City Welcome American Cruise Lines to Marco Island

Inclement weather has been putting a damper on the Marco Island Chamber of Commerce’s welcome ceremony for the American Cruise Lines (ACL), but it finally came to fruition on Saturday, January 13th. 

A delegation from the City of Marco Island, headed by City Manager Mike McNees, Chamber of Commerce Board members, and Executive Director Dianna Dohm, along with City Councilors and guests, received a tour of the ship, met staff members and crew from the vessel and enjoyed lunch.

“What a wonderful way to introduce our community and its wonderful amenities to the traveling public,” said City Councilor Greg Folley. 

The American Glory has been into the Marco Marina a few times prior to this trip and will be making regular stops each week on a regular route between St. Petersburgh, Florida and Key West. The brand-new vessel. It’s 221 feet in length and 54 feet wide, weighing in at just over 3,000 tons and is powered by three 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 a state-of-the-art propulsion system. 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.

American Cruise Lines operates similar vessels during the summer months on the New England Coast in addition to the Pacific Northwest and Mississippi River and its tributaries.