2013 Resolutions

[HostDave]

By Timothy Rubacky, Senior Vice President

Welcome to 2013. We wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year and many more to follow. The New Year is, as we all know, nothing more than a date on the calendar. It has no real significance other than the symbolic importance we have hoisted upon it over the millennia. Naturally, it has come to symbolize renewal, rebirth and a casting off of things old that no longer serve a purpose in our lives. Somewhere along the line, we have all bought into this idea and dutifully prepare our list of New Year’s Resolutions. By the end of January, they are often forgotten. I can certainly tell you that for the life of me I don’t remember whatever happened to my list. The only item on the list that I actually resolved to do and did was the one that involved being part of the team that re-launched the American Queen into river service after a hiatus of a few years. She is now comfortably and gloriously back where she belongs.

I think the reason we forget our New Year’s Resolutions is because they always seem to involve pain and struggle. No one ever had a list of resolutions that consisted of ideas such as “gain weight,” “eat more sweets,” exercise less,” or “watch more TV.” In fact, I bet if I we put those things on our lists, we could end every year happy in the knowledge that we had met all of our New Year’s Resolutions head-on and succeeded in achieving each and every one of them!

If we have any hope of sticking with them, then New Year’s Resolutions should have a positive twist and be things we want to do. Recently I spent some time on the American Queen at the end of one of her voyages and was chatting with several guests over breakfast. Instead of asking them everything they had done while aboard, I asked them what they hadn’t done while aboard but wished that they had. This was a decidedly different question than one might expect and I got some wonderful answers.

Since we are always preoccupied with lists at the end of the year (best movies, worst movies, best celebrity dresses, worst celebrity break-ups and other such earth-shattering compilations), I thought I’d list the top things that guests should do while sailing with the American Queen Steamboat Company on the American Queen in 2013. For their own specific reasons, each guest I spoke with had wished they had done the things on the list below while aboard or wished they had done them more often. There’s so much to see and do on the American Queen, it’s easy to let some things slip between the cracks. In no particular order, here’s our list of New Year’s Resolutions for every guest in 2013.

Go Fly a Kite
It might seem like an activity for kids but flying a kite from the back of a steamboat as we paddle our way along the river brings out the child in all of us. We supply the kites and you supply the flying skills.

Enjoy Afternoon Tea
The Victorian decor of the American Queen, modeled after the steamboats of the day but like all Victorian style heavily influenced by English trends of the day, is the perfect setting for afternoon tea in the Ladies Parlor replete with traditional sweet treats and finger sandwiches.

Play the Calliope
The steam-powered pipe organ is the heart, soul and voice of the American Queen and although we have some skilled players on our staff, guests are also invited to take their turn at the keyboard. Don’t miss the chance to tickle the ivories with your favorite tune as it echoes off the shore and up and down the river. Express yourself!

Dance in the Engine Room Bar
When dinner is done, the main show is over and the moon shines on the river, the Engine Room Bar comes alive with live music and dancing to the wee hours. It’s a great place to make new friends and besides, where else can you dance with a red paddlewheel churning away just outside the windows?

Don’t Miss the Jazz Brunch
Once a voyage, we offer a real treat. Brunch in the J.M. White Dining Room is accompanied by some of the best jazz music you can imagine…and they even take requests! When was the last time you danced your way into a meal?

Have a Massage
Just because the American Queen is a steamboat built in the authentic style doesn’t mean modern amenities aren’t around every turn. It’s easy for guests to forget that we offer a wonderful spa experience with a variety of massages.

Don’t Miss Any of the Entertainment
We get rave reviews for all our entertainment, from our own Steamboat Syncopators orchestra to our specialty acts, our song and dance troupe, our celebrity performances on Themeboating voyages, our historic re-enactors and our lectures and discussions. The Grand Saloon is the place to be every night or at least that’s what it seems like the next morning when every discussion begins with “did you see the show last night?”

Make Your Own Ice Cream Float
The Front Porch of America is the social gathering spot on the American Queen and always features hot coffee, fresh popcorn, stacked sandwiches, warm cookies and plump hot dogs. It also features an ice cream machine and a soda machine…free of charge, naturally. As you stop in for a treat any time of the day or night, don’t forget you can make your own root beer float (or any other float you can imagine thanks to the combination of sodas and ice cream available). Try the orange soda and vanilla ice cream for your own midnight version of a Creamsicle.

Take a Premium Choice Tour
We offer free hop-on, hop-off shore excursions in every port of call on our exclusive fleet of Steamcoaches. These are among the things, along with free wine and beer at dinner and a complimentary one-night pre-voyage hotel stay, that make a vacation with us such a great value. Each complimentary excursion gives you a wonderful overview of your destination for the day. But guests always tell us that in at least one city or town, they found a Premium Choice Tour at a small additional cost that really made their trip by providing an in-depth exploration of a particular historic site or aspect of a port of call. Try floating through a swamp or canoeing across a lake, learning about the flora and fauna from your guide.

Watch the Sunrise
There’s no reason to have to get up early aboard the American Queen but at least once we suggest you rise before the sun, grab some hot chocolate, tea or coffee and a plate of pastries from the Front Porch of America, and then pull a rocking chair up to the railing and sit back. As the sun illuminates the river, roosters crow, screen doors slam, cows moo and the paddlewheel splashes rhythmically. In the early morning light, it is unchanged from the days of Mark Twain and an experience you’ll never forget.