evansville riverboat cruise

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American Heritage Riverboat Returning to Evansville Through September

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Say what you will about the Ohio River, but we are pretty fortunate to have it as a border to the city we call home. If you're a boater and you want to get out and enjoy a nice summer day on the river, it's right there, and there are plenty of places along it where you can drop your boat in and go without having to drive a long distance. Plus, it makes a great backdrop for hosting events like the annual fireworks, Shrinersfest, or any of the other numerous events that take place along the Evansville riverfront over the course of the year. It also provides us opportunities to experience things we wouldn't have the chance to if it weren't there. For example, the recent announcement from Explore Evansville that the American Heritage riverboat will be returning to town to offer more cruises for the next couple of months.

American Heritage Riverboat Announces Return to Evansville

This isn't the first time the American Heritage has come through town. It made a few stops last August as well. As was the case with those stops, local residents will not be able to take a ride on the boat as it's stops in Evansville will be part of an ongoing cruise. But, the city's tourism bureau, Explore Evansville (formerly Visit Evansville), and American Cruises, who operates the riverboat, is inviting residents to stop by and see the boat when it docks at Marina Pointe on the following dates:

• Thursday, July 27, 2023 - 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM
• Wednesday, August 2, 2023 - 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM
• Wednesday, August 16, 2023 - 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM
• Tuesday, August 22, 2023 - 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM
• Tuesday, September 5, 2023 - 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM
• Monday, September 11, 2023 - 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM
• Monday, September 25, 2023 - 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM

Passengers on the boat will visit area attractions, including the Evansville Wartime Museum, Audubon Museum & Nature Center, Wesselman Woods, and others while they're in town.

Tours of the boat will not be available to the public. However, Marina Pointe will be open for beverage service starting at 10 AM and lunch service at 11 AM on dock days.

Volunteers Needed

Explore Evansville is looking for anyone interested in being part of the "Evansville Welcoming Committee" to welcome passengers as they come off the boat and begin their tour of the area. If you or someone you know is interested, contact Explore Evansville at [email protected].

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Evansville Officials Hope To Attract River Cruises With Former LST Dock

Evansville, Ind., tourism officials want to rehabilitate the former dock for a World War II amphibious vessel and use it to attract riverboat cruises.

Inland Marina was the home of LST-325 until the ship relocated alongside a new museum in a downtown area adjacent to a riverfront park in June 2020. That move was made possible when the Tropicana Casino moved from a riverboat to a land-based operation in October 2017. LST-325 is now located where the casino boat had been moored from 1995 to 2017.  

On April 28, the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Convention and Visitors Commission board voted to request that the Vanderburgh County Council permit $60,000 of the money raised from hotel room taxes be used to cover maintenance work and other expenses at the former LST-325 dock at Inland Marina, as well as to create fresh promotional materials to show cruise lines.

While the meeting to discuss the proposal will be June 1, Alexis Berggren, president and CEO of Visit Evansville, mentioned the need during a quarterly budget update to the council on May 4.

‘We are working very hard to bring riverboats back to our shores,” she said. “We are actively engaged with the three riverboat companies that are currently sailing the Ohio, and all three are very, very interested in Evansville as a potential port of call.”

Those companies are American Queen Voyages, American Cruise Lines and BB Riverboats, although Berggren said discussions are furthest along with American Cruise Lines.

“We’re also going after Viking River Cruises,” she told the board. “They are not currently sailing the Ohio, but they are building 22 new boats, so we don’t see why they can’t.”

Berggren said Visit Evansville is working closely with the city of Evansville, which owns Inland Marina, and the marina managers to make the dock viable again.

“And like I said, there is a lot of interest,” she told the board.

She added, “We need to do not only some work to that area itself, but we’re also in the process of developing excursion ideas for these boats so that once the guests get off we can take them to our attractions, take them to our retailers and restaurants, things like that. There’s a lot of work to be done, but I think it’s very doable, and I think there is a lot of excitement surrounding that.”

While no cruise lines currently visit Evansville as a port of call, some do stop at Henderson, Ky., across the river.

Work on the dock is not expensive but includes several “deferred maintenance” items not attended to during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

That includes replacing ballasts, pumping out some tanks, greasing hinges and applying fresh paint, along with some minor electrical work, she said.

“It just needs a little TLC,” Berggren said. “It’s still a great asset.”

There will be a need for ongoing funds for maintenance once it is in use, however, she added.

Positive attributes of the site include that it has already been permitted by the Corps of Engineers as a docking space when LST-325 used it and that it already has adequate parking facilities, a gangway and a bar and restaurant on-site.

“It’s really just an untapped treasure, I feel, at this point,” she said.

Berggren stressed to the county board that the tourism industry is in an “intense time of evolution” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The tastes and interests of travelers have changed dramatically, and destinations just like ours are fighting fiercely to attract them,” she said.

While cruise lines often determine their ports of call two to three years in advance, Berggren said some companies, including BB Riverboats, might have the ability to come in earlier than that to provide daytime or evening river cruises.

“We’re developing our packages, looking at what our marketing efforts are going to look like, looking at our excursion opportunities, talking to our downtown retailers,” Berggren said. “We’ve just been met with nothing but excitement and enthusiasm.”

Caption for photo: Inland Marina in Evansville, Ind., is the former home of LST-325. Tourism officials hope to renovate it so that Evansville can become a port of call for visiting river cruise ships. (Photo courtesy of Visit Evansville)

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AMERICAN HERITAGE RIVERBOAT TO DOCK IN EVANSVILLE THROUGHOUT THE FALL

Evansville, IN – July 25, 2024 – Explore Evansville and American Cruise Lines have announced that the American Heritage will return to Evansville for eight stops throughout the summer and fall of 2023.  The American Heritage, a classic newly renovated paddle-wheeler carrying 150 passengers, will moor at the dock formerly occupied by the LST 325 at Inland Marina on the following dates:

With one stop in the market already this summer, the passengers will visit regional attractions while in Evansville, including the Evansville Wartime Museum, Audubon Museum & Nature Center, Wesselman Woods and others.

Members of the community are invited to Inland Marina to view the riverboat and welcome passengers, but tours of the American Heritage will not be available to the public.  Marina Pointe will be open for beverage service starting at 10 AM and lunch service at 11 AM.

“We are thrilled to welcome the American Heritage and American Cruise Lines back to Evansville again this year!  We are excited about this growing partnership, and Explore Evansville continues to seek ways to bring more attractions to the riverfront that will serve both visitors and the local community,” said Alexis Berggren, President & CEO.

Anyone interested in volunteering as a member of the Evansville Welcoming Committee is encouraged to contact Explore Evansville at [email protected] .

About American Cruise Lines

American Cruise Lines offers river cruising and small-ship cruising in the U.S.A. American continues to launch the newest U.S.-built ships for Cruising Close to Home ®. On all American cruises, guests discover the history, spirit, and culture of the United States aboard a sophisticated fleet of American riverboats and small cruise ships. In 2023, America will operate 17 ships, each accommodating just 90-180 passengers, which cruise more than 50 domestic itineraries in 35 states. American offers domestic Flat-Rate Airfare for all its U.S. cruises and Complimentary Pre-Cruise Hotel Stays in cities across the country.

About Explore Evansville

Explore Evansville is the official sales and marketing agency for tourism in Evansville, Indiana and Vanderburgh County.  Explore Evansville is dedicated to marketing and supporting local hotels and attractions and enhancing the area’s economy by selling the region as a premier destination for conventions, meetings, sports events, leisure, and business.  Additionally, Explore Evansville operates the Evansville Sports Complex, a state-of-the-art, multi-use sports facility, home to Deaconess Sports Park and Goebel Soccer Complex.

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Evansville IN (Indiana)

Cruise port schedule, live map, terminals, news.

Region Canada and USA Rivers

Local Time 2024-03-21 11:02

Evansville is an Ohio River cruise port and city in Indiana USA (Vanderburgh County). By population (around 120,000), the city is ranked Indiana's 3rd-largest, following Indianapolis (state's capital) and Fort Wayne (Southern Indiana's largest). Evansville was founded in 1812 (1817-incorporated) and received city status in 1847.

Port Evansville (locode USEVV) is a major Ohio River port with a modern infrastructure and direct rail and highway connections. Evansville is also designated as a Port of Entry, allowing it to handle both domestic and international cargo shipping. The Port's largest international exports include chemicals (64%), heavy equipment (18%) and foods (5%). Ohio River also connects Evansville with the Great Lakes and also with foreign markets (via New Orleans' Port NOLA) .

As cruise port, Evansville was introduced with American Cruise Lines/ACL 's 2024 summer program and included in the schedule of the ACL riverboat American Heritage (fka Queen of the Mississippi) . The news was announced by ACL in August 2022.

Next table shows ACL's 13-night/14-day itinerary (between Missouri and Pennsylvania via Kentucky-Indiana-Ohio) which was scheduled for the period July-August 2024 and promo-priced from USD 7755 per person with double occupancy.

Cruise ships in Evansville dock at Inland Marina. On the waterfront and to the north are two of the city's unique tourist attractions - the LST Dock (where is permanently moored USS LST-325 /a 1943-built landing ship tank, now serving as a WW2-themed museum) and Bally's Evansville (Hotel & Casino).

Indiana's first casino Bally's Evansville (1995-opened) was originally functioning on a riverboat (City of Evansville). The casino boat was an exact replica of the 1866-built Robert E. Lee (paddlewheel/sidewheel steamboat). In 2013, the casino boat (length 94 m / 310 ft, width 21 m / 70 ft, total public space 47863 ft2 / 4447 m2) was renamed Tropicana Evansville. Since 2018, Bally's Evansville is land-based (hotel and casino) property and owned by GLP-Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc.

Evansville Airport serves 30+ regularly scheduled domestic flights linking to Sanford/Orlando FL (by Allegiant Air), Charlotte NC and Dallas TX (by American Airlines/American Eagle), Atlanta GA (by Delta Air Lines and Delta Connection), and Chicago IL (American Airlines and Delta Air). Cargo flights (by FedEx Express) link to Memphis TN .

Four major railways serve Evansville's freight rail shipping - CSX, Evansville Western, Indiana Southwestern, and Norfolk Southern. The cargo trains are sorted at Howell Yard, which facilities have monthly capacity to handle ~3000 containers and trailers.

The current-day city's economy is largely based on trade, being Evansville Metro's principal city and serving a large tri-state (Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky) area that groups 30 counties (10x in Illinois, 11x in Indiana, 9x in Kentucky) and has combined population 0,9+ million. Evansville's major industries include healthcare/medical sciences (Deaconess Health System, Ascension St Vincent Evansville, hospitals), banking/finances, higher education (Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, Indiana Ivy Tech Community College, Evansville University, Southern Indiana University), manufacturing, logistics/transportation, energy-related businesses, retail shopping.

In Evansville are headquartered large corporations like Escalade Inc (sporting goods), Old National Bank, OneMain Holdings (finance), Berry Global (plastic packaging products), Shoe Carnival (footwear), AmeriQual Group (food processing/production-packaging-assembly-distribution), Accuride (commercial vehicle components), Atlas World Group (moving and storage), Anchor Industries (ship anchors and mooring equipment), Evana Tool & Engineering (industrial machinery), Traylor Bros Inc (heavy construction), Koch Enterprises (heavy equipment), Lewis Bakeries (bakery foods), MetroNet (internet, TV, voice services), Red Spot Paint & Varnish (coatings for plastics), Karges Furniture.

The tourism industry benefits from several large museums (Children's, African American, Wartime, Reitz Home, Arts, History & Science), Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden (1928-opened). Angel Mounds State Historic Park (located approx 8 mi / 13 km southeast of the city), Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve (200 acres / 81 hectares of virgin forest), Wesselman Park (golf course, outdoor sports courts, playground), large-capacity sports facilities (Ford Center, Bosse Field, Double Cola Soccer Complex, Goebel Soccer Complex, Swonder Ice Arena), annual festivals and street fairs (West Side Nut Club Fall, Germania Mannerchor Volksfest).

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LST 325 departs from Evansville for annual river cruise

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - As part of an annual river cruise, the LST set sail from Evansville Tuesday morning.

It will visit Brandenburg and Ashland, KY, before making a stop in Charleston, West Virginia.

Officials say the ship will be gone for over three weeks, offering something unique to people outside of Evansville.

LST Board of Directors, Chris Donahue says, “We’ll do three times the people in one month as we do on this trip in Evansville in a year. Somewhere under 12,000 people in a year, it’s been here a while, we understand that and up there we are something new. We have not been to any of these cities in five years.”

You can track the LST here .

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The Riverboat Cruise In Indiana You Never Knew Existed

Courtney Johnston

Courtney's originally from the East Coast, but has found a charming new home in Indiana. She loves checking out local music, reading, and trying new food. She's also a little too addicted to coffee and has a Maine Coon cat she answers to.

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Riverboats might be a term that reminds you of the south, but Indiana actually has its fair share of historic riverboats that you can still climb aboard. One incredible riverboat you’ve likely never heard of is a true Indiana treasure – and you’ll want to book a cruise this summer.

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Will you be checking out this charming riverboat cruise this summer? For another incredible boat experience, check out this awesome wine cruise .

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

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Largest riverboat on Mississippi started life as Evansville's casino boat

EVANSVILLE, Ind. —  The city's former Tropicana casino riverboat this weekend reopened as a New Orleans luxury entertainment venue.

After it was rechristened as Riverboat Louis Armstrong in a private ceremony Saturday, the newly refurbished boat was opened to the public with a free concert.

However, New Orleans' newest and largest riverboat won't be used for sightseeing cruises. Instead, it is a venue for music events, concerts, weddings, conventions and large-scale private parties, according to its website .

The boat was acquired by Hospitality Enterprises New Orleans/BigEasy.com in 2017 after a change in Indiana law allowed Tropicana Casino to move its gambling operations to land .

The boat formerly known as the City of Evansville departed the city's riverfront in October 2017 bound for New Orleans. The boat had docked at its namesake city on the Ohio River since 1995, where it was the first of its kind in Indiana.

The rebuilt riverboat is now the largest on the Mississippi River, according to a news article about the renovated riverboat on the nola.com website. 

Extensive would be an understatement in describing the remodeling that transformed the boat into the Louis Armstrong. 

More than 900 gaming machines were removed and its interior completely demolished. Brand new floor plans were created for the boat. With three levels and a top-level deck, the boat can now accommodate up to 3,000 passengers.

Not only was the interior completely redone from top to bottom, but the riverboat also received a complete mechanical rework and new electrical, audio, air conditioning and safety systems, according to the company website. Its three engines and two generators were overhauled, and the radiator underneath the boat, that is used to clean the engines, was rebuilt.

It's exterior was sandblasted and repainted, with 30-foot-by-30-foot Louis Armstrong logos on each side. A 12-foot high image of the famous jazz musician adorns the back of its pilothouse, where the ship's steering wheel and navigation is.

Its four levels, including the open-air top, are each named for an aspect of the music that helped make New Orleans famous: blues, soul, jazz and Satchmo (Armstrong's nickname).

The various levels include meeting spaces, a concert hall and stage, a 3,500-square-foot lounge, two bars, 4,000 square feet of wedding space, an 8,000-square foot banquet hall, and a 2,800-square foot Armstrong Room lounge that will honor the bandleader and trumpeter's life.

According to the nola.com article, dozens of events are already booked for the Louis Armstrong. These include a private party hosted by ESPN during the College Football National Championship weekend Jan. 11-13 in New Orleans.