Steamboat Natchez Jazz Cruise: Daytime, Evening or Weekend Brunch?
4 min read
The answer first
If the music is the reason you are going, book the Evening Steamboat Jazz Cruise: boarding at 6:00 PM, sailing 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, live music by the Dukes of Dixieland, €52.03 per person, 4.4 / 5 from 5,527 reviews. If you would rather see the river and the skyline in daylight, the Daytime Steamboat Jazz Cruise is the same two hours with a different band and an optional lunch instead of dinner. There are 13 river cruises on GetYourGuide, from €23.10.
How the four cruises compare
| Cruise | What the booking page says | Length | Price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evening Steamboat Jazz Cruise | Boarding 6:00 PM, sailing 7:00 PM–9:00 PM, Dukes of Dixieland, optional Creole dinner buffet | 2 h | €52.03 | 4.4 / 5 (5,527 reviews) |
| Daytime Steamboat Jazz Cruise | Steamboat Stompers, calliope concert before boarding, optional Creole lunch | 2 h | €39.03 | 4.4 / 5 (4,802 reviews) |
| Steamboat Jazz Cruise with optional brunch | Steamboat Stompers, optional buffet brunch | 2 h | €39.03 | 4.4 / 5 (514 reviews) |
| Evening Jazz Boat Cruise on the Creole Queen | Old-fashioned sternwheeler, live jazz band, boarding 6:00 PM daily, optional dinner | 2 h | €53.83 | 4.4 / 5 (1,145 reviews) |
The first three are run by Gray Line New Orleans. The evening and brunch pages say you sail aboard either the Steamboat Natchez or the Riverboat City of New Orleans, so they do not promise which of the two boats you get; the daytime page names only the Steamboat Natchez. The Natchez company’s own site gives 400 Toulouse Street as its departure location, the address the daytime page gives for its meeting point at Woldenberg Park.
Day or night?
- Evening: the page names the Grammy-nominated Dukes of Dixieland, and this is the sailing for the lit-up skyline. Boarding starts one hour before departure, so plan to be at the dock around 6:00 PM.
- Daytime: a calmer outing with the band and the narration. The page gives Woldenberg Park, 400 Toulouse St, as the meeting point and says boarding begins 30 minutes before departure. Start times appear when you check availability.
- Weekend brunch: the brunch version is for people who want a meal on board. The Natchez company’s own site lists the brunch cruise on Saturdays and Sundays, with live jazz by the Steamboat Stompers.
- Creole Queen: a different boat and a different dock (1 Poydras St). Its page lists children aged five and younger as free, says no outside food or drinks are allowed on board, and notes that the cruise may stay dockside in unfavourable sailing conditions.
What the pages say about food, drinks and access
Dinner, lunch and brunch are optional add-ons on all four pages; you choose them when you book. Cocktails, beer and wine are sold on board on the Gray Line cruises, so budget for them separately. The Gray Line pages also say dress is casual and the vessel is non-smoking, indoors and on the outside decks; the Creole Queen page bans smoking indoors.
The daytime cruise and the Creole Queen listings carry a wheelchair-accessible label, and all three Gray Line pages say the vessel is handicap accessible. They add that access to the top deck is by stairs only. Wheelchair access is something to confirm with the operator before you book, not to take from a label.
Our recommendation
For most visitors the evening cruise is the better pick: it has the Dukes of Dixieland, the skyline at night and more reviews than any other cruise listed. Choose the daytime cruise if you would rather see the riverbanks in daylight, and the Creole Queen if you are travelling with children aged five and younger, who ride free according to its page. All four can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours in advance according to their pages. See all steamboat and jazz cruises for dates and current prices.
