Just one-on-A person Interview with John Waggoner, AQSC’s founder and CEO

Sailing on the American Countess’ “shakedown” cruise on the Mississippi River this previous week, Journey Agent sat down with John Waggoner, founder and CEO of American Queen Steamboat Firm (AQSC), and talked about the recently christened riverboat, prospective fleet expansion, COVID-19 vaccines, the river restart and what is occurring with Victory Cruise Traces, the company’s compact-ship, oceangoing model.

Below are some highlights of that discussion:

River Ports Want the Strains Back: Vacation Agent questioned Waggoner if ports have been “balking” at the return of the little river line vessels. “Not on the Mississippi River,” he said, noting that equally American Countess and American Duchess are now back again sailing.

Waggoner also pointed out that Mayor Dan Gibson of the Town of Natchez was sailing on the preview cruise. Journey Agent also spoke to Gibson who stated this about the calendar year-very long absence of river cruises: “We’ve skipped it. We have missed it,” he advised us. “These cruise ships are so significant to our nearby economy—many of our tour residences, our tour attractions, our tour guides and also our stores, our dining establishments. They seriously depend on this excess [revenue] every single 7 days.”

Waggoner also indicated that a modern phone simply call with ports on the Columbia and Snake Rivers displays that they, also, want the ships back again: “We’ve just had a call with them. The ports have been all for it,” he said. But sailings cannot resume until state government health officials allow river sailings to restart.

“To say it is been devastating for the little metropolitan areas, is an understatement,” Waggoner stressed. “The ports are inquiring us to occur again and they glimpse at our protocols and they know we’re getting harmless.”

Giving an example of how the line is keeping people—both guests and the men and women ashore—safe on land, he added that “we need to maintain folks in a bubble.” So, on the preview cruise, all through which all friends tested destructive for COVID-19 prior to boarding, the line nevertheless opted to not do a multi-faceted tour but as a substitute took attendees ashore in Natchez at a single locale, The Towers, for a home tour and supper.

AQSC motorcoaches transported company there and the only conversation with men and women ashore was with a handful of servers at evening meal house owners Ginger Hyland and her partner, James, as well as the bus drivers who had been formerly analyzed. “It worked out properly,” Waggoner thinks.

The Vaccine Is a “Video game-Changer:” From Waggoner’s perspective, “I utilized to devote a few weeks a month on the highway,” and acquiring been hunkered down at residence for some time, he stated both equally he and his wife Claudette share the check out of several company who are eager to get out and about once again. “I believe finding the vaccine is a game-changer,” he added. Observe: American Queen Steamboat Company will call for all company and crew to be vaccinated for sailings July 1 and thereafter.

“I imagine individuals are setting up to truly feel much more cozy with vaccinations,” he famous, incorporating that “correct now we are the demographic” eligible for vaccines in most destinations. (The AQSC demographic common is 72 many years of age additionally or minus 10 decades. So, most attendees are involving 62 and 82 yrs of age.)

How have loyal previous company reacted to the latest vaccination necessity announcement? Vacation Agent questioned Waggoner about the pros and negatives. “It really is all pro,” he observed. Many people on the preview cruise experienced by now been vaccinated, AQSC officials said. By the time July 1 rolls about, Waggoner believes most customers will previously be vaccinated prior to booking. They’ll have to have that proof of vaccination to board.

On the Columbia and Snake Rivers in Oregon and Washington, the line’s demographic is a bit young. It can be at this time 65 several years of age, plus or minus 10 several years. That explained, vaccines are now available in a lot of states to folks 55 many years of age or older (or even young).

Four AQSC Ships, Any Fleet Expansion?: When questioned if advisors can anticipate to see a further expansion of AQSC’s four-ship fleet at any time quickly, Waggoner explained, “Correct now, I just will need to get the American Queen up and managing, the American Empress up and running, [as well as] Victory I, Victory II, Ocean Victory and Ocean Discoverer. So, before we get any new boats, we will need to get the boats that we have up and likely.”

His Favorite Spot on American Countess: For Waggoner, it truly is the vessels’ Library. He’s normally searching for a area to get the job done onboard, and it can be a great, quiet room. “But it truly is always fascinating for me when other guests come in and they never know who I am,” he mentioned. That often indicates he hears honest “intel” about the cruise encounter. “I just enjoy listening to their discussions and the opinions about the boat, for the reason that I’m just some schmuck working on a pc,” he quipped.

He also likes to appear exterior, to watch the river go by and watch folks on the outdoors deck.

Not Cookie Cutter Riverboats: In describing American Countess and how it compares with the line’s other vessels, he said, he’d contact the freshly christened ship “modern day,” but he and David William Kelly, the line’s EVP, “talked about that a ton.”

Waggoner informed us he personally felt this about American Duchess: “I thought it was also present-day. I think—just my term and not any individual else’s—things had been just much too sparkly.”

So, he said, for American Countess, the executive staff preferred “to dial it down and adjust points a small bit. And I think the blend came out completely, due to the fact when you look at the exterior, it seems to be like a historic paddlewheel boat but manufacturer-new—but when you appear on [and see] the interior, nevertheless, every person I talk to is just stunned and overwhelmed about how lovely it is, what it appears to be like. I consider it is a excellent blend.”

Grand Lobby and Bar, American Countess, American Queen Steamboat Company

AQSC isn’t a model that gives voyages on cookie-cutter “sister ships.” Alternatively, Waggoner stressed that the river line’s vessels are all wholly distinct. “The American Queen is seriously the grand lady and she’s acquired a authentic steam motor and I think 11 distinctive types of staterooms.”

In distinction he described American Duchess has the Loft Suites and big Operator Suites. But on American Countess, “it really is genuinely 4 types of staterooms but the vessel and the features and the public spaces are just breathtaking.”

It Was a “Shakedown” Cruise: Our 5-evening preview cruise ended on Friday, whilst the initially seven-night profits cruise established sail on Sunday from Memphis to New Orleans. The line purposely still left a couple of times in between for tweaking.

“At any time we do a ‘shakedown’ cruise, we know we’re going to obtain a pair of things, so let us give the boat two days to deal with anything at all and then get ready for new, paying travellers,” Waggoner mentioned just before visitors boarded the vessel on Sunday evening.

Waggoner told us that the Mississippi River restart on American Duchess and American Countess has intended somewhere around 240 more employment relevant to the river restart. That isn’t going to count any shoreside office personnel that may have been rehired. Crew have been seen coming up to Waggoner on the preview cruise and thanking him. Even when the crew ended up not doing the job for AQSC in spring and summer 2020, the line retained and compensated for their professional medical, dental and eyesight advantages for as extensive as the regulation would permit—up to seven months in lots of conditions.

Alaska is Uncertain, Mexico Welcoming: Just prior to coming on this trip, Waggoner was on a cellphone get in touch with with other lines and a number of U.S. congressional offices about the predicament in Alaska. While several American-flagged, modest-ship traces will restart Alaska cruises this 12 months, his company’s overseas-flagged Victory Cruise Lines cannot commence up in Alaska without having some policy alter or exemption in the law.

To sail in Alaska this year, the line would require either an exemption designed to U.S. law to allow foreign-flagged ships to sail between U.S. ports without having a foreign port phone or a loosening of the Canadian cruise ship ban to permit technical calls in Canadian ports. Waggoner said the line also would have to get the new Ocean Victory all set and up to the Pacific Northwest by April 15, “so, we’re managing out of time.”

On another entrance, “we’re energized about Mexico,” he added. “A single of the factors we have been chatting about is that if we cannot get started functioning the Victory I and Victory II on the Great Lakes is that perhaps we could start out running all those Mexico itineraries as early as this spring.”

Waggoner summed up the latest state of the cruise market this way: “For us, everything is in these kinds of a state of flux. Just previous week we ended up on all over again, off once more, on once more” for American Countess. “You attempt it, it operates [or] it doesn’t function, you shift on,” he mentioned, while keeping a favourable mindset and being thankful that AQSC is back again sailing on the “Major Muddy” once once again with two vessels.