PrettyParrot

To be honest, there is nothing near the launching ramp. It is a rural and agricultural area. Vicksburg is beautiful ! Have a great trip!

Thank you Host Jazzbeau for your response and recommendations/considerations for planning future European river cruises. We are planning a Uniworld cruise for 2025 on the Rhine and then traveling on our own through Belgium and France to visit First World War sites. I think it will be fun to try something new for cruising! Thank you again. 🌞

We took the Mississippi River cruise last May. The cruise wasn't the best: Loads of busing, to include a 3 hour bus ride to Memphis from the launching ramp (Really, a large launching ramp!) in Mississippi. Some of the local tour guides were terrible. Our guide in Vicksburg was unable to identify local landmarks. In Memphis we were placed in a Hilton that was in poor condition and under renovation. The floor for our room had scaffolding and paint with plastic everywhere and a very strong paint odor. The on-board service was good, and the dining options were tasty. The view from the water was excellent, and the stateroom was very comfortable. We rented a car in Memphis to drive to Shiloh on our own after the cruise. I am glad that I made our own reservations and accommodations in New Orleans, along with all of our activities and dining there. We have cruised with Viking on the Danube in 2017 and again in 2019. We plan to travel on a different cruise line for our next river cruise in Europe.

My husband and I were on the Viking Mississippi at the end of April, from New Orleans to Memphis. Unlike @planada's experience, we had excellent service in the Veranda café and the main dining room, the ship was very clean and the staterooms were serviced each day. The food was also delicious with a nice variety in the main dining room. The staff was amazing and we loved our on-board experience! However, I cannot say that the all of the excursions were good I agree that the Vicksburg National Military park was a fabulous excursion, as was the Port Hudson battlefield and nature hike paid excursion. The Frogmore and Longwood paid excursion was also excellent. We had some guides on tours who were not well-versed in the history of the area and were unable to give much information, or even correct information. An exception to this was Rusty, who was our guide on the Frogmore and Longwood excursion. I can also say that the fact that we did NOT dock in Memphis was a BIG bummer. Approximately one month before the sailing we were informed that we would end the cruise in Rosedale MS, and then be bused to Memphis, which is approximately 2 hrs and 40 minutes away. The docking facility in Rosedale was a launching ramp for pleasure craft. The last-minute options for excursions were Graceland, The Civil Rights museum in Memphis, or get to Memphis early after a stop in Clarksdale. The buses were contracted from a separate company, and one bus broke down, and another had no A/C. The Hotel where many passengers were lodged, including ourselves, at the Sheraton Memphis Downtown. It is adjoining the Convention Center but about 1 mile from Downton and the restaurants, bars and Beale street. It was fine to walk during the day but not great at night, so if you are there definitely use Uber at night. The other passengers stayed at The Peabody, a beautiful hotel in walking distance to all of the downtown restaurants and attractions! I can honestly say that Viking should have put all of us up at The Peabody, or possibly the Westin which is in the same general area. The Sheraton is also under renovation (our room was pretty dumpy and in need of a lot of TLC), so I do not believe we received a good value. We did not do a pre or post add-on, but did our own thing in New Orleans prior to the cruise as well as in Memphis after the cruise. Hopefully Viking will change back to the Memphis docking and save everyone the bus ride to Memphis, with the mediocre (in our case) hotel stay. Definitely try Flight and/or Itta Bena for dinners. Both have amazing food!