10 Great American Cruises You Can Take in 2016

During American Cruise Line's eight-day "Columbia and Snake Rivers Cruise," passengers explore the end of the route that Lewis and Clark pioneered in the early 1800s—and the glorious Pacific Northwest scenery surrounding it.

You kick off your trip aboard a classic paddlewheeler (either the stately American Pride or the renovated Queen of the West) in Portland, Oregon, with a tour of the City of Roses. Day two hits Astoria, the Lewis and Clark Trail's western terminus, to see the Columbia River Maritime Museum and plenty of Meriwether-and-William-themed history. Then it's up to Washington State for a tour of Mount St. Helens—behold the lava dome and pumice plain while learning how the volcano's 1980 eruption devastated the region.

The itinerary next floats through the stunning Columbia River Gorge on its way north to visit more attractions, including beautiful Multnomah Falls, impressive locks and dams (your boat gets lifted more than 700 feet), Maryhill Winery, and the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, where docents in period costume introduce you to local wildlife, with a special focus on eagles. The cruise's last day takes you to Hells Canyon, North America's deepest gorge.

Every day, you'll have regional cuisine and wine, views of native wildlife, and live music and entertainment, including a Native American performance that teaches how the Nez Perce people helped Lewis and Clark get where they got.

Crystal Cruises' "Colonial Charms & Idyllic Isles" pays homage to U.S. history by visiting deeply American places like the White House and Capitol building, Gettysburg, Arlington National Cemetery, the Citadel, Baltimore's Fort McHenry (where a battle from the War of 1812 inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner"), and Charleston's H.L. Hunley, a Confederate submarine that sank in 1864 and was raised and restored in 2000.

After calling on New York, Baltimore, Charleston, and Savannah, the itinerary spends a few days in the Caribbean (including Aruba and the Dominican Republic) before landing in Florida on Election Day, November 8.

The 14-day voyage aboard the 1,070-guest Crystal Serenity departs on October 25 and presents Owen Ullman, a USA Today editor, as the onboard lecturer—he'll speak about his decades of covering the White House and what it was like to interview five U.S. presidents.

California-based Princess takes 1.7 million travelers to more than 360 destinations each year. So you're unlikely to find a better California cruising itinerary than Princess' "California Coastal" option.

Choose whether to depart from San Francisco—where excursions include touring Alcatraz Island, driving the Golden Gate Bridge, and strolling Fisherman's Wharf—or from Los Angeles, where you might tour Rodeo Drive, the famous Chinese Theater, Olvera Street, or the Original Farmers Market. Either way, you'll stop in Santa Barbara for a tour of star-studded Montecito; and in San Diego, where the ship docks until 11:00 p.m. so that you can partake in the beach city's vibrant nightlife scent.

These round-trip, seven to 10-day West Coast sailings rely on six elaborately outfitted vessels, each with many restaurants, an excellent wine bar, a Vegas-style casino, and plenty of live entertainment. (Princess also offers four- and five-day "West Coast Getaway" cruises.)

Maine is full of rugged types, and the Maine Windjammer Association offers rugged cruise adventures to those who don't mind a hardy vacation.

I'd recommend a specific itinerary, except that where your boat goes will depend mostly on the wind, the tide, and the captain's in-the-moment judgment calls. In addition to letting go of your notion of schedule, you'll also have to let go of email, work calls, Facebook, and Instagram, since there's no cell service or Wi-Fi aboard these nine historic windjammers.

Instead, you'll spend most of your time outdoors exploring Maine's untamed islands, stargazing, and watching for whales, porpoises, seals, and eagles. These eco-trips range from weekend getaways to full-week sails.

Nothing is more American than the American Queen Steamboat Company's "Memphis to St. Louis" itinerary, which traces the Mississippi River northward aboard the world's largest paddlewheel boat, the American Queen.

Though it looks right out of Mark Twain's day, the Queen is actually a modern ship that features a spa, an elegant dining room, and relaxing verandas. You start in downtown Memphis by enjoying its legendary music scene and highlights like Beale Street, Graceland, and Sun Studio. Then the river cruise begins; an onboard "riverlorian" educates passengers about the history and heritage anchored around the mighty river's banks.

The Queen stops in New Madrid, Missouri, for its turning-point battlefields and the Cherokee Trail of Tears crossing; at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky; and at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, for lovely river views from the Old Bridge Overlook. You end up in St. Louis, where you can go to the top of the iconic Gateway Arch and tour the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, home of Budweiser.

On the boat, a 13-piece ensemble plays big-band swing music nightly, and menus are designed to reflect the region, including Creole seafood, andouille hash, hot beignets, and, of course, Mississippi mud pie.

To celebrate this year's National Park Service centennial, Intrepid Travel launched four trips into the American wilderness, including a "Key West & Dry Tortugas Sailing Expedition" aboard a 40-foot-long catamaran.

It starts and ends in Key West, where travelers photograph our nation's southernmost point, enjoy the party-town vibe, and visit playful attractions like the Key West Aquarium, the Shipwreck Treasure Museum, and the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum.

Then it's on to Dry Tortugas, America's least visited national park, where you'll tour Fort Jefferson—the Western Hemisphere's largest masonry structure, made from more than 16 million bricks. Soldiers were stationed there during the Civil War, and before it became a national park site, it was used as a prison.

Your catamaran then threads through the low-lying Marquesas Keys, letting you off to swim and snorkel with sea turtles, tropical fish, and manatees. Throughout this trip, you'll see an incredible diversity of birds, including red, blue, and masked boobies, and have access to a zodiac that'll take you to some of America's most untouched beaches. This isn't a typical cruise—you probably won't have more than a dozen fellow passengers.

The newest U.S. cruise company is the French America Line,which will host its maiden voyage on September 30, 2016. It's only got one ship so far, the 150-guest Louisiane.

Her 2016/2017 season includes an eight-day "American Adventure Classic Cruise Tour" along the Ohio River, an itinerary that lets passengers off to explore the charming Midwestern towns between Pittsburgh and Louisville, stopping off in West Virginia and Ohio along the way.

Chef Regina Charboneau creates memorable onboard food experiences, while other niceties on the Louisiane include live after-dinner entertainment, access to cultural and history experts, plus a spa and beauty salon.

Ponant's 10-day "Eastern United States" itinerary lets you take in the full panorama of New England's fall colors from the stylish, 132-room Le Soleal, where fresh, modern design pairs with excellent food and in-suite butler service.

You'll start and end in Boston, with enough time to walk the Freedom Trail, stroll historic Beacon Hill, and taste the North End's Italian confections. The itinerary also hits colonial Lunenburg, in Nova Scotia, Canada; Bar Harbor, Maine (during an excursion, you can hike Acadia National Park); Salem, Massachusetts; Newport, Rhode Island; and New York, where passengers can take a full-day NYC tour, pay respect at Ground Zero, climb to the top of the Statue of Liberty, or explore Central Park or Times Square.

After visiting one of the world's most frenetic cities, Martha's Vineyard will feel that much more idyllic—it's where U.S. presidents go to relax amid lighthouses and cheery-colored homes.

Each winter, USA River Cruises offers the "Historic South & Golden Isles" itinerary aboard three small ships (American Constellation, Independence, and American Star). It's an eight-day jaunt down the Intracoastal Waterway from Charleston to Jacksonville, a perfect way to experience the South and soak in antebellum history while cruising protected canals, bays, and rivers.

You embark in Charleston, South Carolina, where cobblestone streets and gas lamps charm visitors. Then it's onto a horse-drawn carriage tour of Beaufort, South Carolina, to see preserved pre-Civil War buildings, and to tour a plantation. On Hilton Head Island, visit Sea Pines Forest Preserve, home of many alligators and other wildlife. In Savannah, take a trolley or walking tour of the 19th-century architecture, and don't miss the famous Forrest Gump bench.

On Georgia's Sapelo Island, you get another narrated tour, including one of the grand Reynolds Mansion. On St. Simons Island, visit the Bloody Marsh battleground, and on Jekyll Island you'll see nesting sea turtles.

The cruise ends on Florida's Amelia Island—don't leave before strolling the historic district. Departures are timed so that, if you like, you can celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's onboard.

Summit ship shot of side and bow of ship sailing through water, SM

No plans yet for July 4, 2017? How about booking Celebrity's 10-night "Independence Day Cruise" to see Boston's famous annual fireworks show in the same harbor where the Sons of Liberty staged their defiant Tea Party?

This itinerary launches on June 27 in Cape Liberty, New Jersey. From the deck, you'll be able to see the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan. Next up is Bar Harbor, Maine, then up to the port city of Saint John, New Brunswick, to see the Bay of Fundy and its impressive Reversing Falls Rapids, and to be in Canada during its sesquicentennial.

Then it's southeast for a stop in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and south again to see Portland, Maine, before heading to Boston for the patriotic pyrotechnics. Continue to Newport, Rhode Island, and Cape Liberty, New Jersey, where you say goodbye to the Celebrity Summit. While at sea, highlights aboard the Summit include specialty restaurants, a deejayed nightclub, a rock show, an ice-topped martini bar, the Canyon Ranch SpaClub—and the possibility of meeting Captain Kate McCue, the first American female captain of a mega-ton cruise ship.