Latest on the MQ???

I think you'll find the MQ is out of the picture until the DQ exemption issue is put to rest. WHEN (NOT IF) we get the exemption passed, I think the DQ and AQ will be the boats running, and the MQ will be either put to pasture or mothballed until better times.
S'
David D.
(Note: this is just my OPINION based on my observations from way out here in N. Calif (we prefer "The Great State of Jefferson"), your milage may vary)

David- that is how I read the signs from here in New Hampshire.

Basically- if the name of the game is full passenger loads, MAL wants to limit options of how many rooms are available to book. So, while they have obviously started with the AQ, what happens with the DQ or MQ will depend on what happens with the AQ and whether that sails with full loads in 2008.

If 2008 has a full DQ but only partially full AQ, MAL may work harder against the DQ exemption. They may not do it directly or in an obvious manner but it is the same way airlines rearrange the size and number of planes on specific routes. Empty seats cost money and with today's economy of high fuel prices that reflects on higher costs in everything else, the hospitality industry doesn't want empty seats or empty rooms.

This strategy may have been carefully thought out from the very start. As long as the MQ was basically taken apart under the guise of re-furbishing it, MAL took that boat (which may have been the least popular) out of the running for 3 full seasons.

My opinion (and strictly my opinion) is that MAL wants only the AQ to run until demand is up to what it once was years ago which caused the MQ and the AQ to be built in the first place. When that demand is there, whether they choose to use the DQ or MQ first may depend on many factors including who is considered their core passenger base. Loyal oldies like most of us may not be higher numbers than passengers who do demand elevators, grandeur, luxury, non-stop entertainment and activities, gyms, big screen TVs and state of the art electronics. The wealthiest passengers may want premier wines, vegetarian meals, a massage service along with the hairdresser, babysitting or children's activities.

Again a numbers game is at stake. Fill the AQ. Analyze who the AQ is filled with and then market like crazy to that audience. Once demand is there, whether MAL chooses to find a way to help with the exemption or re-do the MQ to make it a sister to the AQ or even use both the MQ and DQ and take the AQ off the rivers for a year- well, time will tell.

Again- just my humble opinion.

MQ's future

I find it sad that the MQ may be mothballed for some time! She was always the ugly step-sister to the fleet, but she was gorgeous on the first 4 decks! She just lost it after the waistline...so to speak... What I find more interesting about modern steamboating is this... THE AQ and MQ were primarily designed as cruise ships ..or riverboats or...You get the jest! No shipbuilder would listen to the true wants and needs of real steamboaters, and alas, I think we got about a C minus! I hate to be the thorn in the side of steamboaters everywhere, but I lost all liking for the DELTA QUEEN when she got that ghastly 2nd Hull and messed up bow. Plus they have tampered with the main deck and boiler deck to an almost un-recognizable state! I would only like to see the DQ saved if the owners restored her back to the original splendor she bore until the mid 70's! Thanks, Allen Dale. BTW...that blue streak on the AQ's stern has got to go! Looks like a Dinner Bucket star line cruiser! LOL.

Elaine, I am enclined to go along with you on this sad observation.

Dear David, I WAS all about the Delta Queen being saved, but I much more prefer that she be saved as a hotel or restaurant. I want to see a NEW DELTA QUEEN built in modern stats to appease the Coast Guard, congress, ect... I know it sounds harsh, but artisans can do WONDERS with steel these days, and make Steel LOOK lioke wood! Take the guts of the OLD DQ and maybe SOMEHOW create a NEW STEAMBOAT that LOOKS and OPERATES as a Steamboat. Sincerely, Allen Dale.

If the MQ is going to be Mothballed or put to pasture, I suggest they take the PADDLEWHEEL OFF of the MQ and re-install it on the AQ! She needs the bigger paddlewheel to make some speed. LOL

Allen,
Look at the past boats that have been "preserved"--how many of them are still with us? I believe you will find that count VERY small--they burn, they sink, the hulls get too thin, etc. The BIG "etc." is they don't make enough money to keep them up!! Even the DQ's "brother," the DK, is having a very rocky financial time--this after millions was spent converting her--a conversion that would eliminate the DQ's historic landmark status. Life as an excursion boat would also require major alterations. In short, the DQ would no longer be the overnight passenger vessel she was built to be.
What I cannot understand is the coast guard's stand that she cannot continue as an overnight boat because she's "unsafe" BUT she could continue as an excursion boat with 4 times the passengers aboard. What makes that safer????
S'
David D.