American Cruise Lines

I made a surprising discovery recently. American Cruise Lines has ships that cruise the rivers of the U.S. I don't mean a dinner cruise or day trip.... I'm referring to 7+ day cruises that take people to interesting places on rivers in the U.S as well as coastal destinations around the country!

Just last year, I cruised along the Columbia & Snake Rivers. I wasn't expecting much as I grew up in that part of the country. As a child, I found the river to be pretty basic: it was a great place to swim, boat and go fishing. However, as an adult, I learned that the river is full of history and culture. In school, I heard about Lewis & Clark but I never knew the story. After my week on the river, I could tell you the story from beginning to end.

I've become hooked on these U.S. cruises. No passport required, no extensive flying, immediate access to U.S. medical facilities if necessary. I really feel safe on these sailings and it's an easy cruising experience.

In the upcoming days, I'm going to be writing about the following itineraries that I've been fortunate enough to sail:

• The Columbia River/Snake River (Clarkston, WA to Portland, OR)
• The Great Rivers of Florida (Roundtrip from Jacksonville, FL)
• The Historic South & Golden Isles (Jacksonville, FL to Charleston, SC)
• The Lower Mississippi (New Orleans to Memphis, TN)

I'll post a new itinerary with photos over the next few weeks. It's really a refreshing way to see my own country! It's really a great way to see something new for those people who have done river cruises in other countries, or ocean-going cruises in foreign countries.

Tourist dies on South American cruise

(CNN) - An American woman died aboard a cruise ship that docked at Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, the same ship on which 86 passengers previously fell ill, according to the state-run Brazilian news agency, Agencia Brasil.

The American tourist died aboard the MS Veendam, owned by cruise operator Holland America. Federal Police told Agencia Brasil that forensic doctors were investigating her death.
The ship's doctors told police that the woman was elderly and suffered from diabetes and hypertension, according the agency.

The other passengers came down with diarrhea prior to her death during an earlier part of the trip, the ship's doctors said.

The Veendam left New York 36 days ago for a South America tour.

Witnesses say man jumped from Carnival Conquest

Galveston, Texas -- Carnival Cruise Lines said witnesses saw a man jump overboard during a cruise out of Galveston.

The Carnival Conquest returned to Galveston without one of its passengers Sunday.

Shortly after the ship left Cozumel, Mexico, on Friday, the cruise line said a 39 year old man jumped overboard.

"I was walking from deck 8 up to 9 to get a soda, and I could hear this awful screaming from one of the passengers on my floor," said Jonathan Wang, of Sugar Land.

He was on board the Conquest when the ship abruptly stopped about 6:30 p.m. Friday.

"The boat made a series of maneuvers and we immediately saw a few other boats in the area. Small boats that we could only assume were helping in the search," Wang said.

Carnival Cruise Lines said, "All appropriate authorities were notified and the ship returned to the location where the man was last seen to begin search and rescue operations. The Carnival Conquest was later released from the search while Mexican authorities continue the search and rescue efforts."

The cruise line also said the on board team assisted the missing man's family.

The Carnival Conquest left the Port of Galveston Sunday night on another 7 day cruise to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Mexico.

Queen Mary 2 fails US Public Health Inspection

(CNN) -- Queen Mary 2, billed by its owners as "the most magnificent ocean liner ever built," isn't getting such rave reviews from government sanitation inspectors.

The ship was checked earlier this month as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vessel Sanitation Program, which aims to prevent gastrointestinal illnesses on cruise ships.

During the visit on June 10, inspectors found a number of violations, including "extremely dirty" water and floor tiling in a splash pool; a human hair in an ice machine; and various chemicals stored near napkins, paper cups and utensils.

As a result, the ship received a score of 84. The government has two score classifications: Anything 86 or higher is "satisfactory," while scores of 85 or lower are considered "not satisfactory."

Failing grades for ships, especially the larger vessels, are extremely rare, according to CruiseCritic.com. There have been no failing scores since Albatross, a private ship, received a score of 69 in February 2010, the site reported.

The kind of violations found on board the Queen Mary 2 are unacceptable, especially the dirty pool water, said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor in chief of CruiseCritic.com.

"I've been chronicling the CDC scores for 14 years and this one is unusually bad," Brown said. "What really bothered me was the use of the word 'filthy' five times."

Cunard Line, which operates the Queen Mary 2, called the ship's most recent grade "an uncharacteristically low score." It stressed that on most previous inspections, the ship scored over 95 and achieved the maximum of 100 on three occasions.

"The poor assessment on 10 June resulted largely from one small area of the ship's overall operation. All the issues raised in the report were immediately addressed and have now been corrected," said Cunard spokeswoman Jackie Chase in a statement.

Ship and shore management have now "redefined certain roles and responsibilities" and the company's training schedule has been stepped up, Chase said.

"The Company is confident that failings of this nature will not occur again, and that the ship's VSP scores in future will return to the customary consistently high level."

So should you worry if you have a cruise coming up on the Queen Mary 2? Brown said you shouldn't have second thoughts.

"I'm sure after this, it's probably the cleanest ship out there," she said.

Man Arrested for Dropping Cruise Ship Anchor

(Updated 11 a.m. EST) -- A California man has been arrested and is facing charges of attempting to damage a vessel and endangering a ship's navigation after he dropped the anchor of Holland America's Ryndam over the weekend. A Cruise Critic member was onboard and recounts what happened on our message boards.
The Press Association is reporting that 44-year-old passenger Rick Ehlert entered a restricted area on Deck 11 of the 55,819-ton, 1,266-passenger ship while it was heading from Costa Maya back to Tampa after a seven-night Caribbean cruise.
An FBI affidavit says the man -- who claims he was drunk when the incident occurred -- put on work gloves and entered the area and released the ship's rear anchor. It is also said that Ehlert threw a life buoy overboard.
Cruise Critic member woodofpine, who was on the Ryndam at the time of the Saturday incident, corroborates the account on our boards: "At about 7:15 a.m., the Captain announced that the aft anchor had been 'engaged' (meaning exactly what?) by someone at about 5:25 AM and that a ring/buoy was tossed from an upper deck at about 5:55 a.m. I wondered when the bridge became aware of the anchor 'engagement' as the ring toss was nearly half hour later.
"The Captain indicated that a rescue maneuver had been undertaken to retrieve the ring. The Captain encouraged (ie. demanded) that the responsible party step forward (nada) or general muster and head count would be required; this followed about 15 minutes later (and took about 75-90 minutes)."
Prior to disembark, woodofpine continues, Ehlert's name was announced on the P.A. He ends his report with a thought being echoed by many CC fans: "Sorry to say that passengers have to be treated like children."
According to the Tampa Tribune, Ehlert was identified on a security video (reportedly in formal-night attire), then interviewed by the FBI and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service. The paper reports that the affidavit indicates "he told investigators he knew how to release the anchor because he owns a 50-foot boat with a similar anchor."
The affidavit states the ship wasn't damaged, says the Tribune, but it could have been, inasmuch as "releasing an anchor on a moving cruise ship could damage the rudder and propeller, disabling the vessel's ability to maneuver. It could puncture the ship, causing it to flood or sink."
In a statement, Holland America states it "will not provide any information beyond what has been included in the Criminal Complaint." However, the line does confirm the information in the affidavit and thanks the authorities for the "professional manner in which the investigation has been conducted."