American Lady Cruises — Attraction in Dubuque

To say that I am very dissatisfied is an understatement. This dinner cruise came highly recommended by friends and family for our anniversary date. Online there were beautiful photos of an intimate setting that is very romantic, full of delicious foods, drinks and desserts, which made the $103.00 cost seem worth it! However, that is far from our experience. We received an email stating we needed to arrive 45 minutes early to check in, however, the office staff was late off of the boat and getting everyone checked in, which caused us to board and depart late. There was a family with an infant and young child that also was part of the cruise, which was a little upsetting, since this was supposed to be a romantic evening away from children for us. Once we boarded, we were immediately hit with a wave of heat from the bottom deck, where the dining and bar area are. The air conditioning was not working properly, and it was stifling. We stayed in the bottom deck, however, to stay away from the younger children upstairs to help maintain our date night experience. We then went up to the bar to get some drinks (which are not included in your fee), and the drinks were very limited, and only Pepsi products were available with nothing else to mix, unless you wanted a pre-made margarita or lemonade. When my husband ordered his seagrams seven and Mountain Dew (not normally anything he would drink), there were bugs in his drink. Moving on to the food… Having seen the crew taking the uncovered chicken from Catfish Charlie’s onto the boat UNCOVERED during fish fly season, I knew that would not be my choice of meat, so I asked for the pork loin (which was served and only 2 slices were given). Then, we had a side of cheesy boxed potatoes, green beans and a kale sesame salad (like you get from Sam’s). There was no bread like the menu stated there would be. The pork was so dry my first piece flew off my plate and onto my lap when I cut it. I left the remaining meat on my plate untouched. A woman came downstairs to the buffet area to get some food and Anne (the bartender/server) shouted from the front of the ship to hold on and wait to get any food so she could portion how much food the woman received on her plate. In my opinion, the potatoes were the best part and when my husband got up to get more of them, Anne (the server/bartender), proceeded to remove all serving spoons and cover the dishes stating the “The rest is for the crew to eat.” The dessert was bread pudding and not something that I would have pictured for a romantic dinner cruise. However, shortly after, the manager came back to the buffet area and started cleaning and throwing some of the food in the garbage. We received a call from our son and stepped out of the dining area to not make noise for everyone, and when I went back inside to check my purse, Anne had removed our cups and everything from the table, even though we were still drinking our waters. I gathered my purse and sweater and went back outside to sit with my husband and look at the sunset and get some fresh air, as we were both sweating from the hot dining room. My husband got thirsty and went inside to the bar area to get some water, close our tab and get me a Pepsi and when I drank the Pepsi it tasted like straight cleaner. A crew member was cleaning the nozzles and then proceeded to pour my drink immediately following. We were so ready for the cruise to be over so we could just get away from the people and terrible experience. We were so hungry that we actually had to stop to get Culver’s on our way home. Absolute WASTE of money! I do not...

The boat ride was fun, the food was great and the staff ON the boat was very helpful and very friendly. Unfortunately it was almost ruined right off the bat by one of the members of their staff that works at the dock. The gentleman was smiling ear to ear and welcoming everyone warmly as he collected their tickets one by one as they entered the boat. When it came time for us to board he glanced over to my wife and my children ahead of me who held the tickets, his smile faded to a palpable sour look. He looked down at her hand and back up to her face then without another word snatched the tickets out of her hand and hiked his thumb over his shoulder to direct her and my children. She then politely smiled thru this obvious slight and asked him where were they allowed to sit on the boat. Before she could even finish the sentence he snapped back at her rudely "Just sit anywhere!" We were taken aback at his reaction to us and assumed maybe something had changed but the moment we had passed he went back to smiles and friendly welcoming of the next set of passengers..... racking my brain over and over as my wife sat there very upset initially the only conclusion was unfortunate..... only difference between the customers before and after the interaction and my wife was how dark her and my children's skin was... now as someone who is Hispanic but looks very white I don't see this much in my usual dealings in the world and I don't make it a habit of pulling the race card rarely ever but this was very upsetting to see in action against the woman I love and my beautiful boys. That being said, once again I will thank the staff ON the boat for great service and friendly banter as well as the captain who let my son sit in his seat. I WANT to give this a 4.5 star or 5 star rating, but to my wife.... that boat ride was ruined before it even began.... thankfully my children are too young to realize what occurred. It's an absolute shame... And before anyone yells "stop pulling the race card" I also witnessed him do it to a young Hispanic family who entered a few families behind us... Once again I will state, the boat ride in itself is 5 star but that initial reception as we entered was a 0...

First the positives. The boat was quite nice, clean and well appointed. The staff was pleasant and welcoming. The 1.5 hour Happy Hour Cruise is a good value at $23.68 per person including tax and fees. This includes "unlimited" local draft beer, soft drinks/lemonade and a "snack." Our cruise was on a Sunday, so they served pizza. It was very pleasant to be on the river, with plenty to see, including other river traffic. So, all-in-all, a worthwhile excursion.

To set your expectations, there are a few areas of improvement that would make this cruise even better. This may be nit-picky, but one of the staff numbers looked totally bored and as if she just did not want to be there. The captain seemed to have done a good job at narrating, but for much of the time, we simply could not hear what he was saying. To get the best view we chose to be outside on the upper aft deck or the lower level bow. We could hear that the captain was talking, but could not understand what he was saying because the PA system was not loud enough to be heard over people talking, or the kids who were being kids. My suggestion is to stay inside for the first half of the tour to hear the captain and then go outside for the second half after the narration is over and enjoy the scenery. The route is repeated, so you won't miss anything.

They served two locally brewed craft beers; a light and an IPA. The light was really light, so it tasted like water was added. I don't typically like a lot of hops, but I really enjoyed the IPA. The pizza was most similar to Little Caesars, which was just okay. Overall, I recommend this cruise. I would do it over again just to hear the narration and enjoy the river and the wonderful views. Frankly, I would pay $29.95 each for better pizza, better beer (or wine) and a...