5th new American Cruise Lines Riverboat completed; will stop in Vicksburg this summer

Published 11:17 am Wednesday, March 16, 2022

GUILFORD, Conn. — A fifth American Cruise Lines riverboat will soon be traveling along the Mississippi River, with stops in Vicksburg.

American Cruise Lines announced Wednesday that American Symphony was  launched last week at Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland. It is the fifth ship in the new riverboat class American first introduced in 2018. American Symphony will begin cruising the Mississippi River in August 2022. Construction is also underway at the yard on the company’s sixth new riverboat, American Serenade.

American Symphony will feature the same sophisticated elegant design and state-of-the-art features showcased aboard the 2021 sister ship American Melody, including an opening bow and retractable gangway. American Symphony will accommodate 175 passengers, has five decks, 100-percent balcony staterooms, a four-story glass atrium, indoor and outdoor dining venues, fitness centers, multiple lounges and a  top deck showcasing a Skywalk and an ellipse cutout cantilevered over the ship’s fourth-deck cafe below.

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Immediately after the launch, the new riverboat was positioned in Chesapeake’s East Outfitting Basin where it will receive its upper decks and outfitting. Chesapeake Shipbuilding has a long history of designing and building new small ships for American Cruise Lines, including the Line’s recently announced Project Blue fleet, coming in 2023.

American Symphony will begin its inaugural Mississippi River season this summer, sailing 8-Day Lower Mississippi River cruises between New Orleans and Memphis. It will then transition to Upper Mississippi River sailings between St. Louis and St. Paul, Minnesota. American Cruise Lines offers more than 10 different itineraries on the Mississippi River, ranging from 5 to 22 days in length. This year, American Symphony joins the company’s growing Mississippi fleet, which already includes American Melody, American Jazz, American Heritage and American Splendor.