Rare steamboats Posted May 21 #126 Share Posted May 21 The American Queen has left New Orleans yesterday afternoon under the command of her last master who is bringing her to Houma. Hopefully this won´t be the last trip under own power for this historic steamboat. steamboats 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted May 22 #127 Share Posted May 22 The American Queen has arrived at MARS (Modern American Recycling Services) in Houma and Captain Bert Suarez pushed the "all out" button. The end of an era of overnight steamboating on the US river systems which started in 1811 with Robert Fulton´s "New Orleans". steamboats 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westerdam Posted May 24 #128 Share Posted May 24 What a sad ending for the American Queen! There must have been a lot wrong with her behind the scenes. Let alone the steam engine she has. Just a shame she didn't get a proper send off. 🙁 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globalfish Posted May 24 #129 Share Posted May 24 On 5/22/2024 at 2:59 AM, steamboats said: The American Queen has arrived at MARS (Modern American Recycling Services) in Houma and Captain Bert Suarez pushed the "all out" button. The end of an era of overnight steamboating on the US river systems which started in 1811 with Robert Fulton´s "New Orleans". steamboats I interpret Steamboat’s comment about the American Queen arriving at a recycling plant in Houma to mean that it’s about to be scrapped. Therefore I assume that the following article that just appeared in today’s edition of Travel Weekly is outdated: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Fate-of-American-Queen-and-American-Empress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted May 24 #130 Share Posted May 24 @Globalfish the article is correct. So far - according to ACL - there is no final decision about the fate of the AQ or American Empress. The article states that the AQ is in storage at MARS in Houma. There is a slight hope she might find some new owners but then it´s pretty sure that she won´t be back as an overnight river cruise boat. steamboats 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globalfish Posted May 24 #131 Share Posted May 24 32 minutes ago, steamboats said: @Globalfish the article is correct. So far - according to ACL - there is no final decision about the fate of the AQ or American Empress. The article states that the AQ is in storage at MARS in Houma. There is a slight hope she might find some new owners but then it´s pretty sure that she won´t be back as an overnight river cruise boat. steamboats Thank you, Steamboats, for the explanation. Good to know that there is some slight hope for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chengkp75 Posted May 24 #132 Share Posted May 24 Yes, the inefficiencies of the steam plant are continued with having a pair of z-drives hanging under the ship, only being used when necessary. Further, as noted in the article, steam plant boilers are not the best at responding to rapid load changes (stopping the paddlewheel), and will tend to belch black smoke at these times, not endearing the ship to environmental causes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob brown Posted May 25 #133 Share Posted May 25 7 hours ago, chengkp75 said: Yes, the inefficiencies of the steam plant are continued with having a pair of z-drives hanging under the ship, only being used when necessary. Further, as noted in the article, steam plant boilers are not the best at responding to rapid load changes (stopping the paddlewheel), and will tend to belch black smoke at these times, not endearing the ship to environmental causes. Maybe so, but environmentalists have long forgiven the occasional use of historic treasures like railroad steam locomotives, on fan trips, or historic regular operations… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted May 25 #134 Share Posted May 25 BTW, a former chief engineer of the Countess told me that there never have been any plumbing problems. steamboats 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AeroArcher Posted June 6 #135 Share Posted June 6 What a sad turn of events! American Queen Voyages brought so much joy and adventure to countless travelers. It's always disheartening to see a beloved company cease operations. Let's hope for a silver lining and that those affected find new opportunities on the horizon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chengkp75 Posted June 6 #136 Share Posted June 6 On 5/25/2024 at 2:31 AM, steamboats said: BTW, a former chief engineer of the Countess told me that there never have been any plumbing problems. steamboats I have the feeling that what the article refers to as "plumbing" is actually the piping systems in the engineering spaces, and in particular the steam piping (it's been so long since I was on a ship where steam was anything but an auxiliary), but the steam piping may be pitted, and need replacing. I know there is a difference between requirements for auxiliary steam piping and "main" steam piping, and since the paddlewheel is the primary propulsion, this makes the steam system a "main" steam system. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare island lady Posted June 6 #137 Share Posted June 6 Yes, sad they are now out of business. But much more sad...and way worse for me...they have my 19K and I don't think I will see that again. So yeah, maybe I don't so feel sorry for them at all. 😡 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericosmith Posted June 7 #138 Share Posted June 7 6 hours ago, chengkp75 said: I have the feeling that what the article refers to as "plumbing" is actually the piping systems in the engineering spaces, and in particular the steam piping (it's been so long since I was on a ship where steam was anything but an auxiliary), but the steam piping may be pitted, and need replacing. I know there is a difference between requirements for auxiliary steam piping and "main" steam piping, and since the paddlewheel is the primary propulsion, this makes the steam system a "main" steam system. Except the Countess didn't have any steam propulsion. Given the fact that it was converted from a casino boat only a couple of years ago it was either a lousy build or the claim is bogus. I certainly never saw or heard of any plumbing issues when I was onboard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted June 7 #139 Share Posted June 7 @chengkp75 as @ericosmith said both the Countess and the Duchess are diesel boats and don't have a steam engine. Both boats are fairly new. And I do know that former chief engineer in person. So I definitely trust him when he says there never were any plumbing problems. steamboats 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted June 7 #140 Share Posted June 7 If the Countess and Duchess were built as casino boats – as I understand it they weren't designed to sail, but to be moored permanently in a pond to get around then-existing bans on casinos on land in certain states. So isn't it likely that the later conversion into sailable vessels was difficult and long-term problematic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted June 7 #141 Share Posted June 7 1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said: If the Countess and Duchess were built as casino boats – as I understand it they weren't designed to sail, but to be moored permanently in a pond to get around then-existing bans on casinos on land in certain states. So isn't it likely that the later conversion into sailable vessels was difficult and long-term problematic? No, the boats were totally stripped and got a new superstructure. Actually they only used the hull. Technically both boats are newbuilts. steamboats 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chengkp75 Posted June 7 #142 Share Posted June 7 3 hours ago, steamboats said: @chengkp75 as @ericosmith said both the Countess and the Duchess are diesel boats and don't have a steam engine. Both boats are fairly new. And I do know that former chief engineer in person. So I definitely trust him when he says there never were any plumbing problems. steamboats I wasn't disputing what your acquaintance said, but I was confusing Queen with Countess, sorry. I was merely saying that a marine engineer would differentiate between "plumbing" and "piping", where a reporter may not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CruiserFromMaine Posted July 2 #143 Share Posted July 2 We were out for a walk tonight, just as the Ocean Navigator was leaving Portland. According to the Marine Traffic app, it’s heading to “Ocean Key, BHS” which is perhaps on the Bahamas? Here’s a photo of the ship leaving and a screenshot from the Marine Traffic app. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted July 2 #144 Share Posted July 2 5 hours ago, CruiserFromMaine said: We were out for a walk tonight, just as the Ocean Navigator was leaving Portland. According to the Marine Traffic app, it’s heading to “Ocean Key, BHS” which is perhaps on the Bahamas? Ocean Cay, Bahamas, is a private island operated by MSC Cruises. So I doubt they are going there. Sometimes they just put in a fun destination in their AIS system. I have seen that several times (with various cruise lines/ships). steamboats 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC in Va Posted July 9 #145 Share Posted July 9 Anybody got anything new on refunds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexC Posted July 9 #146 Share Posted July 9 The Ocean Voyager is indeed anchored off Ocean Cay. MSC has been doing upgrades to their island facilities, part of this is increasing the residence space for workers on the island. Perhaps they needed temporary housing and chartered the ship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chengkp75 Posted July 9 #147 Share Posted July 9 12 hours ago, JC in Va said: Anybody got anything new on refunds? Given the Crystal Cruises bankruptcy, I would say you won't hear anything for another 6-9 months. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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