Mississippi cruises

[quilbilly]

There have been several advertisements lately about cruises up/down the big river and over to Natchez. They sound interesting (especially the history). Has anyone ever done one? What did you think. They are expensive.

[rockrat]

I would think as low as the Mississippi river was last fall, that cruises would have been put on hold.

[Handloader109]

Nah, these boats draw about 3 or 4 feet. Plenty deep and the MS is well above its summer low.

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[elmacgyver0]

I once went on one, many decades ago.
A real paddle wheeler, me, my wife and my in-laws.
It was great! The boat broke down, so it was an extra-long cruise, loved it.
A real steamboat!
I started talking to the captain about the problem and he said he had a welder who was fixing it.
I said what happened, did a pillow block break loose?
He ended up offering me a job.
I already was employed so I declined, but it was a boost to my moral.
If I were younger and single, I would have jumped at it!

[deltaenterprizes]

Around 2005 they had a 2 for the price of one.
We were living in St Bernard parish , a suburb of New Orleans so it was convenient.
It was a weekend cruise so it only went to Baton Rouge and they had to cut it short because a hurricane was coming.
At dinner the first night our waiter asked everyone where they were from and when we told him we were from Meraux he laughed and said that he lived right down the street from us!
He lived in the infamous Lower Ninth Ward that was decimated by Hurricane Katrina later that year.
The food was excellent, the history lessons during a tour of the boat was interesting and being able to understand the staff was a nice touch!
I was recovering from a long illness and I really enjoyed it.
They are expensive but I would love to do it again and go further up the river.

[pworley1]

My sister-in-law's father was the captain on the Delta Queen For many years. He was not the captain that dealt with the guests, but the real captain that saw to the operation of the boat. He loved it.

[waksupi]

If you go, take a lot of OFF! Skeeters can be fierce in some areas. I've not been on those cruises, but used to fish the Mississippi when young.

[mobilemail]

I would like to do it, but not at the prices they charge.

[MaryB]

Memories of canoeing down the MS river from the headwaters tot he gulf in big fur trapper freight canoes once the river got bigger(headwaters is a stream you can step over LOL). Those freight canoes were 6 person and 24' long... useful with all the barge traffic! The river folk who were outside the big cities were off the charts nice. Willing to share a meal, trade a little shine for fish(we fished constantly), give us a warm barn to sleep in during a really bad storm... going thru populated areas we paddled hard to get in and out fast, and kept guns handy! We paddled out past the mouth of the river into the Gulf of MX where we were picked up by friends fora boat trip back to New Orleans.

Took us 2 years to do it, 2 weeks a year... end of the 2 weeks everyone was tired and sore but it was a fun trip! One I would love to repeat in a houseboat from Minneapolis south(have to get to the lock and dam system).

[quilbilly]

I would like to do it, but not at the prices they charge.

I agree but it is our 40th anniversary year next year so thought we would enjoy it. SWMBO suggested a an Alaska cruise but I spent too much time commercial fishing and then a as a fish biologist up there to enjoy an expensive cruise un less it went to Dutch, an island I would like to spend more time exploring. I did suggest a trip with the truck on the Alaska Ferry System complete with all the camping gear, kayaks, fishing gear, and a selection of firearms but she doesn't "do tents" much anymore with the sleep machine.

[akajun]

The boats are running, in fact the river is rising/ high right now
The low periods are always late summer/ fall

I know the boats stop in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Natchez, Vicksburg
They used to stop in st francisville which is a cool little town
I’d do it, even though I live on the river I’ll prob do it when I retire as well