Question about DQ cabins

We were in 325 mid-March last year, and FROZE! We had to ask for extra blankets. The individual "control" is a litttle door to close the air inlet to the cabin. Even with it closed, it was quite cold. The weather was pleasant, only a light jacket required outside during the day. If the weather is warmer when you go, maybe you won't be so cold. And maybe 325 is the only cabin with that problem. Jim Baker from San Diego.

I've found on my trips on the DQ, the majority were on the cabin or Texas decks...the outside rooms are marginally insulated from the elements.

HVAC control was opening or closing the roof vent in the staterooms I resided in!

The Sun deck is the pits if you ask me: hot in summer, wet when it rains...I can imagine it'd be cold in winter-ish times...

I've found since the new hull was added on the boat, whether coincidental or not, the heating & AC is better than in past times.

The "coldest" I ever experienced on the DQ was far from cold but near the freezing mark, but the rooms I occupied at the time were on the Texas...they were cool, especially the tile floor in the bathroom and thanks to the hot shower warming up the room!!!

Suzanne, you must be getting excited...Now Deb and I were on the same trip, same deck, as Jim, except we were on the starboard side, Jim on the port side. Deb and I were just a tad warm, that whole cruise...So what to do? The House airconditioner is basically one big system that you can turn off the air supply, typically coolish air, if you are too cool, it's a brass antique ceiling air diffuser with a slide gate, hard to describe but it works well enough. If you are cold it is very hard to not be toasty with the thick comforter and the additional though light blanket on the bed. If you're too warm the comforter, blanket and top sheet get chucked on the floor. If you are really cold, the purser will oblige with more bankets, as Jim said. However, in the rooms Deb and I stay in we've universally been just about right, in reality Deb's cold and I'm way too warm...perfect! I can think of a few cruises where both of us and a good portion of the rest of the boat were too warm, and the engineers adjusted the house air conditioning cooler. Then there was the time the house air conditioner broke for 20 hours in late June on the lower Mississippi...words cannot describe the heat, it was an experience.

If the boat is really uncomfortable to you, let the purser know, the engineer can tweak the boat's air conditioning temperature if and only if quite a few people complain, I've seen it happen a few times, as I said above.

We've stayed on both sides of all three decks, from the first week in March up to the last week in November, and we've been lucky, the comfort hasn't been an issue for us. I feel bad for Jim, I'd like to believe that his situation was a bit unusual...you betcha Deb and I will not ask for 325!

Really good friends of ours, their favorite and most traveled DQ room is 215, and I've never heard them complaint about the temperature. Deb and I stayed in 216, the mirror image room on the other side of the boat, a bunch of years ago, late April on the Tennessee, I don't remember a comfort issue.

Do I remember that your trip is on the Ohio, right? Where Jim and ours was on the lower Mississippi. I'd pack some jackets and some sweatshirts/fleece pullovers. Think high 50's to mid 60's with the potential for low 70's, at least that is what I remember growing up in Pittsburgh. Check semi-long range forecasts and pack accordingly, maybe?

I knew you would all have good advice on this!

Yes, we're on the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh trip, May 5-10.......when the weather could still go any which way. I checked the 5-day forecast for Marietta, and the temps vary from 76 to 33! Hopefully it will even out a little by then. I tend to overpack to begin with, and if I try to bring something to cover every possible weather contingency.....well, it could get ugly. 🙂 I'm hoping to leave the mondo-sized suitcase at home and get by with a medium-sized one and a carry-on to save space in the cabin.

I'm okay with the cabin being on the cool side, myself, and bundling up in the comforter and blankets. Does anyone know if they still have those spa robes in the cabins?

I'm getting pretty excited. We leave in 3 weeks to visit friends before the cruise. Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that US Air isn't going to follow American and Southwest and the others and start cancelling flights.....specifically not MINE!

Suzanne:* For sure, don't bring a large suitcase.* The only place to store them in our cabin was under the beds.* One of my wife's was too large to fit between the legs at the foot of the bed, so the only way to get it in there was to lift up the bed.* It was pretty heavy.* (The beds were too close to each other, maybe 16 inches apart, to put the suitcase in from the side.)The warmest or cabin ever got was 65 degrees, per the thermometer in the room.* That was in the late afternoon when we opened the door and let the sun shine in!It didn't feel terribly humid, like the summer, but the brass cold air register on the ceiling of the cabin was cold enough to have condensation on it all the time.Actually, as old as the DQ is, I was actually a bit surprised that it even had air conditioning.Actually, spending as little time in the cabin as we did, it wasn't a real problem, except getting up in the morning for me.* My wife has something called Reneaud's Syndrome.* It doesn't take much of a chill, and her fingers go totally numb.* The cold was a bit of a problem for her.But, overall, we had a great time.* I only wish we could afford to go again in the near future.Jim Baker.

Suzanne, true story...On our AQ trip last month, Delta Airlines lost our luggage, and it didn't catch up with us until the 4th day on the boat. Between what we had brought in carry on luggage and what the American Queen's gift shop offered us, we did fine. I agree with Jim wholeheartedly, do not overpack. Space for the suitcases is an issue (definitely under the bed) as is suitable chest of drawer space. Now some fellow DQ cruisers may unfortunately already know this, but I purposely pack such that clothes get worn twice. The only time that didn't work was the last week in June on the lower Mississippi, and that cruise brought new meaning to the word sticky. Deb and I typically bring a pretty big suitcase and a real small one that fits inside the big one...perfect for even the 10 night trip we took. And layering clothes works great, typically I'm in a t-shirt underneth a fleece pullover, with jeans. And, answering your question, the robes were onboard the AQ in March...

Despite Pete's experiences with DQ Sundeck rooms, any Sundeck room is our first choice, preferably Starboard side. Which side of the boat you're on makes not a bit of difference, but for me I could probably walk in my sleep now from 330, 326, 322 or 318 or whatever down to the Forward Cabin Lounge for coffee. Sundeck starboard is just home to us. And I love looking up from the deck at 5 in the morning to look at the stars, I also like the higher up view of the landscape and the town landings...Now does this mean that Deb and I will shun a stateroom that is on another deck and/or side? Not at all, for our trips this year we're in 338 (Amy Carter's room, a Judy favorite), 320 (an old friend for the Krause's), and 212. The room really doesn't matter that much...Now Outside the room, my oh my!

Now you know we all want a full report when you get back! Enjoy yourself, you're gonna have a ball. Make sure you listen to all of Travis's talks, and if Walt and the boys are playing, the Krause's say hi.

And Jim, try Phyllis Dale for prices on cruises. I'm sure there are no specials offered on the DQ this year, matter of fact there aren't a whole bunch of rooms left. As a note to all, I know for a fact that some of the original 10 and 11 night DQ trips are now broken up into two 5/6 night trips and few people know that, combined that the original LONG trips didn't sell too well. So I have heard through the sternline telegraph that there are some special things being offered, at least a few weeks ago. But as another alternative, check out Phyllis concerning AQ trips. And don't forget that repeaters get a 5% discount. We got a great price on the December 13th AQ trip, on an inside "J"...contact me if you want particulars...

Bruno,

How'd you know I was gonna be on that cruise? This is "Top Secret Information", he, he, he!!!

I bet a charming "little birdie" who also roosts there told you!

~Travis~

Travis, my friend, we all have different ways of knowing 😉

Bruno,

"I see", said the blind man to the deaf dog as he picked up his hammer and saw!

~Travis~

Suzanne,
Your room is a LITTLE bigger than our favorite (338 on the Sun Deck--And Deb & Bruno, ya'd better leave it in good order for our Aug. trip!! ;)--space hmm, well, is not a word I'd use to describe the room, but I still love it. You do have to pack with suitcases that fit inside each other so they'll fit somewhere small (I think Under the beds in your room, in ours it has to fit against the wall by the sink).
We went to a Titanic exhibit, and I found it interesting that the 4th class cabins were bigger than our DQ cabin!!. But the DQ isn't about the cabins anyway! BTW, I love being on the Texas Deck, you open the door and the stars or sun is right there, and the view is great! True, your cabin will be more protected from the elements than ours--and you're closer to the food too. The important thing is you are on board the DQ! And I sure wish I were right now too.
S'
David D.