American Duchess
{{Short description|American river cruise}}
| {{Infobox ship begin |display title=ital}}
|+American Duchess {{Infobox ship image | Ship image=American Duchess in Natchez.jpg | Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header= | Ship name=*Bettendorf Capri (1995–2016)
| Ship owner=*Isle of Capri Casinos (1995–2016)
| Ship operator= | Ship registry=Memphis, Tennessee, US{{Cite web|url=https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:5115318/mmsi:367755720/imo:0/vessel:AMERICAN_DUCHESS|title=AMERICAN DUCHESS|website=MarineTraffic}} | Ship route= | Ship ordered= | Ship builder=Nichols Bros. Boat Builders{{Cite web|url=https://www.cruisemapper.com/ships/American-Duchess-1402#review|title=American Duchess|website=Cruise Mapper}} | Ship original cost= | Ship yard number= | Ship way number= | Ship laid down= | Ship launched=1995 | Ship completed= | Ship christened= | Ship acquired= | Ship maiden voyage= | Ship in service= | Ship out of service= | Ship identification=*{{MMSI Number|367755720}}
| Ship fate= | Ship status= | Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header= | Header caption= | Ship class= | Ship type= | Ship tonnage= | Ship displacement= | Ship length=*{{convert|341|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship beam={{convert|98|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship height= | Ship draught= | Ship draft= | Ship depth= | Ship deck clearance= | Ship ramps= | Ship power= | Ship propulsion=Stern paddle wheel, diesel electric Z-drives | Ship speed= | Ship capacity=166 passengers | Ship crew=80 | Ship notes= }} |
American Duchess is a river cruise paddlewheeler owned by American Cruise Lines. The vessel entered the overnight cruise market as the third addition to the now-defunct American Queen Steamboat Company fleet and was advertised as being the most luxurious option of the line's vessels.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa5LWGbT7s0&t=28m|title=Between The Levees S2:E133 Bert Suarez Pilot|website=YouTube}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/gretchenkelly/2019/04/30/riverboat-redux-on-the-american-duchess/#7dec67f15940|title=Riverboat Redux On The American Duchess|first=Gretchen|last=Kelly|website=Forbes}} The riverboat's itineraries included routes on the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland and Illinois Rivers.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theleafchronicle.com/story/news/local/clarksville/2020/01/17/cumberland-river-captain-passes-along-40-years-knowledge/4484082002/|title=Cumberland River captain Jeff Ralls passes along 40 years of knowledge|first=Melissa|last=Corbin|website=The Leaf-Chronicle}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/ct-trav-illinois-cruise-american-duchess-1021-story.html|title=New Illinois River cruise does deep dive into Land of Lincoln|first=Lori|last=Rackl|website=Chicago Tribune}}
''Bettendorf Capri'' (1995–2016)
Before it was American Duchess, this vessel was originally designed and built for Isle of Capri Casinos as a casino boat named Bettendorf Capri. File:Bettendorf Capri in Bettendorf.jpg on August 5, 2016]]After going land-based, Isle of Capri sold the boat to AQSC in 2016.{{Cite web|url=https://qctimes.com/business/isle-of-capri-boat-sold-to-american-queen-steamboat-co/article_a770e48e-5dca-50de-a4a6-81c687964589.html|title=Isle of Capri boat sold to American Queen Steamboat Co.|first=Devan|last=Patel|website=Quad-City Times}} On October 16, 2016, Bettendorf locals gathered on the levee to give their farewell to the 21 year-old casino boat and watched her pull off the river bank to sail south to undergo her reconstruction.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wqad.com/article/news/local/drone/8-in-the-air/310014/526-38ce651c-d3d1-4b64-80ef-48da2686d642|title=Goodbye, Isle of Capri casino boat|first=Christina|last=Lorey|website=WQAD8}} Contracted to Bollinger Shipyards in Morgan City, Louisiana, the vessel would be gutted, remodeled and relaunched as a river cruiseliner the following year. The conversion from a casino boat to an overnight passenger vessel involved the removal of over 1,000 slot machine bases and 1,200 steel chairs, the construction of new dividing walls to form 83 passenger cabins, the addition of a crew hold, a completely new interior layout and design, modifications to propulsion and a new exterior paint job.{{Cite web|url=https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/american-queen-moving-ahead-vessel-refurb/|title=American Queen moving ahead on vessel refurb|first=Dale K.|last=DuPont|website=Workboat}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nola.com/news/business/article_eaaae362-8939-5841-85f3-ec848474d4c2.html|title=See inside the American Duchess, New Orleans' newest luxury river cruise boat|first=Jennifer|last=Larino|website=NOLA}}
Introduction as ''American Duchess''
On August 14, 2017, at the New Orleans waterfront, American Duchess was christened with a bottle of Maker's Mark bourbon by Marissa Applegate, daughter of AQSC CEO John Waggoner. Former Maker's Mark chairman Bill Samuels Jr. also attended the christening and in his speech likened the christening to that of Cunard's 2010 christening of {{MS|Queen Elizabeth}} with a bottle of Scotch whiskey.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2017/08/14/american-duchess-new-mississippi-riverboat-christened-new-orleans/567166001/|title=New Mississippi riverboat American Duchess christened in New Orleans|first=Gene|last=Sloan|website=USA Today}} File:American Duchess from Bow of the AQ.jpg docking next to American Queen for the first time on August 24, 2017]]
American Duchess became the third of four vessels within the AQSC fleet, succeeding {{ship||American Queen}} and {{ship||American Empress}}, and preceding the 2021 launch of American Countess.
American Duchess was slated to make mostly the same routes as American Queen, with two unique destinations being the city of Nashville, Tennessee and the Illinois River up to Ottawa, Illinois.{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanqueensteamboatcompany.com/blog/welcome-american-duchess/|title=Experience AQSC's Newest Ship, The American Duchess|website=American Queen Steamboat Company}} American Queen has not visited Nashville since 2014,{{Cite web|url=https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news-headlines/american-queen-resumes-sailing-after-repairs-rock-damage|title=American Queen resumes sailing after repairs to rock damage|first=Anne|last=Kalosh|website=Seatrade Cruise News}} though she did make an unexpected cruise to Ottawa, Illinois in 2018 due to high water conditions on the Upper Mississippi.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mywebtimes.com/lists/2018/09/12/9b2f8e4c0967496eb17c6c249127b8ae/index.xml?page=1|title=Steamboat offers smooth cruising on the Illinois|first=Steve|last=Stout|website=The Times}}
In 2021, Hallmark Channel released the Christmas movie 'Every Time a Bell Rings' which was set in Natchez, Mississippi and featured scenes filmed aboard American Duchess.{{Cite web|url=https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/home-holidays-hallmark-christmas-movie-american-duchess|title=Home for the holidays with Hallmark Christmas movie on American Duchess|first=Anne|last=Kalosh|website=Seatrade Cruise News}}
Economic impact and resale of ''American Duchess''
American Duchess has been welcomed and praised by many river towns in the United States for her and her sister vessels' contributions to local economies. The rising popularity of U.S. river cruising has brought tourist dollars into smaller, lesser known U.S. towns from travelers worldwide.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2016/05/11/mississippi-river-cruise-american-steamboat/84241854/|title=A 'mighty' Mississippi cruise is the hit of summer|first=Gene|last=Sloan|website=USA Today}} In 2018, the combined presence of American Queen and American Duchess brought over $2 million to the economy of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Jim Palmeri of the American Queen's shore excursions company estimated that the total of 16,537 people brought to Vicksburg during that year by AQSC had spent an average of $76 per person in the city.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vicksburgpost.com/2019/12/18/american-queen-duchess-visits-have-significant-impact-on-vicksburg-economy/|title=American Queen, Duchess visits have significant impact on Vicksburg economy|first=John|last=Surratt|website=Vicksburg Post}} During a 2019 visit to Point Pleasant, West Virginia, Denny Bellamy of the city's visitor's bureau expressed his appeasement of the increasing frequency of riverboat visits to the town. Bellamy referred to the passengers' experiences in town as a legitimization of Point Pleasant as a tourist destination. He also spoke of his aspiration for the city to become a "truck stop for boats."{{Cite web|url=https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/tour-stop-by-american-duchess-helps-point-pleasant-stay-on/article_a9a87e25-dc70-5346-b1ae-196709af6f53.html|title=Tour stop by American Duchess helps Point Pleasant stay on map as riverboat port|first=Rick|last=Steelhammer|website=Charleston Gazette-Mail}}
In June 2023, American Duchess was pulled from service, and it was announced in February 2024 that operator American Queen Voyages would file bankruptcy and cease all operations immediately.{{Cite web|url=https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/The-Writing-on-the-Wall-Saves-One-Agency-from-AQV-Demise-Shutdown-Doubles-Their-Business|title=The Writing on the Wall Saves One Agency from AQV Demise, Shutdown Doubles Their Business|first=Dori|last=Saltzman|website=Travel Market Report}} In March 2024, American Duchess was purchased by American Cruise Lines for $200,000.{{Cite web|url=https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/04/an-entire-cruise-fleet-sold-for-9-million/|title=An Entire Cruise Fleet Sold for $9 Million|website=Cruise Industry News}} It is to be scrapped without further use.American Cruise Ships Monthly July 2024 page 12