Thank you to American Cruise Lines for sponsoring this post and for reminding me how much there is to see in our own country.
You all know that my husband and I are huge fans of river cruising, and we just received a free brochure from American Cruise Lines that is so irresistible, we’ve added one (okay, a dozen) of their 35 itineraries to our travel bucket list.
If you’ve never taken a river cruise before, let me tell you why we love them:
. The ships are small, so you really get to know the crew and other guests. The whole experience is intimate and personal, and it never feels chaotic because there are between 100 to 200 passengers on each ship.
. River cruises give you the opportunity to sail through narrow passages and to enjoy land views along the way.
We’ve never done a domestic river cruise, though, and were so intrigued reading about American Cruise Lines’ unique itineraries, we kept bookmarking pages in the brochure to return to. We travel abroad a lot, and we were shocked to realize how much beauty and how many historic sites we still hadn’t seen in the U.S.
We would love to do one of the Alaska itineraries because, well, Alaska. It’s one of the most beautiful spots in the United States, and we took an ocean cruise there when the kids were younger. We’d love to go back on a small ship where we could really get close to the stunning scenery.
Then again, how much fun would it be to sail on the Mississippi River? I imagine reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer while cruising through areas rich in history.
Or what about New England? Could there be a more perfect way to travel through Provincetown, Martha’s Vineyard, Maine and Rhode Island? We’d indulge in a traditional Lobsterbake after touring the summer “cottages” on Newport’s Avenue of the Mansions.
Because cruising is as much about the journey as the destination, we spent a lot of time checking out American Cruise Lines’ ships, and were impressed with what we learned.
ACL has the most eco-friendly fleet of small ships in the United States, and the largest staterooms in the small cruise ship industry, accommodating up to three people. Each has its own private balcony – which is a huge benefit when cruising.
Depending on where you’re going and what you’re looking for, ACL has a variety of ships to choose from, including modern riverboats, authentic paddlewheelers and coastal cruise ships.
Every ship features unique, world-class experiences from cuisine to entertainment to ports of call to onshore excursions. And every ship offers amazing views.
You can sign up for the free brochure on the American Cruise Lines website. When you receive it, take a look at some of my favorite pages: the relaxing stateroom on page 7, the cheery Sky Lounge on page 15, the breathtaking Alaskan landscape on page 43, the Hudson River fall foliage on page 78.
Then let me know which trip you’re booking because we just may join you!
Judy Freedman says
I’ve didn’t know there were domestic River Cruises. Would love to cruise to New England. Will have to check it out.