In the late 1800s, it would not have been unusual to find one or more paddlewheel steamers in the port of every community along the Mississippi. By the early 21st Century, there are just a few dozen still steaming about on lakes and rivers; many burned, many sank, and many were left to rot away, stranded on a sand bar by a storm or by design because they were no longer profitable to operate. There are only three of the great old queens of the river still cruising with passengers, and just a handful of smaller day-cruising paddlewheel steamers; those that tour the Mississippi do visit Natchez.
In 2009 Mississippi River Cruises purchased three paddlewheels from Majestic American Lines and put them back into service as extended cruise passenger vessels after a short hiatus. Their fleet includes the only three paddlewheel steamboats travelling the Mississippi for multi-day cruise vacations: the 436-passenger American Queen, 416-passenger Mississippi Queen, and 174-passenger Delta Queen. All three vessels have luxuriously appointed staterooms, restaurants, bars, casinos, and feature nightly shows and entertainment. The larger two include a discotheque for evening revelry, and a chapel for anytime reflection. Management is developing established cruise packages and evaluating how best the company can serve passengers' vacation needs, so booking a trip well ahead of schedule is advised.
Vacations to Go/Mississippi River Cruises
5851 San Felipe, Suite 500
Houston, TX 77057
800-338-4962
mississippirivercruises.com
The Paddlewheel Creole Queen was launched in 1983, and is a detailed replica of paddlewheelers of the 1850s except that her 24-foot diameter wheel is powered by a gas-diesel engine rather than steam engine. She's capable of carrying 1,000 passengers. Her luxurious private staterooms are decorated from the period, and have a feature unheard of and badly needed in the original accommodations: air conditioning. The Creole Queen has a number of packaged cruises including a New Orleans City Tour, and Oak Alley and Laura Plantation Tour; she is also available for private charter, and even during regularly scheduled cruises special events may be booked. Creole Queen has function capacity for a reception of up to 950 people, and sit-down dining for 472.
New Orleans Paddlewheels Inc.
1 Poydras StreetRiverwalk Market Place
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-529-4567
creolequeen.com
This company operates the steamboat Natchez, the ninth paddlewheel with this name. She was built in the 1970s and launched in 1975; her construction is modern yet she has the classic lines of the original grand dames of the Mississippi. She's taken many voyages up the Mississippi, but as of 2010 is serving the residents of and visitors to New Orleans as a romantic and historic way to cruise the harbor during the day, and dine and dance the night away under the sparkling lights of the city's skyline. As it is with all the paddlewheel management companies, there is discussion about expanding her territory, and some day again she may be seen steaming up "Old Miss."
New Orleans Steamboat Company
400 N. Peters St., Suite 203
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-586-8777
steamboatnatchez.com
