American Cruises Building Twelve New Ships

12 identical sister ships that will more than double the nation’s current capacity for domestic coastal cruises.

YESTERDAY, Charles B. Robertson, President & CEO of American Cruise Lines, announced a new expansion to the coastal cruise market.

Called Project Blue, Robertson said: “Project Blue started as a design challenge to create a boat small enough for New England harbors and stable enough for the Alaska Inside Passage, with a draft shallow enough for the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. These boats can run almost anywhere, and because there will be 12 of them, they will be deployed all over the United States.”

According to Robertson, the new U.S.-built fleet will operate exclusively in the United States, focusing on small towns and close-to-home adventures. Chesapeake Shipbuilding will build the entire Project Blue fleet in Salisbury, MD.

The first two Project Blue ships are already under construction and will be delivered in 2023. Each boat in the Project Blue fleet will accommodate 109 passengers and 50 crew, with interiors designed by Studio DADO.