American Cruise Lines Food Review & Dining Guide

Ever wondered what it’s really like to eat and drink your way through an American Cruise Lines sailing? In this episode, we walk you through a full day of food on board: sit-down breakfasts, light bites in the lounge, and made-to-order favorites at the Back Porch Cafe. We share what lunches and dinners actually look like—menus, portions, shared tables, dress code, and how “American comfort food” the experience really feels.

We also talk cocktail hour spreads, cookie time (yes, even on excursions), evening sundaes and popcorn, plus the anytime snack stations that keep you fueled throughout the day. You’ll hear what to expect from the included beer, wine, and spirits, what’s realistic for mocktails and dietary needs, and how the included pre-cruise hotel meals compare. If you’re ACL-curious and want to know whether their relaxed, unfancy style fits you, this episode will help you picture yourself on board. 

Eat with your eyes? See the photos in this article on our website, Sometimes Sailing. 

For more American Cruise Lines listening, check out our episode aboard American Serenade on the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

Chapters

• 1:05 American Cruise Lines Food & Dining Overview
• 3:12 Dining Venues on American Cruise Lines Ships
• 3:55 A Multitude of Breakfast Options
• 6:48 Typical Lunches on ACL
• 8:33 Perk of Dining on ACL Ships (& Pro Tip)
• 9:04 Dinner Highlights & Choices
• 13:23 Optional Daily Cocktail Hour
• 15:18 Evening Entertainment Treats
• 16:37 Snacking Opportunities
• 18:37 What to Expect Meal-Wise at the Pre-Cruise Hotel with ACL
• 20:40 Onboard Drinks, including Cocktails
• 24:43 Special Dietary Restrictions & Food Needs
• 26:35 Our Closing Thoughts about ACL's Culinary Quality

Transcript

Dan (00:35)

Hello and welcome to another episode of Small Ship Cruise Talk.

Last week, we were talking about the Douro River and our experiences in Portugal. And then this week, we're back in the United States. If you've ever wondered what dining is actually like on American Cruise Lines, today's episode is for you. We want you guys to understand all about the food and drinks on ACL.

What to expect, the special treats, cookie time, evening sundaes, and all those things that make dining on American Cruise Lines so special.

Mikkel (01:15)

Also, we realize that this is a podcast traditionally voice and you can see us if you're watching on YouTube. 

So I did want to point out that we have a corresponding article on our website that is linked in the show notes or show description. And you can see some of the visuals that go along with this episode so you can see what some of the meals look like that we ate on American Cruise Lines. They say you eat with your eyes first, so we completely respect and understand that.

Mikkel (01:48)

So an overview of the dining on ACL, American Cruise Lines, is that they have one main dining venue, and this is true for all their ships. They have several ships. They have paddleboats. They have coastal ships. They have catamarans, and they have river boats. They have the most river boats in their fleet. The most amount is with those river boats. Does that make sense?

Dan (02:15)

Yeah, the most about. The most amount.

Mikkel (02:17)

The most amount. 

Okay, the most amount of one category of ship they have, I don't want to confuse you, is of the American River ships and they have more on order coming in future years, but I digress. So all of them have a restaurant and lounges. Most of them have the Back Porch Cafe, which we are going to get into.

So there's one main restaurant plus additional dining venues on most of them. Again, the caveat. And the dining is really casual, easygoing, nothing fancy, but good meals that you're gonna enjoy and the drinks to go with it. So we're gonna talk about all of that today. We've cruised on American Jazz and American Serenade. And we always feel like, you know, now that we're in the rhythm of this with American Cruise Lines, like...

We have our favorites and things to expect that you briefly touched on like the cookie time and the sundaes that we're going to get into. So keep listening and we are curious to hear what you think of this episode. So don't be scared to reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you. Let's start with our breakfast options on the

Dan (03:28)

On ACL...

The main dining room is a full service sit down breakfast. It's got all the hits that you're looking for.

There's build your own omelet or eggs, any style. Features of the day, something like Eggs Benedict. There's quiche, French toast, and all the sides. So grits, bacon, ham, sausage, fruit, yogurt, cereals, potatoes, all the good stuff. There's also a light breakfast up in the bar lounge area. So this is like a small buffet with pastries, fruit and yogurt, smoked salmon, like smaller bites, but I do believe, correct me if I'm wrong, that that is for the early risers also. So if you get up early, you can go up there, grab a few bites before main dining opens.

Mikkel (04:19)

Yeah, and it continues throughout the main dining. So, what I really liked is that it gave us some options and a change of scenery.

Dan (04:26)

Yeah. So one of the other things that I recommend that you discover pretty quickly is the Back Porch Cafe. So I went up there quite a bit for lunch and for breakfast because it's a grill out on the back deck and you can get breakfast sandwiches, breakfast wraps, egg croissants, breakfast burritos. You know, it's perfect for something quick, warm and delicious and taking in the sites.

Mikkel (04:55)

And on the cruise ships that have the Back Porch Cafe, and again, that is most of them, certain coastal ships like American Spirit do not have it and the paddle wheelers do not have it. But let's assume you're going on a ship with the Back Porch Cafe. What I really liked was that we could order, let's say, the breakfast burrito, whatever the featured sandwich of the day was. And then I could go inside, because the lounge is always adjacent to it, and I could grab...

One day they had like bruleed bananas, so they put like a little sugar crust on it. And another day they had the same with a grapefruit. So you could grab some fruit in there and then kind build your own side situation with options. I really loved when we would, you know, coordinate in the morning.

One of us would go grab coffee while the other was showering. And then, you know, I'd put the order in, let's say for the breakfast burrito at that Back Porch Cafe or the grill, as most people call it. And then, you know, we'd meet the other person. We'd meet each other outside. And the timing just worked out. So it was just nice, especially if we were in a scenic port or cruising. It was great to be out on that back area and enjoy the view. And if the weather is inclement, they might close the Back Porch Cafe.

But most of the time it was open, especially on the Tennessee River and the Columbia and Snake Rivers. That's really nice. OK, so once breakfast wraps up and people head out on excursions, the next question of the day when you get back to the ship is, of course, what's for lunch?

Dan (06:25)

Absolutely. So lunch: the highlight for me is the Back Porch Cafe or the grill. I do.

Mikkel (06:31)

you like it. It's your fave.

I like it too. It is a really nice option.

Dan (06:36)

But if you don't feel like a dog or a burger or any of those, what did we hear? A hot doge? A hot doge? Right, if you're not in the mood for that, you can always go down to the dining room and

Mikkel (06:40)

A dog. ⁓

Yeah, was like hot dog, D-O-G, hot "doge." If you're not in the mood for a hot doge.

The main restaurant, yeah.

Dan (07:05)

get something a little bit more.

Mikkel (07:06)

In addition to hot dogs, at that back Porch Cafe, there were things like hamburgers, a salad. There was always a soup of the day. And there were, I don't know if they call them nachos or chips, but it was like chips with a side of salsa or guacamole or both, depending on what you wanted. And it was a nice option.

It depended how busy it was, how quickly you were going to get served there. I wouldn't say it was a quick service option, but it was a nice, more casual environment than the restaurant.

And the restaurant was also a great option if you wanted something a little more, I would say like, you know, wait service at your table kind of thing. The difference between lunch and dinner — the main difference— was not just that they would have kind of like sandwiches as options too, and some hot options as well, like a pasta, but that there was no appetizer or starter for lunch. So it went right into the entrees. So you would have, let's say three entrees options, and then a dessert option.

With lunch, which you could also do for dinner, which I really appreciated because I like tasting a little bit of everything was that you could get half portions. So even if you're not feeling particularly hungry, but you want to try the Reuben sandwich, let's say on the menu, you could order a half of a Reuben or half of that sandwich. You can also mix and match. So I remember one day I got half a sandwich and then half of the pasta entree that they offered. So that was a nice highlight for me.

Dan (08:34)

Plenty of different options for lunch.

But of course, dinner the main experience of the day. Dinner is in the main restaurant and there's open seating. So keep in mind with ACL, most of the time, in our experience, the tables are shared; you'll be having an intimate dinner with your newest friends.

Mikkel (08:54)

Yeah, it depends how many people you are. If you're cruising with other people, you're two or four or six or eight. It really depends on the situation. If you're a solo cruiser, make friends. People are generally really friendly we find, especially on river cruises. They're curious. They want to know about you.

So don't be shy. But it's very unlikely you're going to get a table for one or a table for two. Not impossible. Not impossible, especially during breakfast and lunch when you're kind of filtering in sort of at your own time between the two-hour block that they set up. But dinner felt like people really were anxious to get in there as soon as it opened and claim their seat. A lot of people, I noticed — we did it too find their favorite server pretty quickly within the first two or three days of the sailing and then try to sit in their section too. Did you find that?

Dan (09:37)

Hmm.

Yeah, absolutely. And it was interesting too, because most of the staff or most of the crew is American, you got a quick connection with your servers and it's like, "Oh, you're from Illinois. Well, you know..." or this or that. And it seemed like it was a more of an instant bond with the server, with servers.

Mikkel (09:51)

Mm, true.

Yeah.

The only thing you can't really do with them is if you're both from the same area, it's unlikely you can play like friend geography because there's probably no doubt that you're older than them. I mean, we're in our 40s and these are like recently-graduated-from-college kind of age.

Dan (10:19)

Yeah, yeah, that is true.

Mikkel (10:20)

Yeah, but the servers are so nice, so...

Dan (10:23)

So let's talk about dinner. It's a typical dinner menu. So there's appetizer, main course, desserts, and there's plenty of opportunities to request those half portions, like Mikkel talked about. And it's a very relaxed and social evening experience. So you don't need to bring your tux or your ball gown.

Mikkel (10:44)

Yeah.

Dan (10:45)

for ACL, you can just show up in jeans and t-shirts and ⁓ you are welcomed either way.

Mikkel (10:53)

Yeah, I would say you are. I mean, most people probably wear something like a collared golf shirt kind of thing. A polo, yeah, I would wear either a shirt or a blouse with a cardigan. Always bring something to wear sleeve-wise, because you never know what the air conditioning is doing on the ship. It could be really cold. That's true of any cruise line we've been on. Yeah.

Dan (10:58)

Yeah, maybe a polo, something, yeah.

Yeah, that's true.

Mikkel (11:15)

So talking through the menu a little bit, as Dan mentioned, there's the courses, just like a regular meal: starter, entree, dessert. For starters, there was always a soup or a salad option, and you chose one. I mean, I'm sure if you were dying for both of them, they would give it to you. But usually a typical lettuce salad of some kind and a soup or a gumbo or a bisque, something like that — some version of a soup.

For entrees, there were usually four options, give or take, and one was always vegetarian, then there was usually some sort of pasta and then various proteins. So let's say like a fish or a pork or a chicken or beef kind of thing. And then dessert, there was usually an ice cream and then like two other options, like a cake and a pie or some sort of version of that. Any thoughts on dinners?

Dan (12:09)

Yeah, I would just add kind of overall, it made me think of it when you were talking about desserts. There's a lot of cobblers in there and things like that. Right, that was my, kind of what clicked for me is like, I forgot how America it is, right? So if you're an American and that's the type of diet you want, you're gonna be right at home, yeah.

Mikkel (12:16)

Yeah, felt American.

Yeah, comforting. Right.

There is like a comfort and familiarity about it. I mean, I feel like the most exotic thing we saw was like, I don't know, like surf and turf, lobster and steak. That's not even exotic, you know? Or trout or duck. They had duck one night. I like duck. I usually order it if it's on the menu. So that was kind of like as exotic, so to speak, as it got.

Dan (12:43)

Right.

Yeah, there isn't escargot night.

Mikkel (12:55)

Yeah, I don't remember that. Although I will say this is a good transition into something else that they have. They have that happy hour.

Dan (13:04)

Right. Now that's right before dinner.

Mikkel (13:07)

Yeah, if you opt to go. I did think it was weird, though. So like, dinner was usually from 5:30 to 7:30, let's say, give or take, you know, depending on the day and the particular schedule for that day. But I do recall being a little disappointed that this, let's call it "cocktail hour," kind of started the same time dinner started, which I thought was a little weird.

Dan (13:28)

Because there was some kind of really delicious little bites there and I noticed I would fill up on those and have a couple beers and then, ⁓ I don't need dinner for another 45 minutes or something and you're kind of just like stuck going to dinner.

Mikkel (13:32)

Right.

Right, exactly.

Right, right. So on the note of kind of "as exotic as it gets" with that cocktail hour, they would put out a really nice spread. It would be like a charcuterie kind of situation and cheese plates and then also some seafood most of the time too. And then they'd have a hot tray. So it would be, I don't know, like meatballs or little tacos one day. There was always like some kind of hot thing on the buffet.

Some things you could serve yourself. There was a crudité also — vegetable platter. Some things you could serve yourself, but mostly there was a crew member serving you and kind of making you the plate that you wanted, which I thought was a nice touch, a little upscale.

Dan (14:18)

Yeah, absolutely. And I did see a couple people skip dinner altogether and just go to town on the happy hour buffet or the cocktail hour. Yeah.

Mikkel (14:26)

Yeah, I like that. And there was a pianist usually. There's an on-board musician that plays during that cocktail time. I thought it was like a really nice touch. My only complaint about it is that I wish that they staggered the times a little more, and it didn't completely coincide to the time of dinner. Yeah, for the reason you said, because you don't want to fill up on that. So...

Dan (14:47)

Mm-hmm.

Mikkel (14:48)

Something that ACL does that I think is really fun that I always looked forward to going back to dinner is if you didn't want dessert or you knew this was coming, which you'll know, because you're listening to us, the evening entertainment started. And as you funneled into the lounge, there was always a multi-tier display of pre-made ice cream sundaes that you could just pick your favorite off of there and sit down and go to town on your son this ice cream Sunday as you were listening to the entertainment. And they did really fun mint chocolate chip and hot fudge or that purple one that I wanted, like huckleberry, huckleberry kind of in the area we were in ice cream or vanilla. You love vanilla kind of thing with whipped cream.

So thought that was a fun thing to look forward to and it kind of really brings out the child in you.

Dan (15:40)

Yeah, and the cruise is short. Eat dessert twice.

Mikkel (15:43)

I like that. I like that a lot. And then if you were kind of more in a savory, noshy kind of mood, even after dinner, or maybe you ate dinner, from 5:30 to 6:30, and the entertainment was at 8:30 or 9:00, so there was more of a gap for you. There's popcorn as well. So they pop fresh popcorn. So those are some evening treats to look forward to with the entertainment.

Dan (16:07)

Now, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are not your only opportunity to eat, that's for sure. So there's anytime snacks that are always out in the bar area. And that's a very nice display of granola bars, chips, sodas, soda water, coffees are out there, cookies are usually out there. So you can really, You have...

Mikkel (16:26)

Tears Teas, juices.

Dan (16:31)

Plenty of options to

throughout the day, so if you get a little hungry in between meals, that's always available. But one of my favorite times of the day is the daily cookie time.

Mikkel (16:44)

Yes.

Dan (16:45)

That typically happens mid-afternoon and the crew tries to make cookie time a special time. Even if you are out on excursion, you're not gonna miss out on cookie time. So, they sometimes the crew will do a surprise and delight and bring cookie time along on the excursion with you.

Mikkel (16:55)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I remember when we were at Mount St. Helens, there was a picnic table outside the visitor center they set up cookie time out there for all the guests. So nobody got their, so their sugar, what is it? What is it called? Your sugar level? Right, exactly. So your sugar level was maintained and you were happy and sugared up.

Dan (17:18)

Right, yeah, so your sugar level doesn't drop? Right.

Mikkel (17:26)

Unfortunately, they did not bring coffee and tea with them. It stopped at the cookies. They did have plenty of water bottles if you needed. But anyway, that cookie time did follow us around because I think people get used to their cookies and need that sugar high mid-afternoon. 

The other thing I was going to say about the snacks is that if you didn't have time for breakfast or you're like me and you don't want to get hangry, so you want to make sure you have a snack on you just in case when you're out on an excursion, I would grab a granola bar or a bag of pretzels and put it in my day bag, so the purse or backpack we were taking for that day, just so I could have that if we got a little noshy when we were out.

The other thing I want to touch on briefly is that American Cruise Lines includes a pre-cruise hotel stay with their cruises. So for example, we were in Washington and stayed overnight before we boarded American Serenade and we were in Chattanooga before we got on American Jazz and we stayed at a hotel. It's usually like some kind of a Hilton or not like a five star hotel. 

The accommodations are fine for the night. And they include meals there. So wanted to manage expectations for that. You're not going to have a Viking river cruises in Europe pre-cruise meal. It's not at that level. Like, I remember the incredible breakfast we had at the hotel in Lisbon, speaking of the Douro River that we talked about last week, that breakfast buffet was incredible.

Dan (19:03)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Mikkel (19:08)

But you do get fed. It's kind of a means to an end, right? Right. So expect to have your typical hotel breakfast that you were going to have included if you stay at... ⁓

Dan (19:10)

Hahaha

You do get fed.

Mikkel (19:25)

I'm trying to think of like a courtyard Marriott, you know, that they include the breakfast. So there was a breakfast buffet with kind of powdered eggs, not my favorite, but just reporting the reality of the situation and, you know, sausage and bacon and that kind of stuff and coffee and tea. And then for lunch...

Dan (19:27)

Yeah.

For lunch they put out a nice spread. It was cold cuts. So see you build your own sandwich, but they had plenty of salads to go along with it, which I thought was was nice if you're not a huge fan of cold cuts. So there was options and I think both cruises offered plenty of watermelon. So again, it was so Americana. Watermelon and cookies like seem to be omnipresent.

Mikkel (20:04)

Which you don't like, but I love. So I'm all into the watermelon options, but you're like, I'm going to pass.

Yeah, yeah, I love that. Oh my gosh. And we have to talk about drinks before we end this episode. Everybody's favorite. I mean, if you're a drinker. So mocktails, speaking of, if you're not a drinker, they don't really have a mocktails menu. It's nothing like Riverside Cruises we've been on in Europe or.

Dan (20:19)

yeah.

Mikkel (20:31)

AmaWaterways has a great mocktails menu. Even MSC Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, they all have great mocktail menus. 

This is not a focus for American Cruise Lines. Of course, you can get a seltzer with a lime or what have you. But let's talk about the alcoholic beverages to expect.

Dan (20:48)

Your alcohol is included. Now you're not going to have your top-shelf liquors, but there's a nice selection of mid-tier alcohol, beers, wines. Now I actually thought because of the location of our last one that was in Washington and Oregon, the wine selection was very good because it was mostly local wines.

So I did enjoy that and I struck up a conversation with the restaurant manager and he was helping me pair my dinners with the wines and I had a great experience with that.

Mikkel (21:25)

Yeah, and in terms of what to expect in terms of the quality of liquor, like you touched on, I remember you got Jameson because that I'm not a bourbon or whiskey drinker or Scotch for that matter. But did you feel like that was kind of the best of the options there? What other options in that realm did they have?

Dan (21:43)

was what I went with. think they had Jack Daniel's, probably a Maker's Mark on the bar also. But I stuck with Jameson if I was drinking whiskey, but then they also had the same wine that was in the restaurant up at the bar. So I usually just stuck with wine throughout most of our last one. But the other one, they had a great beer selection. Your normals: Corona and Budweiser, things like that.

Mikkel (21:48)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

They also had local IPAs or a local blonde, I remember trying. And I'm a vodka and gin drinker. So in terms of vodka, I remember they had, I want to say Absolute and Tito's, but they didn't have Grey Goose or Kettle One. I'm pretty sure they did not. But I would

Dan (22:13)

Right.

Mikkel (22:30)

Get a vodka martini, dirty martini, and another good tip is to find your favorite bartender that can make you that drink and make it well and keep ordering it from that person. They had Disaronno, which I really like, that almond liqueur, for a little digestif after dinner. The bar was open during the evening entertainment. And when Dan was saying that you shouldn't expect that top shelf to be included, that's in general, they don't even have it. So.

Dan (22:37)

Mm-hmm. Yep.

Mikkel (23:00)

it's not like you have the option to pay for a higher top shelf liquor. They don't have it on board. So just what to expect in terms of that. But nobody went thirsty.

Dan (23:00)

Right.

Yeah, that's for sure. And I would add that the vibe isn't a party vibe at all. right, right.

Mikkel (23:18)

Or snooty to that effect. It's not a party vibe, and it's not a snooty vibe. Everybody's really there to enjoy the love of travel across the United States and on this boat together and enjoy this cruise together. And everybody is just really friendly. And that just carries through to whether it's cocktail hour or breakfast or lunch or cookie time.

Dan (23:43)

I mean, how can anybody be angry at cookie time?

Mikkel (23:47)

Exactly. You know, the other thing is, because we like doing this in Europe, especially if you wanted to buy something in port and bring it on the ship, they don't have security. Like they're not checking your bags with an X-ray machine. And I know that we brought a bottle of wine into our room because we wanted to try something from the region and it's not a problem. So obviously, drink responsibly and respectfully. But, you know, that's an option, too. But you're not going to go thirsty on the ship as you're not going to go hungry.

I quickly want to touch on dietary restrictions. Some people might have some requirements like they're gluten free or they're vegan. We cruised with a vegan last time or you need a low sodium diet. Did I mention that? Low cholesterol. You know your dietary needs best. 

I would say before you book the cruise, if you have something very specific, this is why it's great to work with a trusted travel agent or travel planner. So please reach out to us if you want a recommendation to work with somebody that is going to know what they're talking about. You know, can reach out to American Cruise Lines directly, but if you have dietary restrictions that are more usual that they're going to be able to accommodate you. I wouldn't expect any vegan, let's say, to think that they're going to have a million options. Same with somebody with Celiac or, you know, who's gluten free. But they do try to accommodate as best as possible. 

Also, you're in the United States on these cruises. So the good thing is if you're in a port and you want to have a meal off the ship, you're going to be able to communicate your allergy to the restaurant, let's say. So maybe, you know, if you are a vegan, you're looking forward to being at a restaurant in a port in Chattanooga that you go to because you looked up the restaurant. So don't forget that's an advantage of cruising in the United States. And then when you get on board, if you do have those dietary restrictions, make sure at the front of the cruise, when it starts, that you are connecting with that point of contact. 

And there are American Cruise Lines people there checking you in most of the time, it depends what time you're checking in, but at some point there is an American Cruise Lines contact and if you are concerned, you can voice your concern and say, "Who do I talk to when I get on the ship just to make sure we're set for a great, culinary experience during this voyage."

I will say our first American Cruise Lines experience was kind of coming out of the pandemic.

I don't know if that affected the food, but the food wasn't as good as the second time we went. And I thought the food was really good. I think there were some standouts. And I do recall looking forward to those breakfast burritos in the morning. And that's kind of like the mark of how you know something really has hit the spot food-wise when you're kind of dreaming about having it the next morning the night before.

Dan (26:38)

I would say know what you're getting into. ACL is going to give you solid comfort food. You're always going to find something you like. 

You're not going to go hungry and you'll have plenty of options.

Next week we are really excited because we are going to be talking with Sheri, from CruiseTipsTV. So she's going to be on discussing her experience with Oceania. And I know you guys are going to love that. I can't wait to learn all about Oceania and get her point of view on it. So until then...

Mikkel (27:10)

Thanks for talking food with me today, one of my favorite subjects.

Dan (27:14)

Thanks for listening and we'll see you around the ship.

Mikkel (27:17)

Keep cruising.