History of the Detroit Princess Riverboat

Originally named Players Riverboat Casino II, the Detroit Princess Riverboat was built in Jennings Louisiana in 1993 for use as a gambling boat. Located on the Mississippi River in Metropolis, Illinois, the casino ran as a Merv Griffin establishment for a number of years.

Eventually, Harrah's purchased the boat and brought it to Lake Charles, Louisiana where after running as a casino for a few years, they built a larger boat and stripped all of the gaming equipment off. The boat sat idle for three years and was nearly scrapped for parts and then cut up into millions of pieces.

Shortly before Harrah's decided to scrap the boat in May of 2004, we purchased it and began the long arduous task of bringing it from Orange, Texas all the way to it's final destination, Detroit, Michigan. As the boat is too tall to travel through the upper areas of the Mississippi River, it had to be brought around Florida, up the inter coastal waterway, past Maine and Nova Scotia, through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and then through the St. Lawrence Seaway system.

After finally arriving in Toledo, Ohio on October 14th, 2004, a complete re-fit of the boat began to make it ready to operate as a restaurant. A full kitchen with eight convection ovens, ten steam cabinets, and ten movable heater cabinets, two walk-in coolers, a fully functional dish room, and serving kitchens on each level are only a sample of the many changes which were made to the vessel.

Now servicing as many as 1800 passengers on party cruises, the Detroit Princess calls the Detroit River home! We first opened our doors on June 18th, 2005 and have had many beautiful cruises since. Come out and take a ride with us and experience it for yourself!

General Information About the Detroit Princess
Built: 1993 - Leevac Shipyard in Jennings, LA
Overall Length: 222 feet
Breadth: 62 feet
Height: 88 feet
Top Speed: 10 knots (11 mph)
Gross Tonnage: 1430 tons

Guest Capacity:
1st Deck: 500 passengers
2nd Deck: 500 passengers
3rd Deck: 350 passengers
4th Deck: 150 passengers
Total Guest capacity: 1500 passengers
*in addition, the 4th and 5th decks have large outdoor viewing areas!