Queen of Cincinatti
After being closed since March 16 due to COVID-19 restrictions, BB Riverboats resumed its sternwheeler cruises on the Ohio River on Memorial Day weekend — with discounted charges and social-distancing insurance policies in place on its vessels.
With social-distancing protocols in place, BB Riverboats is providing a money bar service in addition to a full vary of meal choices for buy through the cruises. The firm isn’t providing desk service right now. Instead, its employees members will serve meals in buffet traces as a substitute of permitting visitors to serve themselves, as that they had up to now, mentioned Ben Bernstein, chief monetary officer of the family-operated enterprise.
“During these cruises, we will strictly follow the state’s mandate that we operate at a reduced capacity of one-third our maximum capacity,” Bernstein mentioned. “In fact, we will be able to operate at well below that capacity level because of our large, unique space.”
Unlike different leisure and eating venues with restricted area, mentioned Bernstein, “our boats have ample space—both inside and outside—to accommodate a number of guests while complying with all social-distancing policies.”
“From our parking lot to our expanded onboarding space on our wharf to our sternwheelers, we have the ability to spread people out, get them onto and off our boats in the safe manner, and allow them to get out of their houses for a few hours to enjoy the beautiful spring scenery found along the Ohio River this time of year,” he added.
Bernstein mentioned that the corporate has altered the ground plans of its boats to supply reserved seating to each one who takes the cruise, together with permitting members of the family of as much as 10 individuals to take a seat at one desk, as permitted beneath state guidelines.
On the boats’ outside decks, all seating might be stacked upon arrival of visitors and BB Riverboats’ employees members will help visitors in organising this seating in applicable clusters.
“We have created an excellent return-to-business plan to ensure our guests are able to enjoy our facilities in a way that is safe and compliant with all state regulations,” mentioned Bernstein. “But everyone else must do their part, too, if this is going to work out properly.”
This month, BB Riverboats plan to renew its common seasonal cruise schedule, working cruises from Thursday to Sunday, together with lunch cruises, sightseeing cruises, and dinner cruises.
Last yr, BB Riverboats spent roughly $2 million to move, retrofit, and rebuild a 300- by 54-foot barge that previously served as part of an Argosy Casino in Sioux City, Iowa. The new facility has a 250-seat occasion heart with full-service bar and new kitchen known as the River’s Edge, an expanded ready space for cruise passengers, and a wrap-around outside deck with a wonderful view of the Cincinnati skyline. The River’s Edge reception facility stays closed till the corporate receives additional course from the state on when and the right way to reopen this facility. However, it plans to make use of this area for social-distancing functions as a part of its onboarding course of for its cruises.
BB Riverboats operates two sternwheelers—the 1,000-passenger M/V Belle of Cincinnati and the 500-passenger M/V River Queen—from its riverfront wharf at 101 Riverboat Row, Newport, Ky. BB Riverboats started operation in Covington in 1980 with cruises on the M/V Betty Blake, a 400-passenger sternwheeler working from the Mike Fink Restaurant. BB Riverboats moved its operations to Newport in 2005.
A 3rd technology of the Bernstein household now runs the day-to-day operations of the corporate.
