THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM

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Doesn’t it seem like almost everything in today’s world has become last minute? All we have to do is look at Washington DC where we see votes on issues that affect the nation pushed right up to, and sometimes past, the deadlines for implementation. Some folks here in the American Queen Steamboat Company office in Memphis were talking the other day about how no one shows up for appointments on time. It used to be fashionable to be early and now many people don’t arrive until five or ten minutes past an appointment time, whether that’s for a business meeting, a restaurant reservation or a haircut.

At some point, we went from a society that rewarded early birds to not caring if everyone was late. Why plan ahead if there are no consequences to doing the opposite? Our American Queen Steamboat Company management team has decades of experience in the travel business and has watched the gradual transformation of the booking patterns of consumers. Back in the 1980s, for example, travelers making cruise reservations planned a minimum of six months ahead and usually at least a year in advance. But as ocean-going behemoths got bigger and needed more passengers to sail full, last-minute discounts to fill cabins became the norm. Things got so bad that at one point people were showing up at piers with their luggage packed and no tickets, willing to haggle for a low price on any remaining cabins. Amazingly, some companies bought into this little game. Talk about waiting to the last minute!

As one would expect, once this extreme was reached travel companies, particularly cruise lines, set about reversing the trend and finding ways to reward guests who booked early and refusing to offer bargains to those who showed up at the dock wanting steep discounts on departures that same afternoon. The Great Recession saw a return to last-minute deals by a number of travel providers but, in general, the trend these days is that those who book early get the greatest savings. The old saying “the early bird gets the worm” is true, particularly at the American Queen Steamboat Company.

We are currently offering an incentive to book early for not just on a few select cruises, but on almost every single one of our 2014 departures by both the grand American Queen and the elegant American Empress, the newest addition to our family. Reserve the suite or stateroom of your choice and pay-in-full before December 21, 2013 and you can save up to $600 per stateroom* on any of our 2014 American Queen and American Empress voyages of seven days or longer. Some companies place restrictions on such offers, limiting them to only certain sailing dates or regions, but this special offer from the American Queen Steamboat Company spans the spectrum of our sailing regions.

The lovely new American Empress, which enters service in April, sails the Pacific Northwest on the Columbia and Snake rivers. Nowhere is the timelessness of rivers more apparent than here in the pristine Pacific Northwest. From Portland's lovely International Rose Test Garden to the hallowed artifacts on the Nez Perce Reservation, the Pacific Northwest region comes to life as the American Empress follows the path of Lewis & Clark but does so in a grand style unimaginable to the two intrepid explorers.

The American Queen sails in three distinct areas in 2014: the Lower Mississippi, the Upper Mississippi and the Ohio and Tennessee rivers. The lower stretch of the Mississippi from carefree New Orleans to vibrant Memphis is the river of legends. Inhale the sweet fragrance of magnolia blossoms and watch the essence of the South unfold around you. The upper reaches of the Mississippi River from dynamic St. Louis to the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul reveals hidden gems around each bend and fuels your sense of discovery as you journey through the very best of America's Heartland. Discover America's cultural quilt in the cities and towns of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers. From Civil War battlefields, forts and homesteads to quaint main streets and friendly smiles, this region will welcome you with open arms and enrich you with its storied past.

Sounds enchanting, doesn’t it? But did you ever see a sale that was too good to be true? We know we have. You find dining room furniture for half off and then get to the store and discover it’s actually a “scratch and dent sale.” You read about a sale on sweaters and find out that the 70% offer is valid for everything in stock, except that the only sweaters left in stock are a handful of Smalls and a rack full of Extra, Extra Larges. All the sweaters people really want are gone and not part of the sale. Perhaps you’re lured to a restaurant by an Early Bird Special where prices are 25% less than the regular evening meals but the portions turn out to be half the size. It may be cheaper, but you’re getting far less than you expected.

We’ve taken a lesson from these bait-and-switch, don’t-get-what-you-paid for deals. Our Early Booking Discount* is on voyages that are regularly-scheduled trips sailing to the same destinations as the cruises we’ve offered since the American Queen Steamboat Company’s inception. When we say the offer applies to all voyages of seven days or more, that’s not a clever way of limiting the savings to just a small number of departures. The Early Booking Discount is valid for 75 of the 80 cruises in our 2014 schedule and, as mentioned, even includes ALL of our brand new voyages in the Pacific Northwest on our newest vessel, the American Empress.

Be the early bird that gets the worm and make your reservations and pay-in-full by December 21, 2013 to save up to $600 per stateroom.* We can guarantee you that the rewards for planning ahead have never been more appealing.

*Book Early and Save $600 per stateroom ($300 per person) on any of our 2014 American Queen or American Empress 7-day or longer voyages when you pay-in-full at time of booking by December 21, 2013. Not combinable with other promotions or discounts; not valid for Group bookings or existing reservations. Savings are only on the price of the cruise, not valid on taxes, port charges, insurance, gratuities, or airfare. Promotional fares and amenities are capacity controlled, may vary by sailing and category of accommodations and may be withdrawn without notice. Fares quoted are in U.S. dollars, are per person and do not include air or land transportation. Port Charges of $69 to $159 per person are additional and not included in the fare. Additional terms and conditions may apply – call for details.