cruises The Delta Queen is celebrating her 80th birthday. I hope when I am celebrating my 80th I will be as surrounded by music, loyal friends and fun. This traditional paddlewheel steamboat has been cruising up and down the Mississippi and its tributaries for decades, recapturing the days when hundreds of steamboats plied these waters. In fact, dozens of steamboats were tied up, one after the other, all along the docks in port cities.