Who to book with: river and lake cruises

Mississippi and beyond

American Queen Voyages and American Cruise Lines (americancruiselines.com) offer traditional-style paddle boat sailings. The grande dame of the river is the American Queen, whose fluted funnels and lace filigree balconies are a floating homage to the era of Twain.

American Queen Voyages also has the smaller American Countess and American Duchess for cruising Mississippi tributaries – the Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. The newest operator on the river, Viking, brings chic décor, infinity plunge pools and alfresco dining to the table, on itineraries that cover both the upper and lower sections of the river. 

For those interested in Civil War history American Cruise Line’s new cruise from Nashville and Chattanooga sail through the Appalachian Mountains and visits Savannah, home to the nation's most well-preserved battlefield, Shiloh National Military Park.

Snake and Columbia rivers

American Queen Voyages (aqvoyages.co.uk) and American Cruise Lines offer a variety of itineraries on paddlewheel, and other vessels. The latter has a new 15-day itinerary that bolts on a week’s touring in three National Parks to an eight-day river cruise. Lindblad Expeditions offers expedition cruises on small ships carrying naturalists. This is a wine region, too, and on its Rivers of Adventure and Wine itinerary UnCruise carries an on-board sommelier.

Great Lakes

Family-run and Canadian-owned, St Lawrence Cruise Lines (stlawrencecruiselines.com) offers a variety of signature and seasonal itineraries on the Canadian Empress that focus on history and scenery. 

On its round trip, AQV's Ocean Navigator combines the coastal landscapes of Lakes Michigan and Superior with Bob Dylan’s birthplace, Duluth, Thunder Bay, for views of the “Sleeping Giant” mesas and Michigan’s Mackinac Island. Two-week Chicago to Montreal calling at Detroit and Niagara Falls. Pearl Seas Cruises’ Pearl Mist is an all-balcony ship newly renovated for the 2023 summer season. 

Bringing bells-and-whistles expedition ships to the Great Lakes are Ponant, with the chic Le Bellot; Hapag-Lloyd, with its expedition ship Hanseatic Inspiration and Viking, which has four itineraries on Octanis and Polaris.

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