US Flag operator American Cruise Lines strengthens its top position on America’s rivers with two new paddlewheel riverboats in the offing.
First to get under way will be the 185-passenger AMERICA built for the Mississippi River, making her inaugural trip from New Orleans on May 7, 2016. Thereafter, seven-day cruises will operate mostly on the Lower Mississippi between New Orleans and Memphis, with a few sailing north to St. Louis and St. Paul. When she arrives, the 150-passenger QUEEN OF THE MISSISSIPPI will move to the Columbia and Snake rivers and be renamed AMERICAN PRIDE to join 120-passenger running mate QUEEN OF THE WEST.
ACL’s Dashing American Pride. * Photo: American Cruise Lines
Not stopping there, the line’s Chesapeake Shipbuilding yard in Salisbury, Maryland, is well under way on another paddler, a 170-passenger sternwheeler to begin cruising on the Mississippi in January 2017. Cabins will measure 350 square feet, and for the first time, butlers will deliver room service, something not yet seen on America’s rivers. A patriotic name has not yet been announced, so watch this space!
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HEIDI SARNA
