PASSENGER VESSELS TO DOCK IN CAPE

The River Explorer will be the first of four river passenger vessels to visit Cape Girardeau this summer.

The Explorer, a floating hotel operated by River Barge Excursions, will dock along the Mississippi River in downtown Cape Girardeau Tuesday.

The boat will arrive about 3 a.m., and remain dockside until about 2 p.m.

The River Explorer is the only hotel barge traveling various inland waterways. Made up of two 295-foot barges, it is custom built to include the floating hotel-resort capable of carrying 198 passengers.

The aft barge, named for the explorer LaSalle, contains 99 staterooms about 200 square feet each. The forward barge, named for the Spanish explorer DeSoto, contains lounges, a gift shop, library and game room.

The boat is propelled by a towboat the Miss Nari, which features a Z Peller 360 degree propulsion.

The 730-foot-long boat is the longest passenger vessel on the inland waterways. The Explorer will make five stops here during the year.

Also visiting the downtown riverfront will be three Delta Steamboat Company paddle boats -- the Delta Queen, the Mississippi Queen and the American Queen.

The first two will appear July 3, en route from New Orleans to St. Louis on the Great American Steamboat Race.

The two Queens will arrive here about 7 a.m. July 3, and leave about 1 p.m., for the final leg to St. Louis.

The American Queen will make its first stop here July 12.

The Delta Queen, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1970 and designated a national historic landmark in 1989, is the world's only authentic, fully restored overnight steamboat in the world. The 285-foot-long Delta Queen was built in 1926 and launched in 1927 at a cost of $875,000.

The Mississippi Queen was commissioned July 25, 1976. The twin-stacked vessel is 382 feet long

The American Queen, one of the largest riverboats on the inland waters, is a 3,707-ton paddle-wheeler that is more than 400 feet long. It was launched in 1995 at a cost of $60 million.

The year's schedule:

June 1 -- River Explorer, 3 a.m. to 2 p.m.

June 21 -- River Explorer, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

July 3 -- Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

July 6 -- Mississippi Queen, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

July 12 - American Queen 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

July 16 -- River Explorer, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Aug. 7 -- Delta Queen, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Aug. 11 -- Mississippi Queen, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Aug. 26 -- American Queen, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Aug. 29 -- River Explorer, 3 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sept. 17-18 -- River Explorer, 1 p.m., to remain overnight, leave at 6 a.m.

Oct. 9 -- Mississippi Queen, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Nov. 2 -- River Explorer, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.