Eight Days on American Queen From Louisville to Pittsburgh

DAY ONE: GETTING READY TO GO

By GERRY BARKER
North Palm Beach Life/All Things Cruise

​In less than 24 hours, we are scheduled to leave on the first leg of our next cruise adventure, one that in our 25 years of cruising, we’ve never experienced: An American riverboat sailing.

For the next week or so, we’ll be on the Ohio River sailing aboard the world’s largest riverboat, American Queen, as guests of American Queen Voyages (AQV). Our only previous river cruise was in Germany, where we had a wonderful time.
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Our cruise begins in Louisville and concludes in Pittsburgh. In between we’ll make stops in Madison, IN., Cincinnati, OH., Maysville, KY., Point Pleasant, WV. and Marietta, OH.

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DAY TWO: LOUISVILLE

LOUISVILLE, KY._Today brings good news and not so good news.
The good news is, our travel from Palm Beach to Louisville was uneventful. Going through security at PBI was a snap (our first time to use TSA Precheck — worth every penny). Our Delta flights took off on time and arrived early, both in Atlanta and Louisville.

From the Louisville airport, we were able to catch a shuttle to our next stop, the Brown Hotel, where American Queen has housed all the passengers who’ll board the ship Monday for the start of our eight-day excursion on the Ohio River.

​The Brown is an historic, 16-story hotel in downtown Louisville. Entering the expansive, ornate lobby is like taking a step back in time, when founder J. Graham Brown opened the doors in 1923. As you might expect in the city that hosts the Kentucky Derby, portraits of horses adorn the walls throughout, as do equine sculptures and lamps.

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ONBOARD AMERICAN QUEEN

​ON THE OHIO RIVER_After spending the night in Louisville at The Brown Hotel, we were on our own until 3 pm, when we would board a bus for the short drive to the port. Some in our group opted to take American Queen’s premium tour of Churchill Downs. It gave me a chance to write and Pam an opportunity to shop.

American Queen runs their own fleet of modern buses, which also provide “hop on-hop off” tours at every port stop.

Boat card in hand, we were instructed to go straight to our rooms and make sure all our luggage arrived. Ours was a junior suite on deck five, almost at the top of the boat (it is a boat, by the way, and not a ship).

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MADISON, INDIANA

ON THE OHIO RIVER_Day two of our American Queen cruise finds us docked in Madison, Indiana, called by Charles Kuralt “the most beautiful river town in America.”

Founded in 1809, the former transportation hub for Mid-America, which also played an important role in the Underground Railroad, is today a collection of charming historic homes, shops and museums. After a quick buffet breakfast at the Front Porch, we board a bus at our appointed time to begin our hop on, hop off tour of the city.

​We are each given a map that notes all the drop-off points, with detailed descriptions of what we’ll see and recommended time to spend at each. You can choose to “hop off” at any one. Buses are running all day and usually come by every 15 minutes or so for pickup. On each bus, American Queen has placed knowledgeable tour guides that convey helpful information about what we’ll see.

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CINCINNATI, OHIO

ON THE OHIO RIVER_On day three of our eight-day cruise from Louisville to Pittsburgh, aboard the American Queen steamboat, we have gone from small and charming (Madison, IN.) to big and sprawling — Cincinnati, Ohio.
We have also left the mild weather behind as well. Today the forecast is bright, sunny and hot, about what you might expect on a summer day in August.
The tours start a little later than usual, which gives us a chance to enjoy a leisurely breakfast in the main dining room. Overall, with one or two exceptions, the food has been excellent, and our breakfast was no different. I had the French toast while Pam went with her favorite, Eggs Benedict. The service is topnotch as well.

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MAYSVILLE, KENTUCKY

ON THE OHIO RIVER_One thing that has surprised us on this cruise is how much we are learning about our own country. While cruising the world and travel in general is always a great educational experience, taking our first cruise on America’s waterways has been enlightening beyond our expectations.

Take, for example, our latest stop — Maysville, Kentucky. With a population of less than 10,000, it’s enjoyed a rich history from its founding by frontier legend Daniel Boone, among others. A manufacturing hub known for tobacco, bourbon and wrought iron, it also played a major role in the Underground Railroad and inspired the work of Harriet Beecher Stowe.

In more modern times, Maysville is the proud home of singer/actress Rosemary Clooney. Her first film, “The Stars Are Singing” in 1953, had its world premiere here at downtown’s Russell Theatre, currently undergoing a renovation. She is also depicted on one of town’s famous floodwall murals near the river.

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POINT PLEASANT, WV.

ON THE OHIO RIVER_Is it Friday already? As cruisers know, it’s easy to lose track of the days when you’re sailing — each day bleeds into the next.

But it is indeed Friday, and we are at our second to last port of call, Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The tours start later today, not until after lunch, so this morning we are free agents. For the boat, the first order of business is docking at a fuel depot to tank up — which, according to one of the workers, means a 30,000-gallon fill-up. Talk about pain at the pump.
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The first activity of the day is the river lecture, where riverlorian Chris Wistey acquaints us with the history behind some common riverboat terms and phrases, which, as an English major myself, I always find interesting. For example, “hog wash” was coined by deck workers who had to clean up after the pigs the boat was transporting. And we all know that cabins on cruise ships are called “staterooms.” That came about because cabins were initially named for states, and the name stuck.

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MARIETTA, OHIO

ON THE OHIO RIVER_It’s amazing how much the Ohio River winds around. Our cruise started in Kentucky, continued to Indiana, up to Ohio, back to Kentucky, then to West Virginia and now Ohio again.

Today the American Queen is docked in Marietta, Ohio, another one of those charming riverboat towns that served as a gateway to the West, and our last port of call. The skies are threatening, and the boat has ponchos and umbrellas at the ready should we need them. Several guests are taking advantage of the bicycles, available from the boat at no charge.
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The first stop on today’s “hop on, hop off” bus tour is neither historic nor noteworthy, unless you’re in need of toothpaste. It’s the local Rite-Aid drugstore, which is really a good idea for those who need it.

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PITTSBURGH AND WRAPPING UP

ON THE OHIO RIVER_As our river cruise on American Queen concludes, here are some overall impressions — our first time to cruise a U.S. waterway — that will hopefully help decide if this cruise is right for you.

 with other guests, and the fact American river cruising has been one of the industry’s fastest-growing segments over the last few years, it’s clear the popularity of traveling one’s own country’s waterways is on the rise. Part of the reason you can probably attribute to COVID, and the reluctance of travelers to face the uncertainty of going overseas. We heard that more than once.
Then there’s the allure of recreating that Golden Age of steamboating, when it was the preeminent way to go from one town to another. American Queen has embraced that desire and brought it up-to-date with modern amenities and technology. But the basic idea remains the same: A leisurely vacation on a river where, if you like, you can sit in a chair and watch the world go by.

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