American Splendor

The 2016-built (as "American Eagle") American Splendor cruise ship (fka "America") is a stern-paddlewheel riverboat owned by ACL and operating voyages on the Mississippi River departing from homeport New Orleans Louisiana.

Following a redesign and complete refurbishment in 2021-2022, the riverboat America was renamed "American Splendor". Also fully-refitted and renamed were the fleetmates Queen of the West (now American West) and Queen of the Mississippi (now American Heritage).

The vessel is currently USA-flagged (MMSI 367710540) and registered in Port NOLA (New Orleans).

History - construction and ownership

The shipowner American Cruise Lines (ACL) is the USA's largest river cruise company (headquarters in Guilford Connecticut) operational since 1991. The company specializes in cruise shipping on the USA's largest navigable inland waterways (rivers and lakes) as well as in cruises along the US East Coast, US West Coast and Florida. All ACL vessels feature some of the industry's largest passenger cabins with private balconies, spacious lounges and outdoor deck spaces, gourmet cuisine, a top-quality enrichment program (with many complimentary land tours and excursions), highly personalized service by all-American staff and crew.

All ACL cruise ships are US-flagged and built by the company-owned Chesapeake Shipbuilding Yard in Salisbury (Maryland USA).

"American Eagle" was the name previously chosen for the new Queen of the Mississippi boat - sistership (of similar design) to American Pride. In 2015, ACL decided to rename the "old Queen of the Mississippi" to "American Pride" and the new vessel ("American Eagle") to "Queen of the Mississippi". On August 4, 2015, American Cruise Lines announced that the "American Eagle" boat would be renamed (first to "American Eagle") and repositioned from Mississippi to Columbia-Snake River System in early 2016, and replaced on the Mississippi by the ship "America". Another new paddle-wheeler constructed at Chesapeake Shipbuilding assumed the name "Queen of the Mississippi".

America/American Splendor is ACL’s 8th ship and its 2nd newbuild vessel (launched in 2016), and is homeported in Port NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana). According to the company, this is the finest Mississippi paddle-wheeler ever constructed, introducing features never before seen on a Mississippi riverboat". The vessel is slightly bigger than older ACL boats and has max passenger capacity 185. The hull was launched on August 7, 2015, then moved to a basin where the upper decks construction and final outfitting took place. The riverboat entered service on May 7, 2016.

Decks and Cabins

ACL's American Splendor ship has 6 passenger decks and 98 staterooms. Ranked among the roomiest in the small ship cruising industry, cabins as sizes range between 205-230-290 ft2 (19-21-27 m2). The largest accommodations are the Owners Suites (445 ft2 / 42 m2, with the terrace included).

All cabins are outside, with large opening picture windows and en suite bathrooms. Most staterooms have private step-out balconies.

Shipboard facilities and amenities

The Grand Dining Room can accommodate all passengers. The culinary program features locally sourced ingredients. Each evening, onboard American Splendor is offered a complimentary cocktail hour. Afternoon tea service in the ship's Sky Lounge is also available.

American Splendor features a relaxed atmosphere and casual ambiance while providing unique panoramic views of passing scenery. The ship boasts many lounges to relax, an open-air exercise area, putting green on Top Deck, jazz and evening musical entertainment. The all-American crew offers personalized service. Historians and naturalists are onboard for interesting lectures.

Itineraries

American Splendor cruise itinerary program is based on Mississippi River roundtrips from New Orleans, including Grand Heartland Cruise. Some of the American Cruise Lines riverboat deals are on themed voyages. Among those themes are "Food and Wine", "Fall Foliage", "Music", the Holiday-themed sailings for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.

This infographic shows the American Pride cruise ship (Queen of the Mississippi's and America's sister-ship). Here you can see what is what and where on these unique riverboats.

Fun fact is that this American Cruise Lines ship has a namesake - the 2012-launched "HANJIN America". The vessel is among the world's largest container ships (capacity 13,102 containers) and operated by HANJIN Line.

Note: You can see the CruiseMapper's list of all river cruise ships and riverboats in the "itinerary" section of our River Cruises hub. All companies and their fleets are listed there.