It took Lewis and Clarke from April 1804 to November 1805 to pioneer the trail from St Louis, Missouri, to the Pacific Ocean. Our efforts to retrace just a small part of their epic journey lasted just two days before grinding to a halt, writes SeaView editor David Simpson.
Our soft option was to traverse the Columbia and Snake rivers from Portland to Clarkston, via Astoria, the oldest American settlement west of the Rockies.
Today, the tumultuous waters have been tamed by the introduction of five colossal dams in the 1930s to create a succession of placid lakes to accommodate trading vessels.
The once raging torrents of the Columbia River have been tamed by a succession of five enormous dams
For Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s military expedition, however, they had to brave 4,000 miles of uncharted terrain comprising rapids, mountains, canyons, hostile Indians and the most appalling weather before reaching their goal and etching their names on the development of North America.
But despite all of the modern day technologies, our journey in great comfort on American Cruise Lines’ American Song came unstuck at the first hurdle when the huge lock at the first of the five dams, at Bonneville, was found to be breaking up and had to be shut.
In fact it was doomed before we actually set sail on the Saturday as the authorities had already let it be know that there was trouble in store.
And with no way around it, our expedition was virtually at an end by Tuesday as we had nowhere to go other than backwards. Everyone else on the river was in the same boat, so to speak … massive cargo barges to other cruise and river vessels were stranded while repairs were carried out over the next three weeks.
We were offered the opportunity to remain on board for the full duration of the cruise and participate in some quickly arranged local excursions, but by the Thursday morning almost everyone had elected to leave the ship.
Our cruise from Portland to Clarkston, mapped out below, failed to get beyond the magnificent Multnomah Falls, above, which I and my wife were able to visit as the difficulties were unfolding
And everything had been going so well. We had boarded American Song, the first of a new breed of American river cruisers, in Portland, having overnighted at the conveniently located Red Lion Hotel at Jantzen Beach, literally a stone’s throw from the boarding jetty but a fair hike from the city centre.
We had oohed and aahed as we discovered the luxury on board our new vessel, living up to ACL’s claims of elevating US river cruising with her launch in 2018. American Harmony, the second in a series of five sister ships, joined the fleet in August, plying her trade on the Mississippi River out of New Oreans.
The ships boast contemporary styling, the largest staterooms in the industry, each with a private balcony, and a grand four-storey glass-enclosed atrium, with a large domed skylight, which serves as the central gathering point.
American Song’s a grand four-storey glass-enclosed atrium served as the central gathering point while the Sky Lounge, below, was a great place to lunch and offered coffee and cookies throughout the day Images courtesy of American Cruise Lines
Spacious facilities include excellent viewing points from the various lounges, and an expansive dinning room to cater for the 184 guests in a single sitting.
Our deck three AAC category stateroom lived up to expectations, offering plenty of room to sit and relax with a glass of wine after sliding back the floor-to-ceiling glass doors on to the private balcony to offer panoramic views. It was also conveniently located close to either the Cascade of Sky lounges where coffee and cookies were always on the go.
We had anticipated that the three daily visits to the main restaurant would be a highlight of since the cuisine on the Queen of the Mississippi in 2018 was some of the finest we had ever experienced on water.
Alas, from what I was told, it seems that head office, for whatever reason, had decided to slim down the menu. That in itself would have been fine had the quality and presentation of the food not fallen beyond recognition. From hero to zero in one move.
Hopefully this issue will have been resolved by the time we board American Star to cruise the intracoastal waterway from Jacksonville to Charleston in April (2020).
It was such a shame as the cruise in very other respect ranged from good to excellent.
Our AAC grade stateroom offered plenty of room to relax with a glass of wine after sliding back the floor-to-ceiling glass doors on to the private balcony
In the short time allocated to us on board before the premature halt – most people had abandoned ship after a few days – we had learned much about the Lewis and Clark expedition. We visited Fort Clatsop where the team was holed up for 106 days in unrelenting rain. Not really surprising as the region is, in fact, a rain forest. We got soaked as well.
Our on board speaker filled in many gaps in our knowledge with a series of excellent lectures. And the evening entertainment, led by a guitarist-cum-comedian with remarkable talent, sent us to bed with smiles on our faces.
Such a pity that the Bonneville lock cut short our time on American Song. Dammit!
Footnote: As the events of the cruise unfolded, American Cruise Lines’ response was quick and decisive, and within 24 hours they had offered guests a 100% discount for repeating the full cruise or a 60% discount on any cruise up to the end of 2020 if booked by the end of 2019. They also reimbursed all tour charges, financial penalties for rearranging flights and other out of pocket expenses. Every guest I spoke to was impressed.