The American Countess during a previous stop in Belpre. The riverboat was originally scheduled to be in Marietta this year on four different dates. However, its company American Queen Voyages has ceased operations and the boat will not be coming this summer. Local tourism officials said other companies will be bringing riverboat cruises to the Marietta area.

A company that has brought large riverboat cruises through the Mid-Ohio Valley is ceasing operations.

American Queen Voyages (AQV) brought the American Queen, American Duchess and American Countess riverboats to the area in the past with passengers disembarking and seeing the local sites in Marietta while many people locally went down to the riverfront to see the boats.

In a post on their Facebook page made early Wednesday morning, the company said they were halting their cruises.

“We are saddened to share that American Queen Voyages (AQV) has made the difficult decision to shut down,” the post said. “The overnight cruise industry was especially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and related changes in travel preferences.

“Despite great efforts by our team, crew and partners, demand has not recovered, and AQV has become financially unsustainable.”

The American Queen riverboat during a recent visit to Marietta, Ohio. Its company American Queen Voyages has ceased operations. Other companies have plans to bring riverboats to Marietta this summer. (Photo by Art Smith)

The post said effective immediately, all future AQV cruises have been canceled.

“We sincerely regret any inconvenience this decision causes, and guests should expect to have their cruise deposits refunded in full,” the Facebook post said. “We are deeply proud of our crew and the outstanding travel experiences and service we have provided to our guests.

“As we reflect on our journey, we are filled with gratitude for the privilege of serving our guests, partners and agents and for being part of our incredible local communities. Thank you for letting us be a part of your lives.”

A call to the company’s reservation line had a message saying the company was shutting down and future cruises have been canceled and that customers can expect to be fully refunded.

The American Countess was originally scheduled to be in Marietta this year on four different dates, said Marietta/Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Deana Clark.

“We found out, like everyone else did, last night, that the (company) was no longer going to be in business,” she said. “We are disappointed.”

Although AQV is ceasing operations, the area will have six other visits from river cruise boats from other companies.

“Although we will miss (AQV), there will be another company bringing boats here,” Clark said.

There will be four dates for the American Heritage and two dates with the American Melody of American Cruise Lines. The American Heritage will be in Marietta on July 24, July 29, Aug. 21 and Aug. 26. The American Melody will be in Marietta July 10 and July 15.

“They will still be here this year,” Clark said.

Still, she is disappointed AQV will not be coming.

“Folks really loved that company,” Clark said. “It is too bad they weren’t able to make it after the pandemic and recover.

“We feel really bad for them.”

Clark is hopeful the company might be purchased and their boats can resume doing river cruises.

“I hope they can find a buyer and keep those beautiful boats going, like they were designed to be,” Clark said. “They really are beautiful boats.”

Erin Augenstein, executive director of the Campus Martius and Ohio River Museums in Marietta, said the museum sees 12,000 visitors a year and around 500 of them come from the river cruise ships.

“It is not like it is a significant portion of our visitors,” Augenstein said. “Last year, during the first six months of 2023 we had visitors from all 50 states and 12 foreign countries.

“This not being in operation is something that will not make or break us.”

They worked with AQV and had visitors from their ships, however the company still owes the museum money for visits in 2023.

“We don’t know what is going to happen there,” she said. “No one has contacted us about that situation.”

Augenstein said the AQV boat visits are not crucial to the business they do. They had six visits last year from that cruise company, but not everyone on the ship disembarks so they ended up with a limited number of visitors to the museum.

Although the riverboats do bring people in, many people chose to come to Marietta as a destination.

“It is important for people to know that people from all over the world are choosing Marietta as a place to go when they are on a road trip or from Europe or Australia here on a trip,” Augenstein said. “There are people from all around this country who are coming specifically to Marietta because they have heard of us.

“I think our community should have a lot of pride because people chose to come to Marietta.”

Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com