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Delta Queen Steamboat Company

Delta Queen

Your Rating:
Reviewed by:Frank X. Prudent
# previous cruises: 10+
Date of Trip: August 23, 2000
Itinerary: River Cruise

My friend and I had a fantastic time aboard the Delta Queen. It was his third cruise and I have made more than ten cruises on various lines. The average guest aboard is a bit older than we were, but that didn't stop any of us from meeting and having a fun time with the other passengers. One of the highlights was seeing America from one of the most historic vessels in the world. Other than an Alaskan or North Cape cruise the scenery was more spectacular on the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers than any other ship I've been on. Also Wilson Lock and Dam At Sheffield, Alabama was an engineering wonder to lock through with its nearly 100 foot lift. All of these reasons and more, I'm already booked to ride the Delta Queen again!

The Delta Queen has a warm, home-like feel. None of the glitz of some of the new builds. The Texas Bar is like your neighborhood watering hole. The bar keeps are friendly, and are not above giving one more on the house. Also it's a great place to be entertained by a pianist plunking out the top 10 of the twenties through eighties. The Orleans Room is the boat's social hall, dining room, and show room. The crew turns the room over several times a day without a hitch. The Betty Blake Lounge is a cozy, little used room that from the looks of old steamboat photos is right out of the 19th. Century.

Food was very good to excellent. My travel partner likes meat and potatoes while I like things a little fancy. We were both able to find something on the menus. The "moon light buffets" served in the Forward Cabin Lounge at 10pm local time had a different theme each night. The second night out was seafood with all of the chilled shrimp that even a hearty eater could manage.

The staterooms are small. The maid kept it spotless, and well provided with towels, linnen, soap, shampoo, etc. There was plenty of room in the shower to get around, but since both of us are 6'4" we could not stand up straight in the shower. I was shown a stateroom though with a huge shower and a tile bench in the stall. The whole boat is quiet, but some of the rooms on the cabin deck are over the engine room. They might be a bit noisy.

Watching America go by at 8 mph is a big attraction. That includes people waving from the bank, or honkin' their car horns as they drive by on shore. The evening shows in the Orleans Room run from piano classics by a conservatory trained pianist to the corn and hokum of Hillbilly Hoedown. If there is a show that doesn't seem to be your cup of tea, there is entertainment in the Texas Bar, or take the opportunity to hear those car horns and watch folks wave as you steam by.

"The Steamboatin' Times" is the daily schedule of events. Each hour during the day there is something scheduled that last about 45-50 minutes. There's BINGO, history lectures and films, or music sets in the Texas Bar. My friend whom has a lot of nervous energy wasn't board and always kept himself busy. If antiques are a passion, at each of the shore stops we made there were numerous shops to keep a serious collector busy.

The passenger list was full of passengers from all over the U.S. Since the cruise ended up in Cincinnati, there were lots of people from Greater Cincinnati on board. Most were retired, but there were middle aged professionals on the cruise too. There were at least four nurses as passengers along with one MD whom helped out when a passenger fell on the dance floor. All were just passengers and not the crew. And yes, I have invited The other three nurses to my house since the cruise!