Trip Report: November 8 - December 10, 2006
by Ted & Sylvia Blishak
31 Day Grand Tour on Amtrak and the Mississippi Queen
Wednesday, November 15 through Sunday, November 19, 2007
The Mississippi Queen
The Mississippi Queen
Probably the less said about this cruise the better. Suffice to say that we will not be cruising on this line again, nor will we recommend it to our clients.
On Wednesday boarding began at 1pm in a cold, driving rain. As we checked in, we were asked to read and sign a statement that we were not suffering from nausea, diarrhea, or fever. It was only at this point that we found out that the MQ had been grounded for a week by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) after a round of intestinal problems had affected two recent cruises. (If we had been informed of this before we departed, we would have had the chance to change our plans.)
We were assured, however, that the previous cruise had been free from any health problems of this sort. Well, here we were, and we could only hope for the best.
While all of the other passengers were being held in the main lounge to enjoy a tasty sandwich buffet and await their “release” to their cabins, which were ostensibly being cleaned and prepared, we, ignoring the request, headed for our cabin, which was ready for occupancy, and unpacked and settled in.
We had chosen the top of the line cabin with a king bed, verandah, and windows facing forward as well as to the side. (The verandah would never get any use as the weather continued to be chilly and damp throughout most of the week.)
We were scheduled to sail at 7pm, but this departure time came and went with no activity whatsoever. The excuse was that they were waiting for passengers whose flights were delayed by the weather.
The next morning, Thursday, found us still moored at the Gateway Arch, with an announcement that we had a crack in the hull which needed to be repaired. However, there was no evidence that any repair work was being done. The new sailing time was to be 1pm, so we walked over to the Gateway Arch. Ted was the only member of the party interested in riding to the apex of the arch, a point which is reached by an internal Ferris wheel type arrangement of tiny cars, each holding two to four passengers. The view from the apex was spectacular.
Gateway Arch from South Leg |
Eads Bridge from Arch |
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Adams Mark Hotel from Arch |
St. Louis from the Arch |
At 3pm we finally untied from our moorage and began paddling upstream instead of downstream towards Memphis. The captain announced that the hull repairs needed to be done at a facility to the north and the Coast Guard had to inspect and warrant our boat to be safe for a long cruise.
Late this evening we find ourselves moored at Mike’s, Inc., Ship Repairs, (Trespassers Will be Prosecuted.) Divers were preparing to enter the murky dark waters to do whatever had to be done. The darkened American Queen was tied up just ahead of us, out of service indefinitely since hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.
In the wee hours of Friday, we were underway for awhile, this time paddling south, only to anchor at a refueling facility for several hours just north of St. Louis. This morning we observed two passengers disembarking at the refueling dock to waiting taxies. We began to wonder why we were still on board.
As we left the refueling dock this morning, the captain announced that due to these unfortunate, but unavoidable delays, there would be no port stops on this cruise, but he did hope to make it to Memphis in time for passengers to make their flights home. To accomplish this feat would require that we miss our short excursion up the Ohio River. However, the company was planning to give us some compensation in the form of a partial refund. Naturally by this time, anything that the captain said was greatly discounted.
We missed the junction of the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois, as darkness had set in, but by Saturday we had made up enough time that we were able to make one of our port stops, at New Madrid, Missouri, famed for being at the epicenter of the strongest earthquake ever experienced by white settlers in North America.
By Sunday morning, we reached Mud Island at Memphis. We found attached to our cabin door handle a letter offering a $350 discount per person on any future cruise. The consensus at the morning breakfast buffet was that it would be a cold day in Hades before any of us would sail on this line again. We are preparing a letter of complaint to management and will keep our readers posted as to the outcome.
While we all avoided the intestinal virus that we were concerned about, Ted came down with a miserable cold, and the others in our party were experiencing similar symptoms.
We had planned to rent a car and drive to Pittsburgh, 800 miles to the northeast, but instead booked a room at the Marriott to rest up from our ordeal.
You may be wondering how the cruise was, in spite of all the changes. Well, there was the usual cruise type musical entertainment, which we always avoid anyway, so cannot comment on the quality. The dining room was jammed packed to every corner, so that there was little maneuvering room for the waiters and bus boys. The soups and desserts were excellent, the entrees so, so, except for the steaks, which were inedible.
It was a pleasure to have a day’s worth of good meals at the Marriott to make up for this decline in quality onboard.
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