Steamboat Delta Queen

07/06/2025

We have received many inquiries since the announcement of the Delta Queen’s availability for sale to new owners. While we work our way through responding to each of those we’d encourage everyone to read this well written article from one of the Queen’s former Captain’s! https://nkytribune.com/2025/07/the-river-will-the-delta-queen-like-her-brother-ship-find-a-savior-and-a-chance-to-sail-again/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwLXglpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHjX3LbPihQMRvraUjRUAqmPl77iukBPmw7YZlrV_FbkwdgGvFAceMGows69r_aem_dAh24xpNSHdS17goRiq20g

The riverboat captain is a storyteller. Captain Don Sanders shares the stories of his long association with the river — from discovery to a way of love and life. This a part of a long and continuing story. By Capt. Don Sanders Special to NKyTribune Last week’s column about the Delta Queen Steamb...

06/25/2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The National Historic Landmark DELTA QUEEN steamboat is looking for a new owner and caretaker. After saving the legendary steamboat from the scrappers torch in 2015, the revived Delta Queen Steamboat Company (DQSC) has spent the last ten years trying to secure both the necessary federal legislation that allows the DELTA QUEEN to operate by lobbying the U.S. Congress as well as the funding for the full refurbishment needed to carry overnight passengers again. The future looked bright in December 2018 when said legislation was signed into law, however despite herculean efforts the funding for the project never materialized.

Having hung on to the dream through the COVID pandemic that crippled the cruise industry and a subsequent Category 4 hurricane that directly impacted the DELTA QUEEN, the current owners have exhausted every last resource at their disposal and are no longer able to provide the care needed to maintain the vessel.

It remains DQSC’s goal and mission to see the DELTA QUEEN preserved and the best solution is one that opens the vessel to the public to generate the revenues necessary to sustain its maintenance and long-term preservation. Whether this means as a cruising vessel, or in the manner her identical twin, the DELTA KING has enjoyed as a stationary attraction; the DELTA QUEEN needs to be saved. The current owners are seeking purchase proposals and offers for the vessel, with priority given to offers that do not result in dismantling.

Interested parties should contact [email protected] with details of a potential proposal including sources of funding.

09/13/2024

Hurricane Francine has passed, and the DELTA QUEEN is proud to report that she has weathered the storm without sustaining any damage. We would like to thank everyone who reached out to express concern for our safety. The attached photos were taken today, September 12, 2024.

05/27/2024

Our nation owes a debt to its fallen that we can never fully repay.

Today all of us here at Delta Queen Steamboat Company honor and remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedom and our beautiful country.

05/01/2024

While we may not be racing, we're still extremely excited for today's race and at least one member of our team will be in attendance.

Good luck to the Belle of Louisville and the Belle of Cincinnati!

04/22/2024

We had a busy few days on the Delta Queen recently. With the help of a towboat we were able to reposition the Queen in her slip back at the head (end of the slip). This position is much preferred for a number of reasons, but primarily because the surge from passing boats in the busy Intercoastal Waterway is much less than in the middle of the slip where she has been for the last year or so. This also gave us a great opportunity to replace the mooring lines with brand new 2” 8-strand Poly-Dacron, just like she used when traveling America’s rivers. This new position also puts us back within reach of water and electric which will make even the simple things like cleaning the boat possible again. Please enjoy a few pictures from the Delta Queen’s most recent, albeit short voyage!

Please remember, the Delta Queen is on private property and our landlord kindly asks that you not trespass for a closer look. The boat is guarded 24/7 by an onboard security crew.

03/31/2024

Happy Easter everyone!

With the holiday upon us and spring break in full swing, this week was spent carefully curating the final installment of our presentations, closing out with the history of one of the Delta Queen's most important and iconic women; the last monarch of the Greene Line, Mrs Letha C. Greene.

Join us next week for another rousing round of Fun Fact Friday!

PS: Don't come for us over the CCs, we're aware that they are spelling Letha and Greene incorrectly. That is an issue with Meta and it won't allow us to edit them. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Send a message to learn more

03/23/2024

Fun Fact Friday with the Delta Queen is back this week with an in-depth look at one of the most frequently asked questions about the Delta Queen!

Join us as we deep dive into this week's episode!

03/22/2024

We see you USS LST Ship Memorial, Inc.!!

Our crew caught the historic LST-325 on its way back home to Evansville, Indiana in the wee hours this morning. They are returning from a short stay in the shipyard for a Coast Guard required hull inspection and fresh paint. They were kind enough to send us a return photo too!

We long for the day the Queen gets her turn in the shipyard getting a complete makeover. Until then we encourage you to check them out and visit this unique and fully operational museum ship either at its homeport in Indiana or at a town near you during one of its annual tours!

03/14/2024

As we continue in our series honoring Women’s History Month and paying homage to the grand dames of the rivers, we celebrate and honor another bold lady Captain - in fact, today we honor the first female to complete courses at the National River Academy in Helena, Arkansas.

Of course, we are talking about none other than the incredible, and humble, Captain Lexie Palmore-McMillan.

Lexie's story begins on the Delta Queen where she first began her river career in 1974. After earning her Master's degree in art, she fell in love with steamboating and in 1974, she secured a job on board the Delta Queen as a maid. Having previously sailed aboard the Delta Queen as a passenger, there was something about the riverways and the bold, beautiful boat that captured her imagination and led her down a path that would forever shape the rest of her life.

Hardly satisfied, she worked her way up the ranks and it was with a combination of Lexie’s thirst for knowledge, grit, and determination - and the blessing and encouragement of the Delta Queen Steamboat Company - that she attended the National River Academy in Helena - an act that would see her make history as their first female trainee and graduate.

It wasn’t easy. Lexie would study for 2 years before signing back on with the Delta Queen as a deckhand. Another two years later Lexie earned her license as a mate. To qualify for her pilot's license, Lexie had to memorize the river and be able to draw it freehand indicating all the aids to navigation, the bends, the shifting sands, and the shore points.

At first, that license was only valid between New Orleans and Cairo, Illinois. Determined to see it through, she eventually earned the right to extend her license to St Louis and up the Ohio River as far as Kentucky Lake. By 1979, just five years after beginning as a housekeeper, Lexie had returned to and piloted the Delta Queen for a year and would continue to do so through the early 80s, garnering attention as one of the finest and most talented on America’s inland waterways.

Through it all, her love for art and the riverways persisted and the evidence of her two loves married perhaps most splendidly in the mural that adorns the Delta Queen's Orlean's room to this very day.

After leaving the Delta Queen, Lexie and her husband, Jim McMillan, would curate and operate the River Museum in Jefferson, Texas as well as own and operate the small sternwheel steamboat, the Graceful Ghost, on Lake Caddo and would do so through the early 2000s.

But her story certainly didn’t stop there, her love of history and the water would draw her and her husband to the Twin Lakes region of Colorado where they operate a small tour company taking guests out on Twin Lakes for a two-hour narrated guided boat tours that tell the story of the area’s roaring history during Victorian-era summers.

Today, Lexie and her husband reside happily in Leadville, Colorado where her love of history and steamboating continues to be highlighted in her art. As a Master Artist, Lexie’s works depicting American history, specifically river lore, and steamboating, have earned her recognition in museums, murals, and even as a guest artist for Trail of Painted Ponies. Her contributions as a pilot, Captain, and artist to the world of sternwheel steamboating are undeniable, denoting this humble and very talented woman as one of the icons of the waterways she loves so very much.

We here at the Delta Queen Steamboat Company are deeply honored to have Captain Lexie Palmore-McMillan as a member of our historical family and to continue to honor her legacy and story through our restoration efforts with the hope to someday welcome her aboard again for a journey along the riverways she’s dedicated herself to.

Photo Credits: Jay Mather