American Cruise Lines, Guilford, Conn., recently announced that it has signed contracts with Chesapeake Shipbuilding, Salisbury, Md., for four more new ships, bringing the company’s total orderbook with Chesapeake to 10 ships over the next three years. All the newbuilds are expressly for the U.S. cruise market,
The 10 new ships from Chesapeake begin with the delivery of American Legend. The newest Coastal Cat in American’s fleet passed sea trials and is on schedule for its first cruise on Nov. 25.
The remaining newbuilds on order will roll out every few months over the next three years. They include three riverboats and six additional coastal ships.
Now available for booking are American Patriot and American Pioneer (2025); American Maverick and American Ranger (2026), and the new riverboat American Encore (2026). More details on the four additional newbuilds for 2027 will be released soon.
American’s commitment to U.S. river cruising is longstanding, but the rapid expansion of the company’s fleet in just the past several years is demonstrative of the growing interest and demand for world-class cruise experiences in the U.S. American has introduced 19 of the 24 cruise ships built in the U.S. in the past 20 years.
The company operates the only 100% U.S. flagged fleet of riverboats and small ships in the world and remains fully committed to introducing only new small ships built specifically for domestic cruising. The company’s fleet enables all-domestic river and coastal itineraries that no other lines offer, ACL officials said.
ACL will operate 21 small ships in 2025; sailing the largest collection of 100% domestic river and coastal itineraries ever offered in the U.S. The company will continue to introduce new ships with amenities that are unusual for small ships — unlocking new opportunities for cruising closer to home and exploring America year after year.
(ACL did not release specific specifications for the new vessels.)
