River Cruise

I%26#39;ve been looking at the Portland Spirit River Cruises. Thinking about planning Dad%26#39;s 90th BD for an afternoon luncheon cruise.

There is one that cruises the Willamette, doesn%26#39;t look that exciting but I%26#39;ve never been, so if you have I would love to hear about it.

One that cruises the Columbia .. longer drive but may be worth the scenery.

Not expecting food to be great -- just something different to do for Dad.

Anyone have any feedback on their experiences with either?? Any other suggestions???

River Cruise

Did the Willamette one eons ago. Don%26#39;t remember a whole lot, but it was fun.

My mom and some other family members did the Columbia one last summer and enjoyed it. Like you said, something different.

Sorry I don%26#39;t have more details to really help you decide. I think the Columbia would be a more scenic trip though.

River Cruise

Hi PT!

We have not taken any of the cruises but the Spirit here on the river looks uncomfortable to me. We were there for some fireworks etc a couple of times and every time I see people on the boat, they are sort of crowded on and the seating does not look great, it looks like too many people in a small space ( which all gives me the horrors on a boat!)

And as you say, it really doesn%26#39;t look that exciting. :)

We have done two on Willamette. One down river to Swan Island. One up river to Oregon City. I quite enjoyed the one up river. I was surprised how much new stuff we saw. You get a view along riverbank you can%26#39;t get anyway but from river. Some very nice homes. Some parklike lands. Waverly golf course.

Swan Island ok but not even close which one I enjoyed most. Though my grandkids may have liked Swan Island better cause they saw some big ships.

Have not done Columbia trip but would wonder if you would see much new Then I do not know how far it goes. If you get beyond Troutdale could be interesting. Marine Drive goes right along river for many miles

We did do ride in Columbia at Cascade Locks. would not do that again. Just kind of putzed around in river never got very far from Cascade Locks as i recall. Thank goodness we were with friends. so made trip worth it for that.. That was sternwheeler.

Crowded? Hmm that does not sound good. we were considering doing that when grandkids come again in two weeks. website says seat not guaranteed if you don%26#39;t have the meal. and we had planned passenger only.

Maybe we will do something else

Hi ptraveler! Good to see you posting again!

My brother-in-law used to captain the Portland Spirit, so I%26#39;ve done the Willamette cruise a couple times, but on his advice, steered clear of the meals. I%26#39;ve heard them described as similar to what you might expect on the ';rubber chicken banquet circuit';. Whatever that means(?). ;-) Anyway, the cruise is okay, but I don%26#39;t think of it as anything special.

Same sort of deal, but aren%26#39;t there also dinner train rides in the area? I don%26#39;t know why, but that has more appeal to me. Or, if he%26#39;s a baseball fan, how about taking the train to Seattle for a Mariner%26#39;s game, then returning in the same day. The way the M%26#39;s are playing these days, I%26#39;m sure tickets wouldn%26#39;t be a problem. :-)

Thanks for your input everyone. Just the information I was looking for. Right now I%26#39;m leaning away from the river cruise.

This morning I checked out one and two day cruises from Seattle to Vancouver on Celebrity and Holland America... extremely reasonable... just haven%26#39;t decided yet with so many people involved it may not be manageable.

Difficult because I want him to enjoy and for it to be special but it%26#39;s hard to please at that age and he has a lot of difficulty hearing. Not a baseball fan, but thanks Mistletoe, good idea if he was.

We may just end up with a banquet at home -- but been there and done that :(

If you guys think of anything -- please let me know -- I may not be seeing the forest through the trees. ~~

So you were checking out cruises, huh? Hmmm....... My wife and I took a trip north a few weeks ago that included an overnight in Victoria. From our hotel on the harbor there we observed a non-stop parade of float planes carrying passengers to and from Seattle. Hmmm...... How big is your party, ptraveler? Tea at the Empress might not be dad%26#39;s thing, but maybe Butchart Gardens(?).

I think Mistletoe%26#39;s idea would be fun. We did a float plane tour around Victoria a couple months ago and those planes are really interesting! You could drive to Seattle, take Kenmore Air up, do the gardens, etc and either stay a night or so, or take the plane back the same day.

How many people, PT?

The two day cruise sounds better, more relaxed and he can take it all in eaiser..what a good daughter you are :)

Lol -- I was in Victoria last week!!! Problem is -- there%26#39;s NO WAY you%26#39;er going to get ME on a float plane!!!!

I looked at the cruises for the Northwest -- one day, two or three day --the two or three day leaves you off at the other end. The one day leaves Seattle to Vancouver overnight. Then you change ships in the morning (lol like planes) for the next night and go back to Seattle. Might be fun. Part of the family lives in Marysville so Seattle is convenient

check it out at cruisesonly.com -- the Northwest or local cruises

There%26#39;s nine of us so far, may wind up with 15 and I don%26#39;t know if the others can swing the cruise, even though it%26#39;s reasonable. So, I just told Mr. PT about it and we may save it for another time.

Now I%26#39;m thinking maybe just the passenger portion of the Spirit cruise and having a nice dinner in Portland -- do I have to dig up the lengthy dining in Portland thread (hee hee).

How is Paley%26#39;s recently?? Haven%26#39;t been there yet. Dad might like the old house and it might be quieter so he can hear better. The bistro type restaurants get too loud for his hearing aid and it bothers him to distraction, so I%26#39;ll be looking for something quieter with no echo and loud talking and clanging from the kitchen. Help!!!!

Thanks guys for helping me out here. :) %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;