DQSC new prices - I can't believe it!

Don't buy! That is the best way to get their attention, Franz.

That's what I meant by "Why Not Here". For just a little more you can go on a 12 night Amesterdam to Vienna cruise including airfare, all shore excursions, and several dinners at local resturants. It might not be a steamboat, but it ain't bad. The rooms are bigger, the crew is friendly, the shore stops are magnificent, and the beer is excellent.

Franz,
I almost am on the verge of tears. I truly wanted to take a trip with my husband on the Delta Queen next year and last night we were both excited about it....but in the morning hours while I am looking at the schedules and prices I am finding I can't even go on the boat that we want and if we want to go, it would only be for 3 nights on the A.Q. I have only just started being on the rivers last year and this would've been my husbands first time next year. I don't know what to do. I was so happy meeting new friends just as excited as I was (it was great meeting you and Carmen and Leonie!..:))and seeing a new part of the river. If anyone knows anyone that I can write a plea to at this new company, please let me know. I realize they must raise rates, but not so high right away.!

I too am heartsick over the recent changes at DQSC. We are not at all wealthy but have managed to make 4 trips a year on the MQ for the last 4 years. Since the loss of Bobby Durham and most of our favorite entertainers and staff, and now the huge rate hikes, I'm afraid we may have made our last trip on our beloved boat. I can't even explain how terribly sad this makes me. Instead of being on the MQ at Tall Stacks I guess we'll have to wave at her from the shore. Judy Nichols

And now you know why my wife and I are going this year. It will probably be our last DQ cruise due to the new prices. Even with a 35% discount plus the 10% prior customer discount, we're paying over $ 4700 for a 6 night trip. At first I said no but my wife really loves the DQ so we're splurging. We could go to Europe for three weeks for this amount.
-Jim Herron

Judy Nichols wrote: I too am heartsick over the recent changes at DQSC. We are not at all wealthy but have managed to make 4 trips a year on the MQ for the last 4 years. Since the loss of Bobby Durham and most of our favorite entertainers and staff, and now the huge rate hikes, I'm afraid we may have made our last trip on our beloved boat. I can't even explain how terribly sad this makes me. Instead of being on the MQ at Tall Stacks I guess we'll have to wave at her from the shore. Judy Nichols

Hi Judy,

Just thought you'd like to know that Bobby was on board last nite as part of the 30th anniversary celebration and did a wonderful show. Afterwards, he came down to the Paddlewheel and sat in with us. I offered him his old stool back, but he graciously declined, being quite happy to be free lancing.

He just returned from performing with the Black Dogs at a festival in California and as we were having lunch yesterday in the Antlers Bar, he got a call about a cruise with the "Dogs" on the Mediterranean next year.

Those of us remaining in the depleted entertainment staff will miss you out here.

Paul

After the wonderful weekend in Louisville on the Belle and at the Howard, I was going to post something about excursion steamboating, but didn't get around to it. Now with this current thread about most of us being priced out of the Queens and overnight steamboating, I'm suggesting you find my posting I'm making now on Excursion Steamboating - under River Cruises thread.

In 1957 a 7 night Kentucky Lake cruise on the Delta Queen was $125 which according to the on-line inflation calculator equals $897.44 in todays money. According to Franz, next years rate for a 7 night trip on the DQ is $2359; in 1957 dollars that would be $347.11. In 1957 had the DQ charged $347.11 for a Kentucky Lake trip, the boat would never have completed the season.

Hi Paul.
Thanks so much for taking the time to send that post. I did know that Bobby would be doing the show last night. Glad to hear it was great as usual. I'll be anxious to hear more about the possible Mediterranean cruise next year. Sure would love to be there listening to "Hook" too!
Believe me we are missing all of you in the depleted staff as well!! Thanks again Paul. Judy

I've thought about this thread for a week now, actually started to post a few times and thought better of it, but I can't get it out of my head and I gotta respond. Especially when I realized that a good portion of the crew, past and present, read this forum.

With all very due respect to all the posters on this thread, I disagree. There is absolutely no doubt that Debbie and I are concerned as you are about the recent price increases posted/published for the DQSC cruises. All rate increases have concerned us back to 2000 when we took our first DQSC cruise and we caught the "sickness". However, I'm convinced that the increases were not just big this year but were big year after year and may just now be hitting the point of scariness.

I have DQSC brochures back a few years and it's interesting to compare the 'rack rate' prices for a DQ 'I' bunk bed room, 7 nights, with repeater's discount to Franz's Level 3 2007 example above. I realize that not all forum readers are repeaters but the ones posting on this thread seem to be. I also realize that the comparison I'm about to give is for a single room unlike what Franz and family is faced with. However, utilizing a 10% repeater's discount for years 2006 and earlier, a 5% repeater's discount for 2007, the published rack rates for a stateroom were/are:

2004, repeater discount, 'I', 7 night, double occup. $3051
2005, same as above $3663 20.1% increase
2006, same as above $3852 5.2% increase
2007, same as above $4482 16.4% increase

So who is the villian here, Ambassador (2007) or Delaware North (2006 and earlier)? In my humble experience, most repeaters will book their DQ/MQ/AQ cruise utilizing early bird or last minute specials. And Ambassador's is offering specials on their other boats, and I believe they will offer specials on the DQSC boats as well, as soon as they fully take over the operations of the boats. Either that or they will purposly choose to lose a significant portion of the repeater business. This thread will be proof of that.

Franz says that there are no specials being offered. Is this really the case? As far as I can tell, early booking allows for an additional 10% discount. And, if you look at the DQSC website, I believe they are still offering last minute cruises with as much as 25% off...The comparison prices above do not reflect the 10% early booking special.

One of the things that bothers me, again with all due respect to the individual posters, are the discussions that the DQ is so outrageous in price with what it has to offer. Really? Have you compared the price to a good bed and breakfast/4 star hotel including the meals? I judge my DQ cruise by the cost per night for the two of us. Between 2000 when we took our first and the cruises through 2006, we have paid between $910 a night as a high down to $239 a night, with an average of roughly $365 per night. The typical stateroom we book is what used to be called a 'G'...and yes it is very small and no it doesn't have a TV or telephone. But is it worth it? Again, try to do a nice bed and breakfast (typically without TV or telephone) with additional meals for two at $365 a night. And it goes without saying, the B and B is a little lacking in the river department. The $910 a night mentioned above was for a huge room on the MQ and, yes it was a full price rack rate. Every cruise since then that Deb and I have taken has been discounted. We won't book unless the price per night is in a ballbark price range. However, the price for our 2007 cruises is above $400 night and one of them is in a bunk stateroom, which we booked to keep the cost down. But, we booked these 2007 cruises AFTER Ambassador's bought the DQSC. We booked them immediately after the sale to avoid what I suspected would be a future announced increase.

Are the DQ price increases any different than the price increases for any other commodity or service? Filling up Debbie's Taurus...$45? My Focus $32? Have you seen what the average price is for a house? $20000 for a cheap car? Rhetorical questions at best but I'm trying to put it in perspective.

Again is the DQ worth it? Between the ambiance the DQ delivers, the good food ( and I don't agree with what some people say about the food, it IS good and I always gain weight), the entertainment, the river experience, and a big portion of it, the fact the crew and the entertainers treat Debbie and I like family, and the wonderful people we've met that are now our friends...I know that you all realize how absolutely marvelous it is to return to the DQ on the first afternoon and the crew not only remembers you but greets you by your first name and asks you how you're kids are doing. Yes, to us, the boat is worth the price. You just have to keep your eyes open and book a year or more in advance to get that early bird special price. In September, Deb and I are taking Capt Mike's tramping cruise out of Little Rock. We booked that cruise in March 2005. When booking "If you snooze, you lose"...

The comparison is given to European river boats and Carribean boats. People do have a reasonably good comparison with the European river boats to the DQ, but the Carribean boats are not in the same league, if you think about it. When I see the commercials for the company that states "between the rock wall and the surfing pool, this is WAY more than just a cruise", I just laugh. 4000 people, and we'd be stuck on a veranda with no way to talk to any of them. And staring at endless water doesn't sound very appealing. We pick the DQ for it's walk around deck and the fact that it's smaller, read less people, so the chance to really get to know somebody is greater. Do the other companies offer a service that allows you to meet, talk, and get to really know people so easily?

Debbie and I are choosing to have faith that Ambassador's will take care of us. I don't think they will have a choice if they want to keep our and your business.

Bruno Krause

Bruno,

I think it´s quite an increase in the prices. There is no repeat passenger bonus anymore and just the 10% early booking bonus. AWSC did not make many special offers (except the early booking bonus). Another example is the cruise we´ve been looking for in 2007: was app. $3,100 for all the three of us (2006 prices by early booking, minus repeat passenger bonus and offered discount, not regarding any additional fees/surcharges), is now $5,622.75! And we´re talking about a G inside triple cabin (price for the AQ, 7 nights, level 4). We´ve been in an G inside triple on the MQ this year which is absolute perfect for us. But I doubt anyone will be happy in a small inside cabin with two beds, a bunk bed, two metal chests of drawers, a chair, a hanging space with a curtain and a sit-on-the-toilet-while-brushing-your-teeth bathroom having paid nearly 6,000 bucks!

Unfortunately we are not able to go for a last minute offer as we have to book the flights too and don´t try to book a transatlantic flight last minute without spending a fortune! Sure we´re in a very special situation. What also hits hard is that kids travel for free in a triple with two adults so far. New price concept: kids pay 50% (so does a third adult in a triple!).

And please regard that the now offered special deals are all for 2006 cruises, not for 2007!

Carmen

I think that MAL is grossly mistaken about the prices their product can command. Practically speaking they are in competition for my hard earned vacation dollar with The Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line (including their American flagged Hawaiian ships), and a host of ultra deluxe cruise lines. I along with other savy travelers have been on these other cruises and have enjoyed what they offer and consider the cruise experience well worth the money.

I honestly don't know if a room on the DELTA QUEEN for a week is worth considerably more to me than what I'm paying to ride in a Princess Grill room on the QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 from Southampton, to New York and then to Ft. Lauderdale next year. I also have reservations on the now sold out maiden voyage of the new Cunarder QUEEN VICTORIA. It is 10 days on a new ship in an outside room for less than a week in a bunkbed room on the DELTA QUEEN.

I think MAL is succeeding at alienating its loyal passenger base. It was this loyal base that attracted Delaware North in the first place. We have other options, we are not foolish with our money, and the need that each of us feels for a quality cruise experience can be satisfied in a number of other ways. Will I miss the gently trembling decks of the DELTA QUEEN? I'll let you know while I'm sipping a cocktail in the Queens Grill Lounge of the QE2 next year.

Bruno,

maybe I've chosen a bad example with the Caribean cruise, but have a closer look - I was talking about the Queen Mary II, not about Carnival ... Here is a better example: Deilmann Cruises, MS DEUTSCHLAND (5-star-plus category), small ship with only 500-something passengers - a 9-nights-cruise in July 2006 Norwegian Fjords/North Sea starts at $3.500 incl. air from the US.

>So who is the villian here, Ambassador (2007)
>or Delaware North (2006 and earlier)?

I didn't say I'm blaming Ambassador (especially as DN is still operating the company anyway). I'm just saying in general that I think the prices are too high for a competitive market - that's my opinion.

Let's stick with your pricing example: This is a 46% increase in rates in just 4 years! Plus the new policy for 2007 with no discounts.

As of the food: I agree, the food is good. And it was better this year than it had been last year. But e.g. compared to the superb food on the Empress of the North it's far behind. Still: It's good and I'm not complaining at all. But again, looking at these price increases, this doesn't fit together.

For the Delta Queen especially and the other two boats, too, I hope the company will find enough passengers paying these prices. But personally I'd say they won't. Call me pessimistic, it's just my personal opinion 😉

Franz

Bruno,

You make some good points. It is quite difficult to do comparisons when there can be so many variables. Also, as my only experience is as crew rather than passenger, I am reluctant to say too much. However, I met my husband on a cruise ship to the Bahamas many many years ago. And even though the marriage ended after 20 years, I will always remember that cruise too.

I concluded that where a person sleeps is less an issue than where their room is located in proximity to what they like to do- whether it is dance in the dining room, go into the pool, sit on the deck and read a book, or run laps around the ship or boat. In my opinion, there really is not a bad room on the DQ although I can understand the difficulty posed by bunk beds. On the AQ, the rooms near the engine room bar were actually lower priced because of their lack of a balconey or outside deck area but very fine view of the river. Their biggest disadvantage was IF a person isolated themselves in their room rather than socialize. Again, the ability to socialize easily because of her size gives the DQ a clear advantage. Also, the option of interior rooms on the MQ and AQ does give an advantage but I admit that I might find it hard to take to know that I paid $5000 to spend a week living alone in an interior closet. But I don't think that is exactly how things are structured.

Captain Gabe often compared the DQ to a Bed & Breakfast or floating country inn while her sisters were more of a luxury resort with a slower pace. Again, Bruno, those price comparisons mean that you are correct about exactly how AI is pricing things.

Naturally, if money was not an issue, I would book any room I please on whatever boat I like- as would anyone. But that is what makes the whole discussion somewhat interesting.

It costs the company as much money to run a boat full or partially full. At least that is true to a greater extent than a land-based B&B or resort. If the place isn't full, maybe they can let go of some staff. Boats don't entirely have that option. They can run short-handed in some departments but remember all crew are also safety station responsible. So, the bottom line for the boats is being filled with paying passengers. They might do a few discounts or giveaways for travel agents that can guarantee some future bookings for them but I imagine that is even limited.

It is interesting to me to survey crew members. If they won the lottery, they would buy the boat. Yet, many would not go on the other boats even during their own holidays with some discounts offered to them. They simply cannot afford the luxury of a cruise- either time or MONEY. Or perhaps it is because IF that is where they work, it is not where they want to holiday.

Regardless, I continue to be optimistic on the boats future success regardless of who owns them. I, too, if I was a multi-millionaire would probably want to buy the boats. But, then, I too would be concerned with my investment and whether it was going to provide me with income or drain all my resources.

Cheers
Elaine

I will add my "ex officio" two cents worth. My wife and I became acquainted with DQSC when it was purchased from bankruptcy and DN was offering some great specials. We were traveling twice a year, spending all of our vacation time on the boats. It is indeed a very unique experience. My concern is not only the price, but the cavalier attitude that appears to be exhibited by the new owners. Changing the name, or dropping the DQSC name is not just a simple organizational or marketing change, but a total disregard of the history and character of the boats that has attracted such a loyal passenger base. In my experience, the DQSC passengers are those who appreciate getting away from the boom-boom, high pressure fast-paced, cell phohe in the ear world and going back in time. Traveling at 8mph and stopping in small towns which came into existence because of the river transportation is a past way of life that the current DQSC passengers appreciate. The DQSC cannot be equated to other glitz and glamour mega cruise ships. I am glad that I had my seven trips on the boats thus far, and the eighth next month, which was one of the remaining special deals. My fear is that the new owners will attempt to run DQSC as any other cruise line aimed at the "affluent" niche and find it not profitable. Then it will simply be dumped, except for the AQ which will be changed to meet the current cruise ship mentality. Unfortunately, as the passenger demographics have shown, the passengers are usually the retired older persons who still have memories of hearing of the paddlewheelers and have an apprecfiation for the history of the river travel. The new generations of tv, electronics, cell phones, and constant fast pace action cannot, and have no concept of traveling at 8mph without tv in every room, and constant cell phone communications. Maybe the steamboats are finally dying out once and for all because of the "bottom line", e.g., they are not as profitable as high paid CEOs and current dollar controlled operations want. I personally will mourn the loss.

Carman and Franz,
If the repeater's discounts are no longer offered that's news to us, very sad news at that. The last cruises we booked were reserved late spring 2006 for 2007 trips and we received the 10% early and repeater discounts on both. I personally have set an upper limit that I think we would pay for a cruise per night. If we can book a bunk room for that, we cruise in 2008, and I don't care about the size and luxury of the room, I now just will have to look down instead of over to see my wife's sleeping face. If we cannot book a stateroom for this upper limit price then I guess I have no more need to hold onto old brochures like a groupie. As you can tell, especially when you remember my infamous posts to Bruce N., Deb and I are very crazy about the boat. And pricing you and us out of being DQSC cruisers would be an ironic shame because everyone says that you two and we two are part of the age group that the company is trying so desparately to attract and hold as "new and repeating" customers. And the sad thing about it is that they just hung up a brand new USA map on the DQ purser's wall after we all complained about it's absence for years. I had hoped this meant the new company was on a good roll, silly me. And Franz, I agree, I'm very pessimistic, too about if I will be cruising in 2008. After 16 it will be very sad...

My mention of my non-desire to do a carribean cruise is my personal idea on what I think my enjoyment would be while on that style of boat doing that route. That does not mean that the thought of doing an European canal, Austalian river, Amazon river or similar cruise wouldn't be absolutely marvelous in my mind. It's the brown water, the towboats, the little towns, the narrow rivers with the tight turns, the swing bridges, the locks, the small boat that attacts me. At the present blue water holds little attraction for us. Is there anywhere else where you can hear a calliope play Bach at the bottom of a lock?

I point out the last minute specials simply because they are still there. And I point out that specials are still being offered for the Empress and the Queen of the West. Isn't that the same company that owns DQSC? I just got the new American West brochure this past week...and they're still offering 10% early booking discount on their two boats. Is it not unreasonable to believe that Ambassador's will offer early bird discounts in the future on all of their six (or is it now seven) boats?

You two (actually three) are not unlike me and Debbie (we have two kids and our youngest just left the nest this past weds.), as Debbie and I are both working stiffs and cruises have to be booked well in advance to take advantage of best flight prices and the best use of vacation time. And, I agree, last minute specials do us no good either.

I have one question for the group. Is everyone sure that The Majestic American Line is the new name for the DQSC?...OR...is the Majestic America Line the new name for ALL the boats, i.e MAL owns three sub-companies, one called American West Steamboat Company another DQSC (and the third I don't remember the name)? The reason I ask is both companies just sent out brand new and quite changed brochures and the original company names that we know and love are still present. Wouldn't this be the same as DN, ACV, ONA, Coke and all the rest have done in the past?

Franz, I have a question for you. How did you enjoy the Empress? Feel free to PM me if you want. I'm very curious about the financials, if you catch my drift.

I also wrote my earlier post (and this one I guess) on the hope that the big guys and their bean counters in Seattle read this forum on occasion. I hope...

Bruno,

I agree again- if the company wants to attract the "affluent" traveller- then they need to be user friendly to the age group that includes you and Debbie and Franz and family.

It doesn't take much to make the boats an addictive vacation.

Also, FYI- I researched doing some river travel in other parts of the world and would also do that in a heartbeat if I could afford it. There were even some passengers on the DQ ( 2 women from California come to mind) who had travelled the Nile and the Amazon and I couldn't get enough of their stories.

I, too, hope that Ambassador is reading this board. I don't know the company structure but ever since my older daughter moved out to the Seattle area, she constantly tells me- "Mom, you could sell your condo and move out here and work on the boats- there are lots of them here."

Also, my other passenger friends who are not computer users but whom I stay in touch with have told me that they enjoyed the Empress of the North as much as they enjoyed the MQ and AQ. They couldn't ride the DQ because of knee surgery problems. Anyway, they kindly told me that they missed me and our conversations but they really thoroughly enjoyed their Pacific Northwest cruising and will do it again.

I do know that the stuff I brought up in another posting about crew transportation is still an issue. DN followed what American Classic Voyages did with a few more restrictions on ground transporation. AI had entirely different policies but their per diem rate was higher. It is really only one small piece of the financial puzzle.

As for the company doing marketing under various names, I agree that is common practise and also allows companies to re-shuffle finances too as well as profit and loss. Something that was hotly discussed among crew was whether each boat paid its own way or whether one boat or the other was subsidized in a sense. I am not an expert on this but I will again be curious if the same discussions get under way about the midwest business versus the west coast.

Elaine

Bruno, interesting points in both postings, and sad to see that you are in Franz's age group and might have to give up DQ cruising due to the rate increases. I am NOT in your age group, but rather in the one whose income has gone up 0% while the rates have increased 46%, and I still don't get a raise in my pension for almost two more years. So I am obviously not the affluent traveler they want. Furthermore, I am a single traveler, so the rates you quoted for the two of you would be what I'd be paying for myself with the 200% single penalty. I liked your comparison of the DQ to the 4 star b/b, but unfortunately I and many I know, including Leonie, are Super 8/Days Inn people off the boat. We've saved our money for the boat, and couldn't/wouldn't be spending that kind of money elsewhere. Its sad to see a whole group of people who have been the lifeblood of the company - whether some office people like to admit it or not - getting left on shore. But as you pointed out, DN prices went up and that's when my trips ended, not now. So I continue my association with the Queens by making the midnight runs from the ER to the locks and other assorted errands. At least I can help the crew out in some ways, if not by financially supporting them. And nobody has brought this up, but this is the way the country is going: the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the middle class is disappearing. So why wouldn't we expect that to happen to a business, putting some of us out? I'm extremely grateful for my 42 DQ cruises, most of which were taken in simpler, less conglomerate bottom line is everything times.

Bruno,

what I've heard now from several sources is that there won't be any discount offers for 2007 cruises, except an "very early" booking discount. So no 2 for 1 offers and such. That makes a big difference as even if you accept that 46% increase, this lack of discounts raises the de-facto prices dramatically for many passengers.

About the new/old name of the company: To me it looks like they will probably stick with the "DQSC" for the DQ, MQ and AQ. But that's just a guess, based on information I've heard; again, just a guess.

Obviously DQSC was bought by Ambassadors in a hurry and Ambassador so far is not able to operate the DQSC so they have contracted DN to operate DQSC until end of this year. I think this explains a lot of the confusion and may also be the reason why things are still different to the AW boats - I assume DN is not much interested in future investments now, but hope that Ambassador will watch them closely to not just squeez money out of DQSC before they leave in November.

Empress of the North: We just loved it! Entertainment is not on the high level of the MQ (but still good), but all the rest is superb. Prices are much higher compared to the DQSC boats, though. And that's partly because they operate in areas where not simply a Sysco truck is ordered to bring in the food at every port. In Alaska they have to order food about 2 weeks in advance and it is barged in. So that makes operation much more expensive. Carmen wrote a comprehensive review of our Empress of the North cruise at rivers-rails.com: http://www.rivers-rails.com/boats-eon-review-1.shtml

Franz

Hi Bruno,

According to the informations we have, there won´t be any repeat passenger discounts anymore. You´ve booked your 2007 cruises with the old conditions and prices. This has changed completely by June/July. According to the website AWSC has a 10% early booking bonus (as DQSC with the new price system) and there´s still the Captain´s Club which says that repeat passengers will get a 5% discount. Nothing similar mentioned on the DQSC website. AWSC does not have many special last minute offers. They are really quite scarce. DQSC still has special offers but only for 2006 cruises. As far as we are told those special offers won´t be anymore in 2007.

Carmen

Thanks everybody for your information. I'm hoping as I'm sure you are that the future will not be so grim as we suspect.
Potentially no more repeater discounts? I think they have lost their minds. There is NOBODY more proud to wear his ten-timer pin.
Single supplement at 200%? Sure, eliminate a good portion of one of the most dedicated passenger group on every cruise. Has anyone at Ambassador's seen the passenger statistics on a Red Hatter's cruise?
Elaine, so you think the Krause's are affluent? I think you spelled that wrong...It should be "effluent" and it just applies to me, not Debbie.
And Judy, as always, you are so correct. Our income hasn't even come close to keeping pace with cost of living increases for the past 10 years, so we're rapidly approaching the day when the DQ becomes just a memory, too. True story, after the kids were safely away at college Deb and I moved to a smaller house, out to the boonies/farm country to save on property taxes. The number one thing we had in mind toward using that saved tax money was take more cruises...yes, I know,it's a sickness...are you listening Ambassador's?
Thanks again everybody. Hopefully, Debbie and I will see you on the river, at least for a little bit more.
Bruno

Hi Bruno,

What I meant was that DN always talked about attracting the "working class" and I used to laugh as I listened.

I, too, sold my house in Massachusetts to buy my condo in New Hampshire so I could afford to work on the boats since I had cut my income by 60-70 percent. The problem for me was that once I cut my income like that, I could not get it back after leaving the boats. I did not start my boat adventures until my youngest graduated from college. So, my credibility goes down the tubes when I interview with places. They figure that I am a steamboat gypsy or a floozie and they are quite right.

Also, when working class people book trips, they are most affected by any changes. It may have been difficult enough to coordinate that much vacation time off from work without the additional stress of changes in travel because of unexpected problems. As exhausting as I found them (as a crew member) 3 day cruises in and out of a port city (and not just NOLA) were almost always filled with people ready to party and spend money. Whether it was St Paul, St Louis, Cincinnatti, or New Orleans- those short cruises attracted the "working class" and that was needed to grow the customer base. Once I settled into being a crew member, I much preferred the longer trips and the many repeat passengers who were now my friends.

But I looked over the brochures when I worked on the boats and today. I am a junky like you who saves that stuff and I still feel- I could not afford the boats then and that is even more true today. I did persuade many contacts to ride the boats- once they tried it, they were hooked and I did tell many people about the boats- especially when I still lived in Massachusetts. But, in New Hampshire, one is lucky to get jobs that pay a mere $10 an hour regardless of their qualifications, education, or experience. One saves on income tax and sales tax but everything else is just as expensive as everyplace else. And property taxes here are actually higher than most other places.

As for the single at 200%, I agree that makes it very hard indeed and is unfair if there is no second person to eat all the food that has been purchased for them. However, I also understand the lack of discounts for children because it is like the airlines as far as thinking. The child takes up the same amount of space as the adult. I think that is shooting oneself in the foot as far as marketing and attracting that desirable traveller- but I do understand the logic used.

Cheers
Elaine

Elaine,

A child takes up the same amount of space as the adult might be true for an airline but not for a triple on a steamboat. Most of the triples are only occupied by two adults with the bunk bed folded up. If there´s a real triple occupancy the third person is usually a child. Sure the kid is eating something but not a 5 course menue. And regarding the extra work of the cabin attendant or others: the kid is "paying" the full tips like an adult.

Carmen

"Attracting the working class" ah yes--I can relate to that! I've been following the Delta Queen since 1970 when I discovered her being threatened by the Ships at Sea law. This kid in a Northern California mountain town (Dunsmuir--a railroad town, well it was then) started a local campaign to get everyone to write their congressperson. This coming spring I finally get to board her! Never could before, except once in 1981 when we'd finally saved up enough for a short (3 or 4 night) cruise, but then we had an opportunity to buy a house, so the cruise money went for the down payment. I don't regret that decision, but gee wiz. . . So now I am finally no longer self-employed and have a decent wage, and vacation times (a strange concept to one who has almost always been self employed--you don't work, you don't get paid!) but the real story is that Linda (my better half--one girl who wasn't chased off by my steam & steamboat fetish) had an inheritance AND we are both quite worried about the DQ's future decided that no matter what, we're going! Looking at the new policies, it may be our only time on board, but we will be there. As I mentioned to Bruno (we'll both be on the same cruise in March, looking forward to meeting them in person), like the credit card ads say, "Steamboat cruise memories? -- PRICELESS"
Hard to tell I'm excited about our upcoming cruise, isn't it? 🙂
Steamcerely,
David Dewey
PS, we haven't been totaly steamboat-less all these years, for 10 years we owned a little steam launch, "Mikahala." Had to sell it to make ends meet many years ago.