Your eyes don’t deceive you. It’s true, a new and noteworthy sight on the Colorado River rests at the Aquarius Casino dock. The Grand Celebration has replaced its predecessor, the Celebration boat, and sailed its maiden voyage last week.
This enormous an exquisite vessel, owned by Trevor and Brea Chiodini of Laughlin River Tours, is an extraordinary addition to Laughlin, being the first of its kind to cruise the waters behind Casino Drive.
For several years Laughlin River Tours invited guests aboard the old Celebration boat for scenic and dinner cruises, but it was time for her retirement.
“She just was old,” Trevor said. “The amount of work that needed to be put into her, it didn’t make sense to pull it out and redo the whole boat. Most of the time, the coast guard doesn’t want more than 25 years on a steel boat because of rust and she was at 25 years. This new boat is aluminum instead of steel. Aluminum corrodes, but it doesn’t rust.”
“Every five years you have to pull the boat out and do coast guard inspections,” Brea added. “We were at the point where we had to pull the boat out to do inspections, and there was a lot of work that needed to be done, so it was just time to retire her.”
The Chiodinis donated the Celebration to the City of Bullhead City and it is stationed at Bullhead City Community Park, where it will eventually have a second life.
“They want to use it as an event space and in the summertime, a concession stand for the park,” Brea said. “They’ve got a liquor license and will sell food.”
The Grand Celebration has been in the works for awhile, but the pandemic slowed construction. The Chiodinis contracted Adonia Yachts in St. George, Utah, to build the new boat in 2019 and construction began in February 2020. From there, they had to ride the waves of supply chain delays, and the learning curve for creating Adonia’s first commercial yacht.
“This is the first commercial boat that they have ever built,” Brea said. “And it was our first experience trying to design the interior stuff. It was quite the three-year journey. They are very experienced in building a boat and they know what they’re doing and they have a huge operation, but on the commercial side of it, there’s so much more than just building a beautiful yacht. With the permitting process there is so much that they are required to do, so it was a lot of learning for both of us. This last year was really hard on us, but all in all, in the end it was worth it.”
The new boat is a whopping 94 feet long by 25 feet wide and can hold 150 passengers. The size of the vessel alone made it a tricky project.
“They built it in two pieces, top and bottom, and that’s how they shipped it,” Trevor said. “So they built it all in the plant, put it all together to make sure it fit right, took it all back apart and brought it out in two different loads. And it was a pretty big deal because of the width of it. We were closing down highways going through Las Vegas. It’s a three-hour drive and it took them 17 hours to get this bottom side here, that’s how slow they had to go.”
After it arrived in Bullhead City, there was more work to be done.
“Then they actually finished the construction in Community Park in Bullhead CIty,” Brea said. “They had to put everything together here. They had a whole crew here for two weeks putting it together. There was a lot still to do and they worked really efficiently.”
The finished product is a stunner, and certainly stands out as it cruises the Colorado.
“They went above and beyond with the design. They just blew it out of the water,” Trevor said. “Something that’s really cool about this boat, as big as it is, we only need 31 inches of water when it’s fully loaded. So it’s very minimal the amount of water we need. It has feet built on it too, so it can sit on the ground without damaging anything.”
After construction was completed, there were still more hurdles the Chiodinis faced before they could welcome guests aboard.
“We couldn’t operate until the coast guard said we were good to sail,” Trevor said. “We had to do our stability test. We had to get 55 gallon drums of water on here and make a line and the naval architects make the lines and move all of the weight to one side and see how much it would take to make it flip. So the stability test was a lot of work. Then there’s the safety inspection to check that all the pumps, life jackets, and systems are safe. The health department also comes and inspects everything.”
The Grand Celebration passed all inspections and took her first cruise March 1. She is open for bookings for a scenic cruise, dinner cruise or private cocktail charter at laughlinrivertours.com.
“For private parties, we can really customize a lot more. The sky is the limit, because we have more space,” Brea said. “There is room up top for a dancefloor and the boat is wired for bands to plug right into the system and the sound system is bluetooth. The lights coincide with the exterior lights and that is all programmable with an app. There’s a lot of cool features.”
Call 702-298-1047 to inquire about booking the boat for a private event.
The 90-minute scenic cruise sets sail at 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. daily. This enjoyable cruise is a narrated tour, which shares the history of the area as you glide along the river. Drinks and lunch is available for purchase on board. Adult admission starts at $15, kids 4-10 ride for $8 and kids 3 and under are free.
The dinner cruise sets up a truly special evening for couples, friends, families or anyone wanting a unique dinner setting with live music. This leisurely trip takes place right as the sun sets, gleaming across the water. The boat leaves at 6 p.m. Wednesday-Monday for this tour.
Dine on your choice of entrée, which includes chicken marsala, a salmon fillet, prime rib cooked to order, pasta tortellini or vegan ravioli. Your entrée is included in the price of the trip, with an additional cost for prime rib. A Caesar salad, dinner rolls, dessert and nonalcoholic beverages are included with the price. You may add on a steamed lobster tail or a deluxe dessert. There is a full bar on board with wine, beer, champagne and specialty cocktails available for purchase. Prices start at $76 per person.
For a memorable ride on a luxury liner, cruising aboard the Grand Celebration is simply a must on your trip to Laughlin!