American Cruise Lines accelerates newbuild program

American Cruise Lines' modern riverboat series vessels feature a patent-pending bow ramp

Guilford, Conn., headquartered American Cruise Lines is continuing to accelerate its newbuild program. The company introduced a new ship in 2017 and two new ships in 2018. It latest new ship will go into service this summer, and it has two more newbuilds coming in both 2020 and 2021.

In August, American Harmony, the second of five ships in American’s Modern Riverboat Series, will begin service on the Mississippi, bringing American’s fleet of U.S. built ships to 11. By 2021, its fleet will have increased to 15 ships. American Song, its first modern riverboat, began cruising in October 2018 and is now sailing on the Columbia & Snake Rivers.

The third modern riverboat, to be named shortly, will be completed in 2020, and is already well under construction at Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Md., where all American’s ships are designed and built

Two more modern river boats will follow, complementing the line’s Victorian style paddlewheelers and fully stabilized coastal ships.

The company builds only new ships incorporating the newest technology. It notes that its modern riverboats in particular, meet the highest new emissions standards and have the smallest carbon footprints in the industry.