Time in Port vs Time Cruising

[Glitchlo]

Would love to hear any input on a Lower Mississippi cruise in December with one person in a wheelchair. I cannot tell from websites how much time is spent cruising vs how long you are in port as i want some time enjoying the water views.  Considering downstream (from Memphis Countess) or upstream (from NOLA Duchess).

Also how long are the HOHO bus trips from start to finish.

 

thank you in advance.

[LHT28]

We did  a different  route  but the  time sailing was longer than in port

 some ports were were there  for a few hours in the morning  depending  on what was  available in the area

Most tourist things  were not that far away 

It is  not like Europe where places are hours away

 

The HOHO  just circled through the town stopping at some places of interest ..on our trip in the North

you could walk the whole route if you were inclined   LOL

 

[NavyVeteran]

3 hours ago, Glitchlo said:

Would love to hear any input on a Lower Mississippi cruise in December with one person in a wheelchair. I cannot tell from websites how much time is spent cruising vs how long you are in port as i want some time enjoying the water views.  Considering downstream (from Memphis Countess) or upstream (from NOLA Duchess).

Also how long are the HOHO bus trips from start to finish.

 

thank you in advance.

You will spend a lot more time in port on the downstream cruise and a lot more time on the river on the upstream cruise. Because of the strong currents on the lower Mississippi and because downstream boats have the right-of-way around bends in the river, it takes a lot more time on the river to make the upstream trip.

I did a B2B in January and February 2020, and this was the scheduled time in ports (actual time was a little different but I don't have the exact times):

• Greenville: Downstream only 5 hours
• Helena: Upstream only 5 hours
• Vicksburg: Downstream 10 hours, Upstream 5 hours
• Natchez: Downstream 10 hours, Upstream 9 hours
• Baton Rouge: Downstream only 9 hours,
• Saint Francisville: Downstream 10 hours, Upstream 5 hours
• Nottoway: Downstream 10 hours, Upstream 9 hours

 

Note we had one full day of river cruising with no ports on the upstream trip.

 

The length of the HOHO routes varied from port to port. Some of them were about an hour and a half - some longer and some shorter; I don't remember the detail times. However, they aren't doing the HOHO buses now, and I wouldn't count on them by December.

[NavyVeteran]

Their buses have wheel-chair lifts if the passenger is not able to climb the stairs into and out of the buses.

[Glitchlo]

Thank you LHT28 and NavyVeteran for your awesome replies.

[CoolNickname]

On 4/11/2021 at 9:37 AM, Glitchlo said:

Would love to hear any input on a Lower Mississippi cruise in December with one person in a wheelchair. I cannot tell from websites how much time is spent cruising vs how long you are in port as i want some time enjoying the water views.  Considering downstream (from Memphis Countess) or upstream (from NOLA Duchess).

Also how long are the HOHO bus trips from start to finish.

 

thank you in advance.

 

You should probably read this review of a Lower Mississippi cruise on the Countess. He specifically mentions difficulties navigating getting on and off the ship at some of the stops due to cables, but said crew helped them. He also mentions a train track being a bit of an issue at one stop.

 

Another thing he mentions is the HOHO buses are not running currently as part of the Covid strategy with no idea how long before the return. From seeing a review with the owner of the line on Youtube it sounds like they've cut the HOHO buses to encourage passengers not to mingle with too many other people along the cruise route. Everyone working for the cruise line including bus drivers is having regular covid testing and is getting vaccinated. The owner did not specifically state this included the people involved in the few tours they're still doing but it was definitely implied.

 

On a Youtube review of the first cruise they said someone discovered they could get no appointment necessary Johnson and Johnson vaccines at one of the ports on their cruise so all the staff took turns going over to get it. On the same review he also mentioned anyone who got off the ship to do anything but one of the ship sponsored tours had to meet with staff to do some sort of contact tracing paperwork.

 

I'm actually doing the lower Mississippi cruise from Memphis to New Orleans on American Countess next week. I'll do my best to take some photos of any obstacles and post them here on my review. It sounds like they're happy to help passengers make it work but I'm sure if you're aware in advance it will be easier to arrange to have that help available easily.

 

 

Edited April 21, 2021 by CoolNickname

[Glitchlo]

Thank you Coolnickname and have a great cruise!