Onboard Review: American Countess—Kicking it Up a Notch in America’s Heartland

Recommend Standard Image TemplateAmerican Countess—Kicking it Up a Notch in America’s HeartlandBy Lydia Gregory“North America is becoming really exciting again,” says Cindy D’Aoust, president of American Queen Voyages (AQV), part of the Hornblower Group. “People have recognized they haven’t explored their own country.” D’Aoust, who took over as president earlier this year, is moving AQV in a new direction that sharpens its focus on luxury, history, excellent cuisine and a sense of place. “Everything that we’re focusing on right now is developing a better experience for our guests, but doing it [by] engaging more through our ports and our destinations. I think the next phase that you’ll see…is taking our themed cruises and taking them up to experiential cruises.” Recommend recently embarked on the brand’s themed, all-inclusive 9-day Bourbon Cruise on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers aboard the 245- guest American Countess, their newest paddleboat.Recommend Standard Image Template-1696263345The Experience Our voyage started when we arrived for the included pre-cruise stay at the historic Brown Hotel, one of Louisville, Kentucky’s, many landmarks. This elegant property dates back to the 1920s and offers well-appointed, comfortable rooms, period decor and a menu that includes the famous Kentucky Hot Brown open-faced turkey sandwich, originally created in its kitchens for Roaring 20s patrons. The next morning, we were taken on the Private Churchill Downs Backstretch Pre-Cruise Experience aboard a luxury coach. This is one of their premium tours, and we got a back-of-the-house look at this storied racetrack, admission to the Kentucky Derby Museum and a tour of the city before starting the cruise. American Countess is a modern 4-story paddleboat with 123 staterooms across four categories—Deluxe Outside Staterooms with Private Veranda, Outside Staterooms with Open Veranda, Single Outside Stateroom with Private Veranda (only one, so book early!) and Inside Staterooms. We stayed in an Outside Stateroom with Open Veranda, which had a queen-sized bed and a small lounge area with an easy chair and desk, a huge bathroom and sliding glass doors that opened to the walk-around deck and an area with two wicker chairs and a small table. (There were early morning walkers buzzing past every so often, so if your clients crave privacy, book them on the second-floor Deluxe staterooms.) There’s plenty of room to roam onboard. There’s a huge furnished rooftop Sun Deck, but the very spacious heart and soul of the boat is The Main Lobby. This is where bartenders Bruce and Luke hold court every afternoon and into the evening. On this cruise they poured a different specialty bourbon libation every night while guests mixed, mingled and danced to the live band and the verdant scenery slid by through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The Theater offers fun evening performances and daily chats by the resident Riverlorian, who shares the history of the next day’s river town. And since this was a themed bourbon cruise, we were treated to talks by Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame inductee, Michael Veach. It was also here that AQV’s Culinary Ambassador, Regina Charboneau, teamed up with her friend, celebrated chef and restaurateur Dickie Brennan, to give us a masterclass in making the lightest, fluffiest biscuits that we’ve ever tasted. There’s also a Card Room for games, a small fitness center and a Chart Room with interesting tidbits on the American Countess and other boats that ply North America’s rivers. There are two restaurants: The Grand Dining Room (open for a la carte breakfast, lunch and two dinner seatings) and The River Grill (more casual and open for breakfast, lunch and dinner—Mike’s to-order breakfast omelets are legendary), plus Perks for coffee and snacks throughout the day. The menus, we must add, have been a particular focus of D’Aoust and Charboneau’s this year. “Every day, the menus reflect where we’re traveling on the rivers,” says D’Aoust. “We’re also extending that to our beverage service, and we’re having some fun with mixology, making sure that we’re telling the story. Our servers are being trained on what are the right wine pairings to go with the menu offerings that night; [we’re] making sure everything we do is very authentic.” She shares Charboneau is also moving away from buffet services. “People who want to stay on the boat in the afternoon want that beautiful white linen service.”Recommend Standard Image Template-1696263345-1696263347The Tours The entire experience was steeped in American history and bourbon. The American Countess made its way along the Ohio River to the Mississippi, stopping in Brandenburg, Owensboro, Henderson and Paducah in Kentucky, then on to Cape Girardeau before finally ending in St. Louis (Alton), Missouri. Along the way we hopped on and off luxury coaches, visited with Lincoln in his hometown, popped into distilleries for bourbon flights and tours, perused a Confederate museum, tasted Kentucky BBQ and generally immersed ourselves in the Heartland’s history, accompanied by local guides.AQV and Travel Advisors“[Travel advisors] are our sales force and we appreciate them so much,” says D’Aoust. “My whole history has been in the travel community, and I’ve always been an advocate for our travel advisors. So, thank you, thank you, thank you. And [my sales tip is], be the professional that you want to be. Strive to be knowledgeable, strive to be proactive and make sure that you communicate the pluses and the minuses.” This particular trip was a special one, as we were accompanied not only by AQV executives, but also by a group of travel advisors. “The ship is beautiful, the hospitality, the service and the onboard entertainment is fantastic,” says Marcya Wantuch, president of Royal Coach Tours & Cruises, Inc. “[And] theme cruises are wonderful, and they sell. They sell because [clients] like that idea, because you don’t see that with your Caribbean cruises or Bahamas cruises.” And the best way to learn about the product, says Angela Composto, v.p. of marketing, is to experience it first-hand. AQV offers several hosted FAM trips throughout the year as well as individual FAMs with an evergreen travel advisor rate, but she recommends visiting on a “RAM FAM,” where a Regional Account Manager hosts the FAM with 10 travel partners. “We love those because over and above what an individual would experience on their own or a travel advisor would experience on their own, there’s also augmented content and more learning that is happening as a result of being together on a hosted FAM.” Of note: If you sell five cabins within six months, the cost of the FAM is reimbursed to your agency. And there’s more: “Right now, we just launched something called Sell Three, Sail Free,” adds Composto, “where if they sell three cabins within the 2023 sailing year, then they’re eligible to sail for free next year.” Contact Information American Queen Voyages: www.aqvoyages.com/PRINCESS CRUISESPRINCESS CRUISES IFCCOVEREXPLORA JOURNEYSTABLE OF CONTENTSPALLADIUMPALLADIUM SPREADEditor's NotesSANDALSSANDALS SPREADLuxury Travel Trends as we head into the New YearWINDSTAR CRUISESTURKISH AIRLINESWEBINAR HOUSE ADMGM RESORTS SCMGM RESORTSPALLADIUM SPREAD 1Cruise: Up Your Bookings with These 6 BrandsWINDSTAR CRUISE 1OCEANIA CRUISESPRINCESS CRUISES SC SPREADSCENIC & EMERALD CRUISES SCSCENIC CRUISESVIRGIN VOYAGES SCVIRGIN VOYAGESEXPLORA JOURNEYS SCCUNARD SCOnboard Review: American Countess—Kicking it Up a Notch in America’s HeartlandOnboard Review: 10 Highlights From the New Seabourn PursuitOnboard Review: Uniworld’s S.S. 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