American Cruise Lines

First time cruising wth this company … although more expensive than most ( including my favourite Sea Dream yacht cruise) the rave reviews and slick promotion as well as the location ( Mississippi) convinced me to plunk down $10K each for what I thought and was told would be a four star food and wine service on a top of the line new ship. In reality, the ship was indeed beautiful, but the promised gourmet meals never appeared( mundane cruise food , often poorly prepared or running out before everyone was served; the wine and liquor selection was not as promised either and the bar often didn’t have the advertised brands. The entertainment was meh , the excursions ( which sometimes cost extra ) were repetitive and even boring at times, and the wait staff was inexperienced and inattentive. To add salt to the wound, I saw that the cruise was selling off empty suites and rooms at prices thousand of dollars less than I paid and that the room at Graceland cost me hundreds of dollars more for booking with them than by myself. For the price I paid , I expected a luxury cruise and landed a cut rate half empty disappointment.

Our family of eight, two of whom are physicians, took an Alaskan cruise with American Cruise Lines on the American Constellation from Juneau, Alaska starting July 4, 2021. We were told that all passengers would be vaccinated, and we were led to believe that all crew would also be vaccinated for COVID-19. However, while we were tested prior to boarding, passenger vaccination status was never verified by showing vaccination cards. A passenger told one of our group that the she was “half-vaccinated.” It turned out that several of the crew were not vaccinated and had been allowed to go ashore in ports. On the fifth day (July 9) of the 10 day cruise, only a handful of the wait-staff showed up for breakfast. There was no explanation and the morning excursions occurred as usual. We learned at lunch that the trip was going to be cancelled, and we would be returning to Juneau because some crew and passengers tested positive for COVID-19. There was inconsistent messaging about quarantining. We were told to quarantine after lunch on July 9, but breakfast the following morning was served in the dining room. After breakfast, we were told to quarantine again. I am unaware of any contact tracing; and, despite American Cruise Lines’ claims to the contrary, testing was not required prior to disembarking the ship. Our family chose to be tested, and we were all negative. There were reports of an outbreak in Fairbanks related to the cruise; but since others disbursed to various parts of the United States, additional exposures are unknown. Although American Cruise Lines did give us a partial refund for the cruise, they did not reimburse us for over $2500 in additional costs incurred by the eight of us for rearranging airfare and booking hotels. Despite multiple attempts over two months to contact American Cruise Lines by email, phone, and certified letter about this issue, there was never any response about these additional charges. Based on my experience with four other cruises (three on small ships), the outside cabins with balconies were quite nice for the price, as were the amenities. Prior to the interruption, we had been enjoying the cruise, the excursions, and the educational and entertainment programs on board. The officers, managers, and crew were friendly, engaged, and responsive. The food was average. We had notified American Cruise Lines prior to travel that one of our family is vegetarian. We identified this again on board, yet there was never a vegetarian option at any meal. Another problematic area was not providing transportation to the hotel upon arrival. The Juneau airport is outside of town and cab/Uber/Lyft options are limited. With people from our flight and other flights trying to get to town, it took over 1 1/2 hours to get a ride to our hotel. Given our overall experience, we are unlikely to use American Cruise Lines in the future.