Saturday, February 25, 2012

Rolling On The River With Mark Twain

Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum
Nothing is as quintessential Americana as the Mississippi River and Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who is known to most of us as Mark Twain. American Cruise Lines is celebrating his life and legacy by offering a Mark Twain tribute cruise aboard the brand new authentic paddlewheeler, Queen of the Mississippi. The cruise will honor the famous American author and humorist often referred to as the “Father of American Literature.” Virtually synonymous with the life along the Mississippi River, his experiences are immortalized in his famous writings including Life on the Mississippi (1883), Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885).

Available on the September 15th seven-night /eight-day St. Louis roundtrip sailing, American Cruise Lines will celebrate Twain’s life and works. During his career, Mark Twain spent several years as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River and this cruise will be a unique way to experience the River in the same way that Mark Twain would have seen it himself, as well as highlighting many of the most important places and events in his life.

Planned stops include an extended visit to his childhood hometown in Hannibal, Missouri. Additional features of this tribute cruise include:

• Mark Twain Impersonator and Entertainer
• Exclusive tour of Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum
• Onboard display of a First Edition copy of Life on the Mississippi
• Guided trolley ride throughout Hannibal
• Guest Gift: Special edition copies of Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
• Honorary dinner and cocktail reception
With this cruise, American Cruise Lines aims to provide an unforgettable journey back in time with history and adventure at every bend in the river. It will capture the spirit of Twain’s own ideals: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do,” Twain wrote. “Explore. Dream. Discover.”

The Queen of the Mississippi carries 150 guests in spacious staterooms, many of which are twice the size of those on any other Mississippi riverboat. Staterooms feature large private balconies with sliding glass doors and all of the amenities today’s travelers expect, while maintaining the elegance of classic late 1800s Mississippi riverboats. American Cruise Lines will operate the authentic paddlewheeler over the entire Mississippi River System, including the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers. The Queen of the Mississippi will also be able to travel at significantly higher speeds than all other Mississippi riverboats, minimizing night travel and making more itineraries possible with longer visits to the river towns. A number of unique riverboat journeys are planned that take passengers as far north as St. Paul, MN on the Mississippi River and as far east as Pittsburgh, PA on the Ohio River. To learn more, visit AmericanCruiseLines.com.

Image Courtesy of American Cruise Lines

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Our favorite 'cruise' memories are from the now defunct DQSC river cruises. I hope the new company takes you back to the turn of the last century, rather than just a boat ride up and down the river.

The Ohio is far prettier than the Mississippi.