New ships mean new port calls in the U.S.

Sure, it may not be growing as aggressively or rapidly as the European river cruise market, but the U.S. river cruise industry continues to see a steady number of new vessels being launched each year, the latest being a passion project of Cincinnati native Capt. Joseph Baer.

And while it's always exciting to see new vessels coming online, to get the first sneak peeks at interior renderings and to witness the ways in which different companies are interpreting the U.S. river cruise experience onboard, what some of these new vessels symbolize is more than just new hardware; some are promising to take U.S. river passengers on entirely new river routes and new ports.

For instance, the 70-passenger paddlewheeler Grand Majestic, being launched by Baer's Grand Majestic River Co. this fall, will reportedly be able to sail along some smaller inland waterways due to its shorter height and shallower draft. Baer said that the smaller size of the Grand Majestic means it can clear some bridges and sail in shallower waters that will enable it to cruise to or near Tulsa, Okla.; Omaha, Neb.; Sioux City, Iowa; Charleston, W.Va.; and into the outskirts of Chicago by next year.

American Cruise Lines, too, has said that it plans to look into some new and different waterways in the U.S. as it develops a fleet of five more modern riverboats for the U.S. market. The first two of those are slated to hit the more traditional Mississippi River System and the Columbia and Snake rivers in the Pacific Northwest, but the company has previously said that it has its eye on numerous additional waterways, including the Sacramento River, San Joaquin River, Missouri River, Des Moines River, Wabash River, Illinois River, Apalachicola River, Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Mid-Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, Erie Canal, Hudson River, Oswego Canal, Potomac River and Alaska's Inside Passage.

Hopefully the trend will continue. Because while everyone wants to see places like New Orleans, Memphis and Portland, Ore., when it comes to U.S. river cruising, there is clearly still a fair amount of untapped potential in terms of where to go and what to see. 

ACL's first 'modern' Paddlewheeler to launch in 2019

American Cruise Lines (ACL) has pushed back the expected launch of its more modern fleet of river cruise vessels by two years, to 2019.

Last year, when ACL first laid out plans for a fleet of modern ships for American rivers, they were slated to begin launching in 2017. This month, ACL said that construction is under way on the first of those riverboats, but that it is now expected to debut in 2019. The steel is currently being fabricated for what the company described as a "modern" paddlewheeler that will carry approximately 195 passengers. 

ACL did not provide any additional details about the new vessel, such as where it will sail, but did say that it is being built with the standards of European river cruising in mind and "with a level of comfort unprecedented on the American rivers."

Timothy Beebe, vice president of ACL, said in a statement that by "continually designing and building brand new ships", the company was able to increase the quality of its product. 

Earlier this year, American Cruise Lines launched its eighth ship, the 185-passenger Mississippi paddlewheeler, the America.

ACL has also begun construction on two new coastal cruise ships, with the first expected to launch in May 2017, and the second in 2018.

A rendering of the American Constellation. 

American Cruise Lines said it has two new coastal ships under construction that will carry 170 passengers each.

The first ship, the American Constellation, is expected to begin cruising in May. The second ship, yet unnamed, is scheduled for completion in 2018.

The summer inaugural season will be devoted to a new 10-night round-trip itinerary from Boston to destinations including Bar Harbor, Newport, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

Both ships are being built at Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Md., which is affiliated with American Cruise Lines. The design includes marbled tile bathrooms and large sliding glass doors in each cabin. 

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.

American Queen repositions due to Mississippi River flooding

By Michelle Baran

The American Queen Steamboat Co. (AQSC) is moving its 436-passenger paddle wheeler American Queen to the Ohio River for the remainder of July due to high water levels on the Upper Mississippi River.

Torrential downpours in recent weeks in the Midwest have resulted in flooding along stretches of the Mississippi River.

Consequently, the American Queen is moving to the Ohio River for its next three sailings, which will impact the originally scheduled July 9 sailing between Cincinnati and St. Louis and the July 15 and 23 sailings between St. Louis and St. Paul, Minn.

"Sometimes river conditions are outside our control," AQSC President and COO Ted Sykes said in a statement. "We recognize the need to cruise on the Ohio River for our July 2014 itineraries and will then return to our regularly scheduled itineraries."

The new itineraries will sail between Cincinnati and Paducah, Ky., calling on Cave-In-Rock, Ill.; Henderson, Ky.; Louisville, Ky.; Madison, Ind.; and Augusta, Ky. Guests on the July 9 voyage will travel by motorcoach from Paducah to St. Louis at the conclusion of the sailing and resume their return home as scheduled. The July 15 pre-cruise hotel stay in St. Louis remains, and guests will be transferred to Paducah to join the American Queen.

The July 23 voyage will now depart Cincinnati, replacing St. Paul, and details on that itinerary will be available shortly.

Guests booked on the July 9 or 15 itineraries have the option to stay on their deviated voyage and receive a $100 onboard credit, per person, and a $500 future cruise credit per stateroom. Guests preferring to book an Upper Mississippi River voyage in late 2014 may roll forward their booking with a one stateroom category upgrade (subject to availability), noted AQSC.

The Mississippi River continued to gradually rise on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported, but overnight rainfall wasn't as severe as predicted. 

American Cruise Lines confident demand will support slate of new builds

By Michelle Baran

Starting 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.

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.