For immediate release: 03 June 2019
American Queen Steamboat Company of New Albany, IN, announced that they have completed trials of RebelRocket Wi-Fi optimization service aboard their flagship American Queen steamboat. By reducing undesirable traffic, RebelRocket improved Wi-Fi performance while simultaneously lowering cost.
Thurman Jones, Director of IT at American Queen, knew he needed to improve the Wi-Fi experience aboard his vessels. Passengers complained that Wi-Fi was too slow. Plan limits were regularly exceeded and use was growing. Constrained by cellular capacity along the Mississippi River and the cost of satellite connectivity, increasing bandwidth was not the answer.
Jones turned to RebelRoam to make better use of available capacity. The trial began mid-cruise which meant guests experienced Wi-Fi without RebelRocket and then with the new traffic optimization. The Queen’s First Purser Cynthia Goldstein – always attuned to guest experience – commented, “I have been paying more attention . . . and it is MUCH BETTER! Thank you guys.”
Early on Jones recognized the need for a cost-effective solution that opened up existing bandwidth for the content passengers want by eliminating unnecessary background traffic. RebelRocket proved to be his answer. Total data over the connection dropped 30% as seen in the graph.
Another appeal of RebelRocket is its ease of implementation. There is nothing to install. All that is required is to redirect Internet traffic to RebelRocket DNS servers. “We just turned it up with a simple DNS address change and off it went”, observed Jones.
Richard McKinney, President of US Operations for RebelRoam commented that, “American Queen is a great example of why I joined RebelRoam. We deliver an honest product. It’s easy to implement and it delivers consistently positive results.”
About American Queen Steamboat Company
The American Queen Steamboat Company (AQSC), a leader in U.S. river cruising based in New Albany, IN was founded in 2011. The company’s fleet of U.S. flagged riverboats sail America’s heartland and the Pacific Northwest on itineraries from eight to 23 days. Ushering in a renaissance of travel on U.S. rivers with an all-American crew, AQSC has earned multiple accolades for the company’s high levels of service, gourmet cuisine and authentically delivered shore excursions. AQSC’s flagship vessel, American Queen, launched in 2012 and offers authentic and timeless experiences inspired by the palatial Mississippi steamboats of the Mark Twain era. In April 2014, AQSC christened American Empress to sail the Pacific Northwest with the same opulence and grandeur, followed by the American Duchess, the first all-suite paddle wheeler in the U.S., which set sail in August 2017. The new American Countess, currently under construction in Louisiana, will debut in April 2020, joining the American Queen and American Duchess on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. For more information on American Queen Steamboat Company or to book a cruise on the American Queen, American Duchess, American Empress and upcoming American Countess, call your travel professional or call 888-749-5280 or to learn more, visit www.americanqueensteamboatcompany.com/
Contact:
Elsbeth Pratt
LOU HAMMOND GROUP
+1 843-647-6395
[email protected]
About RebelRoam
RebelRoam provides superior onboard/inflight Wi-Fi traffic optimization to over three million connected passengers every month. Thirty transportation companies operating 2,000 cruise ships, riverboats, ferries, motor coaches, trains and planes across 38 countries realize the benefits that our service brings to their operations and to their passengers.
Learn more about RebelRoam at: www.rebelroam.com
Press contact: Piret Vahter, [email protected]
