April 25, 2013

This past Monday, the world celebrated Earth Day. It was the 43rd such observance and now encompasses 192 countries and more than one billion people. According to the Earth Day website, www.earthday.org, a number of unique events and celebrations took place. In Copenhagen, the Danish Cultural Institute organized its annual CO 2 Green Drive Project in honor of Earth Day. Runners, walkers, bikers, and skaters used their cities as canvasses to spell “CO 2” by tracking their movements with GPS devices. In Santa Barbara, CA, thousands of people attended the local Earth Day Festival, which included live music, presenters, a Green Car Show, and special awards given to Van Jones and Bill Nye. In Veracruz, Mexico, Tortugas Fundacion Yepez mobilized volunteers to protect the habitat of sea turtles by cleaning up the local beaches and organizing a reforestation campaign.”

April 22, 2013

What truly inspires you? How we find that inspiration is as varied as the number of people on earth, but of one thing we can be sure: life without inspiration is a dull life, indeed. While most of us find inspiration in our children, our parents, our partners and our friends, it’s also important to feel passion about something outside of our family and friendship circle. For some it might be running a marathon. For others it might be quilting, bird-watching or cooking. For still others, it might be scrapbooking.

January 1, 2013
By Timothy Rubacky, Senior Vice President

Welcome to 2013. We wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year and many more to follow. The New Year is, as we all know, nothing more than a date on the calendar. It has no real significance other than the symbolic importance we have hoisted upon it over the millennia. Naturally, it has come to symbolize renewal, rebirth and a casting off of things old that no longer serve a purpose in our lives. Somewhere along the line, we have all bought into this idea and dutifully prepare our list of New Year’s Resolutions. By the end of January, they are often forgotten. I can certainly tell you that for the life of me I don’t remember whatever happened to my list. The only item on the list that I actually resolved to do and did was the one that involved being part of the team that re-launched the American Queen into river service after a hiatus of a few years. She is now comfortably and gloriously back where she belongs.

December 27, 2012
By Timothy Rubacky, Senior Vice President

It seems like the holidays were only yesterday. Oh wait, they were! It’s amazing how quickly we change our focus and look ahead to what comes next. After days of preparation and weeks of anticipation, the big day has come and gone. It seems like the dishes aren’t even in the sink before we’re trying to figure out what to do next. Watch football? Play in the snow? Go see a movie? Go over to friends’ homes? In some ways, it reminds me of Thanksgiving. Hours are spent cooking and in 30 minutes it’s all over. Although at least case in that case our focus turns to the upcoming yuletide!

December 4, 2012
By Timothy Rubacky, Senior Vice President

You may or may not have noticed that here at the American Queen Steamboat Company, we’re offering a number of excellent opportunities to save on voyages in 2013. If you belong to our email list, you’re receiving immediate notice of these special offers. If not, I urge you to visit our Preferred Notification List to make certain you don’t miss out on a fabulous deal. Now, we know we’re not the only company in the world, let alone the only travel company, to present enticing offers before the end of the year. But did you ever wonder why we, and everyone else, try so hard to earn your booking before the end of the year?

To be honest, some might think we’re just plain lazy. The more voyages in 2013 we can fill in 2012, the less work we have to do in 2013. OK, calling us lazy isn’t exactly accurate. What we really are is eager to make certain that we start the New Year with us many staterooms sold as we can. That’s one of our New Year’s resolutions. Why does it really matter exactly when we take a booking for a stateroom? If the American Queen sails full, she sails full. Why should it matter when she fills up? The truth is that it all boils down to simple economics for us (and everyone else doing the same thing).