Our Stop on the Tennessee River: The American Queen Voyage
Have you ever seen a beautiful steamboat floating down the Tennessee River?
Well, we at Decatur Morgan County Tourism sure have! American Queen Voyages is a steamboat charter company that travels all over North America. This company started as American Queen Steamboat Company back in 2011 when they acquired the American Queen, the largest riverboat in the world. This company has a fleet of stunning steamboats that travel to many different destinations from Alabama to Alaska. American Queen Voyages offers passengers on their beautiful steamboats gracious service, elegant décor, fascinating lectures, and regionally inspired cuisine as they float down the winding rivers of America.
An amazing part of this North American Cruise is the excursions or stops along the way offered on the steamboat's journey. There are three cruises this year that will be making their way through Decatur, AL on their path down the river! The steamboats will be making a journey from Nashville to Chattanooga, or Memphis to Chattanooga. Those steamboats are the American Duchess, that made her appearance on May 27, 2022, the American Countess who will be arriving in Decatur on October 26, 2022, and finally the American Queen arriving on November 5, 2022! These steamboats are a real beauty to see, as they dock at Rhodes Ferry Park in Decatur for their passengers to make an excursion.
While the steamboats dock in Decatur their passengers are greeted by charismatic tour guides and treated to a tour of our charming and historic town!
The American Queen steamboats will typically dock in Decatur starting at 7:00 AM. From then on passengers will exit the steamboat and board buses that will take them on a guided tour of Decatur starting at 8:30 AM which lasts until 12:30 PM. Tour guides Bill Nelson, Keilee Terry, Leah Brown, and Peggy Towns lead passengers on a trip through Decatur's top tourist attractions.
Once on the bus, guests of the American Queen Steamboats will visit four of Decatur's iconic destinations: the Old State Bank, the Historic Train Depot, The Princess Theatre, and Carnegie Visual Arts Center. At each destination, visitors receive a detailed tour of the building and are given time to explore the surrounding areas.
While discussing American Queen Voyages with tour guide Keilee Terry, she explained the passengers' favorite parts of the Decatur excursion. She said, " The passengers seem to love every stop in Decatur! They especially love the tours at the Train Depot given by Judge Breland and the tour at The Princess Theatre by Mary McDonald! " She continued," They love the history of The Old State Bank and are very excited by the art exhibits at Carnegie Visual Arts". When asking what passengers typically take away from the experience Keilee shared that, "the candied pecans from Tennessee Valley Pecan Company are a favorite."
