The main asset of Ambassadors International has been Windstar Cruises with several sailing cruise vessels which TAC Cruises will now continue to run. The Xanterra Holding Corporation operates lodges, restaurants, tours and activities in national parks, state parks and resorts under the brand name of Xanterra Parks & Resorts. Xanterra has operations at Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, amongst others.

This just as a brief update, not much more information is available at this time. For now, the Delta Queen will remain at Chattanooga as a floating hotel. No information is available about any plans of the new owners regarding the Delta Queen.

DELTA QUEEN PRESERVATION FOUNDATION SEEKS TO PURCHASE VESSEL

Chattanooga, Tenn. – Leah Ann and Randy Ingram, current operators of the Delta Queen announced that they have submitted a Letter of Intent to purchase the vessel from Ambassadors International.  The vessel is currently berthed in Chattanooga, Tenn. where it is operated as a hotel.

The Ingrams are in the process of finalizing plans to establish the Delta Queen Preservation Foundation, an entity whose mission is to ensure the future preservation of the historic steamboat with the long-term goal of being able to operate it once again.  In the near term, the boat would continue to be operated as a hotel, bringing in much needed revenue to finance the many repairs needed.  The boat would be owned by the non-profit organization allowing charitable contributions, historic preservation grants and other tax deductible donations to be received.  The operation of the boat would be leased out to the current for-profit hotel company, Delta Queen LLC.

The Ingrams noted that their ultimate goal is to make the Delta Queen ready to once again sail America’s rivers.

Leah Ann Ingram said, “We would like to return the Delta Queen to the rivers as soon as she is able but understand that is a monumental task. Having her open to the public as a revenue generating hotel while those repairs are made is critical to any successful plan to put the boat back in service.”

The Delta Queen has been very well received in Chattanooga.  In fact, a recent evening to honor the steamboat was hosted to garner attention and support for future efforts.  Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield offered a joint resolution from the city and Hamilton County that gave strong support to preserving the vessel and maintaining her historical designations.  The Mayor offered praise to the goal of making the Delta Queen ready for travel on America’s waterways.

The Delta Queen is experiencing great success in Chattanooga.  From sold-out lodging to the addition of gourmet dining, the Delta Queen is even one of the hottest tickets in town for the upcoming holiday season.  Last year, the Delta Queen hosted over 450 guests for Thanksgiving dinner and is expecting similar crowds this year.

Mrs. Ingram noted that success not only comes from a dedicated staff, but equally dedicated volunteers who provide countless hours in repairing and maintaining the boat

She said, “This is a team effort and we are honored and humbled by those former crew members and guests who come aboard on a weekly basis to take care of this legendary vessel.  We hope that some of the people who have indicated their interest in purchasing the Delta Queen will join with us as we all have the same goal.  In fact, nothing would please us more.”

Both Ingrams noted that any option that takes away from the boat’s rich history or changes her integrity could put her historic designation in jeopardy.  “We want to preserve this piece of maritime history for generations to come and would welcome the help of anyone who shares our views.”

For more information, call 423.755.7588.

Just a few days ago, a new group, called "Save the Delta Queen 2010" has also announced plans to buy the Delta Queen. This group's speaker is Vicki Webster who once was fighting together with save-the-delta-queen.org to save the historic vessel before splitting up in 2009 and going her own way.

Leading up the "Rally on the River" will be an afternoon of excitement and activity called the "Great Steam-up." Between the hours of 12:00 noon and 4:00 pm the public is invited down to the river to tour the vessel. Guests will be guided through the boat by former passengers and crew members who have experienced life on the river first hand.

This will also be the first time since the boats arrival in Chattanooga that the public will be able to witness the Delta Queen's mighty steam engines in operation. A group of skilled steamboat engineers, several from the Delta Queen's past, will be on hand to exercise the engines and other auxiliary equipment. This effort is to ensure the operational readiness of the vessels systems. Tours will conclude with a grand calliope concert featuring the Delta Queen, Belle of Cincinnati and Southern Belle. This will kick off the evening banquet and activities.

For more information visit the Delta Queen Hotel's website at www.deltaqueenhotel.net.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Former passenger plaques will be engraved with the name of the passenger, their home port, the year of their first cruise, and the number of cruises they have taken on the Delta Queen.  For those that served on the Delta Queen, plaques will be engraved with their name and title, their home port, the year they started, and the number of years of service.

The plaques will be adhered to one of the vessel’s three decks just below the handrails at ankle level.  Sydney Slome, proprietor of the Delta Queen Hotel, assured that the process will not compromise the boat’s historic integrity in any way.

The weather resistant 3×6-inch plaques are available for purchase for $100. This special offer is limited in number and is only available to past passengers and former officers, crew, staff, employees and entertainers of the Delta Queen; plaques may be purchased in memory of a loved and/or respected one.

To become a member of the Delta Queen Crew Club and order a plaque for yourself or someone you love this holiday season, call (800)499-9877 between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or purchase on-line at www.deltaqueenhotel.com. You'll also find some more details about the program there.

Delta Queen fans are requested to contact their Senators asking them to introduce an amendment to the bill and/or support it in the Senate.

From the 2008 Senate bill S.3498, all sponsors and co-sponsors are still in the Senate, except Barack Obama. So most likely one or more of them should be more than happy to introduce a new bill in the Senate to amend the Delta Queen exemption to the 2010 Coast Guard Authorization Act.

Democrats who sponsored or co-sponsored the 9/16/2008 bill in the Senate:

Bayh, Evan [D - IN] – up for re-election in 2010, considered safe
Brown, Sherrod [D - OH]
Harkin, Tom [D - IA]
Lincoln, Blanche L. [D - AR] – up for re-election in 2010, considered safe
Pryor, Mark L. [D - AR] – member of the Senate's Commerce Committee
Sen Obama, Barack [D - IL]

Republicans:

Voinovich, George V. [R - OH] – retiring in 2010
Cochran, Thad [R - MS]
Lugar, Richard G. [R - IN]
Alexander, Lamar [R - TN]
Wicker, Roger F. [R - MS] – member of the Senate's Commerce Committee
Grassley, Chuck [R - IA] – up for re-election in 2010, considered safe
McConnell, Mitch [R - KY]
Vitter, David [R - LA] – member of the Senate's Commerce Committee – up for re-election in 2010

Chairman of the Senate's Commerce & Transportation Committe is John D. Rockefeller, IV [D - WV], who has succeeded Daniel K. Inouye (D – HI). Inouye is still a regular member of the committee and is said to be a strong opponent of any exemption for the Delta Queen.

The Save The Delta Queen Campaign welcomes this new initiative and encourages other Congressmen, especially Transportation Committee Chairman James Oberstar, to follow Baron Hill’s example and get first-hand information about the safety and economical importance of the Delta Queen.

Call to Action! All Delta Queen Supporters: Please act immediately! We only have time until end of this week to SEND FAXES to all representatives, especially those along the river system to urge them to support THE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 3619 OFFERED BY REP. HILL OF INDIANA.

To find your representative’s contact information, go to http://www.theorator.com/government/house.html and find your  representative’s phone numbers.  As noted on the site the SECOND number is their D.C. fax numbers, the first being a telephone line.

Why fax? It’s the best way to get this message to your representative immediately, so if you ca, please send a fax. Second best is e-mail; snail mail letters will probably be too late.

At the moment though there is not much we can do due to the political situation and the fact that Ambassadors International, Inc. is still owning the boat with no indication of a sale to happen in the near future.

What you can do though is to subscribe to our "Save the Delta Queen" Newsletter so we can contact you as soon as the situation is changing and when we find a way to support the Delta Queen actively again (besides staying at the Delta Queen Hotel to support the boat financially).

Don’t worry, we’ll not send you a newsletter every week or even more frequently and we will not give your e-mail address away to anyone. You might not even hear from us for quite a while.

We want to make sure we can reach you immediately when things are changing and when the Save the Delta Queen Campaign is taking up steam again, hopefully soon.

The Delta Queen’s calliope is being played frequently and the steam whistle can be heard every now and then. Harry Phillips and his team very obviously are trying what they can to keep the Delta Queen a living boat, though of course she’s not cruising at this time. But everything else seams to be there, up and running. Great to see that.

What about future Delta Queen cruises?

The efforts to save the Delta Queen as an overnight passenger vessel didn’t come to a stop at all. But after about two years of fighting very actively with some moments where we’ve been very close to success, things are slowing down somewhat and I suppose Delta Queen fans need to be patient in waiting for her come back as a cruise vessel.

What’s the next step? First of all, the Delta Queen needs a new owner – someone who has the passion and the money to buy, maintain and run her as a cruise vessel on the rivers. Not an easy task in these times, but not impossible at all. That’s it – without a new owner all attempts to get a new exemption from Congress will be hopeless. With a new owner, things might look very bright, very soon again.

For now, let’s try to find a millionaire who happens to also be a big Delta Queen fan. And let’s support the Delta Queen hotel as good as we can. The hotel team is helping preserving the Delta Queen as good as they can and that is for now the best chance for the Delta Queen to survive; and to return to the rivers some day, hopefully very soon.

But Marietta Register reporter Tom Lotshaw found that this support has vanished completely, now that the election is history. It's nothing new that politicians are betraying their constituents in election campaigns, but in this case it hurts exceptionally bad. Giving "Yes, we can" a new meaning: "Yes, we can – betray you as much all other politicians can, too."