American Cruise Lines (ACL) will name its next Mississippi
paddlewheeler America.
The vessel is under construction at Chesapeake Shipbuilding
in Salisbury, Md., and will be the company’s eighth ship when it begins sailing
in early 2016.
The America will be the third Mississippi paddlewheeler that
ACL built from the ground up, joining the American Eagle, which launched on the
Mississippi in April, and the Queen of the Mississippi, which set sail in 2012. Both are 150-passenger ships.
The Guilford, Conn.-based cruise line did not offer details
about the America, other than to say it will have “features never before seen
on a riverboat.”
Earlier this year, ACL unveiled plans to build a fleet of
modern vessels alongside its existing and forthcoming paddlewheelers. The newer
vessels will begin sailing in 2017 and will operate on inland waterways throughout the U.S.
ACL also owns and operates the refurbished Columbia River
paddlewheeler Queen of the West, as well as four yacht-style coastal cruisers:
the Independence, American Star, American Spirit and American Glory.