American Empress Review
4.5 / 5.0
djett
10+ Cruises • Age 70s
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Sail Date: May 2018
My wife and I, along with four other couples, sailed the American Empress from Spokane to Portland on May 20, 2018. This was our third cruise with American Queen Steamboat Company. We had previously done the Upper Mississippi and Nashville to Memphis on the American Queen.
DAY 1: American Queen provides your first night stay at the historic Davenport Hotel. The hotel shuttle which we had reserved thru the hotel ($25 per room) was waiting for us and quickly delivered us to the hotel. The hotel is beautiful and we enjoyed lunch in the Grill. The prime rib French dip sandwich was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. We completed our ship check-in, enjoyed dinner and walked a few blocks to see Spokane Falls.
DAY 2: The next morning, following a buffet breakfast provided by American Queen, we took the Spokane City Tour Premium Excursion. We returned to the hotel around noon which gave us time to check out and eat lunch before boarding the bus for the two hour drive to Clarkston. If you choose not to take the extra-cost city tour, the morning is yours until it is time to board the bus to Clarkston. After boarding the boat, one member of our group went to make reservations for the River Grill “specialty” dining and another member went to the dining room to request a table for ten for the entire cruise. During dinner we had a short cruise on the river before returning to the dock.
Response from AlexL, Consumer Marketing Mgr. - AQSC
Hi djett,
Thank you for leaving this compelling review about your recent American Empress voyage. We are thrilled to hear you enjoyed your trip (despite the unfortunate high water...
Cabin Review
Cabin Veranda Stateroom
We were in Cabin 415 on the Vista Deck, which is the top deck. It contained two twin beds, two large closets with plenty of drawer space, desk, flat-screen TV, compact refrigerator and binoculars. Two uncomfortable chairs were in the room. There was storage space under the bed for suitcases. The bathroom contained a shower, toilet and single sink. There was a medicine cabinet, plenty of counter space as well as storage space under the counter. Toiletries, hair dryer and bath robes were provided. A nightlight in the bathroom was also provided. Two 110V electric outlets are in the bathroom and two 110V electric outlets and two USB outlets are on the desk. Cabins have two twin beds or one queen bed. The beds cannot be converted so be sure to make sure your cabin has the bed configuration you want. The insulation between cabins is not very good as we sometimes heard the TV and conversations from adjacent cabins. Internet access was usually adequate but we did travel thru areas without any access. You may want to consider bringing your own hotspot. There are four desktop computers for guest usage in the Paddlewheel Lounge as well as a library, bar and popcorn machine.
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