American World Traveler Summer 2019

medication, just in case. But I needed none.
The cruise was smooth as silk.
The Victory 1 is a ‘small cruise ship’ with a
capacity of only 202 passengers, so it was
easier than expected to meet and chat with
fellow travelers. The ship was launched in
2001 and after few ownership and name
changes it was introduced in June, 2016 as
the first vessel of Victory Cruise Lines. While
the ship can do 13 knots, John Waggoner,
the President and CEO of American Queen
Steamboat Company and Victory Cruise
Lines, noted that they prefer to keep the
speed around 10 knots to avoid any undue
vibration from the engines and thereby maximize
the comfort of the passengers.
Photo: Victory Cruise Lines
Waggoner mentioned that the average age
of the guests was 70 years old, plus or minus
10 years. “It’s an experience for people
looking for enrichment and learning on our
great shore excursions, and having a desire
to spend time with other passengers.
Overall, it’s for people who want to explore
their own backyards”. Waggoner suggested
five top benefits of small ship cruising: 1) As
most customers are U.S. based (with some
Canadians) there are no long transatlantic
flights involved. 2) Passengers feel safe on
board. It’s a small ship which means greater
attention to detail—people get to know your
name, and those with less cruise experience
are not overwhelmed by the experience 3)
There are no language barriers. “The extrafriendly
crew speak English” 4) There is no
need to exchange currency. All the shore
excursions take American dollars (although
some prefer to bring Canadian for the
Ontario stops) and 5) there are many cruise
opportunities to travel around the world—
and many of the Victory 1 passengers have
done so, but there are much fewer cruise
opportunities that allow you to stay close to
home. “This is one of them”.
Peter and Margaret, passengers from
California certainly backed up what
Waggoner mentioned. “Margaret doesn’t
like long flights so this was the ideal trip
where we could fly into Chicago one day and
board the ship the next morning. We like the
idea of not having to unpack our suitcases
all the time as well as the casual nature of
the cruise (there are no formal dinners). But
the best part is that we love traveling around
the United States. It’s quite diverse and there
are so many different regions to explore. The
shore excursions on this cruise are very
good. We’ve seen a lot”. Peter and Margaret
smiled when they spoke about the crew as
‘the unsung heroes’. “They’re from all over
the world. They’re very attentive to our
needs”.
Each day of the cruise a copy of “The Daily
Voyager” is delivered to the passengers to
keep them informed about the next days’
events and shore excursions.
In Detroit we visited ‘The Henry Ford’, which
according to our tour guide, is the second
most visited museum in the U.S. after
47
the Smithsonian. Displays of historic
cars include a 1903 Ford Model A, a
1931 Bugatti Convertible and an absolutely
stunning deep purple 1949 Mercury convertible.
In addition there is “The Sunshine
Special”, the very first official Presidential car
built for Franklin Roosevelt in 1939 and on a
more sombre note, there is the 1961 Lincoln
Continental in which President John F.
Kennedy was assassinated. But aside from
cars, the exhibits cover railroads, airplanes,
American furniture, and even Star Trek!
Trekkies can enter the “Khaaaaaan” Booth
and after watching a scene where Captain
Kirk reacts to a threat from the villainous
Khan with a horrific yell, guests can imitate
the scene on video, wait for the system to
“amplify the Shatnerosity” of their performance,
and then see themselves actually
imbedded into the Star Trek experience.
The Detroit Institute of the Arts was no less
impressive with the iconic Diego Rivera
murals and a magnificent art collection that
covers the gamut of history from a 562 BCE
tile painting of the Babylonian Mushushshudragon,
to works by Picasso, Rauschenberg
and Warhol.
In Cleveland we visited the Wade Chapel in
Lake View Cemetery, designed by the stain
glass master, Louis Comfort Tiffany. Then,
after viewing the amazing collection of the
Cleveland Museum of Art, we explored the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to interact with
Robert Johnson, Elvis, The Beatles, David
Bowie and other music icons.
The shore excursion in Niagara Falls featured
a good dousing from the Canadian
Falls for passengers on The Hornblower
cruise, and then a pleasant visit to the shops,
flowers and historic homes in Niagara-onthe-Lake.
The Great Lakes Grand Discovery adventure
on Victory 1 is a relaxing, social experience
with good food, comfortable cabins and a
showcase of exciting close-to-home shore
excursions, accomplished through the
smooth, comfort of a small, friendly cruise
ship.
www.victorycruiselines.com
American World Traveler Summer 2019