''American Queen'' is said to be the largest river steamboat ever built. The ship was built in 1995 and is a six-deck recreation of a classic

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...

, built by McDermott Shipyard for the ''Delta Queen'' Steamboat Company. Although the ''American Queen's'' stern paddlewheel is indeed powered by a steam plant, her secondary propulsion, in case of an emergency and for maneuverability around tight areas where the paddle wheel can not navigate, comes from a set of diesel-electric propellers known as

Z-drive A Z-drive is a type of marine propulsion unit. Specifically, it is an azimuth thruster. The pod can rotate 360 degrees allowing for rapid changes in thrust direction and thus vessel direction. This eliminates the need for a conventional rudder. ...

s on either side of the sternwheel. She has 222 state rooms for a capacity of 436 guests and a crew of 160. She is long and wide. The Str. ''American Queen'' was retired to the reserve fleet in Violet, Louisiana, on 20 November 2008. Due to the failure of Majestic America Line (her owner) she was returned to the

United States Maritime Administration The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation. MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the U.S. Maritime Service and the U.S. Merchant Marine. Det ...

(MARAD) who held her $30 million mortgage. The U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration records the ship's movement to the Beaumont Reserve Fleet on January 22, 2009. As of April 2011 ''American Queen'' is under contract for $15.5 million to HMS Global Maritime, based in New Albany, Indiana. Based on the August, 2011 U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration inventory, the ship was sold on August 2, 2009, and departed the Beaumont Reserve Fleet for

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. The new operator, The American Queen Steamboat Company, announced plans to return her to Mississippi River service from a port in Memphis, Tennessee. She rejoined her fellow sternwheeler steamboats ''

Natchez Natchez may refer to: Places * Natchez, Alabama, United States * Natchez, Indiana, United States * Natchez, Louisiana, United States * Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States * Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...

'', ''

Chautauqua Belle The steamer ''Chautauqua Belle'' is an authentic Mississippi River-style sternwheel steamboat owned and operated by U.S. Steam Lines Ltd, operating on Chautauqua Lake in Western New York. History Originally financed and built by Captain James W ...

'', '' Minne-Ha-Ha'', and the ''

Belle of Louisville ''Belle of Louisville'' is a steamboat owned and operated by the city of Louisville, Kentucky, and moored at its downtown wharf next to the Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere during its annual operational period. The steamboat claims itself the "most wi ...

''. She is currently in service. In 2012 the ''American Queen'' participated for the first time in the

Great Steamboat Race The Great Steamboat Race is an annual steamboat race, taking place the Wednesday before the first Saturday of May, three days before the Kentucky Derby, as part of the Kentucky Derby Festival. The race was first run in 1963 and it takes place on ...

. She came in second place. The ''American Queen'' Steamboat is a member of

Historic Hotels of America Historic Hotels of America is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that was founded in 1989 with 32 charter members; the program accepts nominations and identifies hotels that have maintained their authenticity, sense of pla ...

, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In 2013 ''American Queen'' was fully refurbished and expansions were made to her dining areas and public venues.

Facilities

The ''American Queen'' has health and wellness facilities that include a spa with masseuse located on main deck and a gym and pool located between the fifth and sixth decks. For dining, the vessel offers formal dining in the ''J.M. White Dining Room'' located on main deck and a casual, 24-hour dining option called the ''Front Porch Cafe'' located on Deck 3. There is also the ''River Grill & Bar'' which is an outdoor bar on Deck 5 that offers drinks and cookout-style food during good weather. There are also several entertainment venues including the ''Grand Saloon'' - a stage theater modeled after

Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. The theater is infamous for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater bo ...

. Other entertainment options include a movie theater on Deck 3, musical performances in the ''Engine Room Bar'' on Deck 2 and numerous card games and reading materials in the ''Gentlemen's Card Room'', ''Ladies' Parlor'', ''Mark Twain Gallery'' and ''Chart Room''.

Themed voyages

''American Queen'' passengers experience themed voyages with special appearances by various performers and lecturers, such as

Lewis Hankins Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohea ...

as Mark Twain. The Civil War themed voyage includes historians as guest speakers, and the Twain cruise features

Cindy Lovell Cindy Lovell (born 1956) is an American educator and writer. Life Cindy Lovell was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Stetson University with a BA and MA in Elementary Education and from The University of Iowa with a Ph.D. in Ed ...

and other Twain scholars.

Routes

The ''American Queen'' has cruised the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

from its mouth to as far north as St. Paul, Minnesota. She has also traveled the entire length of the Ohio River, the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

as far up as

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...

, the Cumberland River as far up as

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

and the Illinois River as far up as

Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the navigable Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The Illinois River is a conduit for river barges and connects Lake Michigan at Chicago, to the Mississippi Ri ...

. In addition to these rivers, the ''American Queen'' enters the Yazoo Diversion Canal when visiting

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vi ...

, Lake Ferguson when visiting

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta. H ...

and the Allegheny River when visiting

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. The riverboat has also traversed the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

in order to reach maintenance and repair facilities in Morgan City, Louisiana and Beaumont, Texas. File:American Queen Saint Francisville in Morning.jpg, ''American Queen'' docked in St. Francisville, Louisiana in September 2017. File:American Queen Facing Ottawa Rail Bridge.jpg, ''American Queen'' docked in

facing the

Ottawa Rail Bridge The Ottawa Rail Bridge is a railroad bridge spanning the Illinois River in the municipality of Ottawa, Illinois, Ottawa, LaSalle County, Illinois. The first rail crossing on this site was constructed in 1871 by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Ra ...

in September 2018. She cannot proceed up the Illinois River beyond this point. File:American Queen Docked in Henderson KY.jpg, ''American Queen'' docked in

Henderson, Kentucky Henderson is a home rule-class city along the Ohio River and is the county seat of Henderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,757 at the 2010 U.S. census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area, locally known as t ...

in November 2015. File:American Queen Clarksville Riverfront.jpg, ''American Queen'' docked in

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States. It is the fifth-largest city in the state behind Nashville, Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 202 ...

in October 2016.

Media appearances

In 2007, ''American Queen'' was the subject of an episode of the Discovery Channel TV series ''Superships'', and is available to view on digital download platforms such as iTunes and Amazon Prime Video. In 2009, ''American Queen'' was featured in an episode of ''

Little People, Big World ''Little People, Big World'' is an American reality television series that premiered on March 4, 2006, and airs on TLC. The series chronicles the lives of the six-member Roloff family farm near Portland, Oregon. Many of the episodes focus on the ...

'' in which the Roloff family took a cruise aboard the vessel. In 2018, ''American Queen'' was featured in an episode of ''Cruising with Jane McDonald.'' The show followed British singer Jane McDonald on a cruise aboard the American Queen from New Orleans to Memphis.

References

External links