All-American Cruise Lines Sailing USA Rivers & Coasts

Ever wonder about U.S. river cruises? We're taking you inside American Cruise Lines (ACL) to help you decide if this domestic cruise experience is right for your next adventure. 

You'll discover their unique offerings and various types of vessels you can cruise on. Discover their interesting itineraries and where they cruise, along with what the onboard amenities are like. Is the food tasty? What do they offer for onboard entertainment and enrichment? 

Also, find out about ACL’s Eagle Society loyalty program and how it can enhance your cruising. We'll also share the impressive accessibility features these ships offer and help you understand exactly who thrives on American Cruise Lines cruises. 

If you're considering the convenience of domestic cruise travel without sacrificing enriching experiences, you do not want to miss this episode!

If you're a visual person and you are craving some photos to go along with this audio, check out our Tennessee River Cruise article with lots of imagery! Additionally, we recommend checking out our American River Cruises: Start Here to Plan Your US River Vacation resource.

Want to grab our complimentary Essential River Cruise Budgeting Guide? Head over to Small Ship Cruise Talk, scroll halfway down the page to a blue box where you'll find the signup form, and claim your copy!

Chapters

• 1:10 Exploring American Cruise Lines
• 1:36 What is American Cruise Lines?
• 4:54 Who is American Cruise Lines For?
• 9:15 Accessibility on the Ship for People with Mobility Concerns
• 11:01 ACL Itineraries & Destinations
• 14:54 American Cruise Lines is American Through & Through
• 16:05 Eagle Society: ACL's Loyalty Program
• 19:46 Onboard Amenities, Dining Experience, & Service
• 24:42 Onboard Entertainment
• 25:30 Look Ahead to Our Next Episode

Transcript

Dan (00:35)

Welcome to another episode of Small Ship Cruise Talk. If you were listening last week we were talking about Christmas markets in Europe. This week we're back stateside cruising with American Cruise Lines, or ACL.

We're recording this live from American Jazz, currently sitting on the Columbia River. And we have Washington State behind us and Oregon is in front of us. In this episode, we're going to talk about American Cruise Lines. We're going to talk about where they go, and who they're good for. So let's jump into it and talk about who they are.

Mikkel (01:14)

American Cruise Lines is the biggest US cruise line. I would say they're the only US cruise line that has the three different ships. They have river boats, they have paddle boats, they have catamarans, and they do coastal cruises. They do river cruises too, and they do gulf cruises as well, and even some in like Puget Sound and Chesapeake Bay Area. 

Dan (01:23)

Good save.

Mikkel (01:44)

So they are not the only US cruise line, they're just the only that does all three of those things. And they are 100 % US-owned and operated. They have 100 % US built ships. And they are the largest fleet of leisurely cruises in the United States. They have 21 ships in the fleet. We're recording this in June, 2025. They have more coming on board later this year and more next year as well. So the future is looking bright for American Cruise Lines.

That's an overview of the ships. Let's talk a little bit about once you are on the ships. Now we've sailed on one type of ship with American Cruise Lines: their river cruise boats. We've been on American Jazz, which Dan said we are on right now, and we have been on American Serenade. American Serenade was a little bit more... I say... decked out in…

Dan (02:43)

Almost Southern ... style?

Mikkel (02:45)

I could see that. I could see that. Because we were on it on the Tennessee River from Chattanooga to Nashville. It was just the opposite. But I really liked that the lounge had various decorations and decor that I do think is a little bit kind lacking on this ship. But, overall, I would say that it's a really clean design. It's very agreeable. I mean, I can't see anyone, you know, being like polarized by the design of the ships and you know how they're decorated. 

There's five decks for guest enjoyment. There's a sixth deck that only the crew can access. But there's an elevator. We'll get into a little bit of accessibility later when we talk about who the cruises are good for.

And I like the layout of the ship. You know, river cruises are always very straightforward. The aft is never really far from the bow of the ship and vice versa front to back, back to front. All the rooms have a balcony and exterior view. Again, if you're watching on YouTube, the view behind us of the Columbia River Gorge is just top-notch, 10 stars. Two thumbs up. Ten stars. You know, I thought like maybe it's five stars. That's why I paused. It is two thumbs up, five stars, ten out of ten this view, especially on this spectacular June day. Five thumbs up.

Dan (04:13)

A lot of thumbs up on that one.

Mikkel (04:19)

Who is the cruise good for?

Dan (04:21)

Really, it's interesting because I would say the cruise is good for people that people who want to learn more about America. Also maybe they're a little too old to - or they're just intimidated by - traveling overseas. So we talked to one guest that didn't want to change money or didn't want to deal with trains or anything like that in Europe. And they felt comfortable cruising here in the States. We also talked to some people that it was only like an hour plane ride. Yeah. To get here. 

So I think it's for people that want that convenience. They want the accessibility in location, but also the accessibility in the ship design itself. I feel like they do a fantastic job catering to all levels of mobility, where on some of the other cruises, especially in Europe that we've been on, if you have mobility challenges, even walking on cobblestones, I trip all the time. Yeah. Right? Like it's maybe not that easy for somebody take that type of cruise.

Mikkel (05:25)

I hope we're never too old to travel. But I know what you mean. Some people health-wise, as they age, their health declines a bit and it is harder for them. So to add to what you said, I would say that American Cruise Lines is awesome if you are.

If you are American and you don't have a passport or your passport is out of date, you don't need a passport. Maybe you're afraid to fly and you want to drive to a port. Chances are American Cruise Lines has a port near you if you are near the coast. It's also great if you need to cut down, like you said, on your travel time if you're going to fly somewhere and you want to make the most of, let's say, limited vacation days. Right, you can't take an entire day to travel, right? So that's great.

Dan (06:12)

You're out of PTO.

Mikkel (06:18)

And it really depends on the flight itinerary, but because it's domestic flights, you know, maybe if, for some reason you miss your flight, perhaps there's more options for another route or various airlines to get you to the port. Additionally the ports are not that far apart during the itinerary so if you had to get to another port going back to what you said about people just being more familiar with the United States everybody speaks English everybody is going to accept your credit cards everybody's going to accept US currency. It's less intimidating in that regard.

Dan (06:49)

Yeah, you forget your toothbrushes, probably a Walgreens within an Uber ride to the, from the...

Mikkel (06:55)

Especially where you start and finish are more so major ports, too.

Dan (06:58)

I would add in there, history buffs. It's such a great, their education program on board and even the supplemental travel... You can do pre and post add-ons on a lot of itineraries geared toward the traveler that wants to feel very connected to the ports they're visiting, but also understand the history of those ports and truly the significance of that port in the history of the country.

Mikkel (07:29)

Yeah. I love that. Additionally, I think that this cruise, it's worth pointing out, is not good for really young adults that are under the age of 25, I would say. I would say 25 to 40 is kind of young. I'm in my early 40s and we're definitely amongst the youngest on board, which we don't mind at all. We are often the youngest on board river cruise ships, not small ships

in general, it depends on the ship, like especially expedition ships, great for kids, great for, you know, people in their 30s, 40s, 50s, what have you. We've even had older generations on those ships too, but river cruises tend to be a little older. I think that's because kids would be bored at night and have nothing to do. They're not going to get a drink at the bar. We're going to say the same thing. That's why we're on the same wavelength.

We're together a lot. So it's not good for kids.

Dan (08:30)

Do they allow kids on board?

Mikkel (08:34)

They shouldn't if they do because why what would they do? Yeah, I don't know, I don't know. Interesting, yeah.

Let's get into the accessibility as the last point for who this is good for and that they have elevators. So the elevator goes from the first floor all the way to the fifth floor. If you are in a wheelchair there's a little bit of a hump to get out that fifth floor door to the outdoor area yeah however it's doable especially if you have somebody assist you.

Dan (09:02)

Yeah, we've seen it. We've seen it. On this cruise and our previous ACL cruises, people that were mobility challenged had pretty much the same access to the ship that everybody else did.

Mikkel (09:15)

Yeah, and don't forget you're in the United States, so the Americans with Disability Act, the ADA, is going to come into play for compliance wherever you're visiting. Right. So that's something to keep in mind as well. And the crew is incredibly helpful and caring about assisting people that have mobility challenges or need a little bit of extra TLC to get on and off the ship because you are going down a ramp in a lot of cases.

Dan (09:44)

So I think that's also a great point is I can't think of any ports that we visited on this itinerary that it was a steep incline or slippery or anything like that. Like everything seemed like it was catered to be a smooth transition on and off the vessel.

Mikkel (10:01)

Yeah. That said, if you are going to book a cruise on any cruise line anywhere, we always recommend talking to a travel agent about it. We have one we recommend in the show notes, so don't miss that. Or, of course, calling the cruise line because we're not going to pretend to know the ins and outs of especially everybody's needs because whether a cane or a walker or a wheelchair, you know, we're just giving you an overview of the accessibility.

Let's talk about "where"! Where these itineraries go.

Dan (10:31)

So we've experienced two so far. And the first one was Tennessee: the Tennessee River. Started in Chattanooga, ended in Nashville, which was incredible because you are right Downtown Nashville and you can wander out, go to a show, hear some music, stumble back onto the ship. It's perfect. Beautiful. Like as Mikkel would say, five thumbs up on the. ⁓

Mikkel (10:59)

Ten toes, ten fingers, tip all digits up.

Dan (11:02)

The scenery of the Tennessee River was phenomenal. Also interesting, kind going back a little bit to just the history and the guides were very good at kind of running that thread throughout the entire story arc of the cruise. This particular cruise that we're on now is the Snake and Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest.

Again, beautiful scenery and the guides and the educational programming on board does such a great job of weaving that story throughout your entire journey.

Mikkel (11:36)

And we're going to talk about that a bit next week when we talk about this itinerary specifically and we had a re-education, you know, from our elementary school days about Lewis and Clark and also Native Americans. So that is a really cool aspect of the itinerary. Yeah.

Dan (11:53)

But we also, when you're on a cruise, you get exposed to all the other itineraries that the cruise line goes to.

Mikkel (12:00)

and that other passengers have been on, because then you start, yeah, you have a name tag on, on American Cruise Lines, if you wear it, of course, that has a number of stars. And the number of stars is the number you've been on. 

I haven't seen any of that kind of run off the tag yet, but I'm sure you can, because we'll talk about Eagle Society as our last point in this episode about their loyalty program, and you don't want to miss one aspect that I think is amazing, that I don't know of anybody else that does this, so keep listening. But itineraries other people go on.

Dan (12:30)

So talking with other passengers, I was really intrigued with the New England itinerary. I think it was Boston to Boston.

Mikkel (12:39)

There's a few. There's Boston to Boston. There's one that goes even more into Maine. But I did love the Boston to Boston with places we haven't been in New England that are always appealing. Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard.

Dan (12:52)

That one piqued my interest. ⁓ Also, Florida because of the range of options in Florida, you've got coastal, plus there's a lot of river, a lot of rivers that you didn't even know about in Florida.

Mikkel (13:02)

Who knew?

Dan (13:06)

Another piece of that is what I think ACL does really well is just exploring those places that you maybe overlooked or just unknown. Yeah, unaware of. Within the United States.

Mikkel (13:18)

And also they do the Florida Keys over on the Gulf Coast too. They also do the Chesapeake Bay in the Maryland / D.C. / Delaware area. They do Puget Sound over in Washington, which is amazing. I've been there, but only seen sailboats there. So that would be so cool to go

American Cruise Lines journey there. They do the rivers, like we said. They also do Alaska, which I didn't even realize until recently. We... Makes sense. Yeah, makes sense.

Dan (13:48)

Yeah, but you ...'cause when you think Alaska, like we've done Alaska on small ship and big ship. You kind of always think of like Holland America or something

Mikkel (13:56)

or Alaskan Dream Cruises, a small cruise that we went on.

Dan (14:00)

It is interesting they operate there also.

Mikkel (14:02)

Yes, and back to being American, just like Alaskan Dream Cruises or UnCruise, they're also American ships and American staffed. But American Cruise Lines really has an unrivaled amount of cities and coast-to-coast itineraries that they go to.

Mikkel (14:19)

Another fascinating thing that I really love that is worth pointing out is that they go to 100 % US ports. So from coast to coast, truly from sea to shining sea, they do 100 % US ports.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it other cruise lines. No, I really do - all jokes aside - I really do think it's amazing. And nobody does the breadth and the variety of U.S. ports that American Cruise Lines does. So again, to drive that point home, if you want to do a cruise to see America, what better way to do it than American Cruise Lines? And that actually reminds me too that the crew is 100 % American.

Right, right. So and the ships are built in the United States. So you are supporting the U.S. when you cruise with American. Another thing that I want to point out is that we've never met another passenger on board who's not from the USA. Of course, you can cruise on American if you are not from the U.S. I'm sure plenty of people have but majority it is people from the United States. Yeah. Yeah.

So lastly, speaking of people that come back again and again that have inspired us wit itineraries that we want to do,let's talk about their amazing loyalty program because I do think that this is worth highlighting and something really fantastic about American Cruise Lines. Just as hotels have their loyalty programs - heck I get rewarded at Starbucks, I like that too, coffee shops do, and other cruise lines do - American Cruise Lines has something called the Eagle Society, which after your first cruise, you are automatically in the Eagle Society.

Dan (16:03)

You are enrolled immediately.

Mikkel (16:04)

You are immediately enrolled into the Eagle Society.

Dan (16:07)

It sounds like you're gonna get a badge for your like a merit badge - ten cruises you get a merit badge.

Mikkel (16:13)

And I will say this, even if you don't get a merit badge, which you don't really get a merit badge in the mail, you do get their marketing mailers. But it did open our eyes to the itinerary. So that was kind of cool. Mailing marketing is not dead. It does still work. Yes. Yeah. So Eagle Society, going to mention some things in general about it. Something that's really cool is after your third cruise, you get the premium shore excursions included.

Dan (16:39)

That's interesting because I mean that's what everybody wants right? You get the ones that are already included but you know let's be honest the better ones are the premium ones.

Mikkel (16:49)

Yeah, there are complementary excursions in the ports. There are some complementary ones. That is worth noting. So you do get some excursions included for your cruise, for your cruise fare. Another thing is you get first pick of itineraries when new ships and itineraries come out. So new itineraries and new ships.

Dan (17:10)

And they got so many new ships coming out. That's pretty cool.

Mikkel (17:13)

Yeah, yeah, you don't have to fight with people who haven't been on. You are rewarded for your loyalty in that way. Also, if you refer a friend, you get a $500 referral bonus and they get a little bit of a treat as well.

Dan (17:25)

So, were you the one that was telling me about you can have your friends and family come on board?

Mikkel (17:31)

Okay, that's another great thing about Eagle Society. If you are in the Eagle Society and you are in a port and you want family and friends to come on board, as long as you prearrange it and there is room, it's subject to, of course, security and availability, but they will try their best and make that happen.

Yeah, because like wouldn't you want our parents, for example, if they lived in Portland, Oregon, where we're going to see this amazing ship. Yeah. And then the other thing I want to highlight, this is what I was referring to earlier was... drum roll... If you have gone on 10 cruises with American Cruise Lines, you can say the punch line if you want.

Dan (18:11)

You get a merit badge.

Mikkel (18:14)

Or even better than a merit badge: You get the 11th cruise free, which is so freaking cool! If that's not an incentive to stick with American, as are their incredible itineraries and seeing the United States. I love that. It's totally buy 10 get one free. It's better than a coffee house punch card.

Dan (18:18)

You get a free cruise. So it's a buy 10 get one free. I think there was some place I used to go for lunch. would literally take me like six months to get a free lunch because you had to buy so many lunches. So this is so much better.

Mikkel (18:53)

But it might take you six years or if you want to be really ambitious, I don't know, you could do it in a couple years. But if you really want to work for that 11th cruise, there are plenty of options for it. You don't have to go on the same itinerary twice. You can if you want, but you don't have to. There are so many options.

Okay, so onboard the ship, you have various amenities like the fitness room and such, but you also have two lounges. So one is kind of a lounge for the presentations, a multi-purpose lounge for cocktail hour. And then you also have the lounge area that's kind of like another reading nook, but also the grill and there's another bar there.

The fourth deck, outdoor area, leads into a little bit of like a grill, but you can't man your own barbecue there, right? Like there's a chef that's cooking burgers and you know, you have things available there. They call it the grill.  It's not like, Dan with the spatula. Go grill yourself. That's true. That's a good.

Dan (19:42)

I call it the grill. Right, but there's actually a… We'll be successful. ⁓

Mikkel (19:54)

Yeah, so they have a menu there from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. So if you're wanting a change of venues... also you can order at the restaurant and they can deliver it upstairs so you can enjoy the outer decks. Right, but

Dan (20:05)

My favorite thing is in the mornings from the grill you can order breakfast sandwiches. That's a great treat. If you're in a hurry or else you just don't want to fully sit down and meal. I'm a light breakfast kind of

Mikkel (20:19)

And then to your point, light breakfast. They also serve a light breakfast on the bar inside that area. They have pastries. had salmon options. If you want a little bit of protein in the morning, like a smoked salmon option, some roasted vegetables. They had yogurt and granola parfaits. They have a coffee machine there that's 24/seven with teas that you can self serve as well. 

They also had drip coffee because they know everybody wants coffee in the morning. Oh, also an amenity in the rooms: We have a Keurig, which I really like, 'cause I can control how strong the coffee is in that case. So the rooms are great. There's turndown service. There's housekeeping in the morning. They're really great about that. Everybody is polite. Like we, you know, keep saying through and through the crew has been great.

Dan (21:04)

Yeah, you get to the point where you're like, "You can stop calling me 'sir' and just, you know, call me Dan." 

Mikkel (21:08)

Call me, "Mikkel." Yeah. 

Another thing is that there's laundry on every single American cruise line ship, which is incredible. It means you can pack and carry on only if you want. It means if you find yourself wearing something over and over again on board, you can do laundry. You don't have to bring detergent pods - they provide that. You don't have to bring dryer sheets. They have that. So that's really good. And they're complimentary. You don't have to pay to use those. That's included with your cruise fare, really. 

And then there's also lounges on every deck. There is like a puzzle lounge. It's not officially a puzzle lounge. It's kind of unofficially the puzzle lounge. And there's reading nooks. So there's a variety of things. The thing that I miss, I would say, is a pool. I think it would be great to have pools, but none of them have a pool. There's no pool on any American Cruise Lines ship. So you can leave your bathing suit at home. So I guess plus.

So that's the onboard amenities. And the food quality, I would say is pretty good. We've had some hits, some misses.

Dan (22:09)

There were some hits and misses but overall it's been consistent with that.

Mikkel (22:14)

But what's my favorite thing about it? Because I love tasting everything. So you can get the combo and you can choose half - it's almost like "You Pick Two" with Panera. You can get half of a portion of one thing and half of another, or you can just get half of a portion of something if you're not feeling that hungry. Like the pasta bolognese was a little heavier, so half a portion would have been great about that.

Dan (22:18)

Oh, you can get that combo.

Mikkel (22:33)

And then also in terms of less paper on board, they are going way of the website. Which, they have a class when you get on board if you need a little more technology help but you can see the daily itinerary in the app. It's not an app, you can see the daily itinerary on that website that they help you log on to if you need help. If you don't need help they just simply tell you how to do it. It's very simple, it's very user-friendly.

Dan (23:00)

It's pretty easy. But you also pre-order your lunch and dinner. You can change your mind. You're not committed to it. Right. But they just want a general understanding. Who wants what? Right.

Mikkel (23:12)

To not waste, which I love. I can get behind that 100%. And then the bars, they have plenty of drinks. They don't have top shelf alcohol. Right. Right. So like for vodka, they have Tito's or they have Absolute. For gin, they have Tanqueray. You're more of the whiskey / bourbon guy. They have Maker's Mark. Right.

Dan (23:33)

If you're hoping to find some exotic Japanese whiskey or something, you're not going to find it.

Mikkel (23:38)

It's not even an option to pay. It's a... It's cashless on board. There's really nothing to buy on board, right? There's no gift shop and you can't pay for upgraded drinks. 

Dan (23:45)

Yeah, there's no gift shop.

Mikkel (23:48)

And then at night, the entertainment, I will say the entertainment's been phenomenal on the two cruises we've been on. Tennessee River was incredible because you have the country and Bluegrass band stars coming on board. We even had somebody that was in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Mikkel (24:07)

A harmonica player. And the music on this has been great. So there's a resident duo on this just as there was a resident singer trio on the last one. And they perform about two or three times during the cruise. And then they bring on acts. There are 21 ships that American Cruise Lines is coordinating the entertainment for. And I have to say they're two for two with an amazing job

Dan (24:29)

They did a great job on this cruise as well as our first cruise.

Mikkel (24:31)

Yeah. We heard from another couple that they weren't impressed with the entertainment on their cruise on another ship. But I would say that isn't that true for every cruise or vacation? You just you don't know what you're going to get. The musical acts change. The chefs change. We've been on the same cruise line that some of the food has been great and some of it has not been great.

This cruise has been really good. Yeah. Yeah.

So make sure you join us next week. We are going to get into our Columbia and Snake River itinerary. So if you've seen the gorgeous scenery behind us, definitely make sure you listen next week when we deep dive into our Columbia and Snake Rivers itinerary in Washington and Oregon. And we look forward to connecting with you then.

Don't be a stranger chat us up DM us send us an email We would love to hear your thoughts and don't forget we read those five-star reviews on the air, but we are open to all feedback. Talk to you soon.