American Cruise Lines’ Modern Riverboat Prepares for October Debut

The American Song differs from the company’s Victorian-style paddlewheelers

© American Cruise Lines

PHOTO: The American Song is billed as the first modern riverboat in the U.S. (courtesy of American Cruise Lines)

By Theresa Norton, TravelPulse

What is billed as the first modern riverboat in the U.S. is ready to enter service.

Set to make its debut on the Mississippi River on October 6, American Cruise Lines’ 184-guest American Song looks more like a European river vessel than the company’s other Victorian-style paddle-wheelers.

[post_ads]The newbuild this week entered the final phase of outfitting at the Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland, where the American Song and American Harmony are both being designed and built.

The American Song will cruise along Lower Mississippi River for the remainder of the year, including holiday-themed cruises throughout December, and reposition to the West Coast on the Columbia & Snake Rivers in 2019.

American Song’s sister ship, American Harmony, is more than five weeks ahead of schedule and is scheduled to enter service in spring 2019 on the Mississippi River, where it will join two of American’s paddle-wheelers, Queen of the Mississippi and America.

American Cruise Lines operates the largest and newest fleet of authentic paddle-wheelers, coastal cruise ships, and the first modern riverboats in U.S. history.

With more than 35 itineraries visiting 25 states, American cruises along the rivers, as well as the coastal and inland waterways of New England, Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, the Mississippi River system, and the Southeast.