In today's video, we'll take a look at the onboard experience on American Melody...
The latest modern riverboat from American Cruise Lines.
Specifically, we'll look at the dining options and some of the food offered onboard.
I'll also show you some of the entertainment offered during my recent cruise...
Show you some of the places onboard where guests spend a lot of their time...
And tell you what I found very unusual, in a great way, about the crew.
If you're thinking about taking a cruise on the Mississippi River...
I think you'll find this video quite enlightening!
Let's get right to it!
A small riverboat like American Melody is a very different kind of cruise ship...
From those huge megaships that offer ocean cruises.
I've been on 52 ocean cruises on the big ships...
And just recently completed my second river cruise with American Cruise Lines...
On what they call a modern riverboat, where you get the small-ship experience.
I really liked being one of just a little over a hundred passengers on American Melody.
Rather than being crowded in with thousands of other passengers on a mega cruise ship.
You also find that you're cruising with a much younger crowd on a mega ship...
Then with the older, more polite folks that tend to sail with American Cruise Lines.
There's so much more space on a mega cruise ship...
That they might have ten or more different dining venues.
On American Cruise Lines, you've just got three dining options...
Most folks eat most of their meals in the restaurant on deck one.
And you can also have them deliver a meal to your cabin.
The third dining option, open for breakfast and lunch...
Is a casual dining venue out on the back deck.
On a small ship like this, there's a small kitchen cooking for a small number of guests...
So, they have to have a small menu.
A choice of three entrees is normal at each meal.
Here's a look at menus from a few different meals, to give you an idea of what they offer.
Everything I ordered was very tasty.
Here's a look at a few of the things I had during the week.
Mostly meat and potatoes, because that's how I roll.
The only day I ate lunch in the main restaurant, I had the French Dip.
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, at home or on vacation.
I really enjoyed the breakfasts on American Cruise Lines.
The casual dining option at the back deck of American Melody, open for breakfast and lunch...
Is called the Ellipse Café.
The weird thing about it is that they don't have a deep fryer...
So, if you order a hamburger or a hot dog...
French fries are not an option.
So, I went with tortilla chips instead.
They also offer pizza at the Ellipse Cafe...
Although the day I had it, they were out of mozzarella and had to use cheddar cheese instead.
Now let's talk about the entertainment.
Of course, on a small ship like this you won't have Broadway style stage shows...
Like some ocean cruise ships have.
But I really enjoyed this guy...
A super-talented pianist named Jon England.
He did a little bit of everything...
From playing casually in the background at cocktail hour...
To a Beatles tribute that I didn't get on video...
To a full formal show of classical music.
And when I happened to mention to Jon one night, after his show...
That the Blue Danube was one of my favorite pieces of music...
He improvised a fun little quick version of it just for me!
(Blue Danube played on the piano)
That was fantastic!
(Banjo playing)
The onboard historian also happened to be a really good banjo player...
And several local acts boarded at different points during the cruise to do their acts...
Like this barbershop quartet.
Life onboard American Melody was very relaxed.
The crew seemed really happy and had a great attitude.
Even when there wasn't a camera around...
I saw smiles and could tell that they liked their jobs.
And I liked my fellow passengers, too.
I had some nice conversations with people I met during the week.
Cocktail hour in the River Lounge is an especially great time to meet and chat with people.
And if you're not feeling social, just sit out on your private balcony and enjoy the views.
You never know what you're going to see go by out there!
Give me a week or two to edit more of the video I shot during my cruise...
Because I've got one more video to come about American Melody.
A ship tour, from top to bottom...
Including a tour of a typical cabin.
If there's anyone you think would enjoy seeing this video...
Use the share button to share a link to it on social media.
And if you liked the video, give it a thumbs up...
That tells YouTube that it's a good video that they should recommend to other people.
I'm Jim Zim. Thanks for watching!