Passengers get a free night aboard Queen of the Mississippi on July 4 to experience the Dueling Barges Firework Display that lights up the New Orleans skyline a few hundred yards down river. This kicks off the 'Heartland Celebration' cruise, a 15-day journey that includes shore excursions to Elvis Presley's home, Graceland, and the Frogmore Plantation in Natchez.
An included pre-cruise hotel night begins the July 4 Memphis to New Orleans cruise. On Independence Day in Memphis the line takes passengers along Beal Street for jazz performances and the city's famous barbecue. Highlights of the cruise aboard the brand new American Eagle are live music and shore excursions to Oak Alley Plantation the Civil War battlefields in Vicksburg.
American Cruise Lines' Independence Day celebration on the Columbia River begins with a picnic lunch at Fort Vancouver, one of the oldest outposts in the American frontier. Later passengers can watch the largest fireworks display in the region from the decks of Queen of the West. A pre-cruise hotel overnight provides time to explore Portland, Oregon. The cruise includes excursions to Mount St. Helens, the Columbia River Gorge and the 620-foot Multnomah Falls.
On American Star's 'New England Islands' cruise, an overnight in Providence, Rhode Island, gives passengers access to the Independence Day show of more than 150 musicians and artists in the town’s historic district. Cruise features include a tour of historic Nantucket Island and a visit to the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol.
During the 'Maine Coast and Harbors' cruise, passengers celebrate Independence Day on board American Cruise Lines' Independence with a barbecue lunch banquet and evening fireworks over Frenchman Bay. The cruise includes a tour through Acadia National Park, free tastings at the Atlantic Brewing Co. and a tour of the Maine Coast Botanical Gardens.
