Introducing The COLUMBIA QUEEN

Cruise Travel, March, 2001 by Phyllis White, Robert White

Cruising The Majestic Rivers Of The Pacific Northwest

A new, opulent riverboat began sailing the waters of the mightiest river in the Pacific Northwest last year when the 161-passenger Columbia Queen boarded her first guests in Portland, Oregon, and set off up the Columbia River.

The boat's exterior is an inviting white with yellow trim and gingerbread enhancing the overhangs and railings. Inside, Tiffany-style lamps and dark oak paneling suggest we're aboard one of the historic paddlewheel steamers that plied this river carrying passengers and cargo in the 19th century.

Actually, although the Delta Queen Steamboat Co.'s other boats, which ply the Mississippi River system, are all driven by a ferocious red paddlewbeel frothing the water astern, the Columbia Queen is powered by diesel engines. Also missing on this new vessel is Delta Queen's traditional steam-powered calliope, usually found on the top deck aft piping old American songs for all the river folk to hear.

Of the Columbia Queen's four decks, the Main Deck, just above water level, is given over primarily to the large dining area, the Astoria Room. This bright, inviting space stretches the width of the vessel, and windows line both sides--an invitation for the passengers to watch the river slide soothingly past as they dine.

There are two dinner seatings, both early, around 5:30 and 7:30 p.m., and tables are assigned. Although other riverboats are invariably casual in dress, about half the men on the Columbia Queen wear jackets each night for dinner, many with ties, and women dress accordingly. Breakfast and lunch are always buffets. The food could be termed basic American cooking: steak, chicken, fish, and always a vegetarian dish.

The Astoria Room doubles as the show room, where the nightly entertainment features the three-member cruise staff backed by the four-man in-house orchestra, with occasional outside performers. With an eye to the demographics of the passenger list, the entertainment leans heavily on songs of the 1930s and '40s.

Outside the Astoria Room is the Lewis & Clark Lounge, with a bar and scattered chairs and coffee tables--a relaxing place to have a drink before dinner. From here a broad staircase leads up to Cabin Deck (deck 2) and the Purser's Lobby--a handsome room with oak paneling, a Tiffany-style dropped light in the center, and deep, comfortable leather chairs. Nearby are the library and the gift shop.

Explorer Deck (deck 3) forward features the Explorer Bar, where Marjorie Sand plays piano for those who drop in for appetizers and a pre-dinner drink. More entertainment is found here after the show each night, though this is generally an early-to-bed boat.

The Back Porch, aft on the Observation Deck (deck 4), is a bright room with windows on three sides. Here juice, coffee, and ice cream are available 24 hours a day. The tables and chairs extend outdoors, all the way aft, and are a popular place to sit and watch the passing river, an ever-fascinating activity on this changeable waterway that goes from forested banks to undulating prairies via deep gorges.

All three categories of outside staterooms are large, and variously feature windowed French (double) doors or single doors that open to semi-private verandas, outside decks, or great views. A double armoire (with drawers), dresser, and shelves add up to adequate storage space, and there is also a large framed mirror and desk--all of polished oak. Inside cabins are more compact and lack a desk. All (except for the one dedicated single cabin) feature twin beds that convert to king-size. Bathrooms are reasonably spacious, with good-sized glass-enclosed showers.

Each cabin has a name. Ours was Ollobot, an Indian who was, as we learned from the caption under his picture on our wall, the brother of famed Chief Joseph, and a war chief in his own right. There is one wheelchair accessible cabin, but a few disabled passengers who were in other cabins found they had no difficulties navigating the vessel. An elevator connects all four decks.

We found that most passengers were veterans of earlier voyages on Delta Queen steamboats. All were expecting to find very different scenery and a unique experience on these Western waters. Happily, that's what this voyage does deliver. We discovered that a cruise on the Columbia Queen is shaped very much by the nature of the Willamette and Snake rivers, and especially by the mighty Columbia River.

Passengers arrive Friday and have the day in Portland, which was founded on the banks of the Willamette above where it joins the much larger Columbia. Late the next afternoon, after an all-day motorcoach excursion up the slopes of nearby Mount St. Helens, which blew its volcanic top spectacularly in 1980, we returned to Portland and boarded the Columbia Queen. The following morning we wake up to find ourselves 90 miles down-river approaching Astoria and the mouth of the Columbia River.

Indians have lived along the river for at least 10,000 years--probably longer--but Astoria is where Northwest history began for the Europeans, though it wasn't until 1792 that Robert Gray's 83-foot sloop finally sailed across the fearsome bar at the mouth of the river. His ship's name was Columbia.