Tag Archives: paddlewheeler

American Cruise Lines confident demand will support slate of newbuilds

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American Cruise Lines confident demand will support slate of newbuilds

By Michelle Baran
InsightStarting in 2015, American Cruise Lines will introduce four U.S. newbuilds over a period of less than four years, signaling that the company is confident the domestic small-ship cruising market is going to continue to grow for some time to come.

“I think there’s a greater awareness of it, and the market is growing,” said American Cruise Lines President Charles Robertson. “We have more demand than capacity.”

In order to meet that demand, American Cruise Lines plans on introducing a second paddlewheeler in early 2015. (Although the company hasn’t officially announced where the vessel will sail, Robertson said the Mississippi “would be a good guess.”)

The vessel, which will be a slightly larger sister ship to the 150-passenger Queen of the Mississippi the company launched last year, will accommodate about 154 passengers and will have certain distinctive features, such as higher ceilings than the Queen of the Mississippi. Like the Queen of the Mississippi, it is being built at the Chesapeake Shipbuilding yard in Salisbury, Md.MichelleBaran

When the Queen of the Mississippi set sail in August 2012, it was the first paddlewheeler built in the U.S. since the American Queen (the 436-passenger paddlewheeler now owned by the company’s competitor American Queen Steamboat Co.) launched in 1995. But clearly, the steamboat style of cruise vessel is not an outdated mode for cruising.

Neither is cruising in the U.S. in general. According to Robertson, following the launch of the still-unnamed second paddlewheeler, the company will build three additional vessels that will be delivered about once every 11 months starting at the end of 2015. One will sail somewhere on the West Coast, one on the East Coast, and the location of the third is still undecided. Robertson said the new vessels will sail both coastal and inland waterways.

The Guilford, Conn.-based American Cruise Lines has experienced 25% passenger growth each year for the past three years, according to the company. It attributes that growth to strong consumer demand for the river cruising experience, its hundreds of travel agent partners, and the fact that the company is achieving some of its highest repeat booking rates in its history.

“The demand for riverboat vacations is higher than it has ever been,” Robertson stated in a release about the company’s planned growth.

American Cruise Lines operates more than 35 itineraries on rivers and waterways in 28 states.

American Cruise Lines adds new Mississippi cruise

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American Cruise Lines adds new Mississippi cruise

By Michelle Baran
American Cruise Lines has added a new Mississippi itinerary for 2014 that runs from New Orleans to St. Louis.

The new, eight-day itinerary sails from New Orleans to St. Louis in one week instead of two, which is what American Cruise Lines previously had on offer. It will take place on the company’s 150-passenger paddlewheeler Queen of the Mississippi, which entered service in August 2012.

The new itinerary includes port calls in the Mississippi cities of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Natchez and Vicksburg, as well as in Memphis, Tenn., and St. Louis.

The cruise starts at $4,195 per person, based on double occupancy.

Paddlewheeling in the Pacific Northwest

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Paddlewheeling in the Pacific Northwest

By Michelle Baran
InsightWhen you think of paddlewheeling, most likely it’s Mississippi that comes to mind, not the Pacific Northwest. But when the 223-passenger American Empress relaunches on the Columbia and Snake rivers in April, it will bring to at least two the number of paddlewheelers sailing along the scenic western routes, paddlewheelers with a somewhat storied and related history in the region.

For U.S. river cruising enthusiasts, the relaunch of the American Empress, which has been dormant since 2008, is likely an exciting offering. The paddlewheeler is undergoing a complete renovation and interior overhaul so that it can once again sail along the rivers it originally plied when it first launched 10 years ago.MichelleBaran

The American West Steamboat Co. introduced the American Empress — then a 235-passenger vessel called the Empress of the North — in Alaska on Aug. 10, 2003, as a reproduction of a 1800s-era paddlewheeler. The vessel’s inaugural 11-day Inside Passage cruise from Seattle to Juneau marked the first overnight sternwheeler cruise in Alaska in more than a century.

In October 2003, the Empress began sailing along the Columbia and Snake rivers out of Portland, Ore., alternating itineraries between Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. In 2006, Ambassadors acquired American West, and the Empress of the North became a part of Ambassadors’ Majestic America Line fleet.

On May 14, 2007, the Empress ran aground en route to Glacier Bay from Juneau. There were no injuries, but the vessel incurred damage to the hull and took on water, causing it to list. After repairs, the vessel returned to service that summer and sailed until the collapse of Majestic America Line in late 2008.

When the Empress relaunches in April, it will join one other paddlewheeler on the Columbia and Snake rivers: the 120-passenger Queen of the West, a fellow Majestic America alum, which American Cruise Lines acquired from Majestic as it was unloading its assets in 2008.

The Queen of the West was originally launched in 1995, also by the American West Steamboat Co., which was founded that same year. Also in 1995, the American Queen launched too, which is now owned by the American Queen Steamboat Co.

So, it would appear, what goes around comes around. Just like a paddlewheel.