travel
Escape Artists offers up a global discourse ranging from great finds close to home to adventures far afield. You'll find weekly travel deals here, too. Share your road wisdom, rave about great finds and rant about roadblocks that get in the way of a great trip.
Contributors: Travel editor Kerri Westenberg, Curt Brown, James Lileks and Bill Ward.
Email us with tips and questions.
Posts about Cruises
Heading out on the American Queen
Posted by: Kerri Westenberg Updated: September 21, 2012 - 7:34 PM
I was fretting about a lack of hangers in my stateroom when the paddlewheeler, the American Queen, blasted her horn and got underway from the Port of St. Paul. I dashed out of my room, and the worry about how to hang my dresses (which I’d packed for dinners in the fancy J.M. White Dining Room) subsided.
At the River Grill, with its open-air patio, the mood was festive. A musician played a tiny piano-like instrument and from a deck above, steam burst from pipes, producing a joyous, carnival-like sound: It was 20-minutes calliope concert. Passengers were grinning, sipping beer, watching the paddlewheel turn and plop into the water, propelling us down America’s greatest river, on a 7 day voyage to St. Louis.
In St. Paul, curious people snapped photographs and waved from onshore, the city skyline behind them. In fact, all along the slow route south, I’ve witnessed people stop their cars at the side of the road to watch, kids on an athletic field wave wildly, and cameras flash from the shoreline as this beauty of a boat, with its intricate railings and big red paddlewheel, goes by.
I feel lucky to be aboard, excited to explore the many public spaces -- like the “ladies parlour” and the “gentlemen’s card room.” But that can happen tomorrow. For now, I’m content to watch the sun set behind the trees on the bank of the Mississippi.
As for my dresses, I’ll hang them when the last bit of light leaves the sky. Because housekeeping, after all, delivered the hangers I needed.
Cruising on the American Queen
Posted by: Kerri Westenberg Updated: September 19, 2012 - 3:46 PMThe largest passenger steamboat in the world, the American Queen, is returning Friday to St. Paul, where it will board passengers who will mosey down the river to St. Louis. And I, the travel editor, will be among the lucky 
passengers.
Sure, the paddle-wheeler has been plying Mississippi waters for months now (It took its inaugural sail out of New Orleans in mid-April; Priscilla Presley smashed it with a champagne bottle in Memphis for its christening on April 28). But I had my reasons for waiting: I wanted to launch from a home port and, after all, time cures all glitches. I like sailing on a boat and with a crew that has a few miles under its belt.
The American Queen, built in 1995, sailed the Mississippi for the Delta Queen Steamboat Co. Bankruptcy grounded the boat, until the newly formed Great American Steamboat Co. came to her rescue. Since it purchased the paddle-wheeler last fall, the company has put $6.5 million into refurbishing her. The Victorian ambiance hasn't changed, albeit with new carpet and mattress.
I'm all in. I suspect you'll find me gazing at the egrets from what's called The Front Porch of America, sipping tea on the Main Deck Lounge, fueling my imagination in the Engine Room Bar and working off last night's dinner in the small fitness room. I am under the impression that a Mark Twain impersonator will aboard, and that I can follow our progress in the Chart Room. Whatever I encounter, I'll let you know. I'll be blogging about my experience every day. I hope you'll follow along.
After a cruise, no longer taking captain for grant
Posted by: Curt Brown Updated: January 22, 2012 - 12:25 PMEvery day around noon on our Celebrity Solstice cruise through the Caribbean, Captain Gary would come booming over the loudspeaker and give the thousands of passengers longitudinal information we didn't understand, distance information equally confusing (sea miles vs. regular miles?) and the he'd sign off with a little joke. Three examples and I quote: "Man who walks in front of car will get tired; man who walks behind car with get exhausted and man who stands on toilet will get high on pot."
On New Year's Eve, hour after he deftly U-turned to drop off a passenger in St. Maarten for undisclosed reasons, we saw Capt. Gary sipping champagne with the revelers around the pool deck. He cemented his amiable personality on the last night in the big theater after the standup comic suggested next time, the over-70 crowd avoid napping in public spaces because, well, it's hard to be sure they're napping.
But now, after the shipwreck off Italy, I'm lefting wondering a could things:
How rigorous is Captain Gary's training and certification?
Will the cruise industry survive with its floating Old Country Buffet, very 20th century (two formal nights in a week, really?) ways?
But mostly, I'm left with a sense of gratitude for Captain Gary and his mates, for steering us clear without us ever thinking twice about safety or life and death drama that unfolded in the Mediterrean. So, thanks Gary, for the jokes, songs and getting us into port.
Steamboat returning to Mississippi
Posted by: Kerri Westenberg Updated: September 15, 2011 - 3:52 PM
Here's some news that should float the boat of steamboat aficionados: The paddlewheeler American Queen will again offer overnight trips on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, with some itineraries originating in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Since 2008, the Delta Queen's last season, no steamboat has plied the great waterways of the heartland on overnight excursions. The Delta Queen, which was built in the late 1920s, is docked in Chattanooga, related to a floating hotel. The American Queen, which was built in 1995 and went out of service in 2008, is now owned by the Great American Steamboat Company. The 418-foot-long boat and its 222 staterooms is currently undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation in New Orleans. The company, based in Memphis, plans to begin offering 3- to 11-night trips on April 13, 2012.
"Steamboats have run through the heartland of this country for 200 years, " said Tim Rubacky, senior vice president of marketing for the company. "Aside from being a commercial endeavor, this was a piece of America’s history."
Though Itineraries are set, they won't be released to the public until the company gets its final approval from the Federal Maritime Commission. Rubacky says that could happen as early as next week. He expects sales to begin the last week in September. For more information, go to www.greatamericansteamboatcompany.com.
Great Lakes cruises
Posted by: Kerri Westenberg Updated: June 8, 2010 - 5:05 PMQ My friend has just been diagnosed with cancer. She is still well enough to do some traveling, so we want to take a trip. She doesn’t believe that she would tolerate an intercontinental air flight. And she isn’t interested in a warm-water or Alaskan cruise, as she’s done that.
In the past, she has loved riverboat cruises down the Mississippi, but we’re told the companies that used to provide them are now out of business. The riverboat trips I’ve found now require passengers to disembarque to a hotel each night. That’s not what we’re looking for. Any ideas? Train trips? I read about New England to Quebec City cruises, would you recommend something like that? We’re pretty open to new ideas.
A I hope your trip is filled with joy and laughter. Appreciating what will help keep your friend comfortable — like no long-haul flights — is a good start.You are right about Mississippi River cruises. The riverboats that once carried overnight passengers stopped running in 2008. Fortunately, there’s a nice alternative. The Great Lakes Cruise Company (1-888-891-0203) offers many itineraries. You can cruise the Great Lakes from Duluth to Toronto (or visa versa), explore the New England islands (including Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard) or opt for a Fall Colors tour of New England (with floats down the Hudson River and the Erie Canal). The boats are intimate, too. Except for one larger boat, none hold more than 100 passengers. I think you’ll be intrigued after a visit to its website. And I hope that wherever you go, your trip will be restorative, uplifting and memorable.
ADVERTISEMENT
recent posts
- Geocaching on the Paul Bunyan State Trail
- Canopy tour to open in Minnesota River Valley
- McDonald's returning to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
- Craft beer celebration in Madison, Wis.
- American Airline's computer glitch
- Mississippi River cruise for less
- Delta's droll in-flight safety videos
- On the road, for baseball
- What would you do?
- Carnival Cruises canceled
- Food shelf weekend at Afton Alps
- White House viewing (even though tours are cancelled)
- Southwest flies to Branson
- Amtrak has its day
- Act now, local travel company pleads
- What's your onboard pet peeve?
- Airline fees confuse pricing
- What are the best and worst airports?
- Boeing's dreams turn to nightmare
Post By Category
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
inside the StarTribune
-
425 Portland Av. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55488
(612) 673-4000
- Company
- Subscriber Services
- Website
- Buy Ads
- Store
- Connect with Us
© 2013 StarTribune. All rights reserved.
StarTribune.com is powered by Limelight Networks
Newspaper Subscriptions
eEdition
RSS
Newsletters