WELCOME TO 2014

[HostDave]

We are half-way through 2013 but at the American Queen Steamboat Company, not only are we already thinking about 2014 but our new brochure for next year, featuring the first Pacific Northwest voyages by the stunning new American Empress, is now available online. You can download the entire brochure by clicking here.

People often wonder how a company such as the American Queen Steamboat Company assembles a brochure and how long it takes. The truth is that it comes together very quickly, although the thought process and planning lasts for many months.

First, we have to determine the itineraries for the coming season. For the American Queen, we knew that our voyages on the Lower Mississippi roundtrip from New Orleans and between Memphis and New Orleans were immensely popular so other than adding a few ports here and there, we didn’t make many changes. That same philosophy applied to our Upper Mississippi journeys between St. Louis and Minneapolis/St. Paul.

On the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers, we only scratched the surface of the many attractions and destinations during our 2012 & 2013 seasons, so 2014 adds new themes and ports to raise the bar. To further spice things up in 2014, we added a milestone voyage to Nashville, marking the first time the American Queen and her guests will visit the Music City. As a result of careful planning with the guest experience always in mind, our 2014 American Queen schedule has more variety than ever before.

The key part of our planning for 2014 was our desire to grow our unique American style of elegant river cruising to incorporate more of the diversity America has to offer. With the opportunity to purchase one of the world’s largest riverboats built specifically to sail in the Pacific Northwest, it was time to expand the fleet with the beautiful American Empress. To fashion the itineraries in this region, we started with the inspiration of Lewis & Clark and the bounty of historical and natural wonders surrounding the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The results are voyages that encompass the highlights of the wilderness as seen by the Lewis and Clark Expedition more than 200 years ago with the modern attractions, quaint towns and charming wineries that the region is known for today.

With the itineraries set, we could begin the brochure itself. The simplified but sophisticated format of our 2013 brochure was the starting point for the design of the 2014 version which grew to accommodate the American Empress cruises and deck plans and detailed descriptions of each voyage and theme. Photos help tell the story voyage-by-voyage, page-by-page.

With itineraries, a design concept and photos in hand, it’s time to write the copy. While this can seem like a simple formality, it is often the most challenging aspect of any brochure. If you read various brochures for different products, you quickly see that each sounds different depending on the actual product being sold. For example, a Cadillac brochure sounds nothing like a flyer for a Ramada Inn. In each case, a company has its own “voice” that through the choice of words and sentence structure conveys the feel of the product. In the case of the American Queen Steamboat Company, our voice is straightforward but elegant with an emphasis on history, comfort and style. Once you sail with us, you learn that this voice is a reflection of the experience you will have during your voyage. Our guests enjoy an atmosphere of casual elegance with refined and friendly service, superb cuisine based on American favorites and family recipes, period décor that reflects a timeless and elegant style of travel, professional entertainment that is enjoyable and inspiringly educational, and a collection of destinations that are a wonderful blend of history and charm.

With all the elements in place, the brochure comes together in just a few weeks as we tweak a word here and there, switch out a photo in spots, and make certain that it is easy to read, easy to understand and inspires the reader to experience an American Queen Steamboat Company river voyage in person.