American Cruise Line Comes to Marco Island

Early in September the American Cruise Lines (ACL) announced one of its ships would be making an eight-day Florida Gulf Coast and Keys cruising trip. Starting from St. Petersburg, Florida, the American Glory travels down the west coast making its first stop on Marco Island. From there the ship travels to Key West for two days of exploration, then after a day of cruising comes back up the coast for a stop in Punta Gorda and ending back in St. Petersburg. 

Keeping true to its plans, American Cruise Lines made its inaugural run from Baltimore, Maryland, where the newest addition to its fleet, American Glory made a repositioning cruise down the east coast of the United States under the command of Captain Matt Kelley, the youngest Captain in the ACL fleet.

The Robertson Family who operates ACL also owns Chesapeake Ship Building in Saulsbury, Maryland, where these specialized vessels are constructed. It is here where the family has considerable creative control over the design of the vessels.

The 54 passengers who made this special inaugural re-positioning voyage also sailed on at least 20 cruises with American Cruise Lines, reaching Eagle Society Member status.

American Cruise Lines is mostly known for their inland and river itineraries. Their vessels cruise primarily in the Mississippi River and its tributaries in addition to other specialized sailings throughout the U.S.

The American Glory is a brand-new vessel and is 221 feet in length and 56 feet wide, weighing in at just over 3,000 tons and is powered by three (3) 700 horsepower Cummins diesels. Although designed with twin catamaran forward hull, it merges rearward into a monohull providing better stability. The ship also utilizes “Z- Drives” (pods), the same as today’s modern cruise ships, which provides state-of-the-art propulsion systems. The vessel also has two bow thrusters, providing excellent maneuverability. 

The ship holds a maximum of 100 passengers in 56 Staterooms with upwards to 50 crew members when full. There are a couple of “grand suites” for their top-tier passengers located on the top deck of the vessel.

At least one ACL specialized tour coach accompanied the ship on this journey and two to three private coaches were chartered for other specialized excursions.

“Our experience here on Marco Island has been wonderful. Rose Marina has provided us with an excellent port of call, and we’ll be looking forward to a great cruise season here on Florida’s west coast in 2024,” said Captain Kelley.