American Cruise Lines will debut its newest ship this week, when American Pioneer enters service on 31 October. The second of American Cruise Lines’ new Patriot Class ships to be delivered in 2025, it will sail a new 16-day Grand Florida Coast & Keys cruise from Amelia Island to St. Petersburg.
American Pioneer and sister-ship, American Patriot, will sail several itineraries in Florida through until April 2026.
A further nine new ships will join American Cruise Lines’ fleet over the next three years, all for the U.S. market. They comprise five new riverboats, and four additional Patriot Class ships.
“All American’s new boats will continue to sail domestically, operating itineraries across the Line’s growing portfolio, including the Mississippi River, Alaska, and the East Coast. The new ships will also accelerate American’s expansion into new niche markets such as the Great Lakes, the Arkansas River, and National Parks cruises,” ACL said.
Charles B. Robertson, President & CEO of American Cruise Lines, said: “American’s order book reflects our confidence in the domestic cruise market and the product we have pioneered in the U.S. The new ships will roll out at an average pace of one every four months and keep us on a disciplined growth trajectory.”
American Cruise Lines’ future Patriot Class ships include American Maverick, American Ranger (both to launch in 2026), American Mariner and American Navigator (launching in 2027). Maverick and Ranger will begin sailing the company’s domestic East Coast itineraries in June and September 2026, respectively. Mariner and Navigator will also sail a mix of the company’s East Coast itineraries, beginning in June and July 2027.
American’s 7th new modern riverboat, American Encore, will enter service in 2026. The 180-guest riverboat will sail the Columbia and Snake Rivers beginning in May. Encore is the latest iteration in the company’s growing fleet of state-of-the-art new American Riverboats for U.S. cruising, and will be quickly followed by sister ships, American Anthem in 2027 and American Grace in 2028 (also slated to operate on the Columbia and Snake Rivers where demand continues to grow. Two more yet-to-be-named American Riverboats will follow American Grace in 2028.
Full cruise schedules are available on the company’s website through 2028.
