River cruising on the US inland rivers started, when Greene Line bought the historic Delta Queen in 1945, brought her from California to the Mississippi River system with service starting in 1948. For a long time, she was the only river cruise ship in the US.
Today, there are plenty of river cruise ships on the Mississippi River system as well as on the Columbia, Willamette and Snake Rivers in the Pacific Northwest. Cruise lines actively operating ships on the US rivers are American Queen Steamboat Company and American Cruise Lines, while Delta Queen Steamboat Company has announced to bring back the Delta Queen some time soon and Viking plans to start in August 2020.
This is an overview of existing cruise ships featuring a paddle wheel.
American Queen Voyages
UPDATE: The company went bankrupt in February 2024. The boats were acquired by American Cruise Lines in May 2024 and quickly decided to scrap the American Empress and American Duchess, while claiming to look for alternatives for the American Queen and haven’t yet made an announcement about the future of the American Empress.
American Queen – passengers: 417
American Countess – passengers: 245
American Duchess – passengers: 166
American Empress (Columbia & Snake Rivers) – passengers: 223
American Cruise Lines
cruise line: American Cruise Lines
American Cruise Lines do operate a few paddle wheel cruises ships, besides other boats with modern design.
Queen of the Mississippi – passengers: 150
America – passengers: 185
American Pride (Columbia & Snake Rivers) – passengers: 150
Queen of the West (Columbia & Snake Rivers) – passengers: 100
Delta Queen Steamboat Company
cruise line: Delta Queen Steamboat Company
Delta Queen (not operating yet)
Viking
cruise line: Viking
Viking so far only operates one cruise ship on the Mississippi River system, which does not have a paddlewheel.
Viking Mississippi (announce for August 2022) – passengers: 386
