In this April 30, 2012 photo, passengers disembark the American Queen steamboat in Henderson, Ky. The American Queen is the largest steamboat in the world, carrying 436 passengers. The 418-foot-long vessel is taking tourists on long-distance trips on the Mississippi for the first time since 2008, when its previous owner ceased operations. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)ADRIAN SAINZ
HENDERSON, Ky. (AP) – The churning red paddlewheel propels the pearl-white steamboat along the wide Mississippi River, like a slow-moving time machine through a slice of Americana that harks back to Mark Twain and the history, culture and commerce of the 19th century.
Inside the six-level steamboat, passengers enjoy tea time in the ladies’ parlor, rousing musical shows in the Grand Saloon, lessons on river history, and four-course meals in an antebellum-style dining room.
With the relaunching of a vessel called the American Queen, steamboat travel has returned to the Mississippi and Ohio rivers for the first time since 2008. The boat, the largest of its kind in the world, was christened Friday in Memphis as it left for a seven-day cruise. The 418-foot-long boat, which carries 436 passengers, stopped in Henderson, Ky., Monday, then sailed on to Louisville along the Ohio River for a steamboat race marking the Kentucky Derby before a final stop in Cincinnati. Future cruises will go all the way to Pittsburgh and St. Paul, Minn.; some routes include stops in New Orleans and St. Louis.
“I find myself inspired by the quiet, still majesty of a river of this size, and I appreciate the insight that they’ve given us for the contribution that these rivers have made to America,” said Jim Ahrenholz, 69, an experienced cruise traveler from Illinois who took the trip with his wife Cathy.