Mississippi River Christmas Cruises

Cruising the Mississippi

Set adrift on a small, American-crewed ship for 7 to 8 nights on the mighty Mississippi. Slow, unhurried, and the South at its most magical, this is Christmas on the Mississippi. What to expect onboard: regional holiday cooking, cocktail hour as the light fades, evenings of Southern music and storytelling while the river rolls by.

Christmas on the river

Graceland at Christmas

Elvis’ home decorated the way he loved it, the mansion, the grounds, and the life-size Nativity, a highlight of the Lower Mississippi itinerary’s Memphis stop.
Natchez dressed for the season

One of the most intact collections of antebellum homes in America, Rosalie Mansion, “Our Lady on the Bluff,” among them, in a town that treats the season as a month-long celebration.
New Orleans in lights

Celebration in the Oaks lighting up City Park, caroling in Jackson Square on the steps of St. Louis Cathedral, and lighting the bonfires along the levee to light the way for Papa Noel.

December is when these cities dress up.

Packages & pricing

Viking is still booking December cruises, leaving Dec 15, Dec 22, and Dec 29, round trip from New Orleans to Mississippi. American Cruise Lines has sold out both itineraries in 2026: Highlights of the Mississippi round trip from New Orleans and Lower Mississippi River one way from New Orleans to Memphis. Pick the itinerary that calls to you and let us take care of the rest.

Packages run about $500 to $1,180 per person per day, depending on cruise and cabin. December 2026 cabins are nearly gone. Start booking 2027 now.

All packages are based on double occupancy, before port charges and taxes when charged separately.

A French Quarter street corner in New Orleans at night, balconies lit in holiday red and green above wet, shining pavement

Viking · Viking Mississippi

New Orleans & Southern Charms

December 2026 dates: Dec 15 to 22, Dec 22 to 29, or Dec 29 to Jan 5, the New Year’s cruise

8 days / 7 nights
Round-trip New Orleans
Upriver first, then downriver
386 guests
Included excursion in every port

Day by day itineraryTap to openTap to close

Day 1

New Orleans, LA

Board Viking Mississippi, settle into your stateroom, and take a first evening in the city lit for the season.

Day 2

Darrow, LA

Houmas House, the grand River Road estate and its gardens, once the largest sugar plantation in Louisiana.

Day 3

St. Francisville, LA

Antebellum homes and moss-draped streets in one of Louisiana’s prettiest small towns.

Day 4

Natchez, MS

The bluff-top mansions of Natchez, decorated for Christmas, with the river rolling out below.

Day 5

Vicksburg, MS

The military park and the USS Cairo, the turning point of the Civil War on the river.

Day 6

Baton Rouge, LA

Louisiana’s capital, the Old State Capitol, the riverfront, and Cajun country cooking.

Day 7

New Orleans, LA

A full day back in New Orleans: the French Quarter and Jackson Square in caroling season.

Day 8

New Orleans, LA

Breakfast aboard, then disembark, or extend with extra New Orleans nights (see Add-ons).

Exact day order and excursions vary by cruise date. Your quote confirms your cruise’s day-by-day.

Planning estimate Moderate · Lead veranda stateroom

The Moderate Package

About $500 per person per day

$3,999 per person · $7,998 for two: double occupancy.

Cruise fare: on its own line $3,999 per person Viking’s published fare for the Dec 15, 2026 cruise, lead Veranda stateroom. Viking promotes often. Your quote confirms the fare on the day you book.

This package carries

7-night cruise in a Veranda stateroom aboard Viking Mississippi
One included shore excursion in every port of call
All onboard meals, with beer and wine served at lunch and dinner
Onboard Wi-Fi, enrichment talks, and Viking’s cultural program
We arrange your flights and any pre- or post-cruise hotel nights alongside the cruise, one call, one itinerary

Planning estimate Premium · Explorer Suite & the extras

The Premium Package

About $1,100 per person per day

$8,799 per person · $17,598 for two: double occupancy.

Cruise fare: on its own line $8,799 per person Explorer Suite (ES1), the top suite on Viking Mississippi, from Viking’s published fares for the Dec 15, 2026 cruise. Confirmed at quote.

Everything in Moderate, plus

The Explorer Suite: up to 1,024 sq ft including a wraparound veranda, a separate living room, and a French balcony
Complimentary breakfast service in your suite, a personal coffee machine, and a bathroom with a heated floor
Viking’s optional premium excursions in every port, reserved for you alongside the included ones
Private airport transfers in New Orleans, arranged by us

What’s included

Your cruise fare, in the stateroom or suite your package names
One included shore excursion in every port, plus premium excursions on the Premium package
All onboard meals; beer and wine with lunch and dinner
Onboard Wi-Fi and Viking’s enrichment program
Our planning, booking, and support, from first call to final itinerary

What’s not included

Airfare: Viking sells air separately; we arrange your flights with the cruise, and check the day’s Viking air offers for you (they change often)
Optional excursions beyond the included one per port, on the Moderate package
Crew gratuities, at your discretion
Travel protection: we’ll quote it and recommend it
Pre- or post-cruise hotel nights, unless added under Add-ons

The oak avenue and columned house at Oak Alley Plantation, Louisiana

American Cruise Lines · American Melody

Highlights of the Mississippi

Sails upriver to Vicksburg and Natchez first, then back downriver to New Orleans. The classic Christmas itinerary, with a full New Orleans day at both ends of the cruise.

8 days / 7 nights
Round-trip New Orleans
Max 180 guests
Every cabin has a private balcony
Hotel night & airfare included in the fare

December 2026 status: American Cruise Lines Dec 11, 2026 is sold out. The packages below are priced from the December 2026 cruise’s published fares. Start planning your 2027 trip today.

Day by day itineraryTap to openTap to close

Day 1

New Orleans, LA

Your included pre-cruise hotel night. Settle in, then the French Quarter, Jackson Square, Café du Monde, and the city lit for the season.

Day 2

Board & cruise the Mississippi

We’ll have you at the ship in the morning; luggage goes straight to your cabin. Sail north past levees and the working river, welcome reception aboard.

Day 3

Oak Alley, LA

Walk the famous avenue of 300-year-old oaks at this National Historic Landmark estate, a complimentary excursion, mint julep included.

Day 4

Baton Rouge, LA

Louisiana’s capital: the castle-like Old State Capitol, the Art Deco tower that replaced it, and the Capitol Park Museum, complimentary excursions in port.

Day 5

Natchez & Vicksburg, MS

Rosalie Mansion on the Natchez bluff, then Vicksburg National Military Park, the preserved battlefields and the ironclad USS Cairo.

Day 6

St. Francisville, LA

Small-town Southern Gothic: The Myrtles, the gardens of Rosedown, and the Audubon State Historic Site.

Day 7

New Orleans, LA

Back in the city for a full day, the French Quarter at your pace, or the National WWII Museum, one of the finest museums in the country.

Day 8

New Orleans, LA

Breakfast aboard, then disembark, or extend your stay and let us add more New Orleans nights.

Exact day order and excursions vary by cruise date. Your quote confirms your cruise’s day-by-day.

Planning estimate Moderate · Lead balcony cabin

The Moderate Package

About $530 per person per day

$4,255 per person · $8,510 for two: double occupancy, port charges extra.

Cruise fare: on its own line $4,255 per person American Cruise Lines’ published fare for the Dec 11, 2026 cruise, lead balcony stateroom (275 sq ft, private balcony). Confirmed at quote.

This package carries

7-night cruise in a lead balcony stateroom aboard American Melody
Complimentary pre-cruise hotel night in New Orleans, with transfer to the ship and luggage delivered to your cabin
Complimentary airfare, included in this itinerary’s fare
A complimentary excursion in every port, all onboard meals, daily cocktail hour, evening entertainment, and the onboard historian program
Onboard Wi-Fi

Planning estimate Premium · Grand Suite & the extras

The Premium Package

About $1,010 per person per day

$8,090 per person · $16,180 for two: double occupancy, port charges extra.

Cruise fare: on its own line $8,090 per person Grand Suite fare from American Melody’s published suite pricing for its 8-day cruises. The Grand Suite is the ship’s finest. Your quote confirms the exact fare for your date.

Everything in Moderate, plus

The Grand Suite: 615 sq ft on the top deck, separate bedroom and living room, dining area, and a 25-foot private balcony
Breakfast room service, a refrigerator restocked daily, and “suite treats” delivered each evening
American Cruise Lines’ premium-tier excursions in every port, the Cajun Pride swamp adventure, Whitney Plantation, Laura Plantation, the Natchez carriage ride, reserved for you
Private airport transfers in New Orleans, arranged by us

What’s included

Your cruise fare, in the cabin your package names
Pre-cruise New Orleans hotel night and ship transfer included.
Airfare, where the itinerary’s fare includes it, this one does
All onboard meals, cocktail hour, entertainment, and Wi-Fi
Complimentary excursions in every port (Moderate) or premium excursions (Premium)
Our planning, booking, and support, from first call to final itinerary

What’s not included

Port charges: American Cruise Lines charges these separately from the fare, and your quote itemizes them before you commit
Premium-tier excursions on the Moderate package (add any of them, see Add-ons)
Crew gratuities, at your discretion
Travel protection: we’ll quote it and recommend it
Extra hotel nights or stays beyond the included pre-cruise night

Beale Street in Memphis at dusk, neon signs glowing over the blues clubs

American Cruise Lines · American Melody

Lower Mississippi River

Runs both ways by date. Some departures sail upriver from New Orleans to Memphis, others sail downriver from Memphis to New Orleans. One way either way: the whole lower river, between New Orleans and the home of the blues and Graceland.

9 days / 8 nights
Max 180 guests
Every cabin has a private balcony
Hotel night & airfare included in the fare

December 2026 status: American Cruise Lines listed the Dec 4, 2026 departure as sold out when we checked on Nov 3, 2026, and the reverse-direction December date was down to call-for-availability. Packages below are priced from the December published fares. Your free quote checks what’s left for 2026 and the same itinerary for Christmas 2027.

Day by day itineraryTap to openTap to close

Day 1

New Orleans, LA

Your included pre-cruise hotel night, a full evening of the French Quarter at Christmas before you sail.

Day 2

Board & Oak Alley, LA

Transfer to the ship, luggage to your cabin, and sail, with the oak avenue at Oak Alley as your first great house of the river.

Day 3

Baton Rouge, LA

The Old State Capitol’s Gothic spires, the Capitol Park Museum, and Civil War sites with an expert historian.

Day 4

St. Francisville, LA

The Myrtles and Rosedown above the river bluffs, the lower Mississippi’s great estates begin here.

Day 5

Natchez, MS

Rosalie Mansion and a town full of preserved grand homes, dressed for Christmas, by motorcoach, carriage, or both.

Day 6

Vicksburg, MS

Vicksburg National Military Park: the battlefields, the monuments, and the raised ironclad USS Cairo.

Day 7

Cleveland, MS

The Delta’s music story at the GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi, on the Mississippi Blues Trail, B.B. King and Muddy Waters country.

Day 8

A day of river cruising

Nothing scheduled but the river: enrichment talks, the sun deck, and what Mark Twain called a day with “nothing to hang a worry or a fret upon.”

Day 9

Memphis, TN

Disembark in Memphis, Beale Street and barbecue today, and Graceland at Christmas if you stay on (see Add-ons).

Shown above in the New Orleans → Memphis (upriver) direction; the reverse Memphis → New Orleans (downriver) itinerary visits the same ports in reverse order. Exact day order and excursions vary by cruise date and direction. Your quote confirms your cruise’s day-by-day.

Planning estimate Moderate · Lead balcony cabin

The Moderate Package

About $645 per person per day

$5,810 per person · $11,620 for two: double occupancy, port charges extra.

Cruise fare: on its own line $5,810 per person American Cruise Lines’ published on-sale fare for the Dec 4, 2026 cruise, lead balcony stateroom (275 sq ft, private balcony). Confirmed at quote.

This package carries

8-night cruise in a lead balcony stateroom aboard American Melody
Complimentary pre-cruise hotel night in New Orleans, with transfer to the ship and luggage delivered to your cabin
Complimentary airfare, included in this itinerary’s fare
A complimentary excursion in every port, all onboard meals, daily cocktail hour, evening entertainment, and the onboard historian program
Onboard Wi-Fi

Planning estimate Premium · Grand Suite & the extras

The Premium Package

$1,180 per person per day

$10,620 per person · $21,240 for two: double occupancy, port charges extra.

Cruise fare: on its own line $10,620 per person Grand Suite fare from the published cabin pricing for this itinerary aboard American Melody. Your quote confirms the exact fare for your date.

Everything in Moderate, plus

The Grand Suite: 615 sq ft on the top deck, separate bedroom and living room, dining area, and a 25-foot private balcony
Breakfast room service, a refrigerator restocked daily, and “suite treats” delivered each evening
American Cruise Lines’ premium-tier excursions in every port, the swamp adventure, Whitney and Laura Plantations, the Great River Outdoor Adventure, the Natchez carriage ride, reserved for you
Private transfers at both ends, New Orleans on arrival, Memphis on departure, arranged by us

What’s included

Your cruise fare, in the cabin your package names
Pre-cruise New Orleans hotel night and ship transfer included.
Airfare, where the itinerary’s fare includes it, this one does
All onboard meals, cocktail hour, entertainment, and Wi-Fi
Complimentary excursions in every port (Moderate) or premium excursions (Premium)
Our planning, booking, and support, from first call to final itinerary

What’s not included

Port charges: charged separately from the fare, and itemized in your quote before you commit
American Cruise Lines’ Graceland package at the Memphis end: priced in your quote, since American Cruise Lines quotes it on request. Details under Add-ons
Premium-tier excursions on the Moderate package
Crew gratuities, at your discretion
Travel protection: we’ll quote it and recommend it

Add-ons

Every package above is a starting point. Add any of these to your itinerary, tell us what you’d like, and your free quote prices it exactly.

Premium excursions

Add American Cruise Lines’ premium excursions to a Moderate package, the Cajun Pride swamp adventure, Whitney Plantation, Laura Plantation, and the Natchez carriage ride among them, reserved for you alongside the included excursions.

Extra nights in New Orleans

Arrive early or stay on after your cruise, with extra hotel nights in New Orleans for the French Quarter, Jackson Square, and the city lit for the season, arranged alongside your cruise in the one itinerary.

A Memphis stay

Stay on in Memphis after a Lower Mississippi cruise for Beale Street, barbecue, and time in the home of the blues, with hotel nights arranged alongside your cruise.

Graceland package

At the Memphis end of the Lower Mississippi itinerary, American Cruise Lines’ Graceland package adds two nights at The Guest House at Graceland to your trip, with breakfast each morning and a VIP welcome reception. The mansion tour is part of the package, so you see Graceland decorated for Christmas with the visit already arranged. American Cruise Lines quotes this package on request, so we price it in your quote.

By train, there or back again

We can arrange Amtrak between Memphis and New Orleans, one way or round trip. Ride Amtrak’s City of New Orleans down from Memphis for your cruise and ride home again after, with the cruise in between, or let the train cover just one end of the trip. We secure your train tickets for you as part of the one itinerary.

How booking works

1

Tell us your itinerary

Tell us which itinerary has caught your eye and ask for your free quote. We check live inventory with the line, confirm the exact fare for your cabin, and tell you honestly what December space is left for 2026 versus booking the same itinerary for Christmas 2027.

2

We secure everything

Your cabin, the included hotel night and airfare where the fare carries them, your excursions, transfers, and any extras you’ve added, we book and arrange all of it for you, through Travel Magic Network.

3

Sail at Christmas

We stay with you from first call to final itinerary, documents, timing, packing notes, until you’re watching the levees slide by with hot cocoa in hand.

Questions, answered

Is anything actually left for Christmas 2026?

Very little, and less every week. When we checked the lines on Nov 3, 2026, American Cruise Lines showed its December 2026 Mississippi dates as sold out, and Viking’s mid-December cruise was still quoting fares. Cabins do come back when other travelers cancel, so a free quote is still worth asking for 2026, but the realistic play for most people is the same itineraries for Christmas 2027, booked early while every cabin category is still open.

Why is there no budget or value package?

Because there honestly isn’t one on this river. These ships are U.S.-flagged and American-crewed, small (180 to 386 guests), and every cabin has a balcony. The lead fare is already the floor. Rather than dress a mid-tier cabin up as a “value” deal, we show you the real two ways to sail: the lead balcony cabin (Moderate) or the top suite with the extras (Premium).

Do I need a passport?

No. These cruises never leave the United States. A government-issued photo ID is all you need. It’s one of the easiest “big trip” Christmases you can take.

What’s December weather like on the lower Mississippi?

Mild and changeable: cool mornings, pleasant afternoons, and the chance of damp days. Pack layers you can add and shed, comfortable walking shoes for cobblestones and plantation grounds, and rain gear, just in case.

How do the fares on this page work?

Each package’s cruise fare is shown on its own line, from the line’s published pricing for the December cruises, checked Nov 3, 2026. Treat the package totals as December planning estimates: cruise lines reprice and promote constantly, American Cruise Lines charges port charges separately from its fares, and a sold-out cruise can’t be booked at any price. Your free quote confirms the exact, current fare for your cabin before you commit to anything.

How do I book, and what do you handle?

Everything, through us. Ask for a free quote, choose your itinerary and package, and we secure your cabin with the line, arrange the hotel night, airfare, excursions, and transfers your package calls for, and manage the booking through final payment and documents. Personalized planning from first call to final itinerary. That’s the whole point of booking with an advisor.

Cruising the Mississippi

Christmas on the river

Graceland at Christmas

Natchez dressed for the season

New Orleans in lights

Packages & pricing

New Orleans & Southern Charms

New Orleans, LA

Darrow, LA

St. Francisville, LA

Natchez, MS

Vicksburg, MS

Baton Rouge, LA

New Orleans, LA

New Orleans, LA

The Moderate Package

The Premium Package

What’s included

What’s not included

Highlights of the Mississippi

New Orleans, LA

Board & cruise the Mississippi

Oak Alley, LA

Baton Rouge, LA

Natchez & Vicksburg, MS

St. Francisville, LA

New Orleans, LA

New Orleans, LA

The Moderate Package

The Premium Package

What’s included

What’s not included

Lower Mississippi River

New Orleans, LA

Board & Oak Alley, LA

Baton Rouge, LA

St. Francisville, LA

Natchez, MS

Vicksburg, MS

Cleveland, MS

A day of river cruising

Memphis, TN

The Moderate Package

The Premium Package

What’s included

What’s not included

Add-ons

Premium excursions

Extra nights in New Orleans

A Memphis stay

Graceland package

By train, there or back again

How booking works

Tell us your itinerary

We secure everything

Sail at Christmas

Questions, answered

Sail the river this Christmas, or next