American Cruise Lines

American Cruise Lines reports rise in bookings

Guilford, Conn., headquartered American Cruise Lines reports that it is seeing a strong increase in demand across its domestic portfolio of river and coastal cruises. The company cites increased awareness of U.S. cruise options along with guests’ desire to support all-American businesses, as the primary reasons for the increase. Advance bookings for the 2021 season are robust, with next year’s passenger counts currently more than 25% ahead of the same time last year. American has also just...

https://www.marinelog.com/coastal/inland/american-cruise-lines-reports-rise-in-bookings/

Viking says it will start Mississippi River cruises in 2022

River cruise behemoth Viking Cruises will start cruising the Mississippi River in August 2022 with a 450’x75’ vessel being built at a shipyard owned by Edison Chouest Offshore, Galliano, La.

The 386-passenger, five-deck Viking Mississippi will sail between New Orleans and St. Paul, the company, which has 79 vessels operating worldwide, said this week.

Switzerland-based Viking’s plans to enter the booming U.S. market surfaced seven years ago soon after American Cruise Lines (ACL) and American...

https://www.workboat.com/news/passenger-vessels/viking-says-it-will-start-mississippi-river/

Passenger vessels may take $3 billion coronavirus-related hit

The economic damage for the U.S. passenger vessel industry from coronavirus will be between $2 billion and $3 billion, Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) preliminary estimates show.

PVA, which has asked that the industry be included in the Trump administration’s relief plans, represents 350 passenger vessel operators with about 1,600 vessels who employ thousands of U.S. citizens. The passenger vessel industry face months of little or no revenue.

The trade association, which is still tallying...

https://www.workboat.com/news/passenger-vessels/passenger-vessels-may-take-3-billion-coronavirus-related-hit/

American Queen suspends ship operations

American Queen Steamboat's American Queen on the Mississippi River in New Orleans. David Krapf photo.

American Queen Steamboat Co. Saturday said it would suspend all ship operations and resume service April 12 because of coronavirus problems nationwide.

The New Albany, Ind.-based company said it made the decision “following widespread governmental restrictions across ports, cities and public institutions.”

Current sailings will conclude as scheduled, the company said, and it is contacting booked passengers about their upcoming cruises and options. It has canceled 16 sailings including specialty...

https://www.workboat.com/news/passenger-vessels/american-queen-suspends-ship-operations/

American Cruise Lines founder passes away, son named CEO

The board of directors of American Cruise Lines, Guilford, Conn., announced Monday that Charles B. Robertson will be appointed as the company’s new chief executive officer (CEO), effective immediately. The appointment follows the recent death of Robertson’s father, Charles A. Robertson, who was the company’s founder, chairman, and chief executive.

“My father was a visionary and pioneer of the cruise industry, and it is an honor to lead the organization he created,” Robertson said in a prepared...

https://www.workboat.com/news/passenger-vessels/american-cruise-lines-founder-passes-away-son-named-ceo/

Columbia River barge traffic idled until Sept. 30

On Sept. 5, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River due to a crack in a concrete sill at the foot of the downstream lock gate. The shutdown will last through September.

Less than 40 miles from Portland, Ore., this portion of the river is critical to wheat exporters seeking access to multiple grain elevators located downriver, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

Lock operators observed issues closing the lock gate and determined that continued...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/columbia-river-barge-traffic-wont-resume-until-sept-30/

ACL’s second new riverboat to be delivered in August

American Cruise Lines announced that its second new modern riverboat, the 269’x59′ American Harmony, moved under its own power to the shipyard’s outfitting pier for final touches.

The 2,700 gt. American Harmony was successfully launched at Chesapeake Shipbuilding this past November 2018 and is well ahead of schedule for its Aug. 17, 2019 inaugural cruise on the Mississippi River, the company said in a recent statement.

The new cruise vessel is the second of five new ships in American’s new modern...

https://www.workboat.com/news/shipbuilding/acls-second-new-riverboat-delivered-in-august/

Viking Cruises moves ahead with U.S. expansion plans

The Viking river cruise vessel Aegir in Europe. Viking River Cruises photo.

Viking River Cruises is pushing ahead with plans to enter the U.S. market with vessels built by Edison Chouest Offshore, a cruise line representative recently told the Dubuque, Iowa, city council.

The global giant could start service in 2021 and by 2027 would have six vessels carrying 103,431 passengers on the Mississippi River, according to a chart Viking consultant David Simmons showed the city council last month.

The five-story vessels, which Simmons termed a “long ship on steroids,” will...

https://www.workboat.com/news/passenger-vessels/viking-cruises-moves-ahead-with-u-s-expansion-plans/

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