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American Cruise Lines

American river and small-ship cruise line

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 26, 2026
Entity authorityQ2842900
Source-derived summary

American Cruise Lines is the largest river and small-ship cruise line in the United States with its headquarters in Guilford, Connecticut. The line has 30 small U.S.-flagged cruise ships that cruise along the Eastern Seaboard (Maine to Florida), the Hudson River, the Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes, and the Western Seaboard (including Alaska and Puget Sound) as well as the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, Arkansas, and Tennessee rivers and the Columbia-Snake river system in the United States.

History

American Cruise Lines was founded in the early 70s. The company operates the largest and only 100% U.S.-flagged fleet of riverboats and small cruise ships in the world, with 30 new riverboats and small cruise ships exploring around the United States, including seven riverboats on the Mississippi River and ten on the Columbia and Snake rivers.

All American Cruise Lines' riverboats and small ships cruise only in the United States following 100% U.S. itineraries along U.S. rivers, lakes, bays, and protected coastal waterways along the East and West coasts. The company has over 50 domestic itineraries and all cruises visit only U.S. ports of call.

In May 2026, American Cruise Lines launched the newest riverboat in the country, American Encore, on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The 180-passenger riverboat was christened in Lewiston, Idaho on May 12th, and was the first riverboat ever christened in the state. In June 2026, American Cruise Lines also launched the newest small cruise ship in the U.S.A., American Maverick. The 130-passenger small ship was christened in Newport, Rhode Island on June 16th.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “American Cruise Lines” as american river and small-ship cruise line. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around American, Cruise and Lines.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2026—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1991. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with American, Cruise and Lines providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “American Cruise Lines”, the useful work is to connect “american river and small-ship cruise line” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2842900. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2026.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “American Cruise Lines”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow American Cruise Lines primary sources, American Cruise Lines archive and American research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “American Cruise Lines”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from American Cruise Lines” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.