American Cruise Lines introduces Queen of the Mississippi

The first new paddlewheeler built for the Mississippi River in nearly 20 years

American Cruise Lines unveiled its new 150-passenger Queen of the Mississippi in New Orleans on Friday. The Twitter community posted 140 character or less announcements about the event, which I have copied a couple for your review. Ironically, the cruise line did not post any tweets, which was a missed opportunity (in my opinion).

The Queen of the Mississippi sets sail on its inaugural voyage Saturday, August 4th, 2012 from the Port of New Orleans’ Julia Street Cruise Terminal.  The inaugural eight-day, roundtrip journey from New Orleans marks the beginning of a new standard of service for American river cruising (at least that is the goal from the CEO).

Setting a new standard

“The launch of Queen of the Mississippi represents the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Mississippi Riverboating, where 21st century amenities are offered aboard an authentic paddlewheeler that is historic in appearance,” said Charles A. Robertson, president and CEO, American Cruise Lines. “We know Queen of the Mississippi will set a new standard for river cruising expectations.”

The introduction of the Queen of the Mississippi follows the April re-launch of the 436-passenger paddlewheeler, the American Queen, originally built in 1995.

American Cruise Lines‘ is generating a lot of buzz these days, in addition to the new paddlewheelers, the cruise line also made waves earlier this year by sailing their first Alaska cruise of the 2012, which you can read about here.