| Star-spangled cruises

AMERICAN Cruise Lines (ACL) and American Queen Steamboat Company (AQSC) have become the first cruise lines to sail in American waters this year.

Both companies have ships small enough to bypass the current Centers for Disease Control & Prevention orders against sailings, and both operate with American crews.

The cruise lines are also locally flagged, abling them to sail in American waters without a stop in Canada or another foreign port.

ACL’s Independence departed on the weekend on a seven-night sailing to Charleston with a reduced capacity of 75%, while AQSC started its season earlier this week, with two private charter sailings on its most upscale vessel, American Duchess.

ACL requires a negative COVID-19 PCR test for all passengers and crew members, taken within four days of boarding, while AQSC will require all on board to be vaccinated, beginning 01 Jul.

Masks will also be required onboard in public spaces aboard ACL sailings.

Both cruise lines had made plans to return to service at various points last year, but the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic quashed those efforts.