Cruise of the Week - American Eagle

REPORT ON THE
AMERICAN EAGLE

More Photos from the trip

The editors of SmallShipCruises.com sailed on the American Eagle for seven days from Savannah to Jacksonville, going up the St. Johns River and along the Intracoastal Waterway along the east coast of Georgia and Florida. Here is a report on the trip.

If you are bothered by seasickness or think you might be, then a river or coastal cruise is definitely a cruise of choice and something you should try. On the American Eagle the biggest swells we saw were the ones made by our own wake as we meandered through grassy marshes, lazed up the river, and sauntered along the Intracoastal. The waters were so smooth you could see the trails of water as anhingas and cormorants flap, flap, flapped off the water.

The American Eagle is a 49-passenger boat, just launched in 2000 by American Cruises, a company that was in business years ago, then reappeared on the cruise scene last year. Their focus - coastal and river cruising to explore the wildlife, history, and culture of the eastern United States.

The ship has 31 cabins, individually climate-controlled. All have entrances from interior corridors, have picture windows that open, and a small but nicely done private bath with shower. Some staterooms have outside verandahs; some are handicap-equipped, some have a TV. There is an elevator between the deck with the dining room and the deck with the observation lounge and library. The elevator does not go to the sun deck.

The observation lounge is where most people hang out when the ship is underway. All the way forward with floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, it only takes raising the mini-blinds to reveal a sweeping panoramic view of whatever we are passing. Or if there are no cold breezes blowing, the deck forward of the lounge gives an even closer viewing experience. The lounge has sofas and comfortable chairs, juice and soft drinks for between-meal snacks, a TV/VCR to show the chart readings from the wheelhouse or the latest CNN news. This room is where you can get an early morning juice or coffee and where passengers meet for cocktails and appetizer at 5 o'clock happy hour every day.

Equally panoramic is the dining room which stretches all the way across the stern with windows on three sides. All meals are open seating. For breakfast you can eat at any time. Cuisine is American with local specialties, and there is a choice of two entrees with every meal. Handling special dietary requirements is no problem.

The ship docks in the heart of each town visited so that shopping, museums and other points of interest are within walking distance. There is a library with a collection of books and videos previewing areas to be visited as well as current and classic films. Brochures and maps are posted every day near the bulletin board that holds information on the day's schedule and shore excursions. It is supposed to be a no-smoking ship, although we saw one passenger smoking on the aft deck.

Plans are for the ship to be frequently used by corporate groups and it was designed with that in mind, both the observation lounge and the dining room being usable for meetings. There is satellite TV as well as telephones and a fax machine. They promise me that there will soon be email accessibility for passengers. When desired, a corporate getaway can be combined with golf, with golf experts scheduled to be on board to teach golf and arrange tournaments. There is a putting green on the recreation deck.

What kind of people go on the American Eagle? In our group, besides myself and the travel editor of the Orlando Sentinel, there was a retired engineer, a man who sold machinery parts to steel mills, an airline pilot and his wife who trained dolphins in a marine park, a couple who both were anthropologists, two sisters, a travel agent, a former swim coach, an elementary school teacher, and a charming woman in her eighties who was the widow of a senator and who loved the ship and its ambience so much she was already on her third trip for the year and was bringing friends on board for a second week to cruise. One woman was on board with her husband who was ill, but who was able to enjoy the food and the scenery. Officers and crew are American, friendly and efficient, always accommodating and eager to please. Dress, by the way, is casual. Leave your ties and high heels at home.

Most of us got to the ship in the morning. It was tied up right along the waterfront of downtown Savannah at River Street. Despite getting there early we were allowed to board and get into our cabins … the chef even fixed a late breakfast for us. The joys of the special treatment and flexibility on a small ship! There was time to stroll along River Street, sample some Savannah pecan pralines, see the historic buildings and streets paved with old ballast stones from ships, and then take a tour to see the city with its tiny parks scattered every few blocks, the azaleas just coming into bloom and oak trees shading old southern houses.

After dinner Barbara Halpern, an anthropologist from the University of Massachusetts, talked about some of the culture in the area we were about to visit, especially the Gullah, descendants of slaves who have kept much of their original unique language and culture. Some of us stayed after the talk to hear more of the intricate African-based rhythms of some Gullah songs.

Next day we arrived at St. Simons Island, and we tried to find some CDs or cassettes of Gullah music, but none could be found. Some of the passengers went on a tour, some headed for the famous Sea Island or Hampton golf clubs. I choose a day on my own. I check out the visitors center, tour the historic 1872 lighthouse - I use the word 'historic' a lot on this trip - still in operation for guiding ships. I walk all the way to the top, breathtaking for the views and because there are 129 steps! Then I walk to the end of the beach, a gorgeous sunny day, walk down a mile or so of streets to enjoy the seaside architecture, then work my way through the two streets of shops. A lot of walking for someone who usually sits behind a computer all day!

I woke up that night when I felt the boat engines start as we got underway for St. Marys, Georgia, our next stop. A little later we seemed to be doing some strange maneuvering, then we reversed and the bow thrusters churned. We maneuvered back and forth, back and forth. What was happening? When it was light, I dressed and went to the gangway. Hmmm, this looks mighty familiar. We were back in St. Simons! Captain Andy Howes later explained that all was clear when he left St. Simons, then heavy fog suddenly rolled in, making the passage to St. Marys unsafe, so back to St. Simons. Our scheduled trip to the Okefenokee Swamp near Waycross, Georgia, got changed. We were bussed from St. Simons. The boat would leave after the fog lifted and after our swamp visit we would rejoin the boat in St. Marys. We all were disappointed not to be scheduled to go to Cumberland Island, a barrier island where wild horses and other wildlife roam freely through salt water marshes, pine forests and beach dunes. I put it on the list of places I definitely want to get to.

I don't see much of St. Marys. The lens has fallen out of my glasses. The staff on the boat jumps into action and finds a nearby eye center and calls a cab which I share with the senator's widow who needs a pharmacist because her prescription medicine leaked out and needed to be replaced.

We accomplish our chores and get back in time for the bus trip to Okefenokee Swamp, hoping to see Pogo and hear him utter his wonderful words such as "We have met the enemy and he is us". We find a museum on the grounds dedicated to Pogo and his creator Walt Kelly. And we see some animal exhibits, watch a snake show, stroll along the boardwalk paths, and take a guided ride in a john boat through the swamp where we see many alligators, including one of the biggest I have ever seen. I would have liked to go down the waterways off the beaten path, but for now that will have to go on the to-do list.

That night naturalist/travel writer Bill Belleville came on board to tell us about the St. Johns River that we will cruise the next day. He recently wrote a book called River of Lakes: A Journey on Florida's St. Johns River. Tonight he shows us slides of the river and talks about its history, its wildlife, and its environmental problems. Tomorrow he will be on the open top deck to point out wildlife and tell stories of his explorations of the river.

On the St. Johns we first go past major shipping centers with container ships being loaded and past industrial centers and pulp factories pouring out contaminants, smoke belching from smokestacks and polluting the air, and storm runoff polluting the water. Later as we get away from the industry we see many waterbirds, including flocks of not often seen white pelicans. And we see the new boats of Delta Queen Coastal Voyages in the water being painted. The next day make our way back out the river while passengers and crew take turns flying kites from the top deck.

The St. Johns was named an American Heritage River in 1998. Author Belleville is happy to see us learning about the river firsthand and appreciating it. "We don't protect what we don't value," he says in his book. "And one of the surest ways to value any place is to connect with it, even if only a little bit." Today, he says, the St. Johns and its mix of fresh and saltwater wildlife teeters on the thin line of survival. (You can order Belleville's book; just click on the Amazon.com banner and type in his name. And you can type in Eugenia Price for her novels of St. Simons, Florida, and Georgia, and also order The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy or Blue Roots by Roger Pinckney.)

After the St. Johns River we cruise slowly along the Intracoastal Waterway, the water is mirror smooth, the day sunny, and we are able to stand out on the front deck watching million dollar homes on one side and on the other side, untouched shores with herons, egrets, and other birds quietly stalking their next meal.

At Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island most of us walk around and look at the well-preserved Victorian architecture, or check out the shops in the old historic buildings. This town was the eastern terminus of the historic railroad built in the 1800s, running from Fernandino to Cedar Key on Florida's west coast, just above St. Petersburg. We had started the cruise by viewing old architecture in Savannah and here we are at the end of the cruise, viewing old Florida architecture.

Our last day is in St. Augustine, the oldest city in Florida, colonized by Europeans in 1565, years before the colonization at Jamestown or the landing at Plymouth Rock. Over the years St. Augustine was in turn settled by the French, the Spanish, and the English, with burning and plundering by one or the other in turn. After the Civil War, Henry Flagler, co-founder of Standard Oil, arrived and started making St. Augustine into a winter haven for the rich. We visit a former Flagler hotel and an ornate Venetian-style church built by Flagler in 1890 as a memorial to his daughter who died in childbirth. The church was built in one year, just in time for a memorial opening one year after his daughter's death.

We spend the last night on the boat, and the next morning with hugs for people we hope to see again we head for the airport. Will we see any of our new friends again? That is one of the neat things about small ships, you do become close to people and you often do keep in touch.

American Eagle will cruise this year and next along the eastern coast of the U.S., cruising along rivers, canals, and coasts. The cruises will include 2, 4, 7, 10, and 14 days voyages of the New England islands, Maine coast, Hudson River, Chesapeake Bay, the coast between Baltimore and Jacksonville, the islands and cities between Charleston and Florida, and cruises to and from Ft. Myers through Florida's Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades. Some cruises will feature history; others will follow golf themes, and one will be a Titanic theme.

American Cruises has another boat in the works that will be basically the same as the Eagle, but a few feet wider and with verandah cabins on both deck 2 and 3 and an elevator all the way to deck 3. It will also cruise the U.S. east coast and possibly New Orleans and the Florida west coast, they say. And down the road are plans for a larger ship that will travel worldwide.

There are four, seven, 10 and 14-day cruises. Because of there being only 49 passengers it is a good vessel for chartering the whole boat for a custom-designed voyage for everything from business seminars to cruises that feature golf, antebellum architecture or bird-watching.

Click here to book a trip on the American Eagle.

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