American Queen Set to Add American Duchess Riverboat in June 2017
by James Shillinglaw /A rendering of the planned 166-passenger American Duchess.
American Queen Steamboat Company, which owns and operates the 436-passenger American Queen on the Mississippi and 223-passenger American Empress in the Pacific Northwest, said it will launch a new vessel, the 166-guest American Duchess, in June 2017 on the Mississippi.
American Queen president Ted Sykes said construction will begin soon on a recently purchased American-made hull for a boat that will become the Memphis-based company’s third vessel. The all-suite American Duchess will be the first purpose-built boutique paddlewheeler, offering guests the largest suites on the Mississippi in every category.
The American Queen riverboat already sails on the Mississippi and its tributaries, with turnarounds in Memphis, New Orleans and other ports. American Empress sails on the Columbia and Snake Rivers in the Pacific Northwest.
The American Duchess, which also will sail on the Mississippi and its tributaries, will offer overnight stays in Nashville and New Orleans, as well as shorter roundtrip itineraries from both cities. For the first time the boat also will features departures from Ottawa, IL, near Chicago.
American Queen’s move, which represents a 25% increase in capacity for the company, comes as other river cruise companies are trying to enter the Mississippi river cruise market. Currently American Cruise Line is American Queen’s chief competitor, with two paddlewheelers, the 150-passenger Queen of the Mississippi and the 185-passenger America.
Viking River Cruises, which nearly three years ago announced it was planning to introduce Mississippi river cruises, still has not decided where to build a ship, nor has it formed a U.S.-owned subsidiary, which would be required under U.S. passenger shipping laws. Indeed, some say it may take an act of Congress to get Viking’s U.S. operations under way.
Meanwhile, fledgling French America Line reportedly plans to launch its 150-passenger flagship Louisiane, the former Columbia Queen, on Oct. 1 on the Mississippi.
But American Queen’s Sykes says his company is building a second ship on the Mississippi not because of new competition, but because demand has outstripped supply, with occupancy rates on the company’s American Queen of 95% or more. “Demand for more capacity on the Mississippi River has been overwhelming the past two seasons and we look forward to delivering a new boutique, all-suite experience and the flexibility of two riverboats sailing between New Orleans and St. Paul,” Sykes says.
American Duchess will feature three 550-square-foot Owner’s Suites; four 550-square feet Loft Suites, which Sykes called a U.S. riverboat first; and spacious Veranda Suites and Interior Suites. The new boat also will feature open seating with two dining venues, the Grand Dining Room and the Grill Room, offering regionally inspired cuisine similar to that of the American Queen. The vessel also will have a large entertainment lounge, as well as other bars and lounges.
The new vessel will offer a more boutique experience, aimed at a more upscale audience, with larger suites and more features. That, in turn, will mean pricing will be higher than cruises on the existing American Queen, according to Sykes.
American Queen executives also say their newest vessel will build on the success of their first two boats. “In five short years, the American Queen Steamboat Company has grown to over 500 employees and we look forward to hiring about 100 more, right here in the U.S., in anticipation of the American Duchess inaugural season,” says John Waggoner, American Queen’s chairman, who also serves as president and CEO of HMS Global Maritime, operator of more than 85 U.S.-flagged vessels.
For his part, Sykes says the increase in capacity also will mean more staterooms and suites for travel agents to sell. American Queen is now in talks to become a preferred partner with several major travel-agency consortia. When the company began five years ago, it did have a partnership with Signature Travel Network, which it later dropped. But now, with another ship, Sykes says American Queen will seek to develop preferred partnerships with agency groups.