We embarked this morning on the American Star which is operated by American Cruise Lines. We are cruising from Providence to New Bedford, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Block Island, Newport and Bristol.

We greatly enjoyed our trip a few years ago on Viking River Cruises from Basel to Amsterdam and were curious to try a similar trip in American waters. Our Viking River boat had about a 150 passenger capacity and the American Star has a capacity of 100 passengers.

First impressions can change and in this case I hope they do. The Star’s staff is very friendly. We already have met the Captain, something which did not happen with Viking. That’s the good news so far.

On the negative side the cleanliness of our room leaves much to be desired. Our window sill contains the following: a used plastic glass, a package of Ritz crackers, a small piece of plastic and what appears to be coffee stains (I hope). We will let staff know. The Viking ship we were on was spotless.

The Viking cruise and this cruise are priced similarly which is to say that they are not inexpensive. I had thought that there would be an included tour at every port as is the case with Viking. However at several ports the only tours are extra and not included in the cruise fee. That makes the Star an expensive ferry boat given the short distance between the ports.

I may be at fault for not reading the fine print but I believe American Cruise Line said there was an included tour in every port.

We are still keeping an open mind but the cleanliness is bothering my wife. Viking indicated several years ago they were going to start American river cruises but so far that has not happened. Hopefully American Cruise Line can be an effective competitor.

Gary--hope it gets better!!!

Carol:

So far things are getting better. I have found out the Star is one of the line’s oldest ships at 10 years old. The staff is very responsive to requests. I am used to having just a hamburger or hot dog for lunch on a cruise but there is no buffet— lunch was a full three course meal. I had a very good steak sandwich and my wife has a sea food salad with crab, lobster, shrimp and scallops wrapped in sliced zucchini. We skipped the first course of oyster stew. Dessert was a choice of blackberry cobbler or ice cream.

Maybe I was being a little crabby ( no pun intended) this morning in my first post.

The passengers are clearly an older crowd which means I unfortunately fit right in.

Gary

Glad it has gotten better. That seafood salad sounds great!! Enjoy..