Cruising down the Mississippi.....

[wasiii]

.....cruising out of NewYork, is a wonderful sight, the Statue of Liberty, NY Skyline, Ellis Island, Verranzano Bridge, etc. What can I expect to see when headed down the Mississippi out to open water? I know it takes about 8 hours to do this, so I don't want to have to sit out on deck the whole time to watch for things. What are must see items and approximately how long after the ship leaves port would you expect to see them?

 

:confused:

 

wasiii

[sa7776]

You will pass downtown NO and then the outskirts which has lots of industrial areas. You will mostly see little settlements and houses if I remember correctly. Alot of that area was pretty heavily damaged during Katrina so I don't know how much has been built back. When you reach the gulf you will see lots of oil drilling platforms. You will probably pass some other ships too along the way.

[sa7776]

Wanted to add that the last few times I've gone down the Mississippi has been during the winter months so it got dark pretty quickly after we sailed.

[giftcard]

Wanted to add that the last few times I've gone down the Mississippi has been during the winter months so it got dark pretty quickly after we sailed.

 

Same here. On our cruise from New Orleans we didn't see anything.

[soon to cruise]

AFter the first 30 min or so there's not much to see. Oil rigs mostly. It's interesting if you've never been on the mississippi, but it's not the statue of liberty! LOL

[BonnieVA]

It's not all that spectacular, honestly. What was exciting was the anticipation of the week ahead.

 

But if you're out on deck on your way back HOME (as you near the opening to the Mississippi) you will see the lights of all the oil rigs around you. We were amazed at how many there were ... I kind of thought here were a few rigs scattered here & there but they were everywhere & it was pretty neat to see. I guess, if you stayed up pretty late, you'd eventually see the same thing on your way out too!

[Whimsy]

Interesting thread. I am looking forward to seeing the difference at the end of September.

[beachbum6264]

It's not all that spectacular, honestly. What was exciting was the anticipation of the week ahead.

 

But if you're out on deck on your way back HOME (as you near the opening to the Mississippi) you will see the lights of all the oil rigs around you. We were amazed at how many there were ... I kind of thought here were a few rigs scattered here & there but they were everywhere & it was pretty neat to see. I guess, if you stayed up pretty late, you'd eventually see the same thing on your way out too!

 

 

I'm with you, I was not expecting to see that many rigs - it's almost like a city out there! Really eye-opening :eek:

[jetskier]

In the winter, it is always funny to look out the window and see another cruiseship about 100 feet away going the other direction. Usually on Saturday departures, you will pass the NCL Spirit as she heads back upriver. On Monday departures, you will pass her Sunday night as the Spirit heads down river.

 

Dave

[wasiii]

.....so I guess if I have too many DODs and fall asleep on the deck, it'll be no harm, no foul.

 

;)

 

wasiii

[Traveler353]

.....so I guess if I have too many DODs and fall asleep on the deck, it'll be no harm, no foul.

 

;)

 

wasiii

 

No problem,Try to spend some time in NOLA before or after. It is a great city with much to see and do. Enjoy your cruise.

[papillon cruiser]

The last time we seen kids mooning us from the sand bar :eek:. It is always interesting to watch the pilot boat. Lots of cargo ships and oil rigs and local people fishing or alligator hunting or whatever they do at night with lights in a little boat.

[BonnieVA]

In the winter, it is always funny to look out the window and see another cruiseship about 100 feet away going the other direction. Usually on Saturday departures, you will pass the NCL Spirit as she heads back upriver. On Monday departures, you will pass her Sunday night as the Spirit heads down river.

 

Dave

 

Yea, that was another thing that shocked us. We didn't see any other cruise ships but I was freaked out when I looked out our cabin window & saw these lights right outside our window. I had no idea what was going on until I looked closely & saw a small freighter-type ship heading south. We were excited & ran outside to see it & then realized we were passing other ships pretty frequently.

[crazycruzer68]

Lots of brown ugly, dirty water. Oh and then hold on when you get to the Gulf you're in for a ride, ours didn't end for 5 days!!

[yst347]

The delta is interesting. It is well lit. A ship leaving Nola at 4:00 will reach the delta about 11:00 and enter the Gulf of Mexico by midnight. I think it is worthwhile to take a stroll out on deck between 11 and 12 and watch as the river gives way to open water. I wouldn't dwell too long but it is interesting.

[crazy cajun]

you have to understand that untill you pass venice La, there are levees on both sides of the river. So all you will see is other ships and boats. once ya get down river you will see the delta. Look it up on google It's amazing. then you enter the gulf and its oil rigs for miles . We fish around all these rigs . each one is it's own eco system .

Unlike fla. in louisiana you are in muddy water because of the Miss.river for sometimes the first 100 miles into the gulf.

There are special ship pilots that bring the cruise ships from pilot town in the delta thru all the rigs and then they do it again when the ship returns into the northern gulf.

[DarthGrady]

In the winter, it is always funny to look out the window and see another cruiseship about 100 feet away going the other direction. Usually on Saturday departures, you will pass the NCL Spirit as she heads back upriver. On Monday departures, you will pass her Sunday night as the Spirit heads down river.

 

Dave

 

That does sound cool, I wonder if anyone has pictures?

[KroozFoolz]

That does sound cool, I wonder if anyone has pictures?

from another thread on this subject:

This was from NCL Sun, but it is interesting... And both ships were booking it...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Whimsy]

Thank you to everyone! You are really helping me pass the days until our cruise!

[mycruise2]

We sailed the other way...up the Mississippi! Last Sep. we were the cruise from Galveston that couldn't go back due to hurricane Ike....sailed up in semi darkness but in a long line of commercial shipping. Interesting never the less. You can always see something great.

[sappygirl]

.....cruising out of NewYork, is a wonderful sight, the Statue of Liberty, NY Skyline, Ellis Island, Verranzano Bridge, etc. What can I expect to see when headed down the Mississippi out to open water? I know it takes about 8 hours to do this, so I don't want to have to sit out on deck the whole time to watch for things. What are must see items and approximately how long after the ship leaves port would you expect to see them?

 

:confused:

 

wasiii

All you really are going to see is mostly industrial, maybe a few homes on the levees and a few people waving as we pass. Once we are out a ways you will see the oil rigs which is pretty cool.

[Imoutatym]

Our first cruise was out of NOLA on an older ship. Evidently the ship drew in riverwater for use in the toilets.

 

Imagine our horror as we checked out our cabin for the first time to find the toilet filled with nasty muddy water:eek:, kind of like an old gas station john.....

 

We laughed when we found out what was going on, but we were a little distraught at first.

 

Ahhhhhhhhhh wonderful memories.......

 

BTW, it cleared up shortly after we got to sea and they took in seawater.

[DarthGrady]

from another thread on this subject:

 

Cool! That would be awesome to see. Thanks for posting!

[Whimsy]

Our first cruise was out of NOLA on an older ship. Evidently the ship drew in riverwater for use in the toilets.

 

Imagine our horror as we checked out our cabin for the first time to find the toilet filled with nasty muddy water:eek:, kind of like an old gas station john.....

 

We laughed when we found out what was going on, but we were a little distraught at first.

 

Ahhhhhhhhhh wonderful memories.......

 

BTW, it cleared up shortly after we got to sea and they took in seawater.

 

That reminds me of when I was young and we went on the Admiral in St Louis. I went to the bathroom and thought they were all dirty. My older sister had to explain they were using the river water.

[tjmaher]

Lots of brown ugly, dirty water. Oh and then hold on when you get to the Gulf you're in for a ride, ours didn't end for 5 days!!

 

From a prior poster, does this mean that I can expect the water to be rough once we hit the Gulf? Not use to traveling in rough water!

 

Please let me know what I can expect.

 

Thanks