vivhinton

Yes, you will be completely out of the city of New Orleans (French Quarter area, then 9th ward) within 5 to 10 minutes, then you will pass the Chalmette Battlefield in St. Bernard Parish, and will then quickly be in Plaquemines Parish (Parish is "Louisiana" for county). It is Plaquemines Parish that will be on both sides of the river for hours (Referred to the East Bank and West Bank by locals - you can read the details about that at http://www.neworleanspropertylady.com/there-is-an-east-bank-and-there-is-a-west-bank-of-new-orleans-la/

You will be in Plaquemines Parish until you enter the gulf. You will pass through neighborhoods such as Buras, Boothville, Venice, all with very interesting histories (can read about online). At some places, you will be so close to the levee that you can practically see inside the homes of people if there lights are on. You will definitely see cars on the road that is closest to the levees in some places (Again, I guess this could depend on the river level because you will be higher than the neighborhood since the towns are all below sea level.) To make it more interesting, I suggest reading a little bit about the history of Plaquemines.

Here is a map that shows the Mississippi River as it runs through Plaquemines:

Thank you for this very interesting bit of information. Really excites me even more for my next cruise,