By John and Sandra Nowlan
It’s a river cruise for U.S. history buffs but, as we soon discovered, it offers a lot more.
Our riverboat, American Harmony, is one of 20 modern vessels in the growing fleet of American Cruise Lines, the largest cruise line operating exclusively in U.S. waterways. Holding up to 180 passengers with a crew of about 50, it boasts the largest average room size (310 square feet) in the river cruise industry.
We signed up for an eight-night American Harmony Columbia and Snake Rivers itinerary (plus a pre-cruise ninth night in a hotel is included in the fares) that started along the Snake River in the twin towns of Clarkston, Washington, and Lewiston, Idaho. These two towns were named for the intrepid American explorers who became famous for their pioneering efforts on behalf of President Jefferson and their thorough mapping of this rugged but beautiful portion of the Northwest.
Like Lewis and Clark in 1805, we sailed down the Columbia and Snake rivers to the Pacific Ocean. But unlike them, we did it in luxurious, all-inclusive comfort using the locks of eight hydroelectric dams to bypass the frequent rapids.
RELATED: A look at 12 river cruises offered by American Cruise Lines.
Pre-Cruise Program
About a third of our fellow guests purchased the pre-cruise package that includes two nights with breakfast at the riverside Holiday Inn in Clarkston and an exhilarating three-hour Jet Boat ride through Hells Canyon, North America’s deepest river gorge. (If you didn’t opt for this, a one-night pre-cruise hotel stay is included in fares for all American Cruise Lines trips.)
High, rugged basalt mountains and rolling hills line both sides of the winding Snake river as our sturdy aluminum boats sped and lurched their way through cascading rapids and calm ponds. Eagles and other large birds soared overhead and a few bighorn sheep navigated the steep cliffs. A stop is made to examine a rare prehistoric petroglyph, part of the Hells Canyon Archeological District.
Our Riverboat American Harmony
Embarking American Harmony couldn’t have been easier. After breakfast at the hotel, we were treated to indigenous dances and stories by members of the local Nez Perce tribe.
Our riverboat was docked directly behind the Clarkston Holiday Inn, so after the entertaining and informative performance we walked just a few yards to the modern, six-year-old vessel where a side door allowed us to enter the five story, glass enclosed atrium.
Our luggage had already been transferred to our room, so we were free to explore the riverboat.
All American Cruise Lines vessels hold fewer than 200 guests, many just 100, and boast that they have no casino and no pool.
What they do have are spacious lounges with large glass windows, two dining areas, a small gym and a top deck with comfortable chairs and loungers.
On American Harmony Columbia and Snake rivers cruises, the main lounge — called the River Lounge — at the front of Deck 4 is large enough for all guests to enjoy debriefings, lectures, games, pre-dinner happy hour cocktails and evening entertainment.
The smaller Sky Lounge at Deck 4’s stern has 24-hour complimentary snacks, excellent coffee plus a rear deck to enjoy fresh air and magnificent views. Also, by the midship elevators on Decks 2 to 5, there are smaller study lounges with books and games.
RELATED: Cruising solo with American Cruise Lines.
Our American Harmony Cabin: The Good, The Bed & The Bad
All suites on American Harmony feel like hotel rooms with lots of space and generous sized balconies.
Most accommodations on Harmony are a very spacious 300 square feet; and some larger.
As there was a cancellation, we were assigned one of 12 Veranda Suites; #340.
These extra-sized rooms and balconies on Deck 5 and at the stern on Deck 3 are 405 square feet; three Sky Suites on Deck 3 are an impressive 645 square feet with separate living rooms and bedrooms.
Our Veranda Suite, like most rooms, had a wide sofa, lots of storage space and a large bathroom with double sinks, the hallmarks of these very comfortable rooms. Wide bedside tables, plenty of electrical and USB outlets, two wide-screen televisions, a well-stocked fridge as well as reliable temperature controls are standard equipment in these rooms. Suites are supposed to have robes included, but ours had none.
The extra space was remarkable, but the suite had flaws. Neither of the televisions (one in the bedroom; one in the living room) worked properly, even after a visit by the head of housekeeping and the hotel manager. The bedroom set finally allowed the useful bow camera to be seen, but the regular TV channels were mixed up with some missing. The living room TV never worked at all (the only picture was a promo for specialty channels) and it was never fixed despite promised action.
A more serious problem was the noise. Our suite was at the very back of Deck 3 and whenever the riverboat was in motion, vibration and engine noise were usually evident.
Keep this in mind when choosing a cabin. Thankfully, we spent a few quiet nights in port and traveled during the day.
VIDEO: Below is a tour of a Deluxe Balcony 1 Suite, #336, aboard American Harmony.
Excellent Cuisine on Our American Harmony Columbia and Snake Rivers Cruise
When Executive Chef Eric Hasse told us that he was picking up fresh fish from several towns along the Columbia and Snake rivers we knew we were in good culinary hands.
Indeed, breakfast, lunch and dinner in the spacious main dining room were always a special treat with delicious and imaginative dishes featuring Coho and Chinook (King) salmon, Alaska halibut, crab cakes, steelhead trout, Pacific shrimp, clams and mussels.
Even lobster was plentiful with lobster hash eggs Benedict available at one breakfast. And on our last day, guests could choose a surf and turf start to their day (beef tenderloin and New England lobster scampi along with two eggs) and finish with a dinner choice of Florentine-style ravioli with North Atlantic lobster or beef tenderloin with crab stuffed lobster tail. Delicious!
Of course, there were lots of choices for non-seafood lovers like prime rib, local pork chops and duck breast as well as daily vegetarian dishes. There were always several choices of alcoholic and non-alcohol wine and beer including some outstanding Washington and Oregon vintages.
The young pastry chef was a recent graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and her skill was shown in desserts like raspberry almond tarts, chocolate hazelnut torte, turtle cheesecake, and lavender honey posset.
High quality Tillamook ice cream from Oregon was always available and huckleberry flavor became one of our favorites. The pastry chef also gave a demonstration of her technique to make pecan pralines.
Dinner was always a slightly more formal occasion with white tablecloths and more menu choices. As we discovered on our earlier Mississippi river cruise with ACL, the wait staff is helpful and keen to serve but lack the fine dining experience and training found among the international staff on European and large American cruise lines.
There are no tables for two, just settings for four, six or eight guests but we found it interesting to sit with different guests with different perspectives each evening.
In the Sky Lounge at the stern of Deck 4, a light continental breakfast with juice and good coffee is always available in addition to a tasty bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. Its adjacent Back Porch Café serves hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken wraps at lunch.
Entertainment Sings on American Harmony Columbia and Snake Rivers Cruises
On an earlier Mississippi River cruise with ACL we were impressed with the quality of the evening entertainment, mostly local Blues and Cajun music. On this Columbia River cruise the entertainment was even better, some of the best we’ve enjoyed on any river cruise ship.
The highlight was Washington State’s Three Rivers Saxtette, a quartet of saxophones (alto, soprano, tenor and baritone) along with a bass guitar and drums. Regulars on American Cruise Lines, they played a wide variety of popular tunes.
Also very entertaining were two cowboy song and guitar acts with lots of old favorites like Ghost Riders in the Sky.
One evening the lively resident pianist hosted his version of the classic TV series, The Newlywed Game. The twist, to our amusement, was that all five couples had been married 40 or 50 years.
The Tour Offerings
American Cruise Lines has its own fleet of comfortable buses so our tours were generally well run with local guides.
One significant deficiency is the lack of proper summaries the evening before each tour. In our experience on almost every other cruise the excursion director gives a summary of the next day’s activities with slides or video of the ship’s docking position and brief highlights of each tour.
On American Harmony, the excursion director told us, “We don’t do that.” Instead, he talked briefly without visuals about where we’ll be and what time the buses are coming.
The riverboat did have a naturalist on board with daily enrichment talks, mainly about the explorations of Lewis and Clark.
When to Go? How to Go? And What to Pack.
Our Columbia and Snake rivers cruise was in late April. Those weeks, through June, are considered ideal for that region because of fresh blooming wildflowers and lush vegetation.
Summers tend to be hot with more browns than greens.
Fall is pleasant too with changing colors and comfortable temperatures.
As far as getting to or from Clarkston, there's a small airport with few daily flights. Several guests flew there to start our cruise, but many others, including us, flew to Spokane WA and arranged a drive to Clarkston.
As we from eastern Canada, our flying route was Halifax-Newark-Denver-Spokane with United. But our plane ran out of gas en route to Denver and the pilot had to divert to another small airport to refuel. It delayed our arrival, of course. The joys of flying!
Now, regarding packing for an American Harmony Columbia and Snake rivers cruise, here are some tips that would apply to this region.
Some Tour Highlights from Our American Harmony Columbia and Snake Rivers Cruise
Pendleton, Oregon
Our first stop included a visit to Pendleton, Oregon, famous for its woolen mills but also a major stop on the American Professional Rodeo Association circuit.
The Pendleton Underground, a series of mysterious, maze-like rooms constructed in the early 1900s is a tour highlight. Built, supposedly, for the safe transportation of gold between buildings, it soon had interconnected underground rooms for a Chinese laundry, brothels, an icehouse, ice cream parlour, opium den and speakeasy during prohibition. Local guides provide colorful commentary.
Hood River, Oregon
The highlight in Hood River, Oregon, is WAAAM — the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum. It’s huge, covering 3.5 acres with still-functioning old aeroplanes, antique cars and motorcycles.
Highlights for us included a 1929 Trimotor Ford aeroplane (one of very few still flying), an 1899 steam powered Locomobile, a 1919 Stanley Steamer and a 1914 Detroit electric car.
Oregon’s Multnomah Falls
Multnomah Falls is a stunning, narrow Oregon waterfall cascading 542 feet into a pool, then a further 69 feet before it drains into a Columbia river tributary.
On this drive there was no separate guide on the bus so the driver decided to steer with one hand and narrate using a microphone in his other hand. Many, including us, were very uncomfortable with this safety lapse and felt he should have used a headphone mike.
Mount St. Helens, Washington
In 1980, Washington’s Mount St. Helens volcano erupted and exploded, removed 1,300 feet from the mountain’s summit, caused widespread destruction to the pristine area and killed, directly or indirectly, 57 people. Still an active volcano, the snow-covered Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is a remarkable sight, especially on the clear, cloudless day when we stopped at two vantage points.
Our local guide on the bus was excellent, with a thorough knowledge of the disaster and its aftermath.
VIDEO: Below, while on an excursion, John tells us a bit about Mount St Helens.
Astoria, Oregon
Our final stop was in Astoria, Oregon, the oldest city in the state and site of Fort Clatsop, built as a camp by the Lewis and Clark Expedition during the winter of 1805 and 1806, and now reconstructed as part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park.
American Harmony was docked next to the splendid Columbia River Maritime Museum, with outstanding artifacts from Astoria’s marine history. We were amazed to see a large piece of hull plate from the doomed oil tanker, Exxon Valdez.
The Other Passengers on Our American Harmony Columbia and Snake Rivers Cruise
Our Final Words About American Harmony Columbia and Snake Rivers Cruises
American Cruise Lines deserves credit for its modern, all-inclusive riverboats with a wide variety of more than 50 fascinating itineraries along rivers in 35 states. However, its current motto, “Small Ship Cruising Done Perfectly,” is a bit premature especially since some of the staff lack the training and finesse found on other cruise lines and port briefings were sparse.
On this sailing both the cruise director and excursion director were young and inexperienced and fellow guests (well-traveled mostly 60-somethings) occasionally voiced their frustration.
Where American Harmony truly shines, is in its excellent regional cuisine and evening entertainment, some of the best we’ve seen on any riverboat.
Further, the Columbia and Snake rivers scenery is spectacular.
VIDEO: Below, John shows us breathtaking Mount Hood, as seen from the deck of American Harmony.
Caveats aside, for Americans wanting a comfortable, all-inclusive way to learn more about their country, its history and diverse geography, river cruising with American Cruise Lines in the Pacific Northwest is a splendid option.
Fares for 8-night American Harmony Columbia and Snake Rivers cruises start at $5,240 per person. The all-inclusive pricing means a pre-cruise hotel night, all dining, drinks, gratuities and most tours are included in the cost of American Harmony Columbia and Snake rivers cruises.
Interested In A Columbia & Snake Rivers Cruise?
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HEIDI SARNA
