American Melody

The Melody’s staterooms and suites are where this cruise line really shines: All rooms are ultra-comfortable and spacious, with contemporary design and elegant blue, white and griege (gray-beige) décor to create a quiet oasis. Bathrooms are full size, with hotel amenities, including Beekman toiletries, marble tiling, and dual shower heads. Beds can be pushed together to create a king-size bed or kept apart as two singles, and there are large-screen TVs, ample closet space, charging stations/outlets, sitting areas, and Keurig coffee makers in all rooms. The result: You’ll feel like you’re in a fine hotel rather than on a riverboat.

The Grand Suites, of which there are six on board, measure 650 square feet, and the Veranda Suites (ten on board) measure 645 square feet. All suites are located on the fourth deck, offering great views of the river scenery. The Grand Suites have separated bedrooms and living rooms. A modern-style couch and coffee table round out the living room area, along with a second large-screen TV, refrigerator, and a small dining table with two chairs. There’s plenty of closet space in both rooms, a double vanity in the bathroom and two private balconies with floor-to-ceiling sliders. The Veranda suites have a joint sleeping and living area with one TV and extra seating, including several chairs, and desk space.

Standard staterooms, located on decks one to three, range in size from 300 to 350 square feet and are equally decked out in amenities and style. The higher the deck, the better the view and the greater the space. There are also seven 250-square-foot single-occupancy rooms on board The Melody, which are available without a single supplement. The rooms have the same features, including private balconies, full-size bathrooms and sitting areas, as the other staterooms, along with extra-large single beds, and can be found on decks two, three, and four.

The ship is handicap accessible with elevators to each deck. One American Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant room is available. Suites may also be accessible to people using walkers and even wheelchairs, but they don’t have showers that can be rolled into or extra-wide doorways.

One of the biggest advantages of cruising with ACL is that all food and drinks (including almost unlimited alcohol) are included in the cost of the cruise. There are no surprise add-on charges.

A large dining room with panoramic views is available for sit-down service at all meals. Seating is open, so you can choose to sit with your own party or join other guests to make new friends. Alternatively, for breakfast, you can order in-room dining. Or you can head up to the casual outdoor Ellipse Café on the fourth deck, which serves breakfast sandwiches, scrambled eggs, yogurt, lox and bagels and fruit for breakfast, and picnic-type food for lunch (hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, and tuna salad wraps).

The all-American menu in the dining room typically includes three choices for lunch, which is served from 12-1:30 p.m. most days, such as marinated rosemary chicken salad, pastrami on rye, orzo pasta salad or trout amandine, plus desserts. A choice of two appetizers, three entrees, and three desserts are usually offered for dinner, served from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Standouts include braised short ribs, eggplant parmesan, crab-stuffed lobster tail and all manner of fish, from trout to red snapper and mahi-mahi. The gourmet cuisine is artfully presented and imaginative, with fresh ingredients, but is uneven at times. Some dishes are overly salty, while others are a little bland. Servers always replace meals if guests complain, however, and passengers are free to request other dishes if they don’t care for the selections being served at a particular meal or if they have special dietary needs (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free desserts). Half portions are also available upon request.

Cookies are served at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. each day. A cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres is held each evening at 5:30 p.m. Self-serve snacks and nonalcoholic drinks are available all day and night.

Two well-stocked bars are found aboard The Melody, and you can go to the well as many times as you’d like (barring—excuse the pun—drunk and unruly behavior).

Nature and history lectures, craft activities and bingo and trivia games are offered daily throughout the cruise. In the evening, the ship presents theatrical pieces (an evening with Mark Twain, for instance) and live music (country and western, oldies). The entertainment is on the sedate and sometimes even corny side, catering to an older audience (the average guest is 70 or older).

There are complimentary excursions at every port, or you can choose from inexpensive ($25-$45) tours.

Quiet rooms for lounging, reading, doing puzzles or checking email can be found on decks two, three and four.

The ship has a fitness facility that’s well-stocked with exercise machines, free weights, and yoga mats for use by passengers. There is also a walking track on level 5, the top level of the ship, along with a shuffle-board court.

There is no spa onboard, but most riverboats don’t offer such amenities.