American Constellation Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We recently returned from a lovely Fall sailing on the ACL Constellation through the San Juan Islands and along the Puget Sound, near Seattle. Embarkation was simple and quick, and soon we were seated for our first lunch, served with a nice selection of wines and always, a tempting choice of desserts and homemade ice creams! The ACL staterooms are much larger than those on most of the cruise lines, and we found more than enough drawers to easily stow all our belongings. After an entertaining introduction to the crew and dozens of excursions to consider, we had time to relax before each night’s reception/‘cocktail hour’ in the third floor lounge. We particularly enjoy the smaller round dining room tables, which make it easy to meet and chat with other fellow cruisers and keen travellers at each meal. The cocktail hour, with a well-stocked bar and friendly crew/bar tenders, is also a great time to relax and share stories with others. Though barely necessary, there are always warm appetizers available at this time - our favourites being the ones with salmon, scallops and other delicious shellfish. We noticed several new dishes on the menu, no doubt due to the charming Chef Nelson, from New Orleans. She has an infectious personality and we loved the cooking demonstrations she did once or twice, in the lounge at cocktail hour. We were disappointed when she left to join another ship, but it will be a treat for other ACL cruisers to discover her talents! We spent the next 10 days exploring cute little towns on the San Juan Islands (Port Townsend and Friday Harbour), as well as Puget Sound towns like Bremerton and Tacoma with great museums and huge harbours, all with a rich history of shipping, fishing, logging and naval exploration. In addition to local walking tours or hikes, and bus trips to go further afield, there were excursions on the water, affording an opportunity to view the coastline, and scan the shores and open waters for eagles, herons, sea lions, seals and even whales! We had a great time on a Jet Boat tour that sped beneath Deception Pass with a huge bridge connecting 2 islands. There was a day-long excursion that gave us the opportunity to sail from Port Angeles to Victoria, B.C., Canada. We needed our passports, but the U.S./Can. Customs clearing was quite quick, and soon we were off to the incredible Butchart Gardens, just outside the city. We saw sites along the way and were entertained by the jovial knowledgeable driver. The bright sunshine made a gorgeous backdrop as we sailed home out of the Victoria Harbour, and back to our ship. All of the above trips and choices were well-organized and explained in detail each night before the evening entertainment. Throughout the cruise we heard good comments about ‘Kody’, our excellent Cruise Director. He is one of the best we’ve ever had on our many cruises: he was unfailingly warm, attentive, organized and so engaging and funny! Both he and our amazing Guest Speaker/Naturalist Katie, were a true highlight of our time onboard. Katie was also easy and fun to chat with and she had a depth of knowledge regarding local history, wildlife, exploration and geography that never failed to amaze, and yet she was able to make her talks sound ‘conversational’, instead of a series of facts. There was also a talented musician, Marc, who either played during cocktail hour or provided the evening entertainment with his themed music presentations, accompanied by his saxophone, harmonica, and flute! There were also onboard artists, during the week we sailed, and we appreciated being able to join in for lessons or making really nice take-home projects, even for those with little confidence in their art skills. This being the Northwest, there were some days with rain, but also much sunshine to view the trees just beginning to change color! It was never cold and even in the rain, this is a beautiful and welcoming part of the country. The Constellation is just the right size to get to know friendly people and, unlike the larger ships, we were able to explore this rich coastline in a warm and comfortable setting.

We had never cruised along the entire Inside Passage and have been wanting to do so forever. I'm so happy we did! The weather was stupendous (even the misty days which have their own style of beauty), the scenery incomparable and as ever, the service impeccable. We were sailing under the trusty and affable Captain Bryan, who makes every voyage a pleasure. Sailing down the Wrangell Narrows was exciting and we saw sea life and whales! Food was delicious and presented beautifully. We looked forward to every meal with pleasure. All in all, it was a marvelous experience. All staff was ready to fulfill our every need and each encounter was met with a smile and friendly greeting. We felt very welcome. I would have been happy to live on the American Constellation forever! The ship was “ship-shape” everywhere and staff were visible each day cleaning, polishing and making us comfortable.

ACL is the only line we will cruise with! " Small ship cruising, done perfectly" is their motto and it's absolutely accurate. A marvelous experience was had by my husband and me on the recent Whale Watching cruise in the San Juan Islands, on the American Constellation. Many whales were seen by all, and we were alerted without fail to any action in the water. This was our first experience cruising the San Juans and it was amazing! Such excellent service and accommodations are not to be found on any other cruise line. We were always greeted by friendly smiles and sincere desire to accommodate our every wish. The food - how delicious! Again, the staff in the dining room were swift and accurate, and on such a small cruise they got to know our names and our preferences. Lecturers and music were excellent, as was the art class held each day. We knew Captain Bryan from an earlier cruise and he was welcoming and friendly once again.We highly recommend American Cruise Line!

Lock up your wallet. Virtually everything is all inclusive. Free cocktails, wine, beverages snacks, Internet, most excursions are free, free internet, no tipping.

I was very impressed with the over all use of space on the ship. We put a puzzle together in the game room, we had the best excisions to see the local area in the small towns. We got great service from the crew and enjoyed the talks about the area from the historian. The art classes were excellent completing a small painting together each day of the local area. The food was delicious with choice seafood and tender loin and lamb. We slept very well every night. The crew was happy and helpful.

This was our 6th cruise to Alaska, all previous cruises were on big ships. While they were all great trips, this one was so special because of the size of the ship, and the willingness of the staff to ensure each person had an amazing experience with nature. Some examples to illustrate - whenever we would see a whale or sea otters or an amazing waterfall as we were sailing, the captain would stop and swing the boat around so we could all see it. The onboard guest lecturer (more on her later) would get on the PA and let us know what we were seeing, or if she was out on deck, she'd go around to each person and offer her expertise. The size of our ship also allowed us to get up close to glaciers we would never get to see on a big ship. On the day we went to Tracy Arm, the captain was able to take us to a second, even more grand glacier, than had been planned. It was spectacular (see photo above). Another plus to being on a small ship, we went to ports that the big ships are unable to go to. Small towns with small town flavor, like Wrangell, Petersburg, Haines, Hoonoo, towns you may not have heard of, but they were very welcoming to us and offered some great excursions. My favorite excursion was from Wrangell, we boarded jet boats and went up the river. Our guide was fantastic, he knew the river like the back of his hands, and took us on several tributaries where we could see the Alaskan beauty all around, including an amazing glazier. He actually got the boat close enough to the glacial ice that we could reach out and touch it from the boat. Onboard the ship, we were well cared for, with delicious meals three times a day, snacks, fresh cookies, and a generous bar. Our room was roomy with plenty of space for our things, and housekeeping was efficient and top notch. Some of our favorite on board experiences were when they had local musical entertainment come on board for evening shows. They were so good! We will definitely return to Alaska, and I can't think of a better way to go than on a small ship cruise with ACL.

Wonderful journey on a small ship. If you want to really see Alaska this is the way to do it. The ship is comfortable and the destination perfect. Small towns and plenty of wildlife. My favorites were the whales. We saw at least a dozen. The ice blue of the glaciers is breathtaking. I feel blessed to have had this experience. The daily lectured=s really enhanced our trip. When a whale was sighted the Captain or David, would announce it so no one would miss it. The small towns were very picturesque. I can't imagine living there. they are very remote. If you want to see the real inside package. a smallship...this small ship is the way to go. The trip of a lifetime.