Globalfish Posted February 24 #51 Share Posted February 24 21 minutes ago, eroller said: I agree. They are blaming Covid. Easy scapegoat and BS. Definitely BS. If it were Covid, ACL and possibly even Viking would be “on the rocks” as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare eroller Posted February 24 #52 Share Posted February 24 33 minutes ago, Globalfish said: Definitely BS. If it were Covid, ACL and possibly even Viking would be “on the rocks” as well. Agree completely. ACL is flourishing and I think the same with Viking. Cruise lines large and small are sailing full and at very high yields. If you can’t make it in this environment you are doing something very wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted February 24 #53 Share Posted February 24 Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked.—Warren Buffett 3 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mainelycruising Posted February 28 #54 Share Posted February 28 On 2/22/2024 at 8:39 AM, 3rdGenCunarder said: At the time, NCL also had the Norway. There was a rumor that, with the two other "old" ships, they were going to run a sister line of vintage cruise ships. Wishful thinking, I guess. If you want a 'vintage cruise ship line', try Marella. Or Margaritavile! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted February 28 #55 Share Posted February 28 1 hour ago, mainelycruising said: If you want a 'vintage cruise ship line', try Marella. Or Margaritavile! Vintage isn't the same as nostalgia. Those ships are just old. AQV's river ships were new but quaint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted February 28 #56 Share Posted February 28 3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said: Vintage isn't the same as nostalgia. Those ships are just old. AQV's river ships were new but quaint. The American Queen is built in 1995, the American Empress in 2003. The American Countess and American Duchess are new. The Cape boats (Ocean Voyager / Ocean Navigator ex Cape May Light / Cape Cod Light) are also from the long ago Delta Queen Steamboat Company era. steamboats 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob brown Posted March 1 #57 Share Posted March 1 On 2/28/2024 at 1:47 AM, steamboats said: The American Queen is built in 1995, the American Empress in 2003. The American Countess and American Duchess are new. The Cape boats (Ocean Voyager / Ocean Navigator ex Cape May Light / Cape Cod Light) are also from the long ago Delta Queen Steamboat Company era. steamboats The American Countess and Duchess aren’t exactly new, either…rebuilt from former Iowa gambling boats… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted March 1 #58 Share Posted March 1 On 2/28/2024 at 1:47 AM, steamboats said: The American Queen is built in 1995, the American Empress in 2003. The American Countess and American Duchess are new. The Cape boats (Ocean Voyager / Ocean Navigator ex Cape May Light / Cape Cod Light) are also from the long ago Delta Queen Steamboat Company era. steamboats 1 minute ago, bob brown said: The American Countess and Duchess aren’t exactly new, either…rebuilt from former Iowa gambling boats… The point I was trying to make, which I don't think is contradicted by the above posts, is that only American Queen and American Empress are viable boats for a future venture. The Cape boats have been for sale without interest. The Countess and Duchess were never really suited to purpose after the refit. But I also think the market for AQV-style cruising is probably only able to support two boats, and Queen and Empress would suit that market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globalfish Posted March 1 #59 Share Posted March 1 (edited) 10 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said: But I also think the market for AQV-style cruising is probably only able to support two boats, and Queen and Empress would suit that market. Agree. If AQV’s competitor ACL had sensed more of a market for AQV-style cruising, they would have commissioned their 3 newest boats plying the Mississippi (the Melody, the Symphony, and the Serenade) to be built as [pseudo] paddlewheelers instead of sleek modern design. Edited March 1 by Globalfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveinCharlotte Posted March 1 #60 Share Posted March 1 10 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said: Only American Queen and American Empress are viable boats for a future venture. The Countess and Duchess were never really suited to purpose after the refit. Not sure I follow. What makes American Queen/American Empress viable but Countess and Duchess not? Our cruises on the latter were pretty full. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woofbite Posted March 1 #61 Share Posted March 1 We were on their inaugural trip of the Countess and were really impressed with the ship, not so much the disorganized service in the dining room but that slowly improved with experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericosmith Posted March 1 #62 Share Posted March 1 1 hour ago, DaveinCharlotte said: Not sure I follow. What makes American Queen/American Empress viable but Countess and Duchess not? Our cruises on the latter were pretty full. According to the crew on the Countess the paddle wheel does provide part of the the propulsion so I'm not sure why it's any different in that respect from the other boats. It just doesn't use steam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveinCharlotte Posted March 1 #63 Share Posted March 1 1 hour ago, ericosmith said: According to the crew on the Countess the paddle wheel does provide part of the the propulsion so I'm not sure why it's any different in that respect from the other boats. It just doesn't use steam. Yes, you are correct. The paddlewheel provides 40% of the propulsion; each of the 3 Z-drives provides 20%. (This is in contrast with ACL, whose paddlewheels are just for show.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinCan782 Posted March 1 #64 Share Posted March 1 5 hours ago, ericosmith said: According to the crew on the Countess the paddle wheel does provide part of the the propulsion so I'm not sure why it's any different in that respect from the other boats. It just doesn't use steam. Same with the Duchess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob brown Posted March 2 #65 Share Posted March 2 The American Queen is in a class by itself, not just for its steam propulsion, but also for its size. Its size allows it to offer a level of on board entertainment and facilities that a smaller boat cannot. The modern Viking Mississippi probably comes closest in that regard… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CruiserFromMaine Posted March 2 #66 Share Posted March 2 We never sailed on the American Queen but we were on the Countess twice. It is quite pretty ship and new, even if the “bones” of it are not. Our middle of the road cabin was large, especially for a river boat and there was plenty of space in the public areas; the bar got a little crowded before dinner, but I’ve seen worse on ocean cruising ships. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJR52001 Posted March 3 #67 Share Posted March 3 This was a combination of Hornblower's poor management and changing tastes. The introduction of European style vessels has been really popular. These are dated and need extensive interior upgrades. AQ herself probably needs to finally ditch the steam engine and AD/AC are too large for their passenger count and should have the 2 double height decks converted to 4 single height decks for added capacity. But honestly, they should have done modern new builds instead of AD and AC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted March 11 #68 Share Posted March 11 New article on Travel Weekly: American Queen Voyages ships have uncertain destinations 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chengkp75 Posted March 11 #69 Share Posted March 11 My take is that the entire fleet will be purchased by either ACL or Viking, at fire sale prices, then scrapped, in order to keep another potential operator from getting US bottoms. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiingj Posted March 14 #70 Share Posted March 14 A very good friend worked for them for about a year. They quit over a year ago because the writing was on the wall. TAs were getting screwed by lack of commission payments and other creditors were also not getting paid. It once was an amazing company and its founder I heard was a wonderful person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericosmith Posted March 28 #71 Share Posted March 28 https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/03/american-queen-cruise-ship-fleet-heading-to-auction/ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globalfish Posted March 30 #72 Share Posted March 30 On 3/27/2024 at 10:47 PM, ericosmith said: https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/03/american-queen-cruise-ship-fleet-heading-to-auction/ What transpired with this? Don’t see anything online about it. Has the auction been further postponed? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericosmith Posted March 30 #73 Share Posted March 30 I did see something about the auction being postponed by the debtor. I don't believe any new date has been set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtM Posted March 31 #74 Share Posted March 31 (edited) The bankruptcy case was adjourned to March 28, 2024. Then on March 24, 2024, the case was adjourned indefinitely. "PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Auction has been further adjourned to a date and time to be announced by the Debtors. PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Debtors will conduct the Auction via remote videoconference in accordance with the Bidding Procedures. Prior to the Auction, the Debtors will circulate login instructions for the remote videoconference to all parties permitted to attend the Auction under the Bidding Procedures" Art Edited March 31 by ArtM 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted April 1 #75 Share Posted April 1 17 hours ago, ArtM said: The bankruptcy case was adjourned to March 28, 2024. Then on March 24, 2024, the case was adjourned indefinitely. "PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Auction has been further adjourned to a date and time to be announced by the Debtors. PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Debtors will conduct the Auction via remote videoconference in accordance with the Bidding Procedures. Prior to the Auction, the Debtors will circulate login instructions for the remote videoconference to all parties permitted to attend the Auction under the Bidding Procedures" Art Interesting. I'd love to be a "fly on the wall" for that video conference. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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