Where the lower river starts

The day before the ship, in New Orleans

New Orleans is a real boarding city, and most lower-river cruises start or end here. Give it the night before. The city deserves an evening, and a delayed flight shouldn't decide your boarding day.

Plan my cruise from New Orleans The night-before hotels

about 11 milesfrom MSY to downtown; other sources measure to the French Quarter or the cruise district
$36 flattaxi from MSY to the Central Business District or French Quarter, one or two passengers
2 linesViking and American Cruise Lines, the only river lines Port NOLA lists
from $27National WWII Museum general admission; open 9 am to 5 pm daily

Independent · no paid placementFacts checked October 22, 2026Sources listed belowCLIA-affiliated advisors

BerthYour line gives the boarding address
AirportMSY, about 11 miles, $36 flat cab
All-aboardYour line confirms the time
Nights beforeOne, and two if you fly far
Best forWWII Museum, jazz, a Quarter dinner

In short

New Orleans in thirty seconds

The ship ties up in New Orleans, and Port NOLA lists Viking and ACL without naming a wharf for either. We won't guess one: your line gives you the boarding address.

From the airport it's a flat-rate cab to a downtown hotel, $36 for one or two people. ACL puts a hotel night in every itinerary and moves you from the lobby to the ship on boarding morning.

Viking sells a two-night New Orleans extension. Take it, or take a night of your own.

Fit in the National WWII Museum, a set at Preservation Hall and an early beignet. That's a full day before the ship, and none of it needs a car.

The berths

Two lines, one city, no named wharf

Both lines board here. What differs is how each handles the night before.

Viking: boarding day, with an optional extension

Viking's round trips, Delta Explorer, Big Easy to the Gateway City and Odyssey all start in New Orleans. Ground transfers come with a Viking Air purchase. Viking also sells a two-night Highlights of New Orleans extension.

Viking

Source

American Cruise Lines: a hotel night built in

ACL says each Mississippi itinerary comes complete with a hotel stay, with a transfer from the hotel lobby to the ship on boarding morning. Its Highlights, Lower Mississippi and 23-day Complete cruises start or end here.

American Cruise Lines

Source

Port NOLA doesn't publish a wharf for either line. Ask us or your line for the boarding address before you book a hotel of your own or plan the morning around it.

New Orleans on the Mississippi. Open the New Orleans card on the river map for the lines, the season and nearby calls.

Getting there

From MSY to the hotel

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International is the only airport that matters. With a line air package the transfer is usually arranged; without one, a cab is the simple answer.

Fly into

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport MSY

About 11 miles west of downtown, roughly 13 to the French Quarter — figures differ by where you measure from, and a cab takes about 30 minutes.

Taxi
Flat-rate cab
$36 flat to the Central Business District or French Quarter for one or two passengers, $15 for each extra. The queue is outside baggage claim, belts 1 and 14. Cabs to the Port NOLA cruise district are quoted at $30 flat, but river ships may not board there, so wait for your boarding address.
Source 1 Source 2
Taxi
Uber or Lyft
About $33 at the minimum, often $43 to $50 at busy times, in 20 to 30 minutes. The flat rate beats it when the surge is on.
Source
Bus
Shared airport shuttle
Listed at $24 one way or $44 round trip to downtown hotels, and Burton Transit at $40 per person one way for groups of four or more. The two figures disagree, so confirm when you book.
Source 1 Source 2
Bus
E-2 Airport-Downtown Express
$2 and about 50 minutes, every 15 to 60 minutes. It works for a carry-on, not for cruise luggage.
Source
Line transfer
With the line
Viking: ground transfers with a Viking Air purchase, so book your own flights and you may get none. ACL: lobby-to-ship on boarding morning, as part of its hotel stay.
Source 1 Source 2

Side by side

TaxiFlat-rate cabTimeAbout 30 minCost$36 flat downtownMost arrivals with luggage
TaxiUber or LyftTime20–30 minCostFrom about $33Travellers who prefer an app
BusShared airport shuttleTime—Cost$24–$40Solo travellers, light luggage
BusE-2 Airport-Downtown ExpressTimeAbout 50 minCost$2Carry-on only, no hurry
Line transferWith the lineTime—Cost—Viking Air buyers and ACL guests

What the lines say about transfers

VikingGround transfers with a Viking Air purchase.
American Cruise Lines (not reviewed)Hotel lobby to ship on boarding morning, as part of the included hotel stay.

The day before

The day before the ship

New Orleans packs a lot into walking distance. These six fit a day, and two of them run into the evening.

The night-before planner

How many nights before you board?

Where are you coming from?

And for New Orleans itself?

–nights

Pick where you’re coming from.

01
The National WWII Museum
945 Magazine Street, in the Warehouse District. Exhibits are open 9 am to 5 pm daily, closed Mardi Gras Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. General admission starts at $27, and the museum gives no suggested visit length — we'd plan three to four hours.
Source 1 Source 2
02
Preservation Hall
726 St. Peter Street, in the French Quarter. The hall opens at 8 pm daily, with music at 8:15. Check the hall's own site for tickets and the age policy.
Source
03
Café du Monde and the French Market
Café du Monde is open daily from 7:30 am until 11 pm, so an early start costs little. It's the cheap, quick opening to a day before a cruise.
Source
04
Dinner in the Warehouse District or the Quarter
The city's tourism board names Meril, Pêche, Cochon Butcher and Gianna in the Warehouse District, Compère Lapin at the Old No. 77 Hotel, and Irene's and The Gumbo Shop in the Quarter. Book Irene's, The Gumbo Shop and Compère Lapin ahead.
Source
05
Live jazz without leaving the hotel
At the Ritz-Carlton, Jeremy Davenport and his ensemble play the Davenport Lounge Wednesday and Thursday from 5:30 to 9:30 pm, and Friday and Saturday from 8 pm to midnight. The easy first evening after a long flight.
Source
06
Mardi Gras World and Vue Orleans
The tourism board puts Mardi Gras World just steps from the cruise terminal (not necessarily your river ship's berth), and Vue Orleans is a 360-degree observation deck on top of the Four Seasons, beside the river. Check hours and prices before you go.
Source

Extra days, booked ahead

Things to do in New Orleans

A free day here fills fast, and tours cover what the museum and the Quarter leave out.

Browse New Orleans tours on ViatorTours and tickets for the days before or after the ship

Viator is an affiliate link: we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Your line’s included excursions stay with the line. Disclosure.

Where to stay

Where to sleep before boarding

Our New Orleans hotel hub has six. The Four Seasons is the river pick and the Ritz-Carlton the grand one, a block from Bourbon Street.

French Quarter

The Ritz-Carlton sits on its edge, about a block from Bourbon Street. Preservation Hall, Café du Monde and the French Market are here, five minutes by car from the Warehouse District.

Warehouse and Arts District

The WWII Museum is here, with Meril, Pêche, Cochon Butcher, Gianna and Compère Lapin nearby. Maison Métier is the hotel in this part of town.

The riverfront, Canal Street and Gravier Street

The Four Seasons stands at 2 Canal Street on the river, and the Windsor Court at 300 Gravier is about five minutes' walk from the Quarter.

Forbes Four-StarFour Seasons Hotel New OrleansTwo chef-driven restaurants, Chemin à la Mer and Chandelier Bar; the Vue Orleans observation deck sits on top of the building.See rates on Booking.com Forbes Four-StarThe Windsor Court316 rooms and suites, an English-countryside feel, a rooftop pool and a four-star spa.See rates on Booking.com Forbes Four-Star · One MICHELIN KeyThe Ritz-Carlton, New OrleansIn the 1906–1909 Maison Blanche Building at 921 Canal Street, on the edge of the French Quarter; M bistro, Spa Café and the Davenport Lounge jazz room.See rates on Booking.com

All six New Orleans pre-cruise hotels

Hotel links go to Booking.com; Seabound Journeys may earn a commission at no cost to you. Affiliate disclosure. Prefer us to book the nights with the cruise? Say so in your brief.

The lines

Who starts a cruise in New Orleans

Vikingembarks hereAmerican Cruise Linesembarks here · not reviewed

Lines with published itineraries that start or end here. Names that are linked open our review.

When

Viking's lower-river sailings run roughly late January to early June and October to early December, and ACL puts the Lower Mississippi in spring, fall and November to December. Neither line publishes a hurricane-season policy, so ask about it before you book a June or October departure.

Your checklist

Sorted before boarding day

0 of 5 done

The boarding address and time from your line
Which hotel night is included, and where it is
A Preservation Hall plan: doors open at 8 pm
National WWII Museum hours: 9 am to 5 pm
Whether Viking's ground transfer covers your own flights

Why trust this page

The Seabound standard

Sources, read at the source

Every fare, berth and timetable here was checked on October 22, 2026, at the line, port or hotel wherever they publish it. Where they don’t, we name the source we used, or say nothing is published.

Paid placements

No line or hotel pays to appear here or to rank higher. Affiliate links are labelled, and they never decide what we recommend.

1:1

Advisors, not a booking engine

A Seabound Journeys advisor reads your brief, compares the lines for your dates and answers you personally. CLIA-affiliated, Florida Seller of Travel ST15578.

Have us plan it

Start your Mississippi cruise in New Orleans

Tell us the month and who is sailing. We match the line, the cabin and the hotel night to how you travel, and price it against the alternatives.

Usually the same fare as booking direct, and our advice costs you nothing.
We compare the lines sailing from New Orleans for your dates, side by side.
Hotel nights, flights and transfers can go into the same plan.

Your river brief

Tell us the trip. We’ll find the sailing.

Prefer to browse fares yourself? Compare river cruise fares Via CruiseDirect · Affiliate link

Quick answers

New Orleans river cruise questions

Where do the river ships dock in New Orleans?

Port NOLA lists Viking and ACL for Mississippi cruising but names no wharf for either. The line gives you the boarding address, so wait for it before you plan a morning walk or a rental car.

How much is a cab from the airport?

$36 flat to the Central Business District or French Quarter for one or two people, plus $15 for each extra passenger. Both figures come from secondary sources, so confirm at the stand.

Should I arrive a night early?

Yes. ACL builds a hotel night in, and Viking sells a two-night extension. Either way, a day in town before boarding gives you the museum, Preservation Hall and dinner, with no delayed flight cutting into the first evening.

Is the National WWII Museum worth a half day?

It's the biggest single draw in the Warehouse District: open 9 am to 5 pm daily, from $27, with a film on the hour. The museum gives no visit length, so we'd plan three to four hours — that's our estimate, not theirs.

Which river lines sail from New Orleans in 2026–27?

Viking, with Viking Mississippi at 386 guests, and American Cruise Lines, with boats of up to 180 guests; Port NOLA lists two of them, American Splendor and American Jazz, as based in New Orleans.

How we checked this page 18 sources

Every fact above comes from a source listed here, checked on October 22, 2026: port and city authorities, the lines’ own pages, the hotels and the rating guides. Where nothing official is published, the page says so rather than filling the gap.

Keep planning

The rest of the river

The Mississippi, decodedNew Orleans to St. Paul, 29 locks, the low-water year and what the lines charge New Orleans on the river mapEvery port, embarkation city and scenic stretch on the Mississippi, with seasons and lines

New Orleans in thirty seconds

Two lines, one city, no named wharf

Viking: boarding day, with an optional extension

American Cruise Lines: a hotel night built in

From MSY to the hotel

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport MSY

Flat-rate cab

Uber or Lyft

Shared airport shuttle

E-2 Airport-Downtown Express

With the line