American Constellation

American Constellation

2017

02/08/2017

In October, when the American Glory returned to Chesapeake Shipyards, i met Charles A. Robertson, owner of both American Cruise Lines and Chesapeake Shipyards. He invited me to come back and take a tour of the American Constellation. Now she's nearer completion and scheduled to depart on April 19^th for Cambridge, MD. She begins her service on May 6, from Baltimore, initially sailing the Chesapeake Bay before moving on to New England, and then later, the Hudson River

My tour was scheduled for 1000. When I arrived, I met Andy, Production Supervisor. After issuing me a hardhat, he took me, first, to the large construction buildings at the north end of the shipyards. Here, we encountered the two halves of the Constellation's sistership, American Constitution. The aft section is in the east building. We walked underneath her and to the rear. Here, the aft thruster assembly is ready for attachment to the hull. In the west building is the foreward half of the ship. From the sister ship we walked past a sea-going tug nearing completion and delivery, probably to New York Harbor. We boarded the American Constellation on Deck 1, Starboard. This is clearly under construction with workmen scurrying everywhere. Andy went in search of one of the two elevators which then took us to Deck 5. Here are the most luxurious of the suites; very impressive. Deck 6 has a beautiful view. Deck 4 has more cabins and the pilot house. Bridge-Wing controls are more extensive than on the American Glory and the pilot house will have the most advanced of navigational electronics. The comfortable Captain's cabin is on the port side, just aft of the bridge, while the mate's cabin, on the starboard side, is a bit smaller. There is a very nice lounge, Deck 4, aft -- lots of glass. Deck 3 forward has the main lounge. Forward are stairs down to deck 2. The bar, very important to the cocktail hour, is port-side aft in the main lounge, forward. Deck 2 is all cabins. Deck 1, aft, is the dining room. I also got a look at the galley. Forward of the galley, on Deck 1, and below, are service areas, machinery space and crew quarters.
American Constellation is a beautiful ship. At 175 passengers, she's not not the biggest lady in the fleet, but the newest and surely a great addition. Her sister, American Constitution, will join the fleet in 2018.