A deadline to put in bids for the American Queen Voyages (AQV) cruise fleet is nearing, as a Texas bankruptcy court has set March 25 at 4:00 p.m. local time as a deadline for interested parties to make qualified bids.

The assets include four paddlewheel cruise ships for river operations, two coastal vessels and a summer charter deal for an expedition ship that extends to 2031.

Parties are able to bid on individual assets or all of them, per court documents.

Depending on the number of bids and their qualifications, an auction could be held to determine the winner.

An auction, if necessary, would be held on March 27 at 9:00 a.m. local time. The winning bidder could be revealed as soon as March 27 if there is no auction, or March 28 following a potential auction. A deadline for objections is April 1.

Cruise Industry News understands there are multiple parties, all of which asked not to be named, that are planning to make bids for the entire fleet, or in some cases, an individual ship or class of vessels.