American Cruise Lines' new 342'x59'x8', 190-passenger riverboat American Song has passed sea trials and is now on its way to New Orleans. Guilford, Conn.-based ACL describes the new boat as the first modern riverboat in U.S. history. American Song is expected to arrive in New Orleans the first week in September.
Now that American Song’s sea trials are complete, its inaugural cruise from New Orleans to Memphis, Tenn., will leave the dock on Oct. 6. The vessel will cruise a full schedule of eight-day Lower Mississippi River cruises for the rest of the year and then will reposition to the West Coast in 2019 for ACL's Columbia-Snake River cruises beginning in March.
The new riverboat is the second new vessel completed and delivered to ACL by Chesapeake Shipbuilding, Chesapeake, Md., this year. American Harmony, the second modern riverboat in the series, will be completed and delivered in the first quarter of 2019.
According to the website CruiseMapper, American Song and American Harmony will feature 102 cabins on four decks, will have crews of 60, and cost $40 million each to build.
