Mississippi River Barge Cruises: Spirit of Peoria, Twilight Riverboat, USA River Cruises 2011

River barge/paddlewheel cruises παλιότερα mainstay Mississippi. Rising costs/slow economy → demise. Currently: paddle-wheel με overnight hotels on land. 2011: USA River Cruises θα ξαναρχίσει sleep-on-boat excursions.

Spirit of Peoria

• Authentic paddlewheel. Antebellum atmosphere: scenery, storytellers, banjo/piano, hearty buffet
• Lodging on land: 1930s stone lodge ή log-cabin lodge (Starved Rock State Park woods)
• Trips: Peoria→Starved Rock ή Peoria→St. Louis ή Florence, Illinois

The Twilight Riverboat

• Overnight upper Mississippi. Traditional «wedding cake» style. Le Claire, IA (Buffalo Bill boyhood) → Dubuque, IA → back
• Traditional dining salons, wide decks/lounge chairs, musical entertainment
• Overnight: riverside Grand Harbor resort

USA River Cruises (Spring 2011)

• Depart: Memphis ή New Orleans. Small ship service
• 8-day/7-night: Memphis→Nashville ή New Orleans→Memphis
• 2012: New paddlewheelers με spacious staterooms, luxury gathering spaces – «floating palaces» (Mark Twain)