Exemption Opposition - American Cruise Lines

I always liked that slogan too, Jim. Trouble is, it can be taken too many ways. You can discover the towns and the nearby stuff by taking the tours when you're tied up all day long, or you can discover the real scenery, the fishermen, water skiers, wildlife, sunsets and sunrises and locks and landings. That's not to say there's nothing interesting in the towns along the river, but for me, 3 or 4 hours in a town is plenty. Take a tour if you like, but how long does that really take in Henderson, KY or Wabasha, MN? How many of today's passengers know that Ralph Samuelson invented water skiing on Lake Pepin or that "Grumpy Old Men" (which I guess we are now!) was filmed there? That running at night to be already tied up at the next shore stop when you get up in the morning is a poor way to "Discover America by Steamboat", IMHO.

It was Voyages to America from 1973-78. Maybe it should be Voyages THROUGH America now!!!

Shore stops on the Kentucky Lake trips as I remember them.........
Leave Cincinnati at 3 pm Saturday
Sunday.....8 til 11 Louisville for church
Monday .....no stops
Tuesday.....Kentucky Lake 8 to 12 noon, stop for a couple of hours at Paducah in late afternoon or Cave In Rock if we came out the Cumberland or didn't stop at Paducah.
Wednesday ..... Evansville 11 til 4
Thursday ........ Louisville 5 til 10
Friday ....... Madison 8 til 12 noon
Saturday ...... arrive Cincinnati just after midnight Friday night all passenger off by 9 Sat morning.
Of course the arrival times depended on river conditions, but we weren't in any port more than 4 to 5 hours, the rest of the time was running.
Back then in the low water summer we passed through 14 locks each direction and traveled approx. 738 miles. Trip took 147 hours of which about 24 hrs. at shore stops, so on a weeks trip the boat was actually moving 123 of 147 hours. Not counting any lock delay....and there was a lot back then with the small 600 ft chambers ....the boat cruised at an average 6 mph.
And I don't remember any passenger complaining about lack of "shore" time.

*Kentucky Lake schedule reads right to me*
Steamboating colleagues,
Jim, you are right RE: the above Schedule/Figures on the DQ's very popular Kentucky Lake trips R/T Cincinnati. Then the GREENE LINE had each DQ trip printed/published in individual information folders with all information, schedules, shore stops in detail. This in place of those later big, expensive near 'book' printings. When the old wharfboat was sold, cleaned out here the company sent tons of material up to the Cincinnati Public Library for the Rare Books/Inland Rivers Collection where much can be seen today. Prospective passangers were sent just the folder [or more] on the DQ trips they were interested in.

The Kentucky Lake [7 days], Reelfoot Lake, Pittsburgh trips [10 days] were great usually selling out early. Beauty was all were R/T or round trip from here with not having to catch an air connection at the other end. People either would fly, drive, bus or train and and out of Cincinnati then. Some locals here even brought their own recliner deck chairs for personal use. Other than shore stop photos, those folders on the DQ did feature in places the same photos with posed models in high fashion. Then some of the men and women looked straight out of 'Father knows best.' The real beauty, as stated, was steaming during the day hours to view the great scenery. Many past and later DQ passengers never saw the beautiful Ox Bow Bends of the Ohio below Louisville due to the boat steaming at night. I agree more than a few shore stops could be done in far less hours. I think what part of this is now is to cut fuel consumption as much as possible in some areas. Interesting shore stops for passengers but no river town/city got rich by passenger spending ashore. Yet, every dollar $$ counts. More than a few passengers hit the local liquor stores if the boat landed in a 'wet' county. More than once you'd hear passengers whispering at the rail when the boat pulled in, "Ummm, is this a 'wet' or 'dry' county?"

With near summer weather here in Cincinnati this past weekend, more than a few of the excursion boats now out, running. We saw several Friday, Saturday night cruising so slow up and down the river here you could barely see them moving. That the oldest trick in the book with the boats going up only as far now as St. Rose Catholic Church on Eastern Ave., turn and then actually drift with the current down barely stirring up a breeze. In older days excursion boats went well east up to CONEY ISLAND or beyond giving passengers a 'real' excursion trip. Well, what do I know other than when I know I'm being gouged. Meow...meow.

R. Dale Flick
Old Coal Haven Landing, Ohio River, Cincinnati

Do you remember when?

Morning all,

This is a photo I took on a 1978 trip round trip out of Cincinnati to the Ox Bows and back. Great times with good friends.

Best regards, Russ Ryle

This is my first attempt to attach an image. Hope it works.

That was a nice trip...

Not sure if I was on that one or not, but I did the one in '77. In the photo are: Cappy Louden, Lexie Palmore, and Keith Norrington. Lexie would have still be steersman under Cappy, and Keith was Watchman.

Hi Judy,

I do not remember meeting you on either of our DQ adventures. The photo is from 1978. Harry and my grandfather worked on the old government boats in the late 1920's and early 1930's. Harry stayed on the river while my grandfather transferred over to the post office department.

We were above Madison, Indiana when my wife and I were invited up top and I took the picture.

Russ