River Cruising up the Mighty Mississippi

River Cruising has really come into its own this past year. To be honest I think Mid Summer Murders and the Viking River Cruise advertisement during it’s breaks can take some of the credit there. You can now find a cruise to practically every river in Europe, but where can River Cruising go next?

I recently came across a TV programme about 2014 being renamed the Year of Creative Economy in Mississippi.  The River and connecting states are still trying to rebuild their economy after Hurricane Katrina. There is a whole programme of events throughout this year to drive tourism, both nationally within the US and World Wide. So it got me thinking – the Mississippi is one of the Worlds largest rivers, so there must be some cruise line that offers a cruise down that magnificent river. As a cruise specialist you always need to be thinking of what is going to be the next best thing and I felt that US river cruises were going to be it. So I needed to improve my knowledge and see if there were UK companies out there providing these cruises.

This lead me on a hunt to try and find a river cruise that incorporated the most famous sights along the Mississippi – New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville – maybe even a trip to the Grand Ole Opry if you are lucky. I wanted something that was a complete package with some excursions and guides included – but not as packed or restricted as a school trip! Looking at how narrow the river actually is I could only guess how tiny the ship would be and how basic the facilities on board.

After much Google searching and getting so confused with all of the sites I spoke to one of our product team in the office. She suggested I look at a cruise provided by the APT Cruise company, who specialise in river and touring cruises. I came across the perfect cruise that took in all the sights I feel people would be most interested in.

The 14 night tour is called the Soul of Mississippi. It begins with your flight from the UK to New Orleans. You stay here two nights in a hotel and included is a sightseeing tour of New Orleans and a cooking lesson to teach you the delights of local dishes such as Gumbo and Jambalaya.

You then board the steamboat American Queen for a 7 night cruise down the famous river. On this cruise you call into Oak Alley, St Francisville, Natchez, Vicksburg, Helena and Memphis. During the cruise you will enjoy visiting plantations, city tours, haunted houses, battlefields, soul food and blues music.

The American Queen is the largest Steam Boat ever built. With its interior decoration modelled on the Victoria American era, the ship will not be to everyone’s taste – but the Olde American style is all part of the experience.

Below is a video of the cabins so you can see the high standard of finish yourself

Once you disembark the steam boat in Memphis you stay for two nights in a hotel. Included here is a tour to, yes you guessed it, Graceland. It would be a sin to visit  Memphis and not call and pay your respects to the King.

The final city of the tour is Nashville for two nights. Here you get to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and with some free time at your disposal you might be able to squeeze in a visit to the Opry.

You have a tour guide with you for the complete tour which means you have an expert with you for all of those questions you about about each of the stops, even those questions you feel are silly – believe me they are bound to have been asked them hundreds of times before and will only be too happy to help.

The package price is on the higher end of the spectrum at *£6845 per person, and this price will put a lot of people off. At the minute APT are offering your companion travelling for free which takes the cost for the second passenger to *£5995. They are also offering a fab 50% off suite upgrades and would be well worth doing if your considering the trip for a special occasion. Dates still available on this cruise are 17th April and 7th May (this date is doing the itinerary in reverse).

I feel it is a ‘bucket list’ trip of a life time. Your flights, hotels, many excursions, most food and tour guide are all included. If you were to price these all individually I can guarantee you they would come in at a lot more than £6845!!

If you have been there and done that with the European Cruises, or are just interested in travelling up the Mississippi in style with a jam packed itinerary, then this really is the cruise for you.

I don’t know about you – but I’m off to gather up my deposit!!

*Price includes

Flights from London

APT guests only (almost all from Australia, New Zealand & the UK) All American Crew Cruise on the Queen of the Mississippi – The smallest and most luxurious ship with just 150 passengers and the largest staterooms on the Mississippi River All Gratuities Shore excursions On board entertainment including Jazz, Blues and Dixieland All meals on River Cruise Drinks included with lunch and dinner

Here’s a link to our page on the website with detailed info and deck plans – http://www.aptouring.co.uk/Trips/CanadaAlaskaUSA/UTUES14F