By
Laura Hyde |
American Cruise Lines is to debut three new ships and sail 11 new itineraries, including four extended cruises, in 2026.
During 2026, American Cruise Lines will visit 200 ports of call along America’s rivers and coastlines from the Alaska Inside Passage to the Florida Keys. The itineraries have been designed to celebrate the “storied history, diverse cultures and geographic blessings” of the USA and mark 250 years since the country was founded. Every itinerary includes a hotel stay and at least one complimentary excursion at each port.
The new extended cruises range from 32 to 55 days in duration, with the 32-day ‘Revolutionary War’ cruise sailing from Albany, New York on 8 October 2026 and concluding in Washington, DC on 8 November 2026. The 36-day ‘Civil War Battlefields’ itinerary will explore 12 states visiting battlegrounds of the Civil War, from the Capture of New Orleans to the Siege of Vicksburg to the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It will begin in New Orleans, Louisianna, on 5 May and end in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on 9 June. The 52-day ‘Great United States’ cruise sails from Portland, Oregon, to Boston, Massachusetts, and includes trips to three national parks (Yellowstone, Glacier, and Grand Teton) and the Independence Day fireworks in Boston on 4 July. The 55-day ‘Great American Fall Foliage’ itinerary will visit 18 states from 5 September to 29 October. Guests will sail the Alaska Inside Passage and Glacier Bay National Park, as well as the Potomac River to Washington, DC.
A 15-day ‘Northwest National Parks’ roundtrip from Tacoma, Washington will include seven days of guided exploration through Mount Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades National Parks, followed by eight days cruising throughout Puget Sound, Friday Harbor and the San Juan Islands.
Meanwhile, an 11-day ‘Great Smoky Mountains’ itinerary will take guests along the Tennessee River through the Appalachian Mountains and feature visits to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg in Tennessee.
New itineraries will also be available on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, including the ‘Arkansas River’ cruise between Memphis, Tennessee, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, in November 2026 onboard American Serenade. A nine-day ‘Gulf Coast’ cruise will explore the Gulf Coast and parts of the Lower Mississippi River, with American Symphony sailing to, or from, New Orleans. This itinerary is available in March, November and December 2026.
American Cruise Lines will also provide three new Great Lakes itineraries from May through August. The nine-day ‘Great Lakes & Thousand Islands’ cruises will operate between Syracuse and Buffalo, New York, visiting the Thousand Islands, Lake Ontario, and Lake Erie, while the nine-day ‘Lake Michigan & Upper Peninsula’ cruises will sail round-trip from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The 14-day ‘14-Day American Great Lakes’ cruises will explore Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, operating between Buffalo and Milwaukee.
American Patriot, the cruise line’s newest small ship in the region, will sail the Great Lakes itineraries. The ship accommodates 130 passengers in staterooms with private balconies.
The cruise line’s newest riverboat, American Encore, will sail the Columbia and Snake Rivers in May 2026 following its debut. The ship accommodates 180 guests and features private balcony staterooms, as well as a top deck lounge and walking track, a main restaurant and a fitness centre.
American Cruise Lines’ third and fourth Patriot-class ships, American Maverick and American Ranger, will operate its East Coast itineraries when they launch in June and September 2026 respectively.