American Queen Voyages has ceased operations as of Feb. 20, 2024. All future voyages have been canceled. A recorded phone message from the company states: “American Queen Voyages has made the difficult decision to shut down, and all future cruises have been canceled. Guests and customers should expect to be fully refunded for canceled cruises. To begin the refund process, please visit www.aqvrefunds.com. Additional information is available at www.aqvinfo.com.” Customers can leave a message with their contact information after the phone message. As of Tuesday evening, the first website pulls up an “access denied” message, while the second leads to a protected page requesting a password. UPDATE 2/21/2024: www.aqvinfo.com is up and running, but the refund page times out.
Former cruise-goers will remember—and mourn—the fun Riverlorians and their tales of the many towns and waterways that make up America’s “Back Yard,” as well as Culinary Ambassador and Chef Regina Charbonneau’s inimitable biscuits and delicious menus with a “sense of place.” The line had teamed up with the Chef and America’s Test Kitchen for 2023 to bring the best of the South to the spotlight.
American Queen Voyages’ Lead-Up to Closure
Back in October 2023, American Queen Voyages’ parent company, Hornblower Group, announced a big shakeup at the company that included the departure of President Cindy D’Aoust, who had stepped in to helm the company in September 2022. The announcement was couched as the need to make “the strategic decision to realign our focus to further integrate American Queen Voyages with Hornblower Group into one unified entity,” according to a statement by Adam Peakes, President of Hornblower Group.
Following that, a number of large travel organizations—among them TRAVELSAVERS, Virtuoso, AAA Travel, Pleasant Holidays and Signature Travel Network—began to drop the paddleboat cruise line from their offer, citing service-related issues, lapses in communication and non-payment of commissions, among other complaints.
The company had already canceled February cruises aboard flagship American Queen and their newest ship, American Countess, due to maintenance delays and the desire to ensure the ships were in top condition for guests.
The river cruise line’s website was still up and running as of Tuesday evening.
For more information, visit aqvoyages.com.
