Old Man River

We left Baton Rouge right as the sun was setting...and it was a magnificent sunset. Then we started our last night on the American Seranade cruising down "Old Man River." Strange I never heard that song as we were on the boat--but I kept humming it as it was definitely appropriate.

The river cruise was THE BEST. American Cruise Lines really means it when they say everything is included because everything is included. I needed AAA batteries, and I was given a set of Duracells. I wanted a sparkling water, and a bottle of Perrier shows up. One night we had champagne with dinner, no problem. Other folks were enjoying mixed drinks; fancy coffees; and the like--all included. Then there was the service. There's nothing like "southern hospitality" but this was even better. Not only were the staff friendly, they were kind too. The food was wonderful. We had a choice of 3 main dishes every night and oftentimes it was hard to decide which one to choose as all were great. The last night was the best with choices of tenderloin, crab stuffed lobster or surf and turf. I mean, how do you choose? For dessert we had to make the hard choice between pecan pie and crème brûlée? OR, we could have had both. I said earlier that any Hobbit would love this cruise as we had snacks throughout the day, including warm cookies at 10 and 3 AND don't forget a before bedtime snack of something sweet and scrumptious. I wonder what clothes I will be able to wear when I get home? 

As an aside, ACL owns a fleet of dedicated busses that either follow us down the river or are stationed at the river stops. Everything is planned by ACL and it's planned right. We were never left waiting for a "local" bus as we always had our own. That is pretty impressive.

Sadly we left our little home away from home this morning. We said goodbye to new friends, hugged a lot, exchanged numbers and climbed into our bus and headed for the airport in NOLA. Right now, we have landed in Atlanta, and we're heading back home--but we have a looooong lay-over. If all goes to plan we should be home by 10 PM.

G

As we left the port in New Orleans, we were greeted with the sculpture of the Mother River. Old Man River, Mother River, Big Muddy, Big Sip--some of the many names for the Mighty Mississippi River. Our cruise was definitely the best way to become acquainted with this magnificent waterway.