Oct 10, 2007
Book soon to sail the Delta Queen, America's last near-authentic steamboat, in her final season
I have written before on the pleasures and pitfalls of a leisurely paddleboat cruise of the Mississippi River, chugging along at a stately 4-miles-an-hour as America's heartland slips slowly past your stateroom window or balcony. It saddens me to report that the single most authentic example of this timeless American travel experience, the 80-year-old Delta Queen, is about to embark on its final sailing season.
For 80 years the Delta Queen has been elegant grand dame of a cruise boat, fitted with teak handrails, brass fittings, an ironwood deck, Tiffany-style stains glass, and that giant spinning red paddlewheel at the back. Her landings are still sounded by the very bell that was on the steamboat Mark Twain rode downriver in 1883. The Delta Queen is a true piece of American history, a registered National Historic Landmark, and the last original steamboat still offering overnight cruises in America. She was built in 1926 with a steel hull and wooden superstructure -- and therein lies the problem.
The Coast Guard has long-since prohibited ships with wood structures to sail the high seas due to fire safety issues. Six times over the past 40 years, Congress has seen fit to grant this singular ship an exemption, but lawmakers declined to extend the exemption when it came up for consideration again this summer. That means once the current exemption expires in November 2008, the ship will no longer be allowed to carry overnight passengers.
The Delta Queen staterooms are filled with handspun patchwork quilts, wood-shuttered windows, and other antique appointments that have graced the rooms since they were new. However, there are only 88 of those staterooms available -- and only 33 sailings left between now and next November. These range from 3-night roundtrip cruises along the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio to Louisville, Kentucky starting at $810 (for imminent sailings; come next May, the price is $1,499), up to a grand 14-night cruise all the way from Cincinnati to New Orleans starting at $3,999. Some sailings will be reserved for previous Delta Queen guests, so if you want to travel a piece of American history, it would be wise to make your booking soon with the Majestic America Line (tel. 800/434-1232; www.majesticamericaline.com).
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For 80 years the Delta Queen has been elegant grand dame of a cruise boat, fitted with teak handrails, brass fittings, an ironwood deck, Tiffany-style stains glass, and that giant spinning red paddlewheel at the back. Her landings are still sounded by the very bell that was on the steamboat Mark Twain rode downriver in 1883. The Delta Queen is a true piece of American history, a registered National Historic Landmark, and the last original steamboat still offering overnight cruises in America. She was built in 1926 with a steel hull and wooden superstructure -- and therein lies the problem.
The Coast Guard has long-since prohibited ships with wood structures to sail the high seas due to fire safety issues. Six times over the past 40 years, Congress has seen fit to grant this singular ship an exemption, but lawmakers declined to extend the exemption when it came up for consideration again this summer. That means once the current exemption expires in November 2008, the ship will no longer be allowed to carry overnight passengers.
The Delta Queen staterooms are filled with handspun patchwork quilts, wood-shuttered windows, and other antique appointments that have graced the rooms since they were new. However, there are only 88 of those staterooms available -- and only 33 sailings left between now and next November. These range from 3-night roundtrip cruises along the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio to Louisville, Kentucky starting at $810 (for imminent sailings; come next May, the price is $1,499), up to a grand 14-night cruise all the way from Cincinnati to New Orleans starting at $3,999. Some sailings will be reserved for previous Delta Queen guests, so if you want to travel a piece of American history, it would be wise to make your booking soon with the Majestic America Line (tel. 800/434-1232; www.majesticamericaline.com).
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: cruise, mississippi river
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
