By Patrick Crowley
The Cincinnati Enquirer

NEWPORT - First it was the aquarium, then the Hofbrauhaus. They shunned downtown Cincinnati in favor of Newport's riverfront.

Now, Newport is going after the Delta Queen.

Newport city officials are making a pitch to have the historic Ohio River steamboat make the Campbell County city one of its regular stops.

Newport doesn't necessarily want to steal the Delta Queen from Cincinnati, a major port of call for the steamer, said Mayor Tom Guidugli.

But Newport would like to be a destination on some of the boat's Ohio River voyages.

"With all we've done on our riverfront," Guidugli said, "we think it makes sense that Delta Queen stop here while they're on the Ohio River."

The New Orleans-based Delta Queen Steamboat Co. is interested in exploring Newport as a port of call, but not for at least two years. Voyages for this year and 2005 are already planned, according to Delta Queen spokeswoman Lucette Brehm.

"We don't have anything set yet for 2006, but we may be looking at something (in Newport) in the future," Brehm said. "We're always looking for new scheduling stops."

Guidugli said that timing works well for Newport.

A major restoration of the city's riverfront, including places for large boats to dock, is scheduled to be completed in about two years, he said.

The idea came to Guidugli and other city officials last summer, when high water prevented the Delta Queen from mooring at its regular stop on Cincinnati's riverfront.

The boat instead crossed the Ohio River and docked in Newport. Passengers disembarked and began circulating among the city's riverfront attractions, including the Newport Aquarium, the Hofbrauhaus German-themed restaurant and bar and the Newport on the Levee entertainment complex.

The aquarium and Hofbrauhaus both considered downtown Cincinnati before choosing Newport.

"The passengers loved it," Guidugli said. "They loved all the restaurants and attractions within walking distance of the boat."

When they get dropped off in Cincinnati there's nothing, except for (Great American Ball Park) to immediately walk to.

"We have it all right on the riverfront," he said.

The Newport Aquarium would love to have the boat make regular stops in Northern Kentucky, said aquarium spokeswoman Jill Isaacs.

"Anything that is good for the riverfront is good for us," Isaacs said. "We saw a lot of people come in because of the Tall Stacks (riverboat festival) last year. It makes sense for people to stop here because if they are on the Delta Queen they appreciate the river. So it's a natural next step in terms of being educated and entertained by the river ... because so many of our exhibits are geared toward rivers here and around the world."

Brehm said Newport offers "quite a bit of history and activities" for its passengers.

"We're always looking for new scheduling stops," she said. "It's possible we'll visit Newport when we do our site inspections."

Julie Calvert, spokeswoman for the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau, said having Newport as a Delta Queen destination would not be bad news for Cincinnati.

"The Ohio River serves the entire region," Calvert said. "It's entirely likely that when folks stop over in Newport they would walk over to Cincinnati on the Purple People Bridge. There really are no barriers.

"And when Newport is finished with its (riverfront) restoration, we'll have two really attractive sides of the river but with a lot of activities to choose from," she said. "We would see this as a positive for the whole river basin community."

Cincinnati is one of the Delta Queen's 14 ports of call, a roster that also includes Memphis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Louisville.

Voyages between other cities not only stop in Cincinnati, but more than 25 cruises between April and October originate in Cincinnati.

"The Delta Queen has a lot of history in Cincinnati," Brehm said. "We always like to bring our passenger to different river communities ... but we also love Cincinnati."

E-mail pcrowley@enquirer.com