I admit, this posting comes pretty late; we’ve been on vacation … Anyway, the Delta Queen now officially is operating as a hotel at Chattanooga. On June 5, 2009, the first guests checked in and since then the hotel business is running and the texas bar seams to be hugely successful; if you know the Delta Queen I just say: no wonder ;-)

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.