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Post by mary on Aug 24, 2016 13:01:35 GMT
I've been off the board again for awhile, but happy to be back. In April, I went on my 3rd US river/coastal cruise with American CruiseLines. I've been on the Lower Mississippi (New Orleans to Memphis) in October/Nov. 2014, Snake & Columbia Rivers in October 2015, and this was my third cruise with ACL in April 2016.
So let's get started with Historic South & Golden Isles Cruise:
Along with one of my gal pals, I went on the Historic South & Golden Isles cruise with American CruiseLines, April 23-30, 2016.
We flew to Charleston, SC on April 22nd. We had both been to Charleston previously and I had been there several times, so we didn’t plan on spending much time sightseeing. We arrived at the airport around 1:30 p.m. and took a taxi to our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express located at 250 Spring Street in Charleston. It’s close to the Ashley River and there is a free trolley nearby that you can ride to the historic district as well as around other areas of Charleston. The room is what one would expect of a Holiday Inn Express, functional and satisfactory for a one night stay. There is an included hot breakfast buffet. We had made reservations for a group carriage ride in the historic district and because we had limited time, opted to take a taxi ($10 for 2) to the Palmetto Carriage Company, 8 Guignard St. We had made a reservation online in advance for 4:30 p.m. I highly recommend this carriage company. The guide was extremely knowledgeable about the history of Charleston and I enjoyed seeing the historic district again. After the carriage ride, we decided to go to a pizza place nearby, Di Giovanni’s, at 40 N. Market Street. Yes, I know there are great restaurants in Charleston, and I’ve been to a few, but sometimes you just want a hole-in-the-wall pizza joint. No “small” pizzas here, so we each ordered a slice (they’re huge) and a drink for $6.00. The pizza was very good. Their large pizzas are 28”, unheard of where I live.
We left for the Charleston City Marina, 17 Lockwood Dr., via taxi at 10:45 a.m. on the morning of April 23rd. It is a 5-10 minute ride from the hotel to the marina where the American Star, our ship, was docked. The American Star has space for approximately 100 passengers. Boarding was a breeze – we gave our names to the Hotel Director who was standing at the gangway with a clipboard, she checked our names off and we went aboard. Our stateroom was ready. We had a category A stateroom on the Main Deck. The cabin was 258 sq. ft., with 2 twin beds, a desk and chair, dresser, flat screen t.v. and two nightstands and lamps. There was a picture window and a nice sized bathroom. Plenty of room for two friends traveling together. We were very comfortable in this room and the stewards kept it very clean. One night, I came back to the room after the evening’s entertainment to find the lights in our room and bathroom not functioning. There had been a breaker which tripped and staff quickly had it fixed. That’s what nice about small ships - you can easily find staff to address any issues like this and it gets resolved immediately.
Lunch was served at 12:30 p.m. (more on the food later). It is open seating, so you sit at any of the tables. I think I met most everyone who was on this cruise, either at one of the meals, at the evening happy hour/reception or just around the ship.
At 2:30 p.m. we had a safety instruction and film and then the cruise director spent some time reviewing the shore excursions (more on those later). The shore excursions are reasonably priced – averaged around $40.00 each. There was a bit of a disappointment as it was announced we would not be docking at Amelia Island (Fernandina Beach. Florida) due to a Shrimp Festival. Instead, we were told we would be docking in Jacksonville, Florida. Fernandina Beach was to be our disembarkation port and we had arranged to pick up a rental car to drive home, so we had to call later and change our rental car pick-up to the Jacksonville Airport.
I then went to the top deck as we were underway to take in some of the scenery on the intracoastal waterway. There are plenty of places to sit and I did not miss having a balcony stateroom at all.
To be continued…
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Post by mary on Aug 24, 2016 13:55:18 GMT
From 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. there is a reception every evening for the passengers in the main lounge. There are hors d’oeuvres and drinks –wine, beer, mixed drinks, soft drinks and it’s all included. I took advantage of this on the first evening and every other evening except one. It was a nice way to mix with the other passengers – but don’t eat and drink too much as dinner is served after...
Dinner is served at 6:30 and like all meals, it is open seating. The food on the ship was excellent, a much higher standard than on the cruise ships I’ve previously been on. Our chef was very accessible and if you had a special diet or you did not care for the choices on the menu, you could request something else. There is a card you fill out at breakfast with your choices for lunch and dinner and an area to put in a special request. The chef really tried to please everyone on this cruise and succeeded. The service was great by the staff.
Internet: There is complementary wi-fi on the ship in the ship lounges, but not in the stateroom-at least not in mine. Internet service was fast – I used it to check my emails in the evening. There are also computers and printers available in the midship lounges-many were using them on the last day to print boarding passes.
Next: Entertainment, Ports and Shore Excursions…
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Post by mary on Aug 24, 2016 14:07:39 GMT
Entertainment: The entertainment is not at all like on ocean cruises. It was one person, local to the area where we were docked, along with the onboard expert, who provided the evening’s entertainment. Entertainment was at 8:15 p.m. every evening. Two of the seven evenings we had Charlie Petrocci, who was the onboard expert/enrichment lecturer. The very first evening, Charlie gave a presentation on our upcoming trip and shared some history about the area. Another evening, he showed a film about the eco-system on the intracoastal waterway with a discussion that followed. I honestly thought it would be boring, but it was very interesting and Charlie has a good sense of humor that keeps it lively. He also gave a lecture on pirates on the last day, but that was not part of the evening’s entertainment.
The two entertainers who stood out on this cruise were Eveline, who had stories & songs of Beaufort and Chris Paul, her brother-in-law, a guitarist who also sang and had a compelling personal story. We also had a pianist who took requests, a singer/comedian and on the last evening…no entertainment. As we docked for disembarkation in Jacksonville instead of Amelia Island, apparently the entertainer did not get the notice of the change of port and we were notified while waiting for the entertainment to begin of the miscommunication. The new onboard expert for the next cruise was there and led an impromptu discussion and some trivia – I chose not to stay, but my friend did, and reported that those who remained enjoyed it.
Oh, did I mention that if you are still hungry, they serve root beer floats, ice cream sundaes and popcorn during entertainment? All included! I never tried any of that deliciousness as I was maxed out from dinner. Beverages and snacks and cookies are also available in the lounges during the day. Just help yourself!
Next: Ports and Shore Excursions
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Post by tiffany on Aug 24, 2016 14:26:03 GMT
Sounds like a great River Cruise so far Mary. I might try one some day.
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Post by mary on Aug 24, 2016 20:58:07 GMT
Our itinerary:
April 23rd - We departed Charleston, SC at approximately 5:00 p.m., a little bit later due to the tides. There was a shuttle offered to and from the historic district twice during the day, so you could take advantage of sightseeing on your own after embarkation if you wished.
April 24th – Beaufort, SC – We docked in Beaufort in the early morning hours – someone told me we docked at 1:00 a.m. - I was tucked into bed - and we were in port until 5:30 a.m. on April 25th. Plenty of time to see Beaufort independently or with a shore excursion. This is the south and as it was a Sunday, none of the shops, restaurants, etc. were open until 11:00 a.m. I took two shore excursions:
But first, a note about the shore excursions – once you take 3 cruises with American CruiseLines, your shore excursions are included. The italicized print in my review is from a partial description by the cruise line:
Low Country Heritage Tour – Tour St. Helena Island and discover the rich African American culture with a guide well-versed in the island’s history. This was one of my favorite excursions. Only 19 passengers signed up for this excursion (my friend opted for a sleep in). Our tour guide was Eveline (in period costume) – probably the best local guide we had for a shore excursion on this cruise. She is a local historian and had an abundance of information. We visited a slave cemetery, the grounds of a small plantation house (the house is privately owned), a Praise House and the Chapel of Ease, the remains of a church built in 1740 that was destroyed by fire in 1886. Eveline also came aboard the evening we were docked in Beaufort and was the entertainment that evening with more history & songs.
Beaufort Carriage Tour – Discover beautiful Beaufort on a horse-drawn carriage. This is an one hour overview of Beaufort by carriage with a guide. There was a variety of times in the afternoon to sign up for this. I enjoyed this and it is easy to combine this with independently exploring historic Beaufort by walking from the ship.
April 25th – Hilton Head, SC – We arrived around 8:30 a.m. and a tender was necessary. It is a very short ride to the dock. Two shore excursions were offered, an eco-boat ride to see alligators and one to see dolphins. I did not go on either excursion, but heard from those that did, that they enjoyed them. We docked at the Sea Pines Resort on the island and there are many nice shops and restaurants. We spent our time browsing in the shops and had lunch on shore at The Quarterdeck, which is a restaurant at the dock, and sat outside overlooking the water. We took the last tender back to the ship and it departed at 2:30 p.m.
To be continued...
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Post by mary on Aug 25, 2016 2:08:33 GMT
April 25th/26th – Savannah, GA – We docked in Savannah around 5:30 p.m., right on River St. where there are many bars, restaurants and shops. Lots to do in this city!
Trolley Tour of Savannah – Join a narrated trolley tour of this exquisite city known as the “hostess city of the South”. This is a 3 hour tour of Savannah by trolley with one stop at the Massie Heritage Center. The location operated as a public school for the poor. Almost everyone was on this tour and after the private tour, you were provided a pass to use the hop-on, hop-off trolleys in the city for the rest of the day.
Other shore excursions that were offered in Savannah:
Guided Walking Tour of Savannah, and
Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum.
I did not participate in either tour.
We departed Savannah at 10:30 p.m.
April 27th/28th– Sapelo Island/Jekyll Island/St. Simons Island – We docked in Brunswick, GA . Brunswick is a small town that you can easily explore by walking. It was our jumping off point for these islands and if you want to explore them, you need to take a shore excursion or find your own transportation.
Sapelo Island Narrated Tour – You board an old school bus (no facilities and no AC, but was pleasant with the windows down) to tour the island. The two guides were both life-long residents of the island. There is a stop mid-way through the tour for steamed oysters (yummy) where there are also restrooms. Very rich African-American history here. You also visit the R. J. Reynolds Mansion.
Jekyll Island Tour – This is a tram ride for approximately one hour to see the Jekyll Island Club and ‘cottages’ by tram. Think 'lifestyles of the rich and famous' in the early 20th century through the 1940's. There is still a luxury hotel on the grounds. I was seated on the left side of the tram and was unable to get photos. All the photo opportunities are on the right side. You can also walk the grounds, but will take two hours + as the grounds are extensive and you will have no commentary.
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St. Simons Island Tour – You have a choice of touring the island or opting for transportation only. If you opt for the transportation only, you are dropped in a small historic area that includes a shopping area with quaint shops. I took the full tour, the guide was enjoyable, but not as many interesting places to see here as on other excursions. It's basically a tourist area, lovely homes and condos as well as some historic sites. I debated between this and the shrimp boat excursion (they were offered at the same time) and probably should have participated in the shrimp boat excursion. My friend agreed.
Lady Jane Shrimp Boat Tour – Participate in an unique shrimp trawling excursion – I talked to several people who went on this tour and they all had positive comments on their experience. Should have participated in this one.
April 29th – Jacksonville – As I mentioned earlier in this review, we couldn’t dock at Amelia Island due to a shrimp festival that weekend, so we proceeded to Jacksonville. I’ve been to Jacksonville, it’s a large city and not that interesting. Not much was planned for us there and we arrived around noon. There were activities on the ship and later in the afternoon a walking tour (free) was announced. I did not go on this and stayed on the ship.
April 30th – Disembarkation – Luggage was to be outside the staterooms by midnight. We were picking up a rental car at the Jax airport, so we opted for the provided bus to the airport which was very easy. 6 hours later I was home.
Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed being on the intracoastal waterway, the ship and service, and the ports. An unique way to see this area of the US.
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Post by californian on Aug 25, 2016 14:28:13 GMT
Lovely, Mary, I might try something like that sooner rather than later, my daughter moved to NC, so it would be easy starting from there. Very nice.
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