ACL Announces Queen of the Mississippi 2013 Schedule

American Cruise Lines (ACL) has announced its 2013 schedule for its new 150-passenger Queen of the Mississippi, which is scheduled to debut in August in New Orleans. Queen of the Mississippi is a newbuild featuring large staterooms and the power to sail faster than traditional river vessels. She has six lounges and 78 staterooms, 85 percent of which offer private balconies. Each stateroom has satellite amenities including Wi-Fi Internet access, a television and a DVD player. Elevators access is available on all decks.

The 2013 schedule for Queen of the Mississippi will begin on Feb. 9 with the first of six successive roundtrip New Orleans seven-day cruises, followed by alternating groups of seven-day itineraries between Memphis, Tenn., and New Orleans as well as roundtrip New Orleans itineraries until the end of June. The vessel then launches seven-day itineraries with turnarounds in St. Louis, Mo.; St. Paul, Minn.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Nashville, Tenn., through October. The ship will then concentrates sail roundtrip New Orleans cruises again as well as cruises between New Orleans and Memphis through the end of December. ACL does considerable business in back-to-back cruises and has connecting rooms as well as singles; guests can request a connecting room set up as living quarters for longer trips.

Similar to this year’s offerings, theme cruises will be featured during 2013, centered on subjects including the Civil War and Mark Twain, as well as new additions such as musical and holiday-themed cruises. Details on these special cruises will be released later in the year. 

Onboard entertainment will also be a key component, with local and national entertainers performing in a range of music genres, including jazz, Dixieland and blues. A resident onboard Riverlorian (river historian) will also be onboard each cruise, while additional lecturers and experts also join guests during the cruise to educate, entertain and captivate them along the way. Dining will also include specialties from the regions in which Queen of the Mississippi will sail, and the optional shore excursions will bring guests deep into local history and culture.

“We’re excited about the release of 2013 sailings onboard Queen of the Mississippi,” said Timothy Beebe, vice president. “We received a wonderful response to the 2012 inaugural season and look forward to further accommodating this demand with the 2013 schedule.”

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