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Natchez
Home Port: New Orleans, Louisiana

Built: 1975, Braithwaite, Louisiana

Passenger Capacity:
Harbor Cruises: 1000
Riverboat Race, Themed Harbor and Parade of Tall Stacks Cruise: 750
Lunch and Dinner Cruises: 500

Length: 265 Feet

Levels: 3 decks

Captain(s): Captain Steve Nicoulin

Natchez
Authentic Steamboat

The Steamboat Natchez, the ninth steamer to bear that name, hails from New Orleans, La., and is one of only six true steam-powered paddlewheelers in operation on the inland waterways today. Predecessors of the Natchez include the Natchez VI, which raced the riverboat Robert E. Lee in the most famous steamboat race of all time. The Natchez today is still the undisputed champion of the Mississippi, never having lost a race.

A cruise on board the Natchez is a rare treat. Based in New Orleans, she rarely cruises further than Baton Rouge and hasn’t traveled to Cincinnati since shortly after her launch in 1975. Visitors aboard the Natchez take a trip back into the bygone era of life on the Mississippi River. A genuine steamboat, almost all onboard operations are done in the authentic steamboat manner – including telegraphed communications between crew members!

The sternwheeler was built in 1975 by the Bergeron Machine Shop, Braithwaite, La., and designed by Alan L. Bates, of Louisville, Ky. The boat’s steam engines were originally built in 1925 for the U.S. Steel Corporation’s sternwheeler Clairton. She has an antique steam whistle made of genuine copper and steel and her copper bell, smelted from 250 silver dollars to produce a purer tone, once graced the S.S. J.D. Ayres. The boat has a 32-note steam calliope.

Don’t miss this rare and exciting opportunity to cruise on the authentic Steamboat Natchez and hear the Grammy-nominated Dukes of Dixieland Band, performing on all breakfast, lunch, brunch and dinner cruises.

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