We took two cruises recently, one on a "monster" ship holding more than 4000 passengers and this one on American Cruise Lines. There is no comparison as to which is far superior: American Cruise Line (ACL) is better by a mile!
There are many reasons: traveling in the US makes us feel safe and close to high quality medical facilities; the American crew is wonderful - sweet, attentive, and they go out of their way to help if you have difficulties; small ship sailing eliminates the endless walking from one end to the other on the "monster" ships if you have difficulty walking - you always seem to be on the wrong side of the ship for all activities; no waiting on endless lines for embarkation/disembarkation or excursions; great excursions and most excursions are included; no "nickel and diming" on the ship - put your wallet away, there are no extra charges; ALL drinks are included and no outrageous charge for water bottles like we had on other lines; fabulous high end food (no cutting through tough tendons on so-called "prime meat" like other ships; a sense of intimacy with both fellow passengers and crew since you see the same familiar people again and again and get to know them.
The itinerary is great, and you see the development of modern music from Elvis and WC Handy's blues and jazz in Memphis to down home country and country cross-overs along the way to Nashville. Grand Ol Opry included. The towns along the way gave us a great feel of the south and of the rivers we traveled on. We learned a lot about the history of the region, as well, when we learned about the civil war battlefields and development of the area.
