Steamboat Natchez, New Orleans

The lunch cruise includes a tasty fried chicken lunch with all you can drink tea. I recommend sitting on the bottom deck (don't be afraid to ask a crew member where is the best spot). The narrative is informative. The waiting area to board can get warm so bring a bottle of water. Children 5 and under are only $8 for lunch, free boat ride.

My family and I did the early dinner, which the food was not that great, and the staff seemed very disorganized. Also, any beverages whatsoever are not included, and no free refills. The boat ride was very nice and the music was wonderful though. If you plan on doing this trip skip the meal and just do the boat ride.

My husband and I went on a cruise at dinner time and we thought the views from there were beautiful. It was very chilly, (we went at the end of January) so plan on wearing a heavy coat if you want to ride on the outside of the boat! It was very romantic with the live music. I would recommend it. The fare is reasonable ($40 for the cruise only) since it is a 2 hour ride.

The ride was great but do not eat onboard. We found that the lunch was the worst food that we had while we were in town. I believe the menu was: side salad with a choice of two dessings, bread, red beans and rice, jambalaya and a weird version of bread pudding. I don't know if dinner is different. It just was not what we expected on such a beautiful boat.

My husband and I took a trip on the Natchez for dinner. We were given the choice to eat at 7 o'clock or do the later dinner at 8:30. When we booked the trip we were told there would be plenty of food and not to worry about picking the later dinner. Boy were they wrong!! As we and 20 other people were in line to get our food they ran out of everything. When the staff was asked if or when the rest of the food would be coming out they kept saying 5 more minutes for about 20 minutes. Finally they came with the food but it was only fish... they had run out of everything else. My husband and I didn't eat anything because he is allergic to fish and I had no desire to eat only fish for dinner. So we wasted almost 40 min's standing in line for nothing. The band and the boat trip was amazing so it made up for the lack of food. So as long as you take the early dinner you should have a great trip.

The brochure led my party to believe that the harbor cruise (no food) was daily. It was not. Only on the weekends, which we would not be available for. The more expensive jazz/dinner cruise was not what we wanted so we were out of luck. The brochure should be rewritten.

Enjoyed it, would recommend and would do again. Great trip to take for taking pictures, talking with other people, relaxing and listening to music! I loved how they told you about the different sites to see and you could purchase snacks or gifts on board.

W just got back form our first time to New Orleans and felt this was a must do for us, glad we did it, the calliope type music was very loud but it was only played at the beginning and end of the trip. As recomended in the other reviews, we ate lunch before going on the trip, the narration was informative (you go right by where the actual Battle of New Oreans was faught) and the scenery and history was injoyable. John Odell, Las Vegas, Nevada 05/10/08

Part of my package to New Orleans included a Jazz Luncheon on the Natchez. I have to say it is a great way to pass the afternoon and I recommend getting the package of the trip with the meal versus getting food ala carte which is expensive. The ragtime jazz band really gave the cruise a quaint feel. Accessible from near the Riverwalk it is a short distance from Cafe du Monde so you could plan a day where you have breakfast at Cafe du Monde then do lunch on the Cruise. Do recommend getting tickets in advance if possible for the Natchez does get filled. If you are looking for great scenery along that part of the Mississippi you will be kind of disappointed going up river. However coming back is interesting strange goings on by the waterfront on the side of the river where Algiers is. Typical Nawlins food served like beans and dirty rice.

The organ on the boat is VERY LOUD and they love to play it non-stop. You're basically getting a little boat ride around on the Mississippi, nothing more, nothing less, and the food is very overpriced.