American Cruise Lines Promotes Shallow-Draft American Glory Catamaran for East Coast

American Cruise Lines is actively promoting American Glory as part of its new Coastal Cat fleet, positioning the 2023-built catamaran as a shallow-draft small ship tailor-made for East Coast and New England coastal itineraries. The company’s marketing and ship profile pages were updated in February 2026 and emphasize that American Glory “blends the best qualities of expedition adventure cruising with the refinement, luxury, stability, and land proximity of river cruising,” while explicitly claiming that “Aboard American Glory, land is never out of sight.”

Technical identifiers and fleet placement trace American Glory to ACL’s Project Blue series. According to Cruisemapper, the vessel carries 100 guests, is USA-flagged, and is identified as IMO 1033418 and MMSI 368317880. Cruisemapper lists American Glory as the second ship in a 12-ship Project Blue Coastal Cat series and notes that it is ACL’s 17th vessel overall. Cruisemapper also records the 2023 launch pattern as Eagle in August 2023 and Glory in November 2023, and it flagged a December 28, 2024 item marking American Glory’s first anniversary of service.

American Cruise Lines’ marketing copy details onboard spaces aimed at coastal exploration. The ship profile highlights “Observation and sitting areas available at the bow” and “A unique Swim/Activity Platform at the stern of the ship features a tender for local exploration.” Accommodation text varies across partner sites, with some pages calling passenger rooms “private balcony” and others using “private step-out balconies,” while describing staterooms and suites as “thoughtfully designed and beautifully appointed” and offering “some of the industry's largest passenger cabins.”

Dining and guest inclusions are also central to the pitch. Marketing pages describe meals as “freshly prepared by talented chefs who draw inspiration from the regions the ship visits,” and Cruisemapper reproduces the ACL package inclusions verbatim: “ACL cruise deals include a pre-cruise hotel package, all shore excursions (organized daily), cocktail hour (each evening), stateroom, gourmet meals, Afternoon Tea service, room service (Breakfast only), onboard enrichment and live entertainment programs, and Wi‑Fi (shipwide coverage).”

Itineraries being promoted for American Glory stress small-port access and American-focused programming. Marketing material and partner sites underscore the vessel’s shallow draft as enabling “rare access into small ports and the ability to travel on almost any river or waterway,” and they market onshore programming as “100% American,” including the claims that “Every crewmember is American” and “Every port of call is in the U.S.” Cruisemapper additionally notes itineraries leaving roundtrip from Washington DC as part of the contextual schedule.

ACL built American Glory at its company-owned Chesapeake Shipbuilding Yard in Salisbury, Maryland, and Cruisemapper says the Project Blue series will continue at roughly two ships per year with names and launches scheduled through 2025 and additional sisterships planned for 2026 through 2028. With the February 2026 marketing refresh, ACL is clearly positioning American Glory and its Coastal Cat siblings to expand shallow-draft access for East Coast coastal cruises while stressing the land-proximity and U.S.-centric programming that the company markets.