Steamboat Honeymoon

Calliope music, paddlewheel spray, billows of white steam, jazz under the stars, scrumptious Southern cuisine—these are the sensations of a steamboat honeymoon, traveling down America’s most famous waterways and back to a simpler, more elegant time.

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Take a steamboat honeymoon and you might just fall in love again—with each other, and with the romance and nostalgia of paddlewheel riverboats. If you decide to honeymoon aboard a steamboat, expect to spend your time aboard playing games, flying kites, dancing to period music, enjoying nightly live entertainment, playing a calliope, listening to lectures about steamboating and historic river sites—or just lounging on deck, watching the scenery go by as you read a good book from the onboard library. Plan to spend plenty of time in the various ports along your route as well. Depending on the itinerary of your trip, you might find yourself hiking Mount St. Helens, jet skiing into Hells Canyon, listening to Native American storytellers, touring Civil War battlefields, or exploring Cajun culture in the swamps of the Mississippi Delta.

Before you book your trip, though, you should know that cruises aboard old-fashioned sternwheelers usually differ from cruises on large ships in several respects:

• Steamboat cruises emphasize the historic. They're designed to transport you back to a time when steamboats were the most comfortable way to travel. The boats are built to replicate turn-of-the-century steamboats; the Delta Queen has even been designated a National Historic Landmark. Antique furnishings, old-time music, and actors impersonating characters from the period add to the ambience. And most cruises offer land tours of historic locations along the route.

• Steamboats are smaller than most cruise ships. Their smaller size isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The American West Steamboat Company boasts that its Empress of the North gives passengers an up-close look at the Alaska shoreline, because its small size allows it to navigate closer to shore and in narrower passages than larger ships. And passengers have more opportunity to get to know one another on smaller cruises.

• Steamboat cruises can be very laid back. Several commentators warn that these trips can be “too slow” for some folks—if you’re looking for high adventure and an activities-packed schedule, you may want to steer clear of a steamboat cruise. Entertainment facilities and activity schedules vary widely depending on the boat and itinerary, though, so check several possibilities to find the trip that’s best for you.

As far as we’re aware, only two U.S. companies offer overnight cruises aboard paddlewheelers. The Delta Queen Steamboat Company runs three boats on the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee rivers:

• The Delta Queen is the oldest of the boats; launched in 1926 and plying the Mississippi since 1947, it is a National Historic Landmark and the only wooden steamboat on the river today. The smallest of the Delta Queen Steamboat Company’s fleet, it carries 174 passengers.

• The Mississippi Queen, launched in the bicentennial year of 1976, carries 398 passengers. The boat has seven decks, a library, beauty salon, theater, pool, and a variety of cabin options. Like her sisters, the Mississippi Queen is elegantly appointed, from the brass railings and stained glass windows to “the world’s largest calliope.” Most cabins have windows that look out on the river, some with private verandas; all cabins have private bathrooms.

• The American Queen, launched in 1995, is the largest paddlewheeler ever built, carrying 436 passengers. Among its features are a bathing pool, athletic club, library, theater, and saloon.

The American West Steamboat Company runs two boats in the Pacific Northwest on the Columbia, Snake, and Willamette Rivers, as well as along the Alaskan Inside Passage. Both boats are styled after turn-of-the-century sternwheelers and are propelled by paddlewheels, although they do not run on steam power:

• The Queen of the West, launched in 1995, carries 163 passengers and 47 crew. All cabins include large windows with river views, a television, VCR, and private bathrooms and showers. Cabins are decorated “with touches of the traditions that surround the steamboat era,” according to American West. Many cabins have private verandahs. The Queen of the West navigates the Columbia, Snake, and Willamette Rivers all year except January.

• The somewhat larger Empress of the North, launched in 2003, carries 235 passengers and 84 crew. “Each stateroom has large view windows, TV/DVD, mini-bar, telephone, individual thermostat, large bathroom and shower, and writing desk,” according to American West. Rooms (including the value stateroom) can be configured with twin or queen-sized beds. The Empress of the North runs Alaska’s Inside Passage from June to September, and the Columbia, Snake, and Willamette Rivers the remainder of the year.

If a steamboat honeymoon is for you, book well in advance for the best rates and special discounts. At the time of this writing, for instance, both companies were shaving hundreds of dollars off its fares for passengers who booked their trips by the end of February.

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Cost

At the time of this writing, fares ranged from $695 per person for three nights in the cheapest cabin to $7,819 per person for 11 nights in the most expensive cabin. Fares include meals, entertainment, shore excursions, and many activities. For current information on fares and special discounts, visit the websites of individual steamboat companies below.

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Things To Do, Places to Go

• The flavor of your cruise depends a lot on where it takes you. Want to immerse yourself in the culture of the deep South? Cruise the Lower Mississippi, from New Orleans to Memphis, or the Gulf coast from Mobile to Galveston. Along the way you can explore a Creole plantation or the wildlife of the bayou, or step back in time at Vicksburg National Military Park.

• Several of the reviews we read in researching this honeymoon suggested that the scenery is better along the Upper Mississippi; the route from Saint Louis to Saint Paul features views of soaring bluffs and historic river towns—including Hannibal, Missouri, birthplace of Mark Twain.

• Interested in Civil War history and Appalachian culture? Take a cruise on the Ohio, Tennessee or Cumberland rivers; Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Nashville are among the historic cities lining these rivers. The Civil War battlefield at Shiloh and a visit to Churchill Downs in Louisville are among the many shore excursions.

• If wilderness and wildlife are more your thing, consider

  The Queen of the West cruises through scenic river valleys

   exploring the Columbia, Snake, and Willamette Rivers (passing through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia). Aside from the breathtaking scenery, you can visit historic sites from the Lewis and Clark expedition, zoom through whitewater on a jet boat excursion into Hells Canyon (the deepest canyon in North America), witness Native American dances and cultural programs, tour a winery, or take a railroad tour of the Mount Hood River Valley. Cruises depart from Portland or Seattle.

• Explore the fjords, inlets, and icebergs of Alaska’s Inside Passage aboard the Empress of the North. View wildlife and humpback whales in Glacier Bay National Park, explore the history of Klondike gold mining in Skagway, or immerse yourself in Indian and Russian culture in Sitka. Cruises depart from Seattle.

• Consider taking a themed cruise with the Delta Queen Steamboat Company, which offers more than a dozen cruises organized around themes such as Legends of the ’50s, Southern Culture, Bluegrass Jamboree, the Civil War, Jazz ‘n’ Blues, the Kentucky Derby, and a Salute to Country Music.

• The Delta Queen Steamboat Company offers packages that include extra overnight stays in selected port cities, so consider combining your cruise with an extra stay in New Orleans, Saint Louis, Nashville, or a handful of other destinations.
  

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Romantic Spot

Sitting on the private veranda outside your room, sipping wine and watching stars' reflections dance on the water.

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Links

American West Steamboat Company
Steamboat cruises on the Columbia, Snake, and Willamette rivers and along Alaska’s Inside Passage.

• Site index: The American West Steamboat Company site is somewhat confusing, so if you have trouble finding what you need, the site index is the place to go.

• Dates and Rates: Dates and rates of upcoming cruises.

• Alaska Cruise Specials

• Columbia River Cruise Specials

• Alaska Sternwheeler Cruising: On the menu bar on the left side of the page, click on "Included Attractions" and "Optional Shore Tours" for an overview of activities.

• Columbia River Cruises: The menu bar on the left side of the page contains links to various cruises, but click on the "Included Attractions" link for a helpful chart that allows you to quickly compare what attractions you'll see on different cruises.

Delta Queen Steamboat Company

Steamboat cruises on the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee rivers.

• Booking and Fares: Here you'll find a very helpful chart listing all fares.

• Specials: Go to the very bottom of this long page for advance purchase discounts and other specials.

• Steamboating Country Map: Go to this page for an interactive map of the rivers traveled by the Queens. Click on a section of the map to pull up another interactive map; click on the cities marked with red dots to call up a description of that city and possible shore excursions.

• On the Packages & Programs menu (top menu bar), be sure to check out the list of themed vacations and optional CityScape tours (spend an extra night or two in one of nine ports of call; hotel, dining, and attractions included).

Ramona and Bob’s Honeymoon Trip Aboard the Riverboat Delta Queen

Ramona and Bob Snyder recount their honeymoon aboard the Delta Queen. It’s a very readable account, full of enough descriptive details (and great pictures) to give you a good sense of the riverboat cruise experience.

Steamboats.com
Find research and photos on paddlewheel riverboat history, as well as pages where the “online steamboat community” networks. Be sure to visit the Correspondence from Steamboat Lovers page for first-hand accounts of life working and traveling on the boats of the Delta Queen Steamboat Company.

Steamboats.org

An extensive hobby site for steamboat enthusiasts containing many pictures, accounts of travel on the Queens, video, river web cams, historical background, calliope music, and more.

Epinions Reviews of the Delta Queen, Mississippi Queen, and American Queen
Read reviews of trips on the boats of the Delta Queen Steamboat Company from a variety of ordinary folks. When we visited this site, most reviewers spoke fondly of their trips. Be sure to look at the review by a former chief purser on the Mississippi Queen for advice from an insider.

Cruise Critic’s review of the Delta Queen

A professional review of cruises on the Delta Queen, pros and cons.

Cruise Critic’s review of the Queen of the West
A professional review of cruises on the Delta Queen, pros and cons.

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Bookstore

King and Queen of the River: The Legendary Paddle-Wheel Steamboats Delta King and Delta Queen
Stan Garvey

Garvey traces the remarkable history of these two steamboats from their birth in California in the 1920s through their reincarnation as tourist attractions in the 1990s; the book features interviews, photos, and maps.

Life on the Mississippi
Mark Twain

"The Mississippi . . . is not a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable." So begins Mark Twain's classic account of his encounter with the mighty Mississippi.

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Your honeymoon story

Have you done this trip (whether on your honeymoon or other travel)? We'd love to hear about your experience so we can share it with others . . . just drop us a line.

Last Updated: November 20, 2008