Paddlewheel ship a must for your bucket list.

Item: American West
Rating: 5
Author: BrandyLRM

American West Cruise Review to River Cruises - United States

BrandyLRM

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 43

Overall rating:

5 out of 5

7 Night Columbia & Snake Rivers (Clarkston To Portland Or)

Sail date: July 02, 2022

Ship: American West

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

American Cruise Lines is a great way for older cruises to feel safe cruising without thousands of people around. Time to get out and see the USA.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Embarkation was quick and pleasant almost a 1 to 1 experience. Not like big ship craziness.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Food was terrific and highlighted regional cuisine.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

New entertainers aboard each night.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

All American crew. Friendly, hard working young people.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Super cute paddlewheel ship. Small only carries about 100 guests. A true bit of nostalgia with all the modern conveniences.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Balcony cabin on the 2 deck Aft. You could hear the paddlewheel churning through the water. It was marvelous. Super clean, good shower pressure and great bed.

Ship tip

So many things to do each day. Small ship cruising in US rivers is unlike anything we've ever experienced. No rush, no crowds or pushing, no line ups for elevators, shows, etc. America West was recently renovated with all new carpets, curtains, furnishings and a whole new interior decor. It's just beautiful!! I saw some reviews before sailing that showed old photos of a dark, heavy interior, that's not the case. She looks fresh and new inside and out with a completely modern interior decor. Loved the different entertainers each night. ACL has great enrichment programs and lecturers. This one was a Lewis & Clark cruise with lots of history. And what better way to experience it than an authentic ACL Paddlewheel ship like "West". The chef definitely added about a pound a day to my husband and I with her fantastic meals. Excellent, fresh seafood and local cuisine dishes with ample menu selections at all meals. Lots of inclusive shore excursions. There was a variety of excursions for every activity level. This is a great cruise if you like winery's. Also there's a hard liquor distillery tour that you can take in Stevenson, WA. My husband particularly liked that tour. Cocktail hour has everything you would want and is all inclusive. A nice little buffet of hors d'oeuvres during cocktail hour as well as nice music by a local or resident entertainer (it varied nightly). Plenty to do on this beautiful cruise and a wonderful newly refurbished ship for cruising without ever leaving the US. Love this American Cruise Lines, this was our second cruise with them and we're looking forward to more. Be sure to join their Eagle Society.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Clarkston, Washington

5 out of 5

Nice town. Walmart within walking distance of the pier if you forgot anything or lost it to TSA:)

Thumbs Up 1

CRUISE SNAKE RIVER, PACIFIC NORTHWEST, USA

5 out of 5

What a way to see this beautiful, winding river. On this paddlewheel ship with nothing around you but wild river you loose track of what century it is.

Thumbs Up 0

THE DALLES, OREGON

5 out of 5

Love this little town. It's like stepping back in time to 1950.

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Cruise Columbia River

5 out of 5

Unsurpassed scenery on the Columbia. The locks are really interesting.

Thumbs Up 1

Astoria, Oregon

5 out of 5

Great town to explore and lots of interesting excursions. Be sure to visit the Maritime Museum it's right in front of the ships dock. Free entry with your ACL lanyard.

Thumbs Up 2

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Piece of cake. You'll never go back to big cruise ships again.

Traveler Photos

5 Comments

AuntPinkie 2 years ago

Glad your experience was much better than ours. Appreciate your detailed review. Happy you thoroughly enjoyed your riverboat cruise.

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Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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javawoody 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing

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RetiredRay 2 years ago

Thanks, contemplating spending the equivalent of 2 or 3 cruises doing that or similar one.

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cruising2004 2 years ago

Thank you for sharing your experience and a great review! Putting a river cruise on the bucket list.

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