Lower Mississippi River Cruises

Lower Mississippi River Cruises: New Orleans to Memphis

Lower Mississippi river cruises sail the southern stretch of the great river, between New Orleans and Memphis. In about a week you pass from Creole Louisiana through the cotton country of Mississippi to the music capital of Tennessee, stopping at towns that shaped American history: Baton Rouge, Natchez, Vicksburg and the Delta.

This is the classic Mississippi riverboat trip, and it is not only about pretty scenery. It takes you to Civil War battlefields, to sugar plantations where enslaved people worked the fields, and to the clubs and studios where jazz, the blues and rock and roll were born. We tell that history plainly. For the quieter northern half of the river see Upper Mississippi Riverboat Cruising, and for an overview of the whole Mississippi see MississippiRiverboatCruises.us.

A River of Contrasts

Below Memphis the Mississippi is broad, muddy and powerful, swinging in great loops through flat country protected by levees. From the deck you see sandbars, willow thickets, towering grain elevators and, every so often, a bluff where a town was built above the floods. Natchez and Vicksburg both sit high on such bluffs, which is exactly why they mattered so much to river traffic and to the armies of the Civil War.

Ashore, the contrasts continue: grand antebellum mansions and the cabins of the people who built them; state capitols and Delta crossroads; Creole cooking in Louisiana and barbecue in Memphis. A good lower-river cruise makes room for all of it, with onboard historians and local guides to explain what you are seeing.

Planning Checklist

• Fly into New Orleans (MSY) and out of Memphis (MEM), or the reverse; book flights after the cruise is confirmed.
• Spend at least one night in New Orleans before or after; New Orleans hotels on RoomsCheap lists options.
• Pack for heat and rain in summer, layers in spring and fall, and good walking shoes for levees and cobbles.
• Read up on the history before you go; the shore tours are richer if you know the outline.
• Compare all American river options at US River Cruising.

Our cruise advisors at Mister Cruise sell both lines and can compare departures, cabins and what is included. Get the free cruise-offers newsletter for new offers, and find every river line in the Official River Cruise Directory. Travel professionals can learn about Be a Travel Agent on our sister site.

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