Your comments, please! MN to NOLA premium excursions & HOHO sights

[coffee drinker]

We are taking a Mississippi River, Minneapolis / Red Wing to New Orleans, cruise this fall and 

beginning to plan our second river cruise-- our first on Germany's Main, Rhine, Mosel in 1995--

after many ocean cruises.

I'd like your opinions re the premium excursions offered. Guides good? Worth the cost? 

Anyone book a private tour instead?

 Museums, historic homes etc. accessed through the HOHO bus?  Which were interesting,

not-to-be-missed?  Pleasant towns worth a stroll?

Thanks in advance to any feedback, much appreciated.

 

 

[wandb]

We will be doing the upper part of that cruise (St Louis to Red Wing) in September and would also love to get feedback from others who have done these cruises. 
 

Coffee Drinker, which riverboat will you be on?  We will be on the Duchess. 

[NavyVeteran]

I can't comment on the tours on this itinerary, since I cruised a different part of the Mississippi.

 

Private tours are generally not a very good option for these river cruises. The arrival and departure times at various ports are variable, and it would be difficult to coordinate with a private guide.

[coffee drinker]

Wandb:  We're on the Countess, end Sept 2022.

Thanks, Navy Veteran, for your comment re a private tour.  Agree that

times may not work for such an effort.

 

 

[TinCan782]

We did the Duchess "Mighty Mississippi" last August - Red Wing to New Orleans. Did a mix of premium and HOHO tours. Due to Covid cancellations in 2020 and the re-booking for 2021 along with a wonderful AQSC representative, we somehow wound up with enough OBC to cover all those costs.!

Elvis Presley for sure when in Memphis and we found the General Grant tour in Galena, IL very intersting (Dubque, IA). The town of Galena was charming.

The Vicksburg Battlefield is pretty much all bus except for the Illinois Memorial and the USS Cairo exhibit which was very interesting to me.

The Winona Boat Tour (90 minutes) doesn't sound like much but was actually very interesting and we learned a lot about the river and things associated with it. From wildlife, to barges, tows, and locks a bunch of info that was good to know during the entire cruise..

Hannibal, MO and Burlington, IA were nice town to explore via HOHO.

At Terrene Landing the Mississippi Grammy Museum in Cleveland, MS was pretty nice and I enjoyed the train museum there too. This was all HOHO, no premium.

Last day, the Cajun Pride Swamp Tour in La Place was great. We did that instead of Nottoway Mansion.

All in all, an enjoyable cruise. Only 137 passengers, no testing, no masks onboard except in two towns due to local ordinance.

Here are more than enough images to browse through from our cruise.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/frensicpic/collections/72157720002887739/

 

Edited April 13, 2022 by TinCan782

[coffee drinker]

Thanks, TinCan 782, for the comments and for  your trip photos! Will peruse, pen and paper for notes in hand.

We've considered that Winona Boat excursion, thanks for your input

on that.  Sounds as tho'  that 'education' will be useful the rest of

the trip.

 

 

[CruiserFromMaine]

We were on the lower Mississippi last year. If you skip Nottoway I don’t think you’ll miss much. I thought Vicksburg was great but I’m quite interested in the Civil War, so I’m biased there. The best tour was to Angola Prison in Louisiana. It’s an actual prison and a very fascinating visit. Not scary at all. I recommend it. 

[wandb]

We, again, thought Nottaway was great. Thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the home (had a great guide!) and loved just wandering the grounds on our own. We thought the plaques on those huge old trees (telling when they were planted, and for which child), as well as the small family graveyard were very interesting.  Also, it was a beautiful day to be outside! 😄