A Viking Mississippi River cruise from New Orleans to Memphis blends comfort with deep cultural discovery. Included shore excursions, expert lectures and guided tours explore the history, music and cuisine of the Deep South, including a look at the difficult history of the enslaved people who toiled on plantations along the river.
Highlights
- One complimentary guided excursion at every port, from French Quarter walks to Civil War battlefields
- Onboard lectures and local guides add historical context beyond standard tours
- A mix of history, music and food showcases the culture of the Lower Mississippi
Editor’s Note: The writer was hosted.
Viking Cruise on the Mississippi River
When you think “Viking river cruise,” chances are your mind drifts to the Danube or the Rhine River. But Viking also plies the waters of the Mighty Mississippi. I found it surprisingly interesting to play tourist in my own country, while traveling in style on a five-deck river cruise ship.
Larger and taller than its European counterparts, the Viking Mississippi offers curious travelers the chance to discover U.S. history and culture in comfort.
With guest lectures on board and guided tours at every port of call included in the price, my husband and I left our river cruise with a fuller understanding of the Deep South and its complicated history of slavery, industry and the American Civil War.
Here’s a look at the complimentary shore excursions Viking offers along the Lower Mississippi, including a note about how local tour guides handle the sensitive topic of slavery.
Complimentary Viking Excursions on the Lower Mississippi
Whether your Viking Mississippi itinerary takes you upriver from New Orleans to Memphis, or southbound in the opposite direction, here are the shore excursions Viking includes in the price of your cruise.
New Orleans, Louisiana: French Quarter Walking Tour
Tour: If your cruise starts in New Orleans, you can join an expert-led tour of the French Quarter on the first day. This optional excursion is from 3:30 to 6 p.m., so whether or not it makes sense for you will depend on what time you arrive.
My husband and I boarded the Viking Mississippi at lunchtime and didn’t want to wait around, since our room wouldn’t be ready until 3 p.m. We opted instead to take an Uber into town and explore on our own for a few hours. That’s the beauty of traveling in your own country. It’s not at all intimidating to hop off the ship and do your own thing when it suits you.
Length: 2.5 hours
Highlights:
- Grab the Quietvox listening devices from your stateroom at 3 p.m. and the tour will leave shortly after.
- A Viking coach will transport you to the French Quarter.
- A local expert will guide you through the 85-square-block Vieux Carré (Old Square), where New Orleans was founded in 1718.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Following the walking tour, swing by Cafe du Monde for beignets. You don’t need to be back on the ship until 7:45 p.m.
Darrow, Louisiana: Houmas House and Gardens
Tour info: At this port of call, Houmas House is a quick walk from the ship. It’s easy to visit and you don’t need a reservation. Viking guests can visit the house and gardens for free anytime from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with tours of the house starting every 15 minutes.
My husband and I enjoyed strolling the winding path through the gardens on the way to the house, passing ponds, live oaks and a pen of turkeys. The house and gardens were all decked out for the holidays during our visit in early December.
Length: 1 hour
Highlights:
- If you’re interested in architecture, this Greek Revival mansion has 14 Doric columns, a spiral staircase and two octagonal bachelor’s quarters.
- A period-costumed guide leads you through the house, sharing a bit about the Houma people, after whom the house is named, and pointing out various displays of wealth inside the home. In the butler’s pantry, you’ll learn how sugar cones were made, and that sugar in the mid-1800s was as valuable as gold.
- Our guide focused mainly on the second owner of the house, John Burnside. Dubbed the Sugar Prince, Burnside turned the grounds into a successful sugar plantation and became the nation’s largest sugar producer by 1862. Burnside’s operation produced 20 million pounds of sugar during its peak, and the mansion became known as the Sugar Palace.
How they address the slavery question : They don’t. Our guide never once mentioned the slaves who lived and worked on the sugar plantation, which was disappointing. A quick Google search following the tour revealed that the Houmas House plantation had the largest number of enslaved workers in Louisiana.
SheBuysTravel Tip: In Darrow, I recommend pairing this free excursion with a paid one to Whitney Plantation, the only historic home tour in Louisiana with an exclusive focus on the lives of slaves. This paid Viking excursion will paint a more accurate picture of plantation life in the 19th century. It’s a four-hour tour that includes another historic home, St. Joseph.
Baton Rouge and St. Francisville, Louisiana: Rosedown Plantation
Tour info: This tour is quirky because each room of the Rosewood mansion has a different volunteer tour guide. You’ll be passed from guide to guide as you walk through the house, and some of them are better than others. But the gardens are expansive and wonderful to explore. And you’ll learn a lot about the history of the plantation because Martha Turnbull kept detailed journals for 60 years.
Length: 2.5 hours
Highlights :
- Commissioned in 1835 by Daniel and Martha Turnbull, Rosewood Plantation is a well-preserved example of Greek Revival architecture.
- You’ll hear details from the garden journal Martha kept from 1836 to 1894, which describes plantation life in the Deep South.
- The estate that once encompassed 374 acres of cotton fields and orchards is now owned and operated as a Louisiana state park.
- Following the house tour, you can enjoy 18 acres of paths and gardens that surround the main house, walking by statues and interesting flowers.
How they address the slavery question: Our tour guides talk about the “enslaved workers” – a phrase that felt a little jarring since “workers” seems like it should refer to people who choose to labor there – on the plantation, including Moses, Ben and Augustus, who were mentioned in Martha’s garden journal. Following the Civil War and their freedom from slavery, Ben and Augustus returned to Rosewood to work as paid gardeners. According to our tour guide, other former slaves also returned to work as sharecroppers after the war.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Be sure to check out the daily enrichment programs with guest lecturers that Viking offers on the ship. These experts offer a more in-depth look at topics that historic home tours may gloss over. Our cruise had expert guest lectures on topics such as the system of enslavement and the Civil War in Louisiana.
Natchez, Mississippi: City Tour
Tour info: Your experience on this bus tour will vary depending on your local guide. Ours was Rusty Jenkins, a spicy 76-year-old who called himself a recovering lawyer and county prosecutor, as well as a former movie double for Al Pacino. He had a big personality and was delighted to declare Natchez the oldest city on the Mississippi. According to Jenkins, “New Orleans likes to claim that, but you know, as they were floating down the river claiming land, they got here first.”
Length: 2.5 hours
Highlights:
- This coach tour will take you around Natchez, with a stop at Stratton Chapel to see a photography exhibit showing the history of the town. While there, check out the chapel balcony that supposedly inspired the scene in Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” where Tom attends his own funeral.
- You’ll also stop at Magnolia Hall, a Greek Revival-style home built by cotton magnate Thomas Henderson. Here, we were greeted by a guide who, in character, confused us by introducing herself as Henderson’s sister. She gave our group a bit of history, then let us loose to explore the mansion’s 26 rooms on our own.
How they address the slavery question: Our guide, a docent who portrayed Henderson’s “sister,” mentioned the six slaves who lived in Magnolia Hall. She highlighted the story of one, an herbalist named Miss Maryann Williams, who stayed with the family following the Civil War, until 1909.
On the back porch, there’s a sign about “Chattel Enslavement at Magnolia Hall” that discusses the difficulty of reconciling the fact that the homeowner was a Christian but owned “enslaved African Americans.”
It says, “We cannot reconcile it, but we can acknowledge it. We hope that Thomas Henderson was kind to the six people who were held in bondage and served his family, but kindness is no substitute for freedom. We will never really know their complete stories nor comprehend what life was like for the four women and two men who were enslaved at Magnolia Hall, but we will continue to research in the hope of more fully interpreting the lives of those who so enriched our culture.”
SheBuysTravel Tip: On excursions that require a motor coach ride, local tour guides accompany you and point out noteworthy sites along the way. These guides are mostly retirees with big personalities that make the ride both entertaining and educational. Be sure to bring a few dollars to tip both the guide and the bus driver.
Vicksburg, Mississippi: Vicksburg National Military Park
Tour info: I didn’t think I’d enjoy this tour because it’s a long bus ride through a military park. But our guide, David Maggio, kept us engaged the entire coach tour. A Licensed Battlefield Guide who retired from the Army Corps of Engineers, Maggio regaled us with Civil War details, like the Confederate strategy of poisoning rivers with dead animals, and how more than half of Civil War military deaths were the result of diseases like dysentery.
Length: 2 hours and 45 minutes
Highlights:
- You’ll see where the Battle of Vicksburg ended, marking a major turning point in the Civil War.
- On this coach tour of the battlefield, you’ll pass historic trenches, markers and state monuments.
- At one point, you get to hop off the bus and walk around the USS Cairo, a restored Union ironclad gunboat that once patrolled the Mississippi as part of the brown-water navy. (This is also where you get to use the bathroom and visit a small gift shop.)
SheBuysTravel Tip: There’s no bathroom on the coach and it’s a long ride to the USS Cairo, so make sure you use the facilities before boarding the bus.
Greenville, Mississippi: Steve Azar’s Mississippi
Tour info: Greenville may not be a tourist hub, but local singer-songwriter Steve Azar makes it his mission to ensure all Viking passengers love their time there. The entire ship disembarks to enjoy a complimentary barbecue lunch that celebrates the culture of the Mississippi Delta through music, stories and regional food, hosted by Azar.
Length: 3 hours
Highlights:
- You’ll be greeted with a spicy Bloody Mary or tea if you’d prefer.
- At long picnic-style tables, you’ll eat your heart out at a family-style lunch of fried catfish, mouthwatering hot tamales, smoked chicken, mac and cheese, coleslaw, rolls and hush puppies. There are a lot of courses, so make sure to save room for a delicious banana pudding dessert, followed by a toast with moonshine.
- Steve Azar and other Mississippi artists will share Delta music as you eat.
SheBuysTravel tip: If you’re a music lover, consider paying for the extended excursion, Steve Azar’s Mississippi and B.B. King Museum. Following the concert lunch that everyone enjoys, you’ll head to Indianola, B.B. King’s hometown and the site of his museum. All of the guests I spoke with who took this bonus excursion raved about it.
Memphis, Tennessee: Panoramic Memphis
If Memphis is the end of your cruise, the only free excursion available will be your coach ride to the airport. There are, however, two post-cruise extensions you can add for a fee.
But if you’re starting your journey in Memphis, check out the Panoramic Memphis tour.
Tour info: This city tour takes you by motor coach to see iconic landmarks.
Length: 3.5 hours
Highlights:
- See historic Beale Street, famous for its Delta blues, jazz, rock ’n’ roll and R&B clubs.
- Pass Sun Studio, where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, B.B. King and Jerry Lee Lewis recorded early hits.
- Explore the Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum and its exhibits on Memphis, Delta and Midsouth music.
Read more:
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