American Cruise Lines New Ships
By Anne Kalosh
American Cruise Lines, which acquired the four river vessels of defunct American Queen Voyages only to quickly scrap two of them, continues its building spree.
The line’s orderbook went to seven with three newly contracted vessels at its affiliated yard, Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland.
Two of the new builds are the seventh and eighth in the company’s Project Blue series, which was announced in 2022 as a dozen “go anywhere” shallow-draft coastal ships.
And the third new build is a modern riverboat, ACL’s seventh of this style, and its 11th riverboat.
Seven New Builds in the Pipeline
Besides these three newly announced orders (their passenger capacity hasn’t yet been confirmed), the seven new builds include two Project Blue Coastal Cats (with catamaran hulls), scheduled to debut in August and November this year (the 100-passenger American Liberty and American Legend), and two Project Blue Patriot-class ships (with traditional hulls) due in 2025 (the 125-passenger American Patriot and American Pioneer).
2025’s American Patriot and American Pioneer will have a traditional hull and slightly deeper draft than the Project Blue Coastal Cats. * Rendering: American Cruise Lines
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Healthy Domestic Industry
“The domestic cruise industry is the healthiest it has ever been,” said Charles B. Robertson, president/CEO of American Cruise Lines, which dominates the market. “Demand for modern river products, new small ships and unique exploration in the U.S.A. continues to grow.
“That demand is powered by destinations brimming with history and ships that provide the best onboard experience in the world,” he asserted.
Demand for modern river products and new small ships in the U.S. continues to grow, according to American Cruise Lines’ Charles B. Robertson. * Photo: American Cruise Lines
Scrapped American Countess and American Duchess
In May, just weeks after snapping up the bankrupt American Queen Voyages river fleet, ACL scrapped the Mississippi boats American Countess and American Duchess at the Modern American Recycling Services (M.A.R.S.) facility in Houma, Louisiana.
They had been built in 2020 and 2017, respectively, from the hulls of former casino boats.
American Queen In Limbo
And ACL continues to evaluate options for American Queen, the largest paddlewheel steamboat ever built, “including the possibility of donation to a municipal or nonprofit entity,” and American Empress, which operates in the Pacific Northwest.
American Queen needs costly technical work and the chances of returning to cruise operations look slim. Since the vessel is at the M.A.R.S. facility where Countess and Duchess met their end, it is feared the same fate for American Queen is imminent.
Recently it was reported the city of Red Wing, Minnesota, was offered the vessel.
Plans for the other classic paddlewheeler, the smaller American Empress, are also being evaluated, ACL said, but it will not be operating on the Columbia and Snake rivers this season.
An ACL paddlewheeler passing one of the company’s modern-style riverboats on the Columbia River. ACL just ordered another modern riverboat. * Photo: American Cruise Lines
Eliminating Potential Rivals
In acquiring the vessels, ACL eliminated any potential competition — earning praise from some quarters for a shrewd strategic business move but upsetting others. The others are the cruising public who now have less variety to chose from. ACL prides itself in offering a familiar style. The ship layout is much the same and perhaps the only noticeable differences are the vessels’ size. Some will like no surprises and other may tire of the sameness after several cruises.
The company builds almost all its ships at a company-owned Chesapeake Bay shipyard, so the repetitive design of each class significantly lowers building costs.
The scrapping of Countess and Duchess was “shocking” for fellow QuirkyCruise contributor Peter Knego, cruise historian and journalist, whose YouTube channel is Peter Knego’s MidShipCinema.
“There was so much care in their conversions … This reads like a game of ‘catch and kill,’ Mississippi style,” he told me.
Knego also voiced concern about the “waste of destroying something that is still viable,” even if the steel and some other components will be recycled.
Mostly he’s alarmed about American Queen’s future.
“That boat is a magnificent creation, from her steam engines to her calliope, genuine functioning paddlewheel and all the festoonery that distinguishes her from all of the other river cruise boats out there,” Knego said.
RELATED: QuirkyCruise’s Ted Scull reacts to the demise of American Queen.
Enduring Business Model
Now American Cruise Lines has only one direct competitor on the U.S. rivers, Viking, with one ship, Viking Mississippi.
ACL is clipping along, churning out multiple new river and coastal vessels a year. Their smaller, nimbler designs haven’t been as impacted by high and low water issues, and the business has been going for decades while several American Queen owners have failed.
In the past five years, ACL has nearly tripled its fleet and vastly expanded itineraries, with more than 140 ports visited in the 2024 season.
With the three newly ordered vessels, it will be fielding 21 ships in 2025 and 24 in 2026.
The Project Blue Coastal Cats have a catamaran hull. * Rendering: American Cruise Lines
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