad/sandwich bar in between meals.We felt like we could never sleep in because we would then miss breakfast. And couldn’t eat until noon or 12:30 depending when we got back from the walking tour. We are so deeply disappointed in Viking River Cruises and would not recommend for anyone.save your money!

This was certainly the busiest cruise I have ever been on. They kept us moving with all kinds of tours and excursions. We had a wonderful time, and it was a great experience.

Cruise was perfect. The ship accommodations, friendly staff and excellent food and cocktails were great. I especially liked the daily happy hour in the mail lounge from 5-7 with wonderful appetizers and full bar service. We usually went to dinner at 7 and then back to the lounge for the evening entertainment and a night cap at 8:30. Shows were excellent and varied. Another highlight was the daily watercolor painting classes. Definitely one of my favorite cruises.

No doubt in my mind when choosing this cruise. Love the small ship atmosphere. 'Food and service was always top notch. Tours were so informative along with the speaker that educated us before each tour. Fun time was the arts and crafts . Embarking and disembarking was so smooth. The staff had everything under control at all times. Totally, this cruise was everything I expected and more. I can't wait to take another cruise like this one.

This was my first river cruise and I loved it. Would definitely do another cruise.

The reason I enjoy American Cruise Lines so much is that you have a feeling of community with the other guests and staff that you don’t get on the bigger cruise lines. Ditto for the immersive activities on the ship. You really learn and experience the river - you’re immersed in the culture from the food to the guest lectures to the entertainment. It’s all about the Mississippi River.