A REPUTATION FOR EXCELLENCE

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It’s not easy to run a company well, let alone one that has a well-deserved reputation as delivering an excellent product. A great many American Queen Steamboat Company guests have either worked for large companies and know the corporate struggles to maintain quality and improve a product, or they owned their own small businesses and were on the frontline of that product delivery each and every day. Often, the difference between an acceptable product or experience and one that is unacceptable is small.

For example, a dentist’s office is often a small business, owned by one or more dentists who practice in that location. No matter how good the dentists may be, they are only part of the equation. If the office is in a shady part of town, parking is hard to find, the décor in the waiting room is far out of date, the receptionist not friendly, appointments often mixed up and the dental assistant surly, then the best dentist in the world has a problem. He or she might be exceptionally good, but consumers are going to judge their performance by ALL aspects of the experience and in the case of what was just described, that dentist is going to fall short. Take the same dentists, give them a small but clean and modern office and friendly receptionist, adhere to the appointment time and put them in hands of a kind and experienced dental assistant, and those dentists are going to prosper and quickly develop a reputation as an excellent, first-class outfit. It sounds straightforward, but we all know it isn’t easy to do on a regular basis, day in and day out.

When we started the American Queen Steamboat Company, we were fortunate to have the perfect model for how a superb riverboat company should be run. Started as Greene Line Steamers in 1890, the Delta Queen Steamboat Company was the gold standard for voyages on the Mississippi River. They continued to impeccably maintain and run the Delta Queen, the last original steam-powered paddlewheel riverboat in America and a National Historic Landmark. Dating to the 1920s, she was like stepping back in time. They built a contemporary steamboat in the 1970s, the Mississippi Queen, which was their vision of what a riverboat would be if designs had naturally progressed over the prior 150 years. But perhaps Delta Queen’s greatest achievement was the 1995 introduction of the grand American Queen, the biggest and most spectacular riverboat the world has ever seen. Unfortunately, Delta Queen’s ownership fluctuated over the years and despite the reputation for excellence associated with its riverboats, the financial ups and downs of its parent companies were felt on the bottom line. In the end, the Delta Queen was retired in Chattanooga, the Mississippi Queen was dismantled for scrap metal and the elegant American Queen eventually passed into our stewardship. It has been our mission ever since to create an experience so superb, so refined and so appealing that we earn a reputation for excellence every bit as well-deserved as the company on which we have modeled the American Queen Steamboat Company.

As purveyors of excellence, we have a great deal of respect for other companies that have set their sights similarly high. When possible, we have partnered with them to create an even richer experience for our guests. And one of the names that is in the pantheon of excellence is, undoubtedly, Ritz-Carlton. César Ritz, a Swiss citizen with a penchant for luxury and attention to detail, opened the extraordinary Ritz Hotel in Paris and the Carlton Hotel in London more than 100 years ago. They were the superstar hotels of their day and caused a sensation. By 1911, he set his sights on New York. Under the direction of famed chef Louis Dat, the New York hotel was noted as the birthplace of vichyssoise. In 1912, hotels in Philadelphia and Montreal soon followed. “Putting on the Ritz” became a catchphrase. In just a few short years, the Ritz reputation for excellence was well-established.

But maintaining such a reputation is a Herculean task. After a global financial depression and two world wars, only one hotel remained in the 1950s. With enormous effort, new hotels opened in the 1980s and the standards of the past, which had never diminished despite the small number of properties, began to spread to new markets. Today, of course, Ritz-Carlton is one of the top hotel chains in the world and has over 80 hotels in 26 countries.

Ritz-Carlton has a penchant for building or renovating superb properties in ideal locations, and the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans is no exception. It combines Southern hospitality with Ritz-Carlton refinement on the edge of the French Quarter on Canal Street, just one block from Bourbon Street. Featuring ballrooms, acclaimed restaurants, luxurious rooms and an attentive staff, the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans also has a 25,000 square foot spa with 22 different treatment rooms. The decorative flair of New Orleans’ elegant Garden District influenced the décor which includes Italian marble baths and an extensive art and antique collection. In short, the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans is a dream that meticulously adheres to the superlative standards personified by the hotel chain’s creator, César Ritz.

And for a limited time, the American Queen Steamboat Company is offering our loyal past guests the chance to spend two nights in the extraordinary Ritz-Carlton New Orleans. Our recently-announced Customer Loyalty Extravaganza on our 9-Day Old Fashioned Holiday December 13 departure extends your vacation to a full 10 glorious days. We’re offering our past guests as well as those who have sailed with Delta Queen a pre-cruise package featuring a two-night stay at the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans, private dining, musical performances and city tours. Keep in mind that all our guests receive a special one-night pre-cruise deluxe hotel stay as part of every cruise, but this special two-night Ritz-Carlton package was created exclusively to show our appreciation to those who have shown us their loyalty.

We invite you to enjoy the reputation for excellence with both the American Queen Steamboat Company and the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans this holiday season. We know you won’t be disappointed at this once-in-a-lifetime experience. In addition to the Ritz-Carlton hotel stay, you can save up to $1,850 per stateroom* (15% discount off any cabin category), OR book 2 staterooms and get the 3rd stateroom FREE**

*Offer expires October 31, 2013 and is valid on new bookings only. Not valid on groups and may not be combinable with other offers. Savings of 15% is valid on these 2013 voyage dates: 11/22, 11/29, 12/6, 12/13, 12/20, 12/27. Offer applies only to the price of the cruise; not valid on taxes, port charges, insurance, gratuities, or airfare.
**Offer expires October 31, 2013 and is valid on new bookings only. Not valid on groups and may not be combinable with other offers. Complimentary stateroom category will be equal to the lowest stateroom category booked for each reservation and will be assigned upon final payment. Only cabin categories of B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and I are available for this offer and only on these 2013 voyage dates: 11/22, 12/6, 12/13, 12/20, 12/27. Offer does not apply to the 11/29 voyage. Offer applies only to the price of the cruise; not valid on taxes, port charges, insurance, gratuities, or airfare.