Travel
R
iverboats have been part of
American history since the
19th century, when they
carried both cargo and
passengers along the
country’s great rivers: the
Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri,
Colorado, Columbia and Sacramento.
As depicted in the 1951 movie
Showboat, they even brought
entertainment and gambling to
towns along the Mississippi.
for the 2015 season), the “new”
American Queen is a Victorian
beauty, her decks graced with white
gingerbread trim, her grand staircase
illuminated with a sparkling
chandelier, upholstery refurbished,
dark wood polished, and so on. Cabins
ha
ry
in an at r n
TVs. The River Grill restaurant and bar
was created on the upper deck and the
ront or h
ff t n
an th
galley upgraded.
As with every “Golden Age”, that
of the riverboats came to an end,
thanks to competition from the
railroads, commercial barges, the
ri o th a tomo i
an
na y
WWI and the Great Depression.
Today the American Queen sails
eight- to nine-day cruises along
the Upper Mississippi, the Lower
Mississippi and the Ohio and
Tennessee Rivers, with prices
starting at $2,799 per person, based
on double occupancy. All journeys
include a one-night pre-voyage
hotel stay, shore tours in all ports,
complimentary wine and beer
with dinner and other amenities.
Reviving that great tradition: The
American Queen. She was born in 1995,
the biggest river steamboat ever built.
At 418 feet long and 89 feet wide, she
was a six-deck re-creation of a classic
Mississippi riverboat with 222
staterooms for a capacity of 436
guests and a crew of 160.
Re-launched in April 2012 after a
$6.5 million makeover (and refurbished
several times, most recently in time
My American Queen experience was
a special holiday cruise that sailed
from Memphis to St. Louis, arriving
in St. Louis in time for the
spectacular Fourth of July
celebrations. It began, as all cruises
do, with an overnight stay in a
American Queen
grand staircase
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