American Cruise Lines has announced that the company’s Mississippi River season opened yesterday, with the first guests of the season arriving in New Orleans. Over the next few weeks, all five of the company’s Mississippi riverboats will begin cruising on the Lower Mississippi. 2024 will mark the company’s largest season ever across the country, especially on the Mississippi where American has plans for continued expansion. This year, the company’s new riverboats will sail more than 16 itineraries throughout the region, also exploring Mississippi tributaries, the Tennessee, Ohio, and Cumberland Rivers.
In just the past five years, American Cruise Lines has nearly tripled its U.S. fleet while also introducing brand new riverboats on the Mississippi River every year since 2018. The company recently announced 5 more ships, including new riverboats, which are under construction at American’s affiliated shipyard, Chesapeake Shipbuilding, in Salisbury, MD. Following this week’s opening on the Mississippi, the company’s full fleet of 19 other small ships and riverboats will continue deploying across the country, visiting over 140 U.S. ports this year.
American Cruise Lines remains the only company offering two distinct styles of riverboat for exploring U.S. rivers, as well as several categories of small cruise ships that sail U.S. coasts in the same manner as the Line’s River cruises. Most recently, American has received acclaim for a new series of 12 small coastal cruise ships, dubbed Project Blue, which sail exclusive itineraries up and down the East Coast. While American continues expansion plans along U.S. coastal waterways, the Line is also stepping up production along U.S. rivers, especially the Mississippi. More details on the company’s newest riverboats, and all ships under construction, will be forthcoming as the year progresses. American’s ongoing development along the Mississippi has contributed millions annually to a growing number of U.S. ports and communities throughout the Mississippi River region. The company’s innovative new riverboats and unique itinerary offerings have also resulted in many new opportunities for American’s guests.
In May of this year, American will begin operating several new Mississippi River experiences, including the first Great Smoky Mountains National Parks cruises. An exclusive new itinerary that allows guests to explore in Great Smoky Mountains National Park along a 12-Day itinerary from Knoxville, TN, to Nashville, TN, cruising the Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers. Also in May, the company’s first new 35-Day Civil War Battlefields cruise will depart. This remarkable exploration cruises the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers as well as large expanses of the East Coast, and Chesapeake Bay, while visiting over 20 Battlefields of the Civil War. In August, American will sail a historic 61-Day Great United States cruise—the longest river cruise in U.S. History—that explores the entire Mississippi River, 20 states, 3 national parks, 4 rivers, and also sails the East Coast and Hudson River; visiting storied ports from New York City, to Boston, Massachusetts, to Bar Harbor, Maine.
In 2024, American is proud to continue the company’s 50-year tradition of exploring the U.S.A. As the cruise line expands across America, more opportunities emerge year after year along the Mississippi River and beyond. The company’s unique cruises delight guests and continue to support historic sites, cultural venues, and American-owned businesses across the country.
