New Orleans river cruise: three jazz cruises compared

Daytime steamboat jazz cruise, $44, 2 hours. The description calls it a two-hour jazz cruise on the Mississippi River, with an optional Creole lunch prepared fresh on board. It has 4,744 reviews at 4.4 and the lowest fare of the three, so the daytime jazz river cruise New Orleans offers here is the budget choice.

Evening steamboat jazz cruise, $58, 2 hours. A cruise along the Mississippi with an optional dinner buffet as an upgrade. With 5,432 reviews at 4.4 it is the most reviewed tour on the whole site.

Evening jazz boat cruise, $60, 2 hours. The description speaks of a relaxing, moonlit cruise down the Mississippi, the sound of jazz, a Creole dinner and a cocktail on the promenade deck. The name says the dinner is optional, so treat it as an add-on. It has 1,136 reviews at 4.4.

The difference between a day and an evening New Orleans river cruise is $14 to $16 on the fare and lunch against dinner on the menu. The length, the jazz and the rating stay the same.

Both steamboat listings use the word steamboat in their names. The evening one is the catch: its description names two possible vessels, a steamboat or a riverboat, so the boat you board can change with the date. If you are booking for one particular vessel, read the listing for your date before you pay.

The evening jazz boat cruise does not call itself a steamboat. Its description talks about the promenade deck, which is where the cocktail in the listing is served.

Each cruise is sold first as a cruise and the meal comes on top. By day it is a Creole lunch prepared on board; on the evening steamboat it is a dinner buffet; on the jazz boat it is a Creole dinner. A Mississippi river dinner cruise New Orleans listings sell here is the evening version with the meal added, not the base fare.

Add the meal if the cruise is your dinner plan for the night. Skip it if you are heading to a food tour or a restaurant afterwards: the food tour guide compares tastings and cooking classes that start at $43.

Per hour, the three cruises cost $22, $29 and $30. For comparison, the French Quarter storytelling walk on the home page is $33 for 2 hours. A river cruise in New Orleans therefore costs about the same as a guided walk by day and a little more in the evening, before any meal.

The ratings are the honest caveat. The three cruises are rated 4.4 each, below the 4.59 weighted average of the 33 tours on this site, on 11,312 reviews between them. That is a lot of people and a steady score, not a perfect one. A New Orleans river cruise is worth booking for the river, the jazz and the boat itself; if you want the highest-rated two hours in the city, a walking tour beats it on the numbers.

Some people looking for a New Orleans river cruise mean a cruise of several days on the Mississippi that starts or ends in the city, such as a St Paul to New Orleans river cruise. Those are not on this site. Each cruise here is a 2-hour trip on the river at New Orleans, booked by the seat.

If you are arriving by a Mississippi river cruise to New Orleans and have an evening in port, these three are the short version: two hours, jazz, and an optional meal. A Mississippi river cruise from New Orleans of two hours also fits the morning before a flight.