Ascend the steps from the pleasantries and laughter of the Orleans Room and find yourself enclosed by mahogany walls and plate glass windows with the original stained glass panels in the Forward Cabin Lounge. Have a seat by one of the cherry wood tables and enjoy that last cup of coffee or your favorite liqueur before bedtime. The Forward Cabin Lounge is also the location of our complimentary continental breakfast for those with a light, early morning appetite. On the starboard side of the Forward Cabin Lounge is the Steamboatique where you can find your shipboard souvenirs and that forgotten item needed to insure a flawless stay.

The Forward Cabin Lounge is the prelude to the Betty Blake Library, which is nestled between the staterooms of the cabin deck and is often home to the quieter pursuits of our guests. The perfect afternoon gathering place, you can often find people reading, playing games, engaged in conversation with newly-discovered friends or exploring the many photographs and artifacts on display.

The Betty Blake Library is named for the former President of the Delta Queen Steamboat Company, who, in 1970, convinced Congress to pass legislation that kept the Delta Queen from being put out of service by a 1965 law prohibiting overnight passenger vessels with wooden superstructures from navigating U.S. waters. You can find a framed copy of the 1970 legislation that saved the Delta Queen hanging on a wall of the lounge. You can also see pictures of the Greene family, who founded the predecessor company of the Delta Queen Steamboat Company in 1890, and prints of the Delta Queen painted Navy gray when she ferried troops across the San Francisco Bay in World War II.