One year ago, we reported on vacation river cruising, presenting an industry mostly on the optimistic side of growth and expansion for 2018. This year’s review is more geographically limited – to the Mississippi River, heartland cruises centered among New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis and St. Paul – but with links important for a lot of smaller cities in between.
Atlantic Container Line (ACL) held a christening ceremony for its new G4 vessel, the Atlantic Sun, on Wednesday, at FAPS Port Newark Auto Marine Terminal at the Port of New York & New Jersey. The ACL G4 vessels are the first of their kind and the largest multipurpose RoRo/Containerships ever built.
American Cruise Lines has announced that brand new ship American Song has successfully passed Sea Trials and is now on its way to the “Big Easy.” The first modern riverboat in U.S. history is expected to arrive in New Orleans the first week in September.American Song passed Sea Trials with flying colors and is the second new vessel completed and delivered to American Cruise Lines by Chesapeake
American Cruise Lines announced that its second of a new class of modern riverboat, the American Harmony, moved under its own power to the shipyard’s outfitting pier for final touches. American Harmony was successfully launched at Chesapeake Shipbuilding this past November, 2018, and is well ahead of schedule for its August 17, 2019 inaugural cruise on the Mississippi River.