Daily Entertainment
Wake each morning to the sound of music offering you a hint of that day's distinctive theme. Throughout the day, the historian can be heard interpreting the natural and human history along the cruise route. Join the historian for the informal presentations, or even listen along from the comfort of your stateroom.

Pre-Dinner Entertainment
The evening's musical entertainment begins with a pre-dinner cocktail hour featuring complimentary hors d'oeuvres and music in the Columbia or Golden Nugget Showroom and Paddlewheel Lounge. Then, after your elegant dinner, it's show time!

Evening Entertainment
Every evening in the showrooms, you'll enjoy an ever-changing array of gifted musicians and performers, along with the ships' own talented bands. Polish your dancing shoes and take to the dance floor during these spirited performances, all highlighted by our Captain's Gala Farewell Show. The Paddlewheel Lounge, with stunning views of the churning paddlewheel is hosted by our resident musical experts who perform contemporary favorites for your listening and dancing pleasure.

Timeless Musical Themes
"Showboat's-a-Comin'" kicks off a festive week of live entertainment and dancing. Revisit the timeless memories of the '50s and '60s. You also will be treated to Country Western favorites, a Best of Broadway performance and a musical salute to America the Beautiful.

Onboard Activities
American West Steamboat cruises provide you with a wide array of shipboard activities. You can do as much or as little as you want. You can attend one of the onboard Historian programs, stroll through the onboard galleries, view the spectacular scenery through large picture windows, watch a free move in your stateroom or join other passengers in the Showroom for games or cards. Our cruise staff also puts together fun activities, such as Oregon Trail wagon races and bingo.

Want more activity? Enjoy the shipboard entertainment and dance into the night in the Showroom. Or perhaps complete serenity is more tempting? Stroll with friends, relax with a drink or a book on deck, or enjoy the cabaret environment of the Paddlewheel Lounge.

Paddlewheel Lounge Activities
Watch your ship's massive paddlewheel at work while you relax in the comfort of the Paddlewheel Lounge. It is the perfect retreat during the day for browsing the ship's library and enjoying the many board and card games provided. The library features many of our suggested reading lists for our Columbia River cruises. The lounge provides a perfect spot for relaxing with a good book, playing a game of checkers, chess, monopoly, or writing letters to friends or family. A good selection of books, magazines and historical memorabilia are provided in our library for you to enjoy.

Daily Activity Bulletin
The Sternwheeler Journal, the ship's daily activity bulletin, will be delivered to your stateroom each evening. It will list a brief schedule of all of the next day's activities including a TV channel guide, daily menus, meal times, shore excursion departure times, port arrival times, special activities planned by your cruise staff, lectures, movies and entertainment features. The Sternwheeler Journal will also give you dress suggestions for special shore excursions, events or dinners.

Unique Onboard Galleries
A stroll along the corridors of the sternwheelers  Empress of the North, with their expansive collections of vintage photographs, paintings and artifacts, is a walk through the rich history of paddle wheel cruising and life along Alaska's Inside Passage and the Columbia, Willamette and Snake Rivers. Their corridors are unique galleries of art, with hundreds of period photographs and Old West paintings of frontier life, Native Americans, wildlife and historic sternwheelers. You can take a self-guided gallery walk using the gallery guide provided onboard.

Empress of the North Gallery
The Empress of the North features an extensive gallery of paintings, sculptures, pictures and historic artifacts of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.  Over 700 pieces of exquisite art and artifacts can be viewed in the elegant staterooms and the ship's corridors including a rare collection of Russian nesting dolls, Faberg eggs and Alaska Native masks and carvings in addition to paintings of Pacific Northwest wildlife and scenery by such well-known artists as Fred Machatenz, John Van Zyle, Byron Birdsall and Joann George.  Historic photographs and documents showcase Gold Rush history plus some of the best-remembered paddlewheel vessels in Alaska, the Yukon and the Columbia, Snake, and Willamette Rivers in the past 100 years.  Of particular interest are photos of the sternwheeler Bailey Gatzert, one of the Columbia River's fastest and most famous riverboats.

Expert Historian Onboard
Every American West Steamboat cruise features an expert historian and/or renowned visiting lecturer who interprets the history, cultures and scenic beauty of the Northwest.

Throughout the day, the historian can be heard interpreting the natural and human history along the cruise route. Join the historian for the informal presentations or even listen along from the comfort of your stateroom through the onboard audio system.