Questions on steps on the DQ

Staircases are wide with handrails on both sides. Don't remember the exact number of steps.

All meals and shows are done in the Orleans Room. But there are also activities on the main deck area, the Betty Blake Lounge area (no bar), and the Texas Bar area.

Even though it can be hard for many people with mobility problems to manage to ride the Delta Queen- everyone is aware of that and you can take your time going up and down the stairs. The only tricky thing is that there is a public restroom (Mens and Ladies)- one stall bathroom right outside the Orleans Room. But for other times, your cabin may be closer.

Again, lots of passengers travel all the time on DQ and they have knee surgery etc. So, while it does not meet handicapped standards because of her age, people do fine even with the stairs. Take your time. Remember steamboat time is slow time.

Thanks Elaine....This isn't probally the best boat for my partner...but I'm sure he will manage...We will be on the Sun Deck...
Is room service just for breakfast?

Sandy

There are 14 steps on the Grand Staircase, which goes from the Cabin to the Texas Deck. Since the decks are basically the same height, that means 14 steps from the Texas to the Sun Deck too. Coming onto the boat by entering from the Main Deck would be another 14 to the Cabin, so if you went from bottom to top in one swoop, you wouldn't have more than 42 steps total. But rarely does anyone do it without stopping to visit, grab a snack, buy at the Gift Shop, get a drink in the Texas, or whatever. So 14 steps at a time is all you have to deal with. As to room service, perhaps things have changed in recent years, but the only time we had it was if someone was sick and couldn't make it to the Orleans Room. I think once you see your room, you'll want to go to the public area to eat. The DQ rooms are for sleeping and bathroom facilities basically. People do sit out on deck and eat/drink snacks, but as for full meals???? Current repeaters?????

If my senior memory serves, the outside stairs, sun deck to texas and texas to cabin deck are 12 steps each. None of the stairs are what I would classify as steep except the stairs down to the Orleans, and semi-steep, the stairs from the bow up to the forward cabin lounge. The stairs, actually the grand staircase, up to the Texas Lounge and all the outside stairs are "normal".

I can assure you that you will get immediate volunteered assistance from crew and even fellow passengers if you simply ask and most times you don't have to ask. Very, very common thing to see. And I've never witnessed impatience or muttering from any passenger when they were waiting while a fellow passenger takes the slow route up the steps. I've seen DQ passengers with walkers and canes. I've seen passengers go down the stairs sideways, one step at a time. And I have seen passengers with guide dogs.

The point is that the steps can be a real irritant to some, and the way my knees feel, they will also be to me in the future. But your fellow passengers and crew will help you through that as best as you and they can to make it become much less of an issue.

There is no room service, per se (kind of hard to have room service without room phones). The crew will deliver "breakfast" limited to coffee, juice, and pastries, served to your room, morning only. And you order the next morning's room service by requesting it via a chalk board sign-up outside the purser's office on the cabin deck. I will warn you, the breakfasts in the Orleans are my favorite meal on the boat. Joyce's omelates and waffles are to die for...and the sticky bun is an experience. There is also a cold breakfast buffet, cereal, pastries, fruit, coffee, etc. in the forward cabin lounge served from 6 to 10:30ish. At least there was...So it is possible to get a full breakfast without having to travel down the Orleans steps. It is also possible to have a semi lunch in the Texas Bar as hot dogs are served every afternoon, with additional hors doerves served at 4.

The DQ's too magical a place for anybody to worry about being forced to slow down...

Judy's right...I was torn between 12 and 14 steps between decks. Of course I looked at pictures to check if I was right immediately AFTER I posted...Duhh...

14 steps, Sun to Texas and 14 steps Texas to Cabin...

I looked BEFORE... that's one statistic I don't have committed to memory! We shouldn't forget to mention that some bathrooms have one step up, too, depending on the room configuration. Thanks Bruno for the room service info - I can see how one would think its available due to the phony brochure pictures, or showing something on one boat and letting people assume its available on the other, convenient amnesia by PR...

You all are great!!! and for the ones of you that will be on my cruise..I can't wait to meet you all.

Sandy

Sandy,

There is a reason why the DQ is called the "Mother Boat"(actually I think the term everyone uses is "Mother Ship"...). There is a reason why people including me and Debbie will not, typically, consider another boat for the majority of their cruising, and yes, Deb and I have cruised on some of the "other" MAL boats. There is a reason why we've cruised umpty-ump amount of times on the same boat, on the same portion of a given river, seeing the same towns, doing the same shore tours. There is a reason why some passengers have cruised 50 or more times on the SAME boat, for me and Deb it will be 18 times continuous on the DQ by the end of this year.

Trust me, it's the boat. And the marvelous crew that keeps her hummin'!

She's magical, beyond adequate description. She gets in your soul, she's definitely stolen mine! You and your partner are gonna have a ball.

Though, I will be the first to admit that I'm excited about our first cruise on the AQ for Phyllis's reunion, December 14th. Anybody else on this forum going? The problem we have is lack of vacation time...I booked anyways, my company will have to deal with it, or the cruise just may push me over the edge to actually retire...not a bad way to be forced to retire, don't you think? I'll drown my sorrows in Sam Adams at the bar...

Bruno...I'm already in love with this boat...I can't get enough info on her or look at enough pics....I hope you all don't mind all the questions I have.

Sandy

Sandy,

The forum is here to introduce people to the unique aspect of Steamboatin'. Too many questions are never a problem. I sometimes think how Deb and I would have benefited from this forum before our first cruise in 2000. A hearty thanks to Franz and Carmen...

Anyways, I take it you are on the famous Belle of Louisville Race Cruise. I cannot think of any DQ cruise that is better than this one. There are are few forum posters that take that cruise religiously and have been bugging me and Deb to take it because it is such a blast. Haven't been able to do it because of prior commitments to open our Canadian property the first weekend of May. Anyways, there are some really good photos of the Belle race (with the Belle of Cincinatti that year) on John Jarrett's post a few posts back. 'Sposed to be an absolutely fabulous time! Lots of great jazz, lots of mint julips, plus the excitement of the race itself! You might also try Google Photos...type in "Delta Queen Louisville"...

Sun deck, hmmm? Our favorite. Which stateroom? If you want, click on Member's list at the top of this page, find me, and private message or e-mail me. I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

The Belle Race Cruise...I'm envious.

Bruno...I'm sorry you won't be on the cruise....We will be in Room D 323...can you tell me anything about that room?
I can't wait to taste a real mint julip 🙂 My partner is a comedian and a big joke teller...One of my favorite jokes is about 2 ladies drinking their mint julips on their Veranda...I'm sure everyone on the boat will love it, when he tells it.

Sandy

Sandy, for more pictures, go to this site's home page. On the left side click on Pictures, then Photo Albums, then Delta Queen. Franz has 87 shots of her there. As for room 323, its on the port side midships. It has twin beds with a wide walking space between them. The bathroom extends the length of the room along the side, with no steps to it. If you look at an exterior pix of the DQ, the window is the 9th from the stern. The only negative about this room location is if it is raining, as you'll have about 40 feet of uncovered area from the steps to your door. But umbrellas or jackets take care of that anyway...

Bruno, my family and I will be happy to join you drowning your sorrows in a Sam Adams (or whatever --) at the bar on the AQ in December ... by going on Phyllis' reunion trip, I have to give up singing a total of seven holiday concerts with my symphony chorus (some two-a-days in there), and they're totally not happy with me about that. But I'll finally get to meet you and Deb. My brother, Dick Prater, and his wife, Nancy, my mother, Helen Prater, and I will be joining you guys, and my brother is bringing along some of his West Point classmates and their spouses to introduce them to the river. One of them has a grandfather who was an engineer on the Streckfus boats, so he gets to relearn his river heritage.

This trip is not on our baby, the DQ, but we do like the AQ, if it must be a boat other than the DQ. And it being one of Phyllis' reunion trips, you know that means most of the usual huge gang of her repeaters will be on there. It will be fun to see Phyllis and all those folks again. We're also looking forward to seeing Capt. Gabe and Cindy on that trip, as well as Jazzou and his wife, Diane. I have no idea who will be master. Maybe Buford? Don't know if John Dugger will still be on there. I will be curious as to whom they will have found as pilots for the War Zone where a first class license is required. Should be interesting.

I am one who really enjoyed the TV's they had on the EMPRESS OF THE NORTH. Except when sleeping, I had it constantly tuned to the channel featuring the camera on the pilothouse, looking straight ahead, so that even when you had to be in the room, dressing or whatever, you could still see a little bit of what was coming up ahead. So I won't object to a TV in the room on the AQ. (They obviously couldn't fit them into the rooms on the DQ, and that makes me happy as a lark.) I can't imagine anyone actually staying in their cabin to watch a movie or some other DVD, but I guess to each his own. And just think -- lot's of downy comforters too! Whoohah!

Lil, It's gonna be great times! Deb and I are really looking forward to meeting you all! And Phyllis, too. We've been her customer for what seems like forever but have never met the lady. We were booked on another of Phyllis's reunion cruises a while back but Katrina took care of that, December 2005.

And I'm looking forward to our first cruise on the "big" one. I wonder if it will as friendly as the DQ...I suspect with all the reunion repeaters it will be VERY friendly. We're excited about it...

The TV? I hear ya...I don't know...We'll see...

Sandy, 323? A really nice room, a typical D, and on the midships Sun deck they are typically a little nicer than the "D's" on the Texas Deck, my opinion, because the bathrooms are on the side of the room, where on the Texas they are in the back of the room. Makes for a longer feeling room. Deb and I have stayed in rooms similar to yours, not quite the same layout, staterooms 312, 313 and 314. A little fancier than what Deb and I book now, matter of fact our first choice for a room today is 322, an "F", basically behind your room on the starboard side. Judy's right about the rain. Though there is a small roof overhang, that works only if the rain is coming straight down...and the boat is stopped. And you still need to step out from under the overhang to get to the steps. And, speaking of steps, your stateroom does not have a step up into the bathroom like some rooms.

One thing, if you have the MAL brochure, the one with the two swans a swimmin' (I'm chuckling again, Judy...), on page 69, where it shows the pictures of the rooms along with the floor plan...The pictures are right but I'm about 99% sure that the floor plans for the "D" and the "F" are transposed with each other. The "D" has a small nightstand chest of drawers, 2 to 3 feet wide, between the beds. The "F" has nothing but 6" of space between the beds. Also the picture shown of the "D" room I'm pretty sure is 314.

If I were to take a guess, your "D" room is about 33% bigger than the typical "F", with a bigger bathroom, too. I found on the net a while ago great multiple shots of the inside of room 312, I have to search again to find them, and if I do I'll post them here. Keep in mind that the actual floor plan for your room may be different than what is shown in the brochure. But I'm pretty sure if you look at the "F" floorplan, it'll be pretty close to your room. Hope this helps.

Here's some pics of the Delta Kings stairways, the newly-painted one is to the Sun deck, the carpeted one is looking down from the Texas Deck (Decks as named on the DQ). I hope these help--I would suspect the DQ's are the same??
Steamcerely,
David D.

"Room Service Breakfast"

Sandy,

When my wife and I were on the DQ we quickly learned to grab a small tray in the vicinity of the continental breakfast in the Texas lounge and eat outside on deck. The trays were not left out for this service - they were used by staff to carry things about. I don't know if they still serve a continental breakfast in the lounge (dry cereal, pastries, etc.). But if all the "ingredients" are there I say go for it! I guess you could also carry things back to your room, but I'm not sure where you'd set things down once inside.

Have a great trip! The DQ is a wonderful boat.

Wesley

Accidentally posted twice, and I can't seem to delete this posting. Sorry ....

Sandy, my family and I will also be on your trip, the "homecoming trip" (going home to Cincinnati, the DQ's original home port after she left California in 1947), featuring the race with the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE. We are part of the bunch of nuts who simply have to do this trip every year, and we have great fun with our fellow river rats (there are a lot of us on this trip -- the boat is mostly full of repeaters). We love this trip because it features more time just steamboatin' up the river during daylight hours, rather than sitting in a port, waiting for tour buses to return to the boat. And as far as we are concerned, that is what it is all about -- sitting out on deck while we are underway, with like-minded friends, perhaps with a bloody mary in hand, just looking at the swirls and eddies in the muddy river and the vastness of that river there and the wildness of the shoreline while we're on the Mississippi River the first few days, listening to the birds singing in the "willers" (river talk for willows), watching the blue herons leading the boat, and then, when we get to the less wild but perhaps even more beautiful Ohio River, taking in the loveliness in springtime of the trees on the bank and the little towns and fields and the hills turning green. And all of this while we feel that wonderful, almost imperceptible, gentle rumble of the engines under us, or, if we are on the stern of the boat, we can watch the pitmans turn that big red paddle wheel as it slaps into the water. And all the while, you can smell the wonderful aromas wafting up from the cookhouse/galley below of someone cooking your next meal. You can't beat it.

We do have a brief stop in Paducah to take on water, during which time you can take a quick walking tour on your own that can include some excellent murals on the flood walls, a wonderful river museum right there by the river, and a quilt museum a couple of blocks away that is like no other in the country. We also stop in Madison, where you can walk all around an extraordinarily beautiful and unspoiled little river town. But the highlight for all of us is the stop in Louisville. Many of us who religiously take this trip are as in love with the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE as we are with the DELTA QUEEN, and we look forward to going over to the BELLE to visit with friends over there. (Regrettably, Capt. Kevin Mullen is no longer with the BELLE, and we will greatly miss his presence on that boat.) And the race itself, though tending to be a bunch of hooey race-wise, is great fun, especially when Capt. Alan Bernstein brings his boat, the BELLE OF CINCINNATI, down to join in the festivities.

Last year, Capt. Alan Bates, a regular on this board, was also on the DQ, offering up wonderful talks about his years on the river. Often we have Capt. Doc Hawley on to do the same. If we're very lucky, we'll have them both on at the same time. These two gents co-authored the definitive book on excursion steamboating, "Moonlite at 8:30", chock full of entertaining stories of their years on excursion boats.

We will also have as our riverlorian -- oops, I forgot, this new company is calling them "discovery guides" -- the one, the only Travis Vasconcelos, also a regular on this board (though, at this precise minute, doing his riverlorian thing on the AQ on her initial trip of the year). Travis' presence means some mightly terrific calliope playing during the week. (Travis won the "battle of the calliopes" last year -- playing, undercover, on the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE.) Travis can, in the space of 45 seconds, inform you incredibly about the river and make you laugh until you hurt. You definitely should not miss his scheduled talks on the river, and your life is not complete until you have heard him play "Phantom of the Opera" on the calliope.

The stairs down to the Orleans Room are pretty steep, no two ways about it, but the railings on either side are very sturdy, and as others have mentioned, the crew is ALWAYS ready to assist anyone. Many folks, including me during medically down times, take the stairs up very slowly, using both hands on the railing to pull oneself up, perhaps one step at a time. I have one friend who rests between steps and usually has one of the guys in the dining room to help her. But she won't stop riding this boat. My mother is 94. We form a phalanx to get her up or down the stairs. But she won't stop riding this boat. No one is in a rush on the boat, so don't worry about it.

Sources tell me that we may have Lloyd Camel as Hotel Manager on the boat. If we are fortunate enough for that to be so, you will find that he is an incredibly caring man who will make sure that you are well taken care of. On one trip, a number of years ago, I came down with a bug. Patrick Nauman was Hotel Manager that trip, and he made sure that I had my meals of soup and ginger ale and whatever else I could manage at the table on the deck just outside of my cabin so I didn't have to venture far from my room or down to the Orleans Room to eat, and I could still watch the shore go by as I ate. Lloyd is like Patrick in that regard -- he will make sure you are taken care of. In the past, when Phyllis Dale would ride with her husband, Gary, who was very sick and weak at the time, they brought Gary meals in the Texas Lounge, and they did the same thing for Mary Ann Koch and her father Ed when they rode, knowing that Ed and Gary could not get down to the Orleans Room. They will take care of you on this boat. I don't think that will have changed, even with new owners.

I will be on with my brother Dick and his wife Nancy, and my mother, Helen. Looking forward to meeting you, Sandy.

The AQ is much bigger, many more passengers, and it doesn't have the cozy family feel that the DQ has. The crew can't get to know the passengers the same way, though they are no less friendly, and I don't think the AQ has the same kind of passionate repeaters that the DQ has. And because there are so many more passengers, it's not possible to meet as many fellow passengers as you do on the DQ. So I found the people experience to be pleasant enough, I guess, but not family, not the same. But she is an elegant boat and very comfortable. And with Phyllis' gang on, you have a guaranteed big bunch of friendly types to provide a built-in family experience.

I can not express my thanks to all of you, that have posted to me...We are enjoying all the posts and all the pictures...I can't wait to board the boat..and meet all of you personally.

Sandy

Ah HA! I wondered what this "Discovery Guide" moniker meant. OK, great to know that we'll be in good hands on the 17th! And a great calliope player to boot! That's super because I haven't found time to practice hardly at all, too busy hooking up pipes and finding electronic problems with this new organ console! AUGH!! At least I got it realiable enough to keep going while I'm on the boat! Guess I'll join the "one finger note" club!
Wow three days before we leave here! 6 days to board!! Oh boy Oh boy Oh boy!!! Y'all gonna have to tie me down by then!! 🙂
Steamcerely,
David Dewey
PS, Hope there's a place for some sheet music, I ain't memorized nutin'!

Sandy,
Wish we were on the boat the same time as you too--and not just because that'd mean we'd managed another cruise so soon either! You'll have a great time, I'm sure--just as I'm sure we're in for a fantastic time too.
Lord knows I reallly need some relaxin'! Fortunately we will have had two days in NOLA before, so maybe I'll have slowed down a bit before we board!
S'
David D.

Hi Sandy,

I´m absolutely sure you´ll fall in love with the DQ like all of us did :-).

Here´s a link to the photo album on this (our) website

http://www.steamboats.org/php-scripts/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=15

Some general information (all pre MAL) on our other website

http://www.rivers-rails.com/boats-dq.shtml

And if you like to prepare yourself with reading a book I can highly recommend Jerry Hay´s "Beyond the Bridges"

http://www.indianawaterways.com/bookstore.htm

I´m just reading it and it´s great! Jerry worked as a discovery guide when they still were called Riverlorian on the DQ and MQ. Better get the combo (book and CD)! He´s a great story teller and believe me, he has stories to tell!! How about a Boeing in a river? A traktor driving in the river for a very important delivery. Basics about navigation on the rivers. A rubber duck race. And of course more fun stories from Gilligan (Jerry also published a wonderful children´s book about the goose named Gilligan).

Carmen