Entering a riverboat cabin that will be my cruise home for a week is always exciting. When I opened the door for stateroom 505, I knew I would be quite comfortable here.
American Queen cabins have names and mine is the Julia Belle Swain Suite. Built in 1971, the actual Julia Belle Swain was a lovely 149-passenger steam-powered sternwheeler. The riverboat was used in the 1973 film “Tom Sawyer” and the 1974 film “Huckleberry Finn.”
The Julia Belle Swain has since moved around the country and last I heard she was up for sale in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. The price is just under $1 million if you’re interested.
Back to my American Queen cabin, it is much larger than I expected. The décor includes old-fashioned flowered wallpaper, Victorian-style furnishings and historic photos on the walls.
The main room has two twin beds with a nightstand in between, a dresser with a flat-screen TV overhead. Under three beautiful stained glass windows are a chair, a loveseat and a lovely dresser.
The Julia Belle Swain Suite aboard the American Queen.
Off the bedroom is a small cubby with storage space and an extra sink with a large mirror over it. Next room is the closet, more storage space and plenty of hangers.
The bathroom has both a tub and a shower with strong water pressure and plenty of hot water. The cabin features air conditioning and heat controls, as well as a transom over the front door. It is nice to sleep with the transom open for fresh air and the sound of the paddlewheel.
A nice touch was a complimentary metal water bottle with the AQ Steamboat Company logo. The bottle was a good souvenir but its main purpose was for passengers to use the metal container instead of plastic bottles. Sensor-activated water machines around the boat offer filtered water for refills.
Complimentary water bottle for passengers. Filtered water for filling metal water bottles.
Outside the cabin are two chairs and a table to sit and watch the river flow. This is not a private balcony but seems to be because other passengers are usually elsewhere on the boat or off the boat during the time we use our outdoor seating.
Seating area outside our cabin.
The American Queen has 222 cabins spread out over six decks and can accommodate 380 passengers and 172 crew members. Our cruise had 150 passengers and 147 crew, according to the purser’s office.
8 Night – Memphis to St. Louis – American Queen
Our cabin is cleaned every day with a turndown each night including a chocolate mint and a copy of each day’s “Daily Voyage” newsletter. The double-sided newsletter contains a wealth of information – when the dining room and Front Porch café serve meals, hours when all the services are open, when the boat will dock in each river town and what time the boat will depart.
The front page of the newsletter features information about the day’s shore stop and about crew officials. Information about the various cities along our cruise route is fascinating. For example, did you know that the name “Memphis” means “place of good abode” and that by 1850 Memphis was the largest inland cotton market in the world?
The reverse side of the “Daily Voyage” newsletter is a valuable listing of the day’s activities aboard the boat. For example, Riverlorian Chris Wistey gives daily river chats in the Grand Saloon and is available during the day to talk with passengers in the Chart Room.
A bit of folklore I learned from the Riverlorian concerned the old saying about getting “off on the right foot.”
“The superstition was that one should always get on or off the boat with the right foot first for good luck,” she said.
Good to remember. Now I’m off to learn more to share with you.
Riverlorian Chris Wistey.
Photos by Jackie Sheckler Finch
Ed. Notes: See cruises here:
American Queen Voyages Cruises
8 Night – Memphis to St. Louis – American Queen (cruisecompete.com)
See cruises here> CruiseCompete and its member travel advisors provide many curated cruise and land deals, offers and amenities on over 50 cruise lines with over 500 cruise ships sailing all around the world. Browse Cruise Ships and Cruise Lines
