Part 1: Tennessee River Cruise: What to Expect with ACL

You’re going to love this two-part series about our Tennessee River cruise with American Cruise Lines from Chattanooga to Nashville!

We’re talking about the big picture of the experience in Part 1: What a Tennessee River cruise is like (including sailing on the Ohio River and Cumberland River), who this cruise is best for, what the American river cruise ship experience is like, and what surprised us about cruising through the American South, including insights into the food. 

The evening musical entertainment wowed us and is a reason enough to go on this cruise! We tell you all about it, including the Country Music Hall of Famer who came on board American Serenade. 

Next week in Part 2, we’ll walk through the full itinerary day by day so you can hear what each stop along the river was like and what the experience looks like once you’re actually on the cruise.

For photos of the experience and more information, read our article: https://sometimessailing.com/american-cruise-lines-tennessee-river-cruise-review-from-chattanooga-to-nashville/ 

Additionally, tune into our episode that extensively covers American Cruise Lines’ food: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/episodes/18327277

Need an overview of American Cruise Lines? Check this out: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/episodes/17477271

Transcript

Dan (00:35)

Today we're kicking off a two-part series about the Tennessee Rivers cruise with American Cruise Lines. The cruise that we took with American Cruise Lines was on the Tennessee River, started in Chattanooga and ended in Nashville. And not only does it cruise the Tennessee River, it also cruises the Cumberland and a little bit of the Ohio River. 

So you get quite a bit of different scenery and a lot of historic little stops along the way. In my opinion, there was quite a few little historic gems that were a part of this cruise. And in today's episode, part one, we're gonna be focusing on the big picture experience.

Mikkel (01:18)

So in this episode, what you have to look forward to is an overview about what we thought of the Tennessee River, kind of what we envisioned versus what we saw in terms of scenery, the pace of the cruise. We're going to tell you high level of the cities that we visited. Next week, we'll get into the details and the minutiae of it.

And also what the food is like on this Tennessee Rivers cruise in the American South. And we are also going to share something you do not want to miss hearing about, which is the evening entertainment and the musical acts that really were incredible on this cruise.

Dan (01:57)

Next week in part two, we'll be walking through the day-by-day itinerary so you can hear exactly what the itinerary was, where the destinations are, and then what our experience looked like on the cruise.

Mikkel (02:08)

go into some of the excursions that we loved and signed up for, maybe even some that we thought we would skip or we could do by ourselves next time, that kind of thing.

So let's get into it.

It was really a surprise favorite of mine so I'm super excited to talk about this today. We will be referring to American Cruise Lines as "ACL"— an abbreviation of course— along the journey of this podcast episode so if you hear ACL that is what we are referring to and as Dan said this is the Tennessee Rivers cruise itinerary but just a note that some of the cities, the ports on this itinerary overlap with the current Music Cities cruise with ACL minus the city of New Madrid, Missouri, and also Memphis, Tennessee. And it also overlaps with many cities on the Knoxville, Tennessee to Nashville, Tennessee itinerary. 

You can also do the reverse, so it really depends on the date. So we are talking about our journey from Chattanooga to Nashville, but if you are doing Nashville to Chattanooga, just kind of reverse what we're talking about it pertains to the ports, right?

Dan (03:22)

Right.

Mikkel (03:23)

So let's embark in Chattanooga and start with the basics. This river cruise follows the Tennessee River— for us, it started on the Tennessee River— and ends on the Cumberland River, in Nashville and you go through the Tennessee Valley. It's connected by historic towns that have a deep Civil War history, shipping history, right? It's slower ships than an ocean ship if you're used to that, which means a slower pace. And something that I kind of liked about this cruise, that you alluded to, was that because of the small size of the towns, these small US towns, it kind of really goes with the pace of the ship.

Dan (04:06)

I thought it just overall, if we back up just a little bit, like American Cruise Lines is a US-based cruise company. They sail extensively or just exclusively rather in the United States. And it's such an interesting way to do a deep dive into the history of the United When you think of river cruising in the United States, you just automatically jump to the Mississippi, but there's so many other small hidden gem rivers throughout the states that I don't think is on anybody's radar. ACL does a great job of building these itineraries that are rich in history, rich in understanding the landscape and the environment.

Not only the economic impact that the rivers have, but the small and local of the people that live on the rivers.

Mikkel (05:00)

I completely agree and it's so different from the life we live day to day in a major city, in Florida now. But at the time, we were actually traveling for the year and had just moved out of Raleigh, North Carolina. even so, that's a big city too. So I liked the juxtaposition of that.

We were able to explore and learn, but also it was a nice balance between being on the ship and relaxing. And the ship we sailed on was American Serenade, and it was built in 2022. So when we sailed a year later, it was still pristine. I have to say, American Cruise Lines keeps their ships in tip-top shape.

Dan (05:38)

Yeah, we've been on two now, to be three. But both of them, the ships were in great shape and did not show any age or any fatigue really.

Mikkel (05:48)

Yeah, they did not show any fatigue. And because it's actually one of the largest river cruise fleets in the world, which most people don't realize, but it is, they are building even more and more ships. So when you sail, it is very likely that it will be a new ship, if not one of the newer ships. They don't really have a lot of ships that are older.

Mikkel (06:09)

Let's get into the overview of the ports and exactly what cities we stopped in so you know what to expect. Are they all small cities? No, some of them are big, obviously. Chattanooga and Nashville, Tennessee, are amongst those bigger cities. It is a nine-day, eight-night cruise.

One of the things that's cool about American Cruise Lines is that they put you up in a hotel as part of your cruise itinerary the night before the cruise starts. So I love this because if you are cruising from a city that is not in your time zone, you have time to adjust and you don't have to make that hard call of whether or not you should come in a day early. They just have that for you. They have such nice buses that take you from the hotel to the port. 

So you don't have to worry about transportation, and we experienced that starting in Chattanooga. So the hotel is right the water. We could walk there. We'll get into the nitty gritty of that next week. we started in Chattanooga, Tennessee. If you've never heard of it, if you've never been there, it is a big city. It's a growing city as well. And it's really beautiful. And there's a lot to do there. So we boarded in Tennessee after a stay at a hotel in Chattanooga that the cruise line arranged.

Dan (07:24)

On the first day of the itinerary, we were cruising. So we got to enjoy the sights and the sounds of the Tennessee River. And then our first stop was in Decatur, Alabama. 

Mikkel (07:34)

Yeah, so we're already a couple of days into the cruise. This was kind of our first official port stop after, you know, boarding in Chattanooga and the second day of scenic cruising. But Decatur, Alabama, was our third day and was our first sort of official port stop along the nine-day itinerary while on the ship.

Next, we stopped in Florence, Alabama. So that was two stops in Alabama before we moved back as the river kind of ebbed and flowed and twisted and turned along the geography to Savannah, Tennessee. Now this is Savannah, Tennessee, not to be confused with Savannah, Georgia. It was a smaller city than Savannah, Georgia, but still enjoyable.

Dan (08:20)

And then one of my personal favorites was up next was Paducah, Kentucky, followed by some more scenic cruising. And then we ended in Nashville, Tennessee.

Mikkel (08:30)

And before we got to Nashville during that scenic cruising, I thought it was cool we went through a dam. We went through the Kentucky Dam. That was pretty amazing. Again, we'll get more into the details of that next week when we talk about the itinerary and what the day-to-day schedule was like.

Dan (08:36)

Oh, yeah.

Mikkel (08:48)

And ending in Nashville was, I thought, really special. You had never been there. Correct me if I'm misremembering.

Dan (08:55)

Yeah, that's right. Especially where they dock, because you are right there in the heart of the city. And if you want to go out and see a show, listen to some music, stumble back to the boat... Whatever the case may be, it's all right there, couple blocks walk to the heart of Nashville and where the music truly is. Or else a quick Uber ride.

Mikkel (09:17)

Yeah, it depends on your mobility and activity level preferences. But I couldn't agree with you more. I was shocked, pleasantly so, about what a prime location it was in. I feel like if they ever close that cars can't even get there. It was such a primo real estate docking for the ship. And actually, we docked right next to American Melody. So American Cruise Lines had multiple ships dock there.

Dan (09:35)

Mm-hmm.

Right.

Yeah. Overall, though, let's talk about the cruise because I was shocked. I don't know why I was shocked, but I was shocked at just how gorgeous the Tennessee River is. And it's not a big shipping river, so you don't get barges or a lot of other cruise traffic. You know, maybe recreational boats or private boats.

But the landscape is just dotted with summer homes or, you know, like vacation homes. And it was just, like I said, gorgeous.

Mikkel (10:09)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, it felt really peaceful and rural, I would say, most of the sailing. In a few places — very few — it was a little industrial, like kind of where some of those locks were, just because they had to navigate the river. But yeah, like you, I was surprised by the beauty of this river. And

Dan (10:22)

Mm.

Mikkel (10:33)

I have the most vivid, gorgeous memories of all of those deciduous trees in bloom in their green summer glory. You know, we're no strangers to the South during summer, but on the river, it was such a pleasant temperature when we sailed in July. recall that being really nice. It wasn't too bad. Of course, there are some hot afternoons. You have to dress in shorts and a t-shirt or layers if you're going into a building with air conditioning. But I thought that was really nice. The lake houses you mentioned, like vacation homes, were cool to see. It's kind of like when you go on a cruise in Miami and see all those mansions. It kind of felt a little bit like that, but the lake house edition. Right, right. And I also thought it was really cool to be on the river

Dan (11:05)

Mm-hmm.

Slightly different.

Mikkel (11:17)

in the Tennessee River Valley and see people enjoying their own vacations on their motorboats, on their wave runners. I couldn't believe we saw wave runners on the river. I've only personally seen them on the ocean. So that was really cool. And you just feel like a part of that boating community as you pass them.

Dan (11:36)

Mm hmm. Yeah. It reminded me a little bit of when we were doing the barge cruise in France and everybody had the Le Boats. They’re like boats that they would rent. Sort of similar. But I don't think these were rentals. I think these were privately owned boats.

Mikkel (11:43)

Yes!

Yeah. Yeah, people own them.

And the boating community is friendly, right? If you're on the outside deck or your balcony, you wave to them, they wave back. It's very much how you would experience that in Europe as well. I would also say we mentioned the dam a few minutes ago. But if you love an engineering marvel, then you're going to be wowed by the unique part of the river that has the lock and dam system with the management of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the US Army Corps of Engineers. One of the most memorable parts of the cruise was this lock and we lucked out with good weather. was similar to locks in Europe, but I think at a grander engineering scale. 

And I remember, you know, taking video of it and everybody that was interested was up there taking their own pictures and videos. And the thing that I didn't expect was to feel this sense of pride as an American on this ship. Now, the makeup of the guests on the ship are, I would say, nearly 98%, if not more, North Americans. But I just felt like this extra layer of pride for this engineering feat, even though I had no part of building it. I don't maintain it. But did you feel any of that?

Dan (13:04)

Yeah. It was interesting. 

There was definitely a slice of Americana as you go through that and thinking back to, I don't know, sixth grade history class with the TVA, the Tennessee Valley Authority, like learning about that and kind of clicking, like, that's what they were doing. That's what they were up to all those years ago, building this dam.

Mikkel (13:28)

I think it drives the point home that while the cities are really special what really was outstanding was the rivers themselves: The Tennessee River, the Ohio River, the Cumberland River, don't feel like, "Oh my god, now we're on the Ohio River." They all feel like they're part of the same topography, geography, as you go. It feels like a seamless experience, obviously. But really, when I think back on it, not just the cool cities we saw, but what really sticks out in my mind's eye is how spectacular the river was. The rivers were.

Dan (14:07)

Right. Well you kind of forget where you are for a second because it's the tri-state area. You've got Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee right there. And then the three different rivers; all connected, but they're three different rivers. And then you layer in the history in all of those places. And it really is a unique sailing and a unique perspective on America and American history.

Mikkel (14:31)

And like you said before, Americana. It's also, when you said the tri-state area, you reminded me they were calling it that, which is funny to me. And you're a New Yorker, too. They call New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut the tri-state area. So then when you hear that in the South, you're like, "This isn't the tri-state area." But it is to them.

Dan (14:33)

Mm-hmm.

Plus, wasn't there a time change? We went to Central Time, I believe.

Mikkel (14:54)

I think you're right. We did change time. That's a good point.

Mikkel (15:00)

I want to talk about the food for a second. We have a specific episode on American Cruise Line's food and what to expect. But I do think it's important to note that one might be wondering, because you're in the South, in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, do you get a lot of Southern favorites? The answer is no, not really. 

If you want Southern favorites, get them when you're off the ship. I would say you're going to have the best chance of variety city like Chattanooga or Nashville. However, next week we'll talk about the lunch we had before Shiloh Military National Park. And that was some Southern foods of a southern fish fry. But in general, it's not like you're going to be on the ship and they have biscuits and gravy and shrimp and grits and fried chicken any more than they do or don't on other itineraries, which we just know from experience. Would you say that's accurate?

Dan (16:02)

I would, yeah. It seemed like a pretty set menu. Very American, very approachable menu. You're not gonna have escargot and crazy things on the menu, but solid comfort food.

Mikkel (16:13)

Let's talk about something that I would say, in addition to the beauty of the Tennessee rivers, is another reason to not delay on booking this itinerary. And that is the musical entertainment, the evening entertainment on this cruise.

Dan (16:36)

Truly, this is the heart of Country Music in the United States, right? You're in Nashville, you're in the surrounding areas, so you've got Bluegrass, you've got Country. Like, this is kind of where they all go to hang out, you know? It's like going to LA, and you're gonna find actors in LA, right? So you're gonna find Country Music people in this area of the country.

Mikkel (16:55)

Yes.

Dan (17:01)

But the entertainment onboard was phenomenal.

Mikkel (17:04)

Mm-hmm. Phenomenal. And there was a vocal trio, three women, who focused on a different theme every night they performed, whether it was Oldies or Broadway show tunes. They even asked for requests ahead of time so they could make sure they knew them before that evening. They performed at least three times. They were so friendly. They were great. Actually, two of the three of them lived in Florida. were just fantastic.

Like you said, the Bluegrass acts really were "wow factor." The Banjo Cats, which is a husband and wife team, Jennifer and Michael McLain, they were amazing. They had great stories to tell. They were so musically talented in their voices and the instruments they played. And then there was Steel City quartet. It was four men. They played different Bluegrass instruments and they had a different sound compared to the Banjo Cats, which was a nice variety within the same genre. So that was really cool to listen to as well. We quickly knew like do not miss the evening entertainment. The music really stands out on American Cruise Lines for the cruises that we've been on.

Dan (18:13)

Yeah, 100%. And was towards the end, closer to Nashville, but they had the Country Music Hall of Famer and master Harmonica player, Charlie McCoy. was phenomenal. And he had some great stories. And the other guys that played with him, the Soggy Bottom Boys, they were a lot of fun, just like goofy, and brought this fun energy. I'm pretty sure I still follow the Soggy Bottom Boys on Instagram. The music itself was full of energy. There was something for everybody and, truly, music and the caliber of talent made the trip.

Mikkel (18:52)

100%. What was interesting about ending in Nashville was that Charlie McCoy, who you referenced, came on the ship with his band— including the Soggy Bottom Boys— the night before the last day. And the last day we went to a tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame. So we knew what he looked like and there are bronze plaques in one of the rooms of the Country Music Hall of Fame, where all of the Hall of Famers are. Don't say that 10 times fast. Hall of Famers are.

Dan (19:24)

Hall of Famers.

Mikkel (19:29)

And we knew to look for him. So then we saw him and we were like, "Oh my God, there he is." There's Charlie. Right, exactly. So I got a kick out of that. think the effort that American Cruise Lines puts into booking the talent on these cruises is not to be overlooked and is superb.

Dan (19:36)

Charlie.

When I sit back and I think, "Who's gonna love this itinerary?" I really think if you're a music lover, specifically Country or Bluegrass, you're gonna love it. Maybe somebody that wants a little bit slower itinerary and wants to take in the beauty of on a river, but also taking the beauty of kind of un... unindustrial rivers, is the best way to put it. I don't know. You know, there's there's not a lot of shipping and so it's it's still very much natural.

Mikkel (20:16)

Mm-hmm. Yeah, for the most part, it's not really that industrial. Yeah.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Also, someone who wants to experience the South, someone who wants to experience the Southeast, So not as far south as Florida. We are going on a cruise from Charleston to Amelia Island with American Cruise Lines next week as we record this. And that is going to the Sea Island. So, it's inland in the South and that's the beauty of the rivers, right? Like you can go inland and experience a different part of the United States because of American Cruise Lines and who they serve. And it's easy to get to if you live on the East Coast. Hopefully it's easy to get to if you live elsewhere in North America because its major cities that you can fly in and out of. Chattanooga, really easy to get there. They have an airport.

Dan (20:48)

Mm-hmm.

Mikkel (21:11)

Nashville, of course, it's easy to get to. They have a major airport. I know that the Mississippi River cruise, the Columbia and Snake River cruises are amongst the most popular for American Cruise Lines, but do not sleep on the Tennessee Rivers. Really, truly outstanding.

Dan (21:28)

Yeah. The overall atmosphere, talk about that for a second, because I really think it's important. If you're not familiar with ACL, the overall atmosphere is typically very relaxed. They do a great job at building almost like a community or a social I always feel like I'm interacting and having a conversation with somebody, just because the way the ships are designed, there's natural gathering places.

Mikkel (21:54)

Like the lounge upstairs, there's an exterior area that's really lovely. I remember the track on American Serenade was beautiful. Even the bottom of the staircase, this was fun on a musical kind of inspired tour that ended or started for you in Nashville, Tennessee. There was from the 1950s or 60s, those old microphones, a huge sculpture, oversized sculpture of that.

Dan (21:56)

Yeah

Mm-hmm.

Mikkel (22:18)

It was just nice to be there with people who were excited about seeing more of the United States.

So now that we know who this cruise is best for and an overview of the cities it goes to and starting or ending in these major cities along the Tennessee River, with a little bit of the Ohio River in between, you get three rivers for the price of one cruise, right?

Dan (22:44)

Three.

Mikkel (22:45)

In part two next week, we will walk you through the day-by-day itinerary. So if you are interested to hear what is there to do in Paducah, Kentucky? I have to say we have a shocker of an itinerary that really hit us out of nowhere and we were in awe of it. We also will share a secret city that we went to when we extended our trip from Nashville that you don't want to miss.

We're going to tell you what we did in Chattanooga, Tennessee to get you excited about extending in that city as well. And other things in between: some Civil War history, that fish fry that I alluded to earlier. So if you are curious about that, make sure you are following the podcast. You are subscribed to our YouTube channel and such so you don't miss the next episode.

Dan (23:35)

Until then, keep cruising.

Mikkel (23:38)

Keep cruisin'.