With cruising close to home in high demand, American Cruise Lines has announced a major expansion plan, with the goal to create a 12-ship fleet of 109-passenger catamaran-style vessels. The first is expected to debut in summer 2023.
The ships will have a hybrid river-expedition design, with many of the features found on American Cruise Lines' riverboats, plus a swim platform with kayaks and a tender for exploration via Zodiac craft. The line says twin hulls will give the vessels the ability to enter shallow waterways.
A second ship is scheduled for a fall 2023 launch, with plans to build 10 more over the next several years. As with all American Cruise Lines vessels, they will be constructed in the U.S. at the Chesapeake Shipbuilding yard and will only cruise in U.S. waters.
CEO Charles Robertson said the design of the ships makes it possible for them to visit far more ports than its other vessels, bringing lots of new itinerary potential.
"We go to about 100 ports in total now, and this boat can go to hundreds more. It can get into some really cool nooks and crannies in Maine and get further south down the waterway in Florida and do more in the Chesapeake Bay. It can hit these gems of towns that have really never been on cruise itineraries before," Robertson said.
Eighty-five percent of the cabins will feature private balconies. The ships will have a variety of indoor lounges and ample outdoor seating areas.
Robertson said it will "feel like a river boat in some ways, with the modern design and the spaciousness of our new river boats. But it'll have a lot of adventure capability, and being really stable and shallow it can go to an island off the coast of Maine very comfortably. We can anchor in shallow water and launch kayaks off the stern. And so that starts to feel like an expedition."
The news comes as demand for domestic cruising options is strong.
"We had a very successful year with strong occupancies and saw that people want smaller ships and want to stay domestic," Robertson said. "So where it was originally just going to be a one ship or two ships, it really became clear from both a market perspective and the operating capability, there is a major opportunity for this type of ship."
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