Against my best judgement we went on a paddle boat cruise, which is one of those cliche things to do as a tourist in New Orleans. I liked the idea of being able to travel on the Mississippi River, on a tradition vessel.
This is the Paddlewheeler Creole Queen, known as New Orleans’ most luxurious daily excursions riverboat, travelling on the Mississippi River. She is a traditional riverboat powered by a 24-ft diameter paddlewheel, and can carry 880 passengers.
She has three private dining rooms, giving her the largest indoor capacity available on excursion vessels in New Orleans.
The cruise promised a dinner jazz cruise tonight, but also does historical cruises and can be booked for special events with private rooms and full boat charters. We would opt just for the cruise, as I was not keen on having a buffet meal, thinking we can dine at a better restaurant after.
Although, as is the case for every boat event or boat function I have ever been on; this had me clamouring to get off the ship earlier than showrunners intended. I grow bored quick and there is only so much scenery to see, live jazz band to hear, and over priced food and drink to eat.
We started on the top deck watching the sun set and the jazz band play. This was lovely. However, it took the crew over 45 minutes to prepare to sail and in that time the sun and its warmth had set. And we had finished our first rounds of drinks, while it grew too cold to say on the top deck. We honestly thought to un-board, but figured that would not be allowed as it would cause even more delays.
In hindsight we should have opted in for the food and had dinner on the paddle boat. I was unaware of how long the sail would be, and I grew hungry to hangry. Allowing the buffet of red beans and rice, green beans, jambalaya, chicken pasta, and bread pudding to look decent.
We eventually relented, feeling stranded we ended up ordering some of the jambalaya and a couple bags of chips to snack on. It wasn’t bad, but I was not happy about having to spend money on pre-made, large batch food and chips that I can get for less anywhere else.
We spent the 2 hour cruise inside and on our phones, then when nearing the dock, lining up to be the first ones off the boat. And we weren’t the only ones. Lesson learned again, do not commit to a boat tour or cruise that would not allow you to leave or escape when you want to. This was too long of an experience and could have been scaled down to 45 minutes and I would have been happy.
I did enjoy the rickshaw ride we splurged on to get back to the hotel and out of the cold. I was impressed how much weight the woman could peddle on a non-electric bike to boot.
Paddlewheeler Creole Queen
1 Poydras St, New Orleans, LA 70130, United States
+1 504-529-4567
creolequeen.com
