Cruising down the Mississippi ~ Day vs. Night

[mafig]

I'm researching cruises leaving from NOLA.

 

I was initially looking at Nov./Dec. timeframe because of price and because of the variety of ships that I can choose from.

 

However, someone on a thread suggested making sure we got to cruise during daylight hours (May .... I don't want to be in NOLA in the summer).

 

My question is Does it make that big of a difference?

 

Have you cruised from NOLA in the winter? How much did you see?

 

If you've cruised in both spring/summer vs. winter, were the views that much better when it was still light?

[bayou cruiser]

I cruised in September out of NOLA. It was nice but I would have preferred having more daylight hours to really see everything down the river. I'm from south Louisiana and would have loved daylight once we got to the mouth of the river.

[rvsullivan]

After the first few minutes pulling out of NO there is not a lot. A few small communities that have some houses/street lights, etc. Lots of refineries and piers for fuel tankers to tie up. Lots of swamp land. Mid winter you will be able to see just fine for 45 minutes or so. Returning will be in daylight if you really want to see what the river is like. And by the way, May is pretty darn warm and humid in NO, no, make that hot.

[VideoTech]

.....Returning will be in daylight if you really want to see what the river is like. And by the way, May is pretty darn warm and humid in NO, no, make that hot.

 

Actually, the return is not all in daylight. You enter the mouth of the Mississippi about 11 or 11:30 pm, and you're maneuvering to dock at about 6am.

 

One interesting site as you enter the river on Saturday night: If the timing is right, you'll see the Carnival ship (which shares the New Orleans dock) exiting the river on her outbound leg. It's interesting because this is about as close as you'll ever see another cruise ship when not in port. About the same time, you'll see the Pilot boat pulling up alongside to put the river pilot on board the ship for the trip up-river.

 

I'd agree that summer or winter, you'll probably have enough daylight to get your fill of the down-river scenery before dark. After your 20th refinery, and 40th rusty tanker, you'll probably be off to get some dinner. Not that it's not interesting - it is - but unless you're a real ship junkie, you'll be ready to move on to other things.

 

On thing to look for as you leave and go down river: The river twists and turns so much that at one point the bow of the ship is actually pointed back towards the city of New Orleans.

[mafig]

thanks everyone!

 

I'll be looking for Nov/Dec. timeframe thanks to your replies.:)