Cruise & Cruise Line

American Cruise Lines Unveils New Additions for 2020-21

Image: PHOTO: American Melody (photo courtesy American Cruise Lines)
Image: PHOTO: American Melody (photo courtesy American Cruise Lines)
Laurie Baratti
by Laurie Baratti
Last updated: 12:45 AM ET, Thu October 3, 2019

Award-winning river-cruise carrier American Cruise Lines has just released its exciting, new line-up of 2020 and 2021 itineraries to set sail along extraordinary U.S. inland waterways.

The upcoming season will see the introduction of four new, Modern Riverboats, which are available only in the U.S. only with American Cruise Lines, for a total of thirteen small ships in the fleet.

All of American's ships will traverse the country's great channels, coast-to-coast, including: the Mighty Mississippi; the Columbia and Snake Rivers; Puget Sound, Alaska; New England (including the coastal islands of Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and Block Island); the Hudson River; and the Southeast Coast (including Chesapeake Bay, Charleston, and Florida).

American's new ships, launching in 2020, will become the third and fourth Modern Riverboats to join its complement. The American Jazz will begin sailing Mississippi cruises in late August, while the fourth vessel in the series, the American Melody, will debut toward the end of 2020. Like American's other 100- to 200-passenger ships, the new additions represent industry-leading advancements to U.S. river-cruising.

American has also formulated an all-new Alaskan itinerary for 2020: the eleven-day Alaskan Explorer Cruise, which sails round-trip from Juneau, taking guests on a once-in-a-lifetime, small-ship adventure to experience enchanting Southern Alaskan destinations, including a rare overnight spent in Glacier Bay and navigation through the Inside Passage.

Also new for 2020, select American Cruise Lines itineraries will offer an incredible, immersive Art Cruise option. The new onboard program will feature an artist-in-residence who will provide guests with daily instruction in watercolor and mixed-media during their voyage. All skill levels are welcome to participate and budding artists will be able to display their work at an onboard Art Show, held in combination with the cruise's final cocktail hour.

Guests will also find plenty of other, specialty themed and seasonal holiday cruises available across American's retinue of vessels, such as: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and 'Spirit of the Season' cruises; New Orleans Music cruises; Nashville Country & Blues cruises; Civil War cruises; Mark Twain cruises; Lewis & Clark cruises; Fall Foliage cruises; Tulip Festival cruises; Food & Wine cruises; and Culinary cruises, including regional Crabfest and Lobsterbake cruises.


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Laurie Baratti

Laurie Baratti

Assistant Editor

Laurie Baratti is an Assistant Editor for TravelPulse. She is a San Diego-based journalist whose work has previously appeared in publications like TravelAge West, SPACE, Modern Home + Living, Montage, and Sandals Life magazines. Travel writing has long been her passion, and she is always looking for excuses to explore the world outside of her native California. Laurie is also a lifelong equestrian, a proud pet-parent, and an underground advocate of the Oxford comma.

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