HW
Mighty Mississippi River with the American Queen Voyages
American Queen Voyages (AQV), Upper Mississippi River Cruise, July 19 to July 26, 2022, "Discover the mighty Mississippi on the river's most authentic paddle wheeler" sounded like a bucket list dream come true. But unfortunately, there was nothing in the literature about the paddle boat being pushed down the mighty Mississippi River by a tug boat or the "Z" drive impacting ports not visited. The bright spots of this trip were the excellent cabin stewards, bartenders, servers, RiverLorean, and especially the entertaining singers and bands. If you are in a wheelchair or use a walker, when the wait staff in the main dining area shove you in a corner and you become "invisible", there is a lovely River Grill upstairs where you will be greeted, accepted, and treated kindly. The food is the same. Purchase your travel insurance from someone other than the AQV-recommended Arch RoamRight. While it advertises, "Reimbursement for the unused, non-refundable trip costs and delays", missed ports are not covered. For example, "Mark Twain's Mississippi River Cruise" ports did NOT include "Mark Twain's Hannibal", "Sherman's Galen", "Winona Activities", "Bettendorf's Quad Cities," OR"Alton's adventurist's oasis with limestone bluffs". The ports visited were Red Wing, La Crosse, Dubuque, and Burlington. At our "Farewell" Cocktail hour, it seemed the boat officers thought all the issues were something to joke about because "so many problems had happened, but the passengers had survived". Ultimately, I was threadbare with this cruise's issues despite being repeatedly informed that everything was done for our benefit and safety. However, they did send us home with Covid as a parting gift. It is six months later. I am still angry and disappointed when I see the great advertisements in AAA, AARP, and other magazines. When you step on the boat, their obligations are complete, and your disappointments are regrets to get over. There will be no apologies or monetary compensation.