American Queen Steamboat Will Buy Victory Cruise Lines

American Queen Steamboat Company has announced a definitive agreement to acquire the Victory I and Victory II cruise ships from Sunstone Ships, Inc., as well as the Victory Cruise Lines brand. These vessels are currently being marketed by Victory Cruise Lines as overnight cruise ships. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed, and the deal is expected to close in early January 2019.

In a written statement American Queen Steamboat Company Chairman and CEO John Waggoner said the company would work closely with both Victory Cruise Line's new and existing travel partners, and that the new vessels will enable the company to provide guests with more cruise options, particularly in the Great Lakes -- a region that Waggoner said customers had been requesting for years. 

The 5,000-ton, 300-foot-long, 202-passenger Victory I and Victory II are both identical, and details of upcoming operations on both of vessels will be announced in the coming months, American Queen Steamboat Company said.

The Victory I and Victory II will join the American Queen Steamboat Company fleet under the Victory Cruise name, alongside the flagship American Queen and 166-guest boutique paddlewheeler American Duchess sailing the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and American Empress in the Pacific Northwest. The new American Countess, currently under construction in Louisiana, will debut in 2020.

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