Two new Project Blue ships set to join American Cruise Lines fleet
Written by Marine Log Staff
Image: Americam Cruise Lines
Two more new small ships will join the fleet of Guilford, Conn., headquartered American Cruise Lines
in 2025: American Patriot and American Pioneer. These 125-passenger sister ships will the fith and sixth ships in the company’s Project Blue series of 12 new small ships for the U.S. market. The ships will be built at the company’s affiliated shipyard, Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Maryland.
American Patriot will begin sailing in June 2025, and American Pioneer in November 2025 and both new Project Blue ships will operate a number of American’s exclusive U.S. itineraries up and down the East Coast, including all-new 15-Day Grand Florida Coast & Keys cruises, beginning in 2025. This new longer Florida itinerary follows the successful 2024 launch of American’s 8-day Florida Gulf Coast & Keys cruises, which are offered on several of the Line’s first four Project Blue ships, 100-passenger Coastal Cats: American Eagle and American Glory (2023), and American Liberty and American Legend (2024).
American Patriot and American Pioneer will have fve decks and 56 staterooms. The Patriot Class vessels will offer a more traditional bow construction and slightly deeper draft than the Coastal Cats with full stabilization, enhancing coastwise capabilities for smooth sailing. These new ships will further broaden the itinerary possibilities for the company’s growing array of U.S coastal itineraries. American Cruise Lines remains the only company in the world with a fleet of 100% U.S. flagged riverboats and small ships, enabling the line to offer domestic cruises no one else sails across the U.S.A.—exploring both rivers and coasts.
American Patriot and American Pioneer will showcase elegant interior design and spacious 100% private balcony accommodations—including a range of large standard staterooms, suites, and singles. The ships’ 4th decks will offer all-suite accommodations ranging from 420 to 620 square feet, extraordinary for ships of this size.
Both of the new Project Blue ships will feature an expansive main lounge and restaurant on deck 1, offering guests water views from every seat. On the fifth deck, they will offer sitting, dining, and fitness areas including a 360-degree Skywalk walking track, an indoor Sky Lounge, outside Sun Deck, and casual café. The new ships also feature a bow terrace and horizon lounge on deck 3, as well as indoor fitness center on deck 4.
When American Patriot and American Pioneer begin sailing in 2025, American Cruise Lines will operate 21 small ships across the country, sailing the largest collection of U.S. river and coastal itineraries ever offered in America. All the company’s cruises operate like river cruises, remaining fully in the U.S.A throughout the entire itinerary, and exploring along protected waters in sight of land.
Categories: Coastal, Cruise Ships, Inland, Inland and Coastal, News
