American Queen to host Elvis cruise on the Mississippi River

[HostDave]

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

Forget Las Vegas. The place to be this coming December if you're an Elvis fan is ... aboard the American Queen.

The much-beloved Mississippi River steamboat, which is relaunching for overnight trips this year after a three-year hiatus, will be hosting an Elvis cruise in December in partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises, the boat's operator announced on Tuesday.

The Memphis-based Great American Steamboat Company also revealed that Elvis' ex-wife Priscilla Presley will serve as godmother for the vessel, which will be re-christened on April 27 at Memphis' Beale Street Landing.

Great American is trying to revive what was once a robust overnight cruise business on the Mississippi River and its tributaries -- a business that collapsed over the past decade with the back-to-back shutdowns of the Delta Queen Steamboat Company in 2001 and the Majestic America Line in 2008.

Built in 1995 at a cost of $60 million, the 418-foot-long American Queen sailed for both lines in an on-again-off-again career on America's waterways that has seen it laid up as much as it has been in operation.

After a sunset christening on April 27, the American Queen will depart on an inaugural voyage up the Mississippi to the Ohio River with stops in Kentucky and Indiana before arriving in Cincinnati. It's one of a number of inaugural season itineraries that range in length from three to 10 nights and start at $995 per person, including a pre- or post-cruise hotel stay, shore excursions in every port and wine and beer with dinner.

The American Queen isn't the only riverboat starting up this year on the Mississippi River complex. Small ship operator American Cruise Lines plans to enter the market for the first time with a new paddle wheeler, the 150-passenger Queen of the Mississippi.