U. S. Rivers and Small Boat Cruises

Last week we talked about the popularity primarily of the European river cruises, but I think it has piqued the interest of a lot of cruisers who might be interested in the availability of cruises in the rivers of the United States, as well as the small ship cruising of the U. S. coasts.  Anyway, we’ve had more inquiries along this line recently. 

River cruising in the United States started making a comeback last year.  Two companies, American Queen Steamboat Co and American Cruise Lines,  built new river boats and rehabbed old ones and made a pretty good size splash in that market.  There were boats on the Mississippi River, Ohio River, Cumberland River in the middle part of the nation while other boats were plying the Columbia and Snake Rivers in the Northwest.

There were small boats in the Alaska market, Pugent Sound and San Juan Islands out of Seattle, along the Southeast coast of the U. S., as well as the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast out of Portland, Maine, Providence, Rhode Island, and New York City.  

Another cruise line that was just born this year, Pearl Seas Cruises, sprang up with a new ship, the Pearl Mist, that has had a lot of extremely positive reviews.  It is all-inclusive, all balcony rooms of around 310 square feet, only 210 passengers, and one of their more popular itineraries is of the Great Lakes and Canada.

The demographics of these passengers is generally retired folks, enjoying life and wanting to have a slowed-down cruise experience while seeing a part of the country that they haven’t ever seen, especially from this vantage point.  The entertainment package, beside the shore excursions, is very professional with lectures about the area visited, piano, violin, and vocal performances, some local entertainment, and a variety of games and activities suited to this age group.

Another positive feature for some cruisers is that these boats were constructed here in the United States and the service personnel are all United States citizens. That means they can understand you and you can understand them . . . .which is important at meal time!!  Speaking of meals, the chefs on board are extremely experienced in serving this population of cruisers, and you’ll find that they prepare dishes that are popular in the areas where they are cruising.

More ships are being built to handle the demand, so plan to add this experience to your bucket list, grab some friends, and take the plunge.  Give the experienced travel agents at The Travel Factory a call where our motto is “let us help you manufacture the vacation of your dreams”.  We are located at 4150 Southwest Drive, between Rosas and Chick-Fil-A, or contact us at 698-1421 or toll-free 800-760-4040.  Our website is a popular study, located at www.thetravelfactoryabilene.com.