American Cruise Lines Christens New Vessel, Announces GIWW Cruises
American Cruise Lines (ACL) marked the Fourth of July earlier this month with the christening of its newest passenger cruise vessel, the American Patriot. The company held a christening ceremony in Newport, R.I., for the American Patriot, the first vessel in the company’s new Patriot class.
The American Patriot offers accommodations for 130 passengers and is designed exclusively for cruising in the United States. Additional Patriot class vessels, including the American Pioneer, American Maverick and American Ranger, are expected later this year and in 2026.
“We are so pleased to be back in Newport this summer christening yet another new U.S. ship and celebrating the Fourth of July with our guests,” said Charles B. Robertson, president and CEO of American Cruise Lines. “We are especially honored to be joined by American Patriot’s godmother, Susan Daly, president of Sail Newport, and so many of our Eagle Society members who cruise with us again and again, wholeheartedly supporting our mission to offer the finest cruise explorations for discovering and rediscovering America.”
The American Patriot is arranged in four decks, with staterooms and suites that all feature private balconies. The vessel also offers a chart room, lounges, a main restaurant, casual cafe and fitness center.
After the formal christening, which Daly carried out, guests were treated to a New England lobster bake at Fort Adams State Park.
According to American Cruise Lines, the American Patriot will be deployed on the company’s new extended cruises, which will feature 50-day-plus itineraries extending from Alaska to the Florida Keys.
GIWW Cruise
Beginning in March, ACL will offer eight-day, seven-night cruises between Pensacola, Fla., and New Orleans, with stops all along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW). The inaugural cruise will depart from New Orleans March 1, 2026, aboard the American Symphony and make stops along the Mississippi Gulf Coast at Gulfport, Biloxi and Ocean Springs, with an excursion to Ship Island. The American Symphony will also stop in Mobile, Ala., home of the battleship USS Alabama, before arriving in Pensacola on March 7. Other highlights will include an excursion aboard a shrimp boat in Biloxi, shopping in Ocean Springs and a visit to New Orleans’ French Quarter.
ACL will also end the year with Christmas cruises along the same route aboard the American Melody.
For more information, visit www.americancruiselines.com.
Featured image caption: American Cruise Lines’ newest passenger vessel, the American Patriot, docked in Newport, R.I., July 4 for its christening. (Photo courtesy of American Cruise Lines.
