Two tickets fold the riverboat into a full guided day: one pairs the steamboat's jazz cruise with a three-hour city tour, the other stacks a French Quarter walk, a bus loop and the 75-minute cruise into a single afternoon-filling run.
From $88 and $99 for six-plus-hour days. 923 traveller reviews between them, free cancellation on both.
Short answer
Both combos are Gray Line days built around the same boats this site covers. The City Tour + NATCHEZ combo ($88) gives you a three-hour narrated bus tour with a cemetery stop and a Garden District walk, then the two-hour steamboat jazz cruise. New Orleans in a Day ($99) swaps the steamboat for the 75-minute riverboat run and adds a guided French Quarter walking tour plus French Market time, rating 4.5 across 446 travellers. Book the combo only if you want both halves; the cruise alone costs $43.50 or $25.75.
The arithmetic is the whole story here. The steamboat combo at $88 buys $43.50 of cruise and roughly $45 of narrated city touring, which is close to what the tour costs alone. The in-a-day ticket at $99 packs four components in under seven hours. Neither is a discount so much as a logistics purchase: one booking, timed connections, no planning.
That is genuinely worth paying for on a short trip. New Orleans days evaporate, and the combos guarantee the river happens instead of staying on the maybe list.
Combo prices below are today's per-person from-prices; they move with the season, and the listing is the final word.
Most reviewed in this category
The efficient day: a three-hour bus tour through the French Quarter, a cemetery stop and a Garden District walk, then the NATCHEZ daytime jazz cruise in the afternoon. One booking covers both, and the pieces are timed to fit.
The full-day sampler: a guided French Quarter walking tour, the narrated city bus loop, free time at the French Market, and the 75-minute riverboat cruise to finish. Nothing goes deep, everything gets covered, and 446 travellers rate it 4.5.
| City tour + steamboat combo | New Orleans in a Day | |
|---|---|---|
| The cruise half | 2-hour NATCHEZ daytime jazz cruise, live band | 75-minute CITY of NEW ORLEANS run, captain narration |
| The land half | 3-hour bus tour: French Quarter, cemetery stop, Garden District stroll | Guided French Quarter walking tour, narrated bus loop, French Market free time |
| All in | About 6.5 hours | About 6 hours 45 minutes |
| Food | Cafe du Monde stop at your own expense; onboard lunch optional | Lunch on your own at the French Market |
| Rating | 4.2 across 477 reviews | 4.5 across 446 reviews |
| From | $88.00 | $99.00 |
| Stamina | These are six-to-seven-hour days with real walking: cemetery paths, Garden District sidewalks, the Quarter's uneven flagstones. Comfortable shoes are not optional. |
|---|---|
| Meeting points | The steamboat combo starts at 400 Toulouse Street; the in-a-day tour meets at Cafe Beignet, 600 Decatur Street. Both are inside the Quarter, walkable from most hotels. |
| Summer | June through September, the walking segments land in serious heat. Both operators run the tours year-round; carry water and pick morning starts where offered. |
| Booking both halves separately | Always an option: $43.50 for the steamboat cruise or $25.75 for the short run, plus a standalone city tour. You save little money but gain schedule freedom. |
| Weather | The cruise halves sail rain or shine; bus segments run regardless. Only Coast Guard severe-weather calls stop the boats. |
Yes, on both tickets. The steamboat combo includes the standard NATCHEZ daytime jazz cruise, and the in-a-day ticket includes the standard 75-minute CITY of NEW ORLEANS run. Same boats, same routes, same bands and narration as the standalone fares.
The in-a-day tour rates higher (4.5 vs 4.2) and covers more ground, but its cruise half is the short run. If the steamboat itself is the point, take the $88 combo or book the cruise separately. If you want the fullest single-day sampler of the city, the $99 ticket does more.
No. The steamboat combo stops at Cafe du Monde at your own expense and offers the optional onboard lunch; the in-a-day tour leaves you free time to eat at the French Market. Budget for lunch either way.
More than people expect. The Garden District stroll and cemetery stop involve steady walking on the $88 combo; the in-a-day ticket opens with a full French Quarter walking tour. Neither suits anyone who cannot comfortably walk for 45 minutes at a stretch.
Yes, both run daily, subject to the boats' schedules. Exact start times move by season, so the live listing for your date is the authority.
The same two boats without the bus, from $25.75.
History done by river, with an hour ashore at the 1815 site.
Cap the touring day with the river after dark.
Reading first: What every ticket costs, in one table · The Steamboat NATCHEZ in full · The best time of year on this river
