American Encore Riverboat Christened
American Cruise Lines has announced that new riverboat American Encore was christened in Lewiston, Idaho on May 12th. The boat’s inaugural 9-Day Columbia & Snake Rivers cruise departed from Stevenson, Washington on May 6th with guests also enjoying an included hotel stay in Portland, Oregon on May 5th.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who represented Eastern Washington and the Snake River in Congress for twenty years, was named American Encore’s Godmother. Ms. Rodgers was joined on the ship’s top deck for the ceremonial blessing and bottle smash by cruise guests, travel advisors, company executives, crew members, as well as local officials from Lewiston, Idaho, and Clarkston, Washington.
Speeches and remarks were given by American Encore’s Captain, Andrea Mickelson; Charles B. Robertson, President & CEO of American Cruise Lines; Kristin Meira, American’s Director of Government Affairs; Joe Anderson, Commissioner of the Port of Lewiston; the Honorable Dan Johnson, Mayor of Lewiston; and Steven McGee, President of Chesapeake Shipbuilding, where all American Cruise Lines small ships are built. The day’s festivities also included a flyover and music by The Victory Belles, as well as a ship tour and reception in American Encore’s Sky Lounge.
The christening celebrations also included ongoing recognition of the new dock which was recently built through a partnership between the cruise line and the Port of Lewiston. The Lewiston dock provides additional space for American’s growing fleet and host of itineraries in the region—also allowing the company’s riverboats to visit Lewiston and Clarkston simultaneously. The dock enables better access to many shore excursions for cruise guests and provides the local community with enhanced waterfront access year-round. American’s expanding operations on the Columbia and Snake Rivers are a considerable driver of increased tourism in the region, and the cruises deliver a significant economic impact to local communities throughout the area.
American Cruise Lines has also rapidly expanded operations around the country in the past decade, most notably in the Pacific Northwest, where American Cruise Lines also operates a fleet of small ships sailing coastal itineraries in Puget Sound and Alaska. The company remains the leader in U.S. River and small ship cruising and has introduced over 80% of all new cruise ships built in the United States in the past several decades.
