Two boats run the river on weekend mornings with a jazz band aboard and a Creole brunch buffet on offer. This page compares them honestly: same river, different boats, different bands, forty minutes apart.
Two sailings, $43.50 and $44 for the cruise alone. 641 traveller reviews between them, and free cancellation on both.
Short answer
The NATCHEZ jazz brunch sails Saturday and Sunday mornings at 11:30am from the Toulouse Street Wharf: $43.50 for the cruise, $80 with the brunch buffet, the Steamboat Stompers playing, and a steam calliope concert before boarding. The Creole Queen's weekend morning cruise leaves Spanish Plaza at $44 with the Muddy Mississippi Band and its own optional Creole brunch. Families pick mornings for a reason: daylight, calmer decks, and the port actually working.
Morning is the river's honest shift. The light is better for photographs than any evening sailing, the wheelhouse narration has something to point at, and the working port that the night boats turn into a string of lights is right there loading grain. Brunch on the water is also the cheapest way to get a full New Orleans riverboat experience with a meal attached: $80 all-in on the NATCHEZ against $107.50 for the same idea at dinner.
Both boats treat the buffet as optional, which most listings bury. Book the cruise alone, eat beignets beforehand, and you have a live-jazz river cruise for the price of two cocktails in the Quarter.
Both fares below are current from-prices per person; weekend dates shift them, and the listing always has the final word.
Most reviewed in this category
The weekend morning sailing, and the calm one: the Steamboat Stompers play, the steam calliope gives a concert before boarding, and the optional brunch buffet is cooked fresh on board. Daylight means you actually see the port work and the Chalmette bend.
The Creole Queen's answer to Sunday morning: live jazz from the Muddy Mississippi Band, an optional Creole brunch buffet, and the shortest walk from Canal Street hotels of any boat on the river.
| NATCHEZ jazz brunch | Creole Queen weekend morning | |
|---|---|---|
| Sails | Saturdays and Sundays, boards 10:30am, departs 11:30am | Weekend mornings from Spanish Plaza |
| Boat | True steam sternwheeler, 1975, with 1925 engines | Diesel-electric paddlewheeler, 880 passengers, 1983 |
| Band | The Steamboat Stompers | The Muddy Mississippi Band |
| Extra | Steam calliope concert before boarding | Largest indoor dining capacity on the river |
| Cruise only | $43.50 | $44.00 |
| With brunch | $80.00, cooked fresh on board | Optional Creole buffet; brunch-inclusive tickets also sold from $72 |
One dated, real perk worth knowing: through September 30, 2026 the operator runs 75-cent mimosas for dining guests 21+ on Saturday jazz brunch sailings aboard the Riverboat CITY of NEW ORLEANS, the NATCHEZ's sister boat.
| Timing | Boarding opens an hour before on the NATCHEZ (11:00am board, 11:30am sail per the operator's schedule; arrive by 10:45am to hear the calliope properly). Brunch service starts once you are underway. |
|---|---|
| Kids | Mornings are the family shift. Children under 6 sail free on the sister boat's sightseeing runs, and the brunch boats carry high chairs. Strollers park at the gangway. |
| The buffet | Creole breakfast-and-lunch staples cooked on board: eggs, grits, jambalaya, bread pudding with whiskey sauce. It is a buffet for hundreds, not a chef's tasting; the reviews rate it good and generous. |
| Heat | New Orleans mornings run cooler than afternoons by design here: a summer 11:30am sailing beats the 2:30pm one by several degrees, and both dining rooms are air-conditioned. |
| Weather | Rain or shine, with covered deck sections. Only a Coast Guard severe-weather call cancels a sailing. |
Only if you pick the with-brunch fare. The NATCHEZ sells the Saturday and Sunday cruise at $43.50 with brunch bringing it to $80. The Creole Queen sells cruise-only around $44 and also lists a brunch-inclusive ticket from about $72. Both buffets are cooked on board.
Weekends only. The NATCHEZ jazz brunch sails Saturdays and Sundays at 11:30am; the Creole Queen's morning jazz cruise runs weekend mornings from Spanish Plaza. Neither boat runs a weekday brunch, so plan the weekend accordingly.
The NATCHEZ carries a 32-note steam calliope, custom built in the style of the Gilded Age originals, and it plays before departures. You can hear it across the French Quarter, which is the point: it was the riverboat's advertising long before websites. Board early and you watch it played rather than just hear it.
Both work. The NATCHEZ gives kids more to look at: the engine room viewing area, the wheel, the calliope. The Creole Queen offers more indoor space when the weather misbehaves. If the group includes anyone with limited mobility, note the NATCHEZ's decks are stairs-only, while the sister boat CITY of NEW ORLEANS has elevators on decks 1 to 3.
Yes, and mornings suit it: tables are easier to group, and both operators handle occasion requests at booking. For a bigger occasion the evening VIP sailing adds champagne and front-row band seats, at a much bigger price.
The Dukes of Dixieland, the city lights, and dinner as an option.
Daily departures when your trip misses the weekend.
The riverboat plus a narrated city day, on one ticket.
Reading first: The brunch sailings in full · The best time of year on this river · Riverboats with kids, honestly
