Leaving NOLA

[kolebyt1996]

When you leave new orleans do you go down the Mississippi? If so how long does it take?

[98Charlie]

When you leave new orleans do you go down the Mississippi? If so how long does it take?

 

Yes, you will cruise on the Mississippi until you eventually hit the gulf. It's quite an interesting ride.

 

Don't remember exactly how long you are on the river until you sail out into the Gulf.

 

Dianne

[irishgirl]

It seems to me it was between 6 and 8 hours before we got out in the gulf. Lots of turns in that river.

 

Judy

[BrendaB1]

It seems to me it was between 6 and 8 hours before we got out in the gulf. Lots of turns in that river.

 

Judy

 

That's about right. Leave at 4 & usually out of the river around midnight....depending on weather & traffic.

[Jabee]

It takes about 8 hours to reach the mouth of the river.

The ship leaves at 4 and reaches the mouth at midnight.

 

Coming back the river pilot gets on board a little after

10:00pm and arrives in Port at 6am...

 

It is a very interesting trip as you leave the city going past the

French Quarter, then all the little towns and ports down river.

 

One note, they are allowed to open the casino early and normally

open up around 8:00 even though they are not in the Gulf.

[Maxax]

It is an awesome experience!!! We took the Conquest when she was ported in NOLA. There are lots of turns...and surprising how far the ship will actually list from side to side while doing them...but a VERY cool almost surreal...Tom Sawyer-esque type of experience. And like the other posters said...it was right about 7 hours...I know cause I sat out on the balcony watching it all...until we hit the open seas. Lots of Oil Rigs out there...once you finally do hit the ocean at night...you will see lots of lights from the rigs. The whole river part of the cruise is very cool.

[mike91911]

We did it on the Inspiration in 02. Was really cool watching things go by. We had an early dinner seating so I missed quite a bit during that time.

[nolaAlive]

It's about 100 miles.

 

Riverboat gambling is legal in Louisiana - even though some casinos aren't on a river - and most of them never move.

[salty dingo]

The river part of the cruise is why I want to leave from NOLA some day soon. Plus, the city is a lot of fun to visit.

 

Too bad they do much of the river transit at night, though. It would be a really cool idea to stay docked in NOLA all night and let people go to the French Quarter to party, and then maybe cast off at dawn. It would shorten the sea part of the cruise but maybe it would save them some fuel??

[LSUcajunmom]

We sailed out of NO in April. The river was really high then and still is high. When the river is higher you tend to move a little faster down the river. It only took us about 6 hrs. to get to the gulf. I never really noticed the listing and rocking that others mention. We were also trying every type of drink on the drink menu that we had never tried before, so that might be one reason for not noticing. Our drink bill for 5 days was over $800 for 2 of us!! We will be returning to the Fantasy in Feb. for a Mardi Gras cruise. Can't wait!!!

[freedomrider]

When you leave new orleans do you go down the Mississippi? If so how long does it take?

 

See this link for a sat view of New Orleans and specifically the river.

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=new+orleans,+la&ie=UTF8&ll=29.942143,-90.078278&spn=0.137742,0.299377&t=h&z=12

 

The dock is just north of the Highway 90 bridge. Zoom out to see the entire route to the gulf. We sail on Fantasy in August and I am looking forward to the trip down the river. Looks like fun