List of U.S. flagged cruise ships explained

List of current U.S. flagged cruise ships and river boats in the United States. Due to the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886, these are the only overnight passenger ships currently eligible to sail solely between U.S. ports without the need for a foreign port stopover.

Current coastal and ocean-going ships

Name	Photo	Current Cruise Line	Entered service	Passenger capacity	Builder	Notes
Wilderness Explorer		UnCruise Adventures	1976	76	Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Florida	Formerly Spirit of Discovery
Admiralty Dream		Alaska Dream Cruises^[1]	1979	54	Blount Boats Shipyard in Warren, Rhode Island^[2]	Formerly Spirit of Alaska
Baranof Dream		Alaska Dream Cruises	1980	49	Blount Boats Shipyard in Warren, Rhode Island	Formerly Spirit of Columbia
National Geographic Sea Bird		Lindblad-National Geographic	1982	62	Nichols Bros. Boat Builders in Freeland, Washington	Formerly MS Sea Bird, Majestic Explorer
National Geographic Sea Lion		Lindblad-National Geographic	1982	62	Nichols Bros. Boat Builders in Freeland, Washington	Formerly MS Sea Lion, Great Rivers Explorer
The Legacy		UnCruise Adventures	1983^[3]	86	Bender Shipbuilding & Repair in Mobile, Alabama	Formerly Wilderness Legacy, Safari Legacy, Spirit of 98
Chichagof Dream		Alaska Dream Cruises^[4]	1984	74	JeffBoat Shipyard in Jeffersonville, Indiana^[5]	Formerly Nantucket Clipper, Spirit of Nantucket, Spirit of Glacier Bay
Safari Endeavor		UnCruise Adventures	1983	84	JeffBoat Shipyard in Jeffersonville, Indiana^[6]	Formerly Spirit of Endeavor, Newport Clipper
Wilderness Adventurer		UnCruise Adventures	1984	60	Blount Boats Shipyard in Warren, Rhode Island	Formerly Caribbean Prince
Wilderness Discoverer		UnCruise Adventures	1992	74	Blount Boats Shipyard in Warren, Rhode Island	Formerly Mayan Prince
American Spirit		American Cruise Lines	2005	100	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland
Pride of America		NCL America	2005	2,186	Ingalls Shipyards, Pascagoula, Mississippi, and Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven, Germany	Ordered for American Classic Voyages^[7]
American Star		American Cruise Lines	2007	100	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland
Independence		American Cruise Lines	2010	104	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland
American Constellation		American Cruise Lines	2017	170	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland^[8]
National Geographic Quest		Lindblad-National Geographic	2017	100	Nichols Bros. Boat Builders in Freeland, Washington^[9]
American Constitution		American Cruise Lines	2018	175	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland^[10]
National Geographic Venture		Lindblad-National Geographic	2019	100	Nichols Bros. Boat Builders in Freeland, Washington^[11]
American Eagle		American Cruise Lines	2023	109	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland^[12]	Project Blue Fleet^[13]
American Glory		American Cruise Lines	2023	109	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland	Project Blue Fleet

Current river boats

^[14]

Name	Photo	Current Company	Entered service	Capacity	Builder	Notes
Delta Queen		Delta Queen Steamboat Company	1927	176	California Transportation Company (assembled)
American Queen		American Queen Voyages	1995	436	McDermott Shipyard in Morgan City, Louisiana^[15]
American Duchess		American Queen Voyages	1995	166	Nichols Bros. Boat Builders in Freeland, Washington	Originally designed and built for Isle of Capri Casinos as a casino boat named Bettendorf Capri
Queen of the West		American Cruise Lines	1995	100	Nichols Bros. Boat Builders in Freeland, Washington
American Empress		American Queen Voyages	2003	223	Nichols Bros. Boat Builders in Freeland, Washington
American Pride		American Cruise Lines	2012	150	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland^[16]
Queen of the Mississippi		American Cruise Lines	2015	150	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland
America		American Cruise Lines	2016	185	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland
American Song		American Cruise Lines	2018	184	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland
American Harmony		American Cruise Lines	2019	190	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland
American Jazz		American Cruise Lines	2020	190	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland^[17]
American Countess		American Queen Voyages	2020	245	Gulf Island Shipyard in Houma, Louisiana
American Melody		American Cruise Lines	2021	175	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland
Viking Mississippi		Viking River Cruises	2022	386	Edison Chouest Offshore Shipyard, Louisiana^[18]
American Symphony		American Cruise Lines	2022	175	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland
American Serenade		American Cruise Lines	2023	175	Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland
Future

Ships eligible to sail under American flag

Passenger ships that are U.S. built, that once sailed under the American flag, and which would be eligible to return to that status:

Laid up

• United States (1952) - laid up in Philadelphia^[19]
• Niagara Prince (1994) - laid up when Blount Small Ship Adventures ceased operations in 2020^[20]
• Grande Caribe (1997) - laid up when Blount Small Ship Adventures ceased operations in 2020
• Grande Mariner (1998) - laid up when Blount Small Ship Adventures ceased operations in 2020
• American Eagle (2000) - moored at Chesapeake Shipbuilding as housing for shipyard contractors

Change of registry

• Safari Voyager (1982) - registry changed to St Kitts^[21]
• Ocean Voyager (2001) - registry changed to Bahamas^[22]
• Ocean Navigator(2004) - registry changed to Bahamas

Notes and References

1. Web site: Admiralty Dream . 21 March 2021 . Alaskan Dream Cruises . en-US .
2. Web site: Blount Boats & Shipyard - Commercial Boat Builders - Warren RI - Blount Boats & Shipyard, Commercial Boat Builders - Warren, RI . 21 March 2021 . Blount Boats & Shipyard . en-US .
3. Web site: S.S. Legacy Ship Stats & Information- UnCruise Adventures S.S. Legacy Cruises: Travel Weekly . 20 March 2021 . Travel Weekly . en .
4. Web site: Chichagof Dream . 21 March 2021 . Alaskan Dream Cruises . en-US .
5. Web site: Chichagof Dream Itinerary, Current Position, Ship Review . 21 March 2021 . CruiseMapper . en-EN .
6. Web site: Safari Endeavour . 20 March 2021 . AdventureSmith Explorations .
7. 14 August 2007 . American Classic Voyages Co. (Amcv) Signs Major Contract with Ingalls for Luxury Cruise Ship Construction . https://web.archive.org/web/20070814064931/http://www.ss.northropgrumman.com/press/news/m_03_9_99.html . 14 August 2007 . 31 December 2020 .
8. Web site: American Cruise Lines Launches American Constellation . 20 March 2021 . Travel Age West . en-US .
9. Web site: National Geographic Quest . Nichols Brothers Boat Builders . 20 March 2021 .
10. Web site: 21 June 2017 . Chesapeake Shipbuilding launches American Constitution . 20 March 2021 . Seatrade-Cruise.com . en .
11. Web site: National Geographic Venture Luxury Cruise Ship Travel Adventure Cruise Ship Lindblad Expeditions. 20 March 2021. www.expeditions.com. en.
12. Web site: Aiken . Maddie . Cruise ships will be built in Salisbury by Chesapeake Shipbuilding . 2022-03-08 . The Daily Times . en-US.
13. Web site: Zable . Stacey . January 18, 2022 . This U.S. Cruise Company Plans to Nearly Double Its Fleet . 2022-03-08 . Travel + Leisure . en.
14. Web site: Small Cruise Ships Riverboats & Paddlewheel . American Cruise Lines. 20 March 2021.
15. Web site: American Queen . 20 March 2021 . Steamboats.org . en-US .
16. Web site: C. I. N. Staff . 27 February 2018 . American Cruise Lines Starts Construction on Another Riverboat . 20 March 2021 . Cruise Industry News . en-gb .
17. Web site: Coastal Cruise Ships and Riverboats Built in the U.S. . 20 March 2021 . ShipbuildingHistory.com .
18. Web site: 3 April 2020 . Edison Chouest To Build Viking River Cruise Boat . 21 March 2021 . The Waterways Journal . en-US .
19. Web site: History: Retirement . 20 March 2021 . SS United States Conservancy . en-US .
20. Web site: Blount to sell its small cruise ship fleet . 21 March 2021 . Workboat.com . en .
21. Web site: Safari Voyager - Ship Details . 20 March 2021 . Sunstone Tours & Cruises . en-US .
22. Web site: Victory I & Victory II Cruise Ships . Victory Cruise Lines Vessels. 20 March 2021. Victory Cruise Lines. en-US.