American Queen Ceases Operations

[3rdGenCunarder]

56 minutes ago, DaveinCharlotte said:

I tend to doubt it.  ACL already has five -- count 'm five -- ships operating there, two of which are paddlewheelers.  Those (Pride, West) however are kind of long in the tooth, so maybe ACL would be keen to replace them/

 

By West do you mean the old Queen of the West? Or as we called it, Queen of the Worst. We sailed on that ship 10 years ago and thought it was in bad shape.

[Globalfish]

The sale of the four AQV riverboats to ACL was just approved by the Bankruptcy Court in Houston.  The sale of the Ocean Voyager and Ocean Navigator to a different buyer is still pending.
 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/finance-legal-regulatory/19m-winning-bid-aqv-coastals-court-oks-6m-sale-river-vessels

[steamboats]

The Ocean Victory is an expedition ship built for polar regions. It was not really the right ship for Alaska but for the Med???? 

 

steamboats

[DaveinCharlotte]

23 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

By West do you mean the old Queen of the West? Or as we called it, Queen of the Worst. We sailed on that ship 10 years ago and thought it was in bad shape.

I don't know; can't find anything on wikipedia.  ACL just calls it "American West, 110 passengers, Inaugurated 1995."  That's pretty old, so you're probably right.

 

https://www.americancruiselines.com/usa-riverboat-cruise-ships/paddlewheeler-cruise-ships/american-west

[Globalfish]

Everyone’s happy:
 

https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/American-Queen-Voyages-ships-find-new-life

[steamboats]

16 hours ago, DaveinCharlotte said:

I don't know; can't find anything on wikipedia.  ACL just calls it "American West, 110 passengers, Inaugurated 1995."  That's pretty old, so you're probably right.

 

Yes, it´s the former Queen of the West.

 

steamboats

[Host Jazzbeau]

On 4/5/2024 at 2:20 AM, steamboats said:

The Ocean Victory is an expedition ship built for polar regions. It was not really the right ship for Alaska but for the Med???? 

 

steamboats

Well, the Med it is.  But you have to speak Spanish:

Alma Cruceros to Operate Ocean Victory in Med in 2025

[steamboats]

Not the first company which tries to operate on the Spanish speaking market. So far they all failed. And this ship is not suited for warm weather destinations.

 

steamboats 

[island lady]

I keep getting multiple duplicate letters with the bankruptcy information...but nothing that helps any of us out with actual refunds yet.  Anyone have any luck yet?  They owe me over 15K for paid in full B2B river cruise.  Ouch.  

[island lady]

Yet another one of those form letters again today.  Sheezz...they are spending a lot of postage just to send us a massive amount of the same letter that does us no good.  🤬

[steamboats]

Unfortunately rumors are that all three Mississippi river boats will be scrapped - American Duchess, American Countess and American Queen.

 

steamboats

[chengkp75]

2 hours ago, steamboats said:

Unfortunately rumors are that all three Mississippi river boats will be scrapped - American Duchess, American Countess and American Queen.

 

steamboats

Just shy of $4 million to eliminate a competitor, about what I expected.  Wonder if the Empress will follow.

[steamboats]

2 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Wonder if the Empress will follow.

 

No definite answer to that yet, seems like she´s heading to a shipyard and might go into service again.

 

American Countess and Duchess are already in the Houma area for being scrapped. The American Queen is still sitting in New Orleans.

 

steamboats

[bob brown]

If the AQ isn’t saved, that would be sad.

Glad I had my chance to sail on her from Red Wing to New Orleans, and Alton to Pittsburgh…

[westerdam]

On 5/3/2024 at 2:07 AM, steamboats said:

 

No definite answer to that yet, seems like she´s heading to a shipyard and might go into service again.

 

American Countess and Duchess are already in the Houma area for being scrapped. The American Queen is still sitting in New Orleans.

 

steamboats

Just wondering is there actually anything wrong with all 3 that they just couldn't be incorporated into American Cruise Line?  I know the American Queen is getting on in years but the other 2 were recently rebuilt and if I recall correctly one was even lengthened.  The only thing I can come up with is that they don't fit their business model. It really will be sad to see the American Queen go if it does come down to it. 

[steamboats]

11 minutes ago, westerdam said:

The only thing I can come up with is that they don't fit their business model. It really will be sad to see the American Queen go if it does come down to it. 

 

Besides of getting rid of a competitor you pretty much nailed it down. All 3 don't fit into ACL's business model. Duchess and Countess are new boats but way too luxury. The AQ is twice as big as their boats and it needs more money to operate her.

 

steamboats 

[westerdam]

22 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

Besides of getting rid of a competitor you pretty much nailed it down. All 3 don't fit into ACL's business model. Duchess and Countess are new boats but way too luxury. The AQ is twice as big as their boats and it needs more money to operate her.

 

steamboats 

At the end of the day it will be a shame if they are all dismantled.  I could see the smallest of them going due to the limited capacity but at the minimum perhaps the AQ as their river flagship (then again maybe not due to her having steam power) and the Countess with some tweaking brought back but it is most likely wishful thinking! 

[chengkp75]

6 hours ago, westerdam said:

(then again maybe not due to her having steam power

There is almost no maritime power system less efficient than a steam plant.  And that is due to simple physics, not any design flaws or things that can be designed out.  That's why the world shifted from steamships to motor ships (diesel) after WW2, because fuel was expensive.  But, in the US, fuel was always far cheaper than the rest of the world, so we retained steamships into the 1970's.  

Edited May 9 by chengkp75

[westerdam]

15 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

There is almost no maritime power system less efficient than a steam plant.  And that is due to simple physics, not any design flaws or things that can be designed out.  That's why the world shifted from steamships to motor ships (diesel) after WW2, because fuel was expensive.  But, in the US, fuel was always far cheaper than the rest of the world, so we retained steamships into the 1970's.  

I don't debate that in the least.  I was stationed aboard the USS Shreveport in the late 90's and the early 2000's she was steam turbine driven.  There were times on deployment we spent more time in port due to the expense of having us go in circles or cross cross the Med for no reason. On my final deployment the longest time at sea was the Atlantic Crossing in both directions. 

[CruiserFromMaine]

Yes, I understand the economics but it’s a shame to see them go. We had two great cruises on the Countess, which had beautiful public areas and nice large staterooms. Oh, well…

Edited May 10 by CruiserFromMaine

[island lady]

Got another (different this time) form letter from American Queen...telling me I have not submitted my claim forms yet.  Ummm...have done it many times now already, both online and in the mail.  

 

The usual run around...no results of course.  

[bob brown]

The American Queen, due to her relatively large size (for a riverboat), besides offering a classic heritage paddlewheel steamboat experience, also can offer more on board variety of venues and activities that a smaller boat can’t.

 

As far as size goes, the modern design Viking Mississippi is pretty close, and is far more luxurious, so apparently there is a market for that…

[sailaway5]

i recently received a letter from American Cruise Lines to welcome past guests of AQV and offerring a discount.   They stated they have acquired the riverboats previously operated by American Queen and now have a fleet of 20+ ships across America.

[chengkp75]

Not counting the AQV boats, they already had 25 ships in service, and another 4 scheduled for this year.

[steamboats]

ACL has now confirmed that the Duchess and Countess are going to be scrapped. Obviously there´s no final decision for the American Queen yet. But it doesn´t sound that she will be back in service as an overnight river cruise ship.

 

So at least there is a bit of a hope for the AQ. BTW no word about the Empress.

 

steamboats