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By Matt Hannafin
The Mississippi River has been a bit slow these past few years, at least from the perspective of 'walking freight,' the old riverboat slang for passengers. Though riverboats were once the gold standard for travel in the American heartland, and though cruising riverboats were an everyday sight on the Mississippi River system throughout the entire 20th century, all it took was one poorly conceived consolidation scheme and one global financial crisis to completely kill riverboat cruising on the Mississippi for nearly four solid years.
That's what happened after 2008, when Majestic America Line (which had earlier bought up the legendary Delta Queen Steamboat Company and several other river ventures) collapsed like a rickety deck chair. A new venture, the Great American Steamboat Company, has revived the tradition, bringing Delta Queen's amazing American Queen out of mothballs and basically taking up where the other companies left off -- albeit in a smaller, more focused, and (they hope) more stable and long-lasting way.
Photo Caption: Steamboat American Queen in Henderson, KY, on her inaugural voyage, April 30, 2012

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'I Name This Boat the American Queen'

The draw of Great American Steamboat Company is threefold: There's American Queen herself, the physical realities of the Mississippi River system, and the nostalgic appeal of 'steamboating,' a verb that seems to encompass the whole of Mississippi River history, culture, and mythology.
American Queen's part in all this is central. The largest sternwheeler ever built, she's a grand sight on the river, a tiered wedding cake of filigree and curlicues crowned with two huge fluted smokestacks. Ornamentation and decoration are everywhere, framing an assortment of antiques, vintage photos, and period knickknacks. She looks so beautiful and authentic that it's hard to imagine she was built relatively recently, in 1995 (when she was christened for the first time using the world's largest bottle of Tabasco Sauce).
When Majestic America Line went under in 2008, she was taken over by the US Maritime Administration (MARAD), which had been one of Majestic's major creditors. MARAD hermetically sealed her at a dock in Beaumont, Texas, and time essentially stopped for the vessel until Great American Steamboat Company bought her in August 2011. About $6 million in renovations later (most of them mechanical), she looks and feels as if she never left service, though a profusion of little scuffs, scrapes, and dings in her paint still need to be smoothed out -- something the new company's management is promising will soon be completed. Can't blame them too much for rushing her back into service, especially when they'd already booked their very own American queen, Priscilla Presley, to christen her.
Photo Caption: Godmother Priscilla Presley christens American Queen at an April 27 ceremony in Memphis, TN

Rollin' on the River

Though American Queen is a relatively modern vessel, her primary propulsion comes via a 30-foot, fire-engine-red paddlewheel driven by vintage steam engines rescued in the early 1990s from the 1932 Army Corps of Engineers dredge Kennedy. The engineers who worked on that salvage and restoration are now aboard the ship again, tending the old engines with loving care. Unlike aboard the vast majority of cruise vessels, passengers can climb the metal stairs down into the engine room to watch the engines in action and chat with the crew. Alternatively, you can watch the paddlewheel through a series of large porthole windows in the stern-facing Engine Room Bar, the liveliest spot onboard after dinner.
More trivia: That big red paddlewheel is able to propel American Queen at her usual pace of between 6 and 11 mph -- at least when sailing downriver. When sailing against the current, the paddlewheel is assisted by two Z Drives, essentially large outboard propellers. American Queen also has a bow thruster to help her maneuver.
Photo Caption: American Queen's 30-foot paddlewheel pushes the 418-foot vessel along at a slow but steady clip that's just right for the Mississippi.

A Victorian Time Machine

American Queen's period look doesn't end when you step inside. If anything, it gets more pronounced. Her most beautiful room is probably the J. M. White Dining Room, which was designed to resemble the dining room aboard the late 19th-century steamboat J. M. White, known as the most luxurious riverboat that ever sailed these waters. At port and starboard, the room is two decks high, its white, wooden-ribbed ceilings supporting globe-light chandeliers and its walls hung with colorful tapestries and huge, gilded antique mirrors. Potted palms add to the Victorian look, and tall windows provide one of the best views you'll ever find from a cruise vessel's dining room.
The room's central section is lower to accommodate a separate room on the upper level, the beautiful Mark Twain Gallery. A veritable Victorian museum, it's decorated with high-backed parlor chairs, couches with ornate woodwork, Tiffany lamps, peacock feathers in Chinese vases, an ornate wooden birdcage, a detailed scale model of the old Delta Queen steamboat, and the ubiquitous potted palms, plus knickknacks aplenty. To either side, large windows provide views down into the J. M. White Dining Room and out to the river beyond. Incongruously, this 19th-century room is also currently the best place on board to get Wi-Fi reception, though the company's upgrade plans include expanding Wi-Fi to all staterooms in the coming months.
For a relatively small vessel (she carries only 436 passengers), American Queen offers a nice mix of dining choices. In addition to the dining room, which serves all three meals, there's also the River Grill, a shaded, open-air bar/restaurant in the stern on Deck 5 that offers casual lunches and dinners. There's also the Front Porch of America, which lives up to its name with rocking chairs and hanging swings looking out over the bow, while inside (through screen doors, of course) there's a casual snacking spot done in white wicker chairs and couches. Completely casual, it's open 24 hours for hot dogs, sandwiches, soft ice cream, popcorn, chips, fresh-baked cookies, and coffee, tea, soft drinks, and juices.
Photo Caption: American Queen's J. M. White Dining Room is a double-wide copy of the dining room aboard the late-19th-century steamboat J. M. White, known as the most luxurious steamboat that ever sailed.

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Great American Steamboat Company

Show Boat

Entertainment helps drive the steamboating experience home. During the day, and particularly on sailing days, the focus is history, with an onboard historian (aka 'Riverlorian') offering daily talks about river history and culture in the Grand Saloon theater. At other times, the Riverlorian might be found in the Chart Room, a bow-facing lounge/library decked out like an imitation bridge, with a large ship's wheel at its center. Have a question? Just drop by and ask.
Other entertainment throughout the week might include performances by a