American Eagle paddlewheeler launches on Mississippi

Photo Credit: Peter Knego

NEW ORLEANS — In a ceremony held on the bow of American Cruise Linesʼ new American Eagle, Cheryl Landrieu, wife of New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, smashed a bottle of champagne against the shipʼs rail, formally christening the lineʼs second Mississippi riverboat.

As guests watched from the forward decks of the ship, there were speeches from Mitch Landrieu and American Cruise Line CEO Charles Robertson as well as a patriotic a cappella concert by a local trio called the Victory Belles.

Shortly thereafter, as a downpour drenched the Big Easy, the vessel sailed off on its maiden cruise, a-seven night roundtrip Lower Mississippi voyage calling at Natchez and Vicksburg, Mississippi; and  St. Francisville, Baton Rouge and Vacherie, Louisiana.

Boasting the largest staterooms of any Mississippi riverboat, the American Eagle and its 2012-built sister ship, the Queen Of The Mississippi, have accommodations that range from 200-square-foot cabins with picture windows to 600-square-foot owners’ suites with large private balconies. Of the 84 all-outside staterooms, 78 have balconies that are accessed via sliding glass doors.

The American Eagle's Sky Lounge. Photo Credit: Peter Knego

The two 150-capacity vessels are the first new paddlewheelers to join Mississippi cruise service since the 436-guest American Queen, now operated by rival American Queen Steamboat Co., was launched in 1995. A third, as yet unnamed vessel with a capacity for 185 guests is expected to join American Cruise Lineʼs Mississippi fleet next year, Robertson revealed.

The American Eagle has five passenger decks and a wide range of facilities, including a showroom; two large, aft-situated lounges; the intimate library, card room and chart room; a putting course; an open-air terrace with exercise machines; open and shaded deck space; a complimentary self-service launderette; three computer terminals; and free WiFi access throughout the ship.

The ‘Downton Abbey’ bump

By Michelle Baran

Downton Abbey Original Trailer

In 2011, when Viking Cruises penned a deal to become a national corporate sponsor for PBS, which included having promos run during “Downton Abbey,” the company arguably struck gold. And likely so, too, did the entire river cruise industry.

“Downton Abbey” has since gone on to enjoy enormous popular and critical success, and perhaps not surprisingly Viking has continued to sponsor the show.

Earlier this year, Viking kicked up its PBS campaign a notch, unveiling a new concept for the ads that would run during “Downton Abbey’s” fourth season — a series of seven, 30-second spots that would each tell a different part of the Viking story, whether it was a focus on the destinations Viking visits, performances onboard the ships or an ad dedicated to Viking’s culinary program.

In addition to the PBS program, Viking quietly made some additional cable TV ad buys in the last year (you may have noticed, like some of us at Travel Weekly did, Viking ads run during pro football games), resulting in a total of more than $400 million that Viking has invested to market its product, according to the company.

Viking’s ads aren’t just reaching consumers, either. The company notes that agents are seeing the commercials while watching “Downton” too.

“We have heard from agents who said that they never thought they would sell river cruises until they saw the new Viking Longships in our PBS Masterpiece sponsorship during ‘Downton Abbey,’” Richard Marnell, Viking’s senior vice president of marketing, recently said.

No one in the river cruise industry will argue against the fact that Viking is doing more to increase awareness about the category than any other river cruise line.In fact, Viking’s competitors welcome the ad spend and any spillover effect it might have in boosting their own bookings as consumers learn about river cruising in between episodes of “Downton.”

“Viking is very good about their ads on TV. But all that does is really increase awareness of the marketplace,” said American Queen Steamboat Co. Chairman and CEO John Waggoner. Waggoner was discussing the possibility of Viking entering the U.S. river cruising space, and said he would welcome the added competition, in part because of Viking’s aggressive marketing strategy.

“The analogy I use is it’s kind of like buying a car,” Waggoner added. “You might see an ad for an for a Hyundai and say, ‘Hey honey, let’s buy a new car.’ Well, once you decide to buy a new car, then I think you go out and you start to compare the cars.”

Other river cruise lines have both directly and indirectly tipped their hats to Viking for investing in advertising the river cruise experience in a way none of them really has the financial backing to do.

So, what’s the ROI on Viking’s efforts? The company’s bullish shipbuilding strategy in Europe coupled with the ongoing PBS sponsorship suggests that the ads are doing their job. How much have they bolstered the industry overall? Well, no one in the river cruise space is asking Viking to stop, that’s for sure.

Which new river vessels are you most excited about?

By Michelle Baran

It just sunk in: A ton of brand new river cruise vessels are about to launch in March and April (my Outlook calendar is blowing up). I’ve been writing about the upcoming christenings all year, but now that the  are upon us, I’m finally thinking about the actual new hardware we’re about to see and some of the developments to be on the lookout for.

Here are some points of interest:

On March 26, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection will inaugurate the 159-passenger S.S. Catherine in Lyon, France, marking Uniworld's first expansion of its European fleet since 2011, when the vessel’s sister ship the S.S. Antoinette set sail.

Uniworld has a history of going all-out on its interiors — and judging by the early photos and renderings of the Catherine, this vessel will be no exception. A Leopard Lounge with safari-themed details? A mosaic-tiled pool and spa area? Have you seen those black-and-white stateroom interiors on their website? Needless to say, the vessel promises to be a feast for the senses.

Totally switching gears, on March 31 the 220-passenger paddlewheeler American Empress (formerly the Empress of the North) will be reincarnated by the American Queen Steamboat Co., bringing back a vessel to the Pacific Northwest that was built in 2003 and that has been laid up since the end of Majestic America Line in 2008. Steamboat enthusiasts and historians will surely be curious as to how well the company pulls off its resuscitation effort.

And let’s not forget that an entirely new river cruise line is launching in April: Emerald Waterways, Scenic Tours’ four-star European river cruising project.
I’m intrigued by the heated swimming pool with retractable roof and movie theater that are slated to be features of the 182-passenger Emerald Star and the 182-passenger Emerald Sky, which will set sail on April 15. I’m envisioning Starwood’s Aloft brand in river cruising form.

Speaking of mass brands, we can’t leave out Viking’s 14-ship-strong launch taking place in France in March. Will the new batch of Longships really be identical to their sister ship predecessors? Or will there be some new little personality and amenity tweaks to the 2014 flock?

And also, I’m curious how Viking will pull off a 14-vessel simul-christening. My best guess is live broadcasts from multiple launch sites. But Viking is good at surprises. They’ve been awfully quiet about the launches, and that could mean a lot of different things. It’s a nail-biter to be sure.