Travel and vacations - Delta Queen Cancels American Queen's 2006 Season

Release Date: 1/12/2006
The Delta Queen Steamboat Co. has postponed the return of the American Queen
until 2007 due to post-hurricane conditions in the New Orleans region. Over
the last few months, the American Queen has been in private charter and was
expected to return to passenger service on May 31. The Delta Queen and the
Mississippi Queen will resume cruising as planned on April 21 and April 23,
respectively. Passengers booked on American Queen cruises in 2006 are being
offered a $100 shipboard credit to rebook on the one of the other two boats
or a full refund. In a statement posted on the company's website, President
Bruce Nierenberg said the American Queen's schedule for the past several
years has been focused on New Orleans and the lower Mississippi region.
"Economic experts cite that this region will probably not be able to support
normal, traditional tourism operations until spring 2007, at the earliest,"
Nierenberg said. "Given this condition, we tested the feasibility of all
three boats touring the upriver areas throughout 2006. After much
examination, we have decided this would not be a viable solution given the
saturation in the market with the other two Delta Queen boats." After its
charter is completed later this winter, the American Queen will be berthed
at the company's Robin Street Wharf in New Orleans. The company says it has
experienced "strong positive momentum in bookings in the last few months and
hopes this trend continues." For more information, call 800-543-1949 or
visit www.deltaqueen.com.
http://www.cruise-reviews.com/news/n...sp?FNewsID=521

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