Ambrose Landry
ambrose8@earthlink.net

Age: 75
Occupation: retired
Number of Cruises: 20 -( 8 river cruises)
Cruise Line: Delta Queen Steamboat co.
Ship: Mississippi Queen
Sailing Date: September 14th,  2002
Itinerary: St. Paul to St. Louis - 7 nights

It would not be accurate to call it "The New Mississippi Queen" but it would not be completely wrong either. Launched in 1976 this steamboat is now 26 years old but she has handled her age well. The time spent in lay-up while the bankruptcy problems of the former owners was resolved was not wasted. She was spruced up and polished from bow to stern. You really have to hunt to find any evidence of her 26 years of service. The Mississippi Queen is a true steamboat pushed along by a huge paddle wheel. She does have a bow thruster as a concession to modern technology but that does not help her move forward or back. Hull and superstructure are of all steel construction so she is very safe and will last for many more years. Service on this cruise was super in all departments. Every member of the crew we encountered was friendly and as helpful as they could be. They all realized that there continued employment depended on the success of this boat and their ability to win back customers to their cruise line. The fact that it is an all-American crew helps. They still retain some of the old cruise ship traditions on every cruise. There are two dress-up nights for the Captains welcome aboard party and farewell dinner. Other then that it's resort casual all the time.

And now the details. There are six categories of cabins based on cabin size and location. The four AAA cabins are palatial. AA cabins are large by cruise ship standards. The A cabins are large enough for comfortable cruising but not as large as the AA's. Category B cabins are adequate in size but not large by any standard. All of the A's and most of the B's have a balcony of some sort. The C cabins go beyond small to tiny but all are outside cabins. The D's are about the same size as the C's but are all inside cabins. These are the best value on the boat. Being inside on a steamboat is not a hardship since very little time is spent in any cabin on a river trip. There is always lots to see and it's best seen from the Observation Deck or outside on the Sun Deck. There are six E category cabins and two F category cabins that are really small but are offered at very competitive prices.

Public areas are plentiful and never crowded because the boat has a capacity of only 422 passengers and they are never all in same place at the same time. They are the Forward Cabin Lounge, a social lounge, main entrance to the boat and home to the Pursers Office and shore tour desk. The Grand Saloon is the setting for lectures on river history, daytime activities, very good evening shows, dancing and the location for breakfast and lunch buffets.

Something is going on in this room almost all of the time. The Golden Antlers Bar is the daytime bar and one of the few areas where smoking is allowed. The Port Gallery is the tea, coffee and cookie place with a great view from floor to ceiling windows. The Calliope Bar is outside on the Sun Deck and is a full service bar with hot dogs and other snacks during most of the day. The steam powered calliope keyboard is here and gets played once or twice each day. The Dining Room is a traditional shipboard dining room with open seating for breakfast and lunch and two seatings for dinner.

All of the food is well prepared, and well served but is of standard cruise ship quality. During the course of seven dinners there will be four that you think are really great, two that are just so-so and one that you would never order in a restaurant at home. That's the way it always is on any cruise. A bathing pool and fitness room are on Sun Deck along with a lots of loafing and sunning space. A Beauty Salon and Movie Theatre are located down deep in the bowels of the boat and there is a no-charge washer and dryer available to passengers. There is also a nice gift shop that is easy to find and offers some good values if you are a careful shopper. The Chart Room is entered from the Grand Saloon and is an interesting place if you have any interest in river lore and navigation. The Paddlewheel Lounge is a nightclub with steamboating entertainment, large windows overlooking the paddlewheel, snacks in the late afternoon and another spot where smoking is allowed on the starboard side only.

Stops are made at towns and cities along the way of every cruise. Shore tours are sold on-board for each of them but these are all American towns and cities where our money system and language are the standard. Our cruise made port calls at Wabasha and Winona, Minnesota, La Crosse, Wisconsin, Dubuque, and Burlington, Iowa and Hannibal, Missouri, with the cruise ending at the foot of the Arch in St. Louis. The standard procedure was to arrive in port in the wee hours of the morning and depart around 1:00 pm for an afternoon of river cruising. We never felt any safety issues when we went ashore on our own that were any stronger then those we feel at home and usually not as bad as in any major city.

The bottom line is that cruising on the rivers of America is a great experience free from any of the rocking and rolling that is part of ocean cruising. There is always something to see along the banks of the rivers, the quality of the food and service is top notch and you get to meet some very interesting fellow passengers. With never more then 422 people sharing the adventure you will get a chance to meet most of them and there is bound to be one or two you will like. We have been on eight river cruises and we are planning on more.