Being All-American

[HostDave]

For many folks here in the office, this is an exciting, challenging and sometimes disappointing time of year. Yes, it is time for the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s annual basketball tournament in which, over the course of three weekends, a field of the 64 best teams in the nation is whittled down to one national champion. Last year it was Kentucky and it seems that predicting this year’s winner might be a bit more difficult with a number of significant upsets in the early rounds. Some of the top teams in the country have been knocked out of the tournament and several underdogs are making remarkable runs.

The idea of an underdog achieving fame and greatness seems quintessentially American, doesn’t it? Hard work and luck can combine in equally magical doses to turn ordinary entrepreneurs into millionaires. And once that level of success is attained, it seems that it is so American that it represents the very ideals of our founding fathers. In college basketball, each year the NCAA names its All-American Team, consisting of the players voted and ranked by a variety media, coaches and other experts as being the very best in the nation. While we’re still in the midst of the tournament, known by many as March Madness, soon after it concludes the NCAA will name its 2012-13 All-American Team. Many of those who will be named to this year’s squad will have come from backgrounds that might have included poverty and hardship. Yet, they have risen above those struggles to achieve something greater.

At the American Queen Steamboat Company, we’re proud to incorporate the word “American” in our name not just because it represents the country we love so dearly, but because it describes everything that we are. Our riverboat, the American Queen, could have been named after a river or a city but instead bears the name associated with a nation of dreamers and achievers. We are, quite literally, all-American.

People sometimes ask us if this distinction really matters. We firmly believe it does. While most of our guests are from the United States, we have a number of travelers come to us from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and England as well as many other countries around the globe. Our foreign guests tell us they joined us as a way to experience the real America. Ours is not just a nation of shining cities, glittering celebrities and technical innovation. It is also a country of genuine, friendly people and charming towns in which residents take pride in their community and its history. It is a country where children come down to the riverbank to wave at a passing riverboat and families picnic next to the locks to watch the American Queen pass through. It is a place where, from the river, guests can watch a field of corn fade into a high tree-lined bluff and then to gently rolling hills before the red brick buildings of a town glide past.

Being all-American is more than where we sail, it is also what our guests experience onboard. The cuisine is under the guidance of acclaimed Southern Chef Regina Charboneau and is a mix of family recipes, custom creations and the rich culinary heritage of America. Our country is a melting pot of cultures and that variety can be sampled in a glorious variety of dishes, each thoroughly American but also infused with the story of the people that inspired it.

Our entertainment is a tribute to the music that shaped not just America, but the world. From big band jazz to blues, folk and rock, our performers offer up a medley of distinctly American classics. And our all-American crew brings an enthusiasm, respect and comfort to meeting our guests’ needs that our foreign guests find delightfully refreshing and wholly American.

Being all-American is much more than a label; it is the heart of what makes an American Queen Steamboat Company voyage unique. It should come as no surprise that we have honored that concept by naming our latest promotional offer “All-American Savings.” Bookings made before April 30, 2013 will receive savings of up to $750 per Stateroom plus a Category Upgrade on any of 19 applicable journeys. To learn more about each sailing, just click on the name of the voyage below for day-by-day itineraries, planned entertainment and theme information. Naturally, each voyage includes the American Queen Steamboat Company’s signature complimentary deluxe hotel stay in your embarkation city and other inclusions like included shore excursions, complimentary wine and beer at dinner, and more!

May 4 – Louisiana History & Culture 9 days roundtrip New Orleans
June 22 – Great Steamboat Era 8 days from New Orleans to Memphis
June 28 – Good Old Summertime 8 days from Memphis to St. Louis
July 4 – Good Old Summertime 10 days from St. Louis to Minneapolis/St. Paul
July 12 – Good Old Summertime 9 days from Minneapolis/St. Paul to St. Louis
July 19 – Baseball Legends/Good Old Summertime from St. Louis to Cincinnati
August 9 – Lewis & Clark/Route 66 14 days from Pittsburgh to St. Louis
August 14 – Good Old Summertime 8 days from Cincinnati to St. Louis
August 21 – Good Old Summertime 11 days from St. Louis to Minneapolis/St. Paul
August 30 – Good Old Summertime 9 days from Minneapolis/St. Paul to St. Louis
September 6 – Delta Queen Steamboat Company Reunion 8 days from St. Louis to Memphis
September 11 – Civil War 12 days from Memphis to Chattanooga
October 18 – American Hootenanny 9 days from Minneapolis/St. Paul to St. Louis
November 15 – Southern Culture 9 days roundtrip New Orleans
November 22 - Thanksgiving 9 days roundtrip New Orleans
December 13 – Delta Queen Steamboat Company Reunion 9 days roundtrip New Orleans
December 20 – Old Fashioned Holidays 9 days from New Orleans to Memphis
December 27 – New Year’s Eve 9 days from Memphis to New Orleans

Don’t forget to visit the American Queen Steamboat Company Facebook Page for the latest news, photos and lively discussions about the American Queen, Mississippi River cruising and our ports of call. Check out our brand new Twitter page, and follow @CruiseAQSC.