Steamboat Natchez Riverboat
“Where is that calliope music coming from?” asked my father. I had recently moved to New Orleans and we were wandering about the French Quarter during his visit. He remarked about the changes the city had undergone since he last visited in the late 1970s. I pointed down the street to the antiquated red and white frame of the Steamboat Natchez picturesquely bathing in the blue waters of the Mississippi River, its organ-blowing steam in tune announcing the next river cruise.
My father has always been fond of water and in every city we travel to if there is even the smallest stream running through it he finds some way to get on it. His office desk features an array of photos taken by cruise companies of him and me posing before whatever boat we are about to embark on. Naturally, despite the cold February weather, I made sure to book us tickets for an afternoon cruise.
For my Dad. returning to New Orleans, a city he had last traveled to when he was in college, and after the wreckage and media-hype of Katrina, this was a journey full of curiosity and pleasant surprise, and at the top of that list was the Steamboat Natchez. When my father first visited the city, the Steamboat Natchez, established in 1975, was in the early stages of its cruising life. When my father visited again this past February, the Steamboat Natchez was still there, operating in full force.
The Steamboat Natchez is one of six steam powered sternwheelers on the Mississippi still today and is the descendant of a long and famous line of steamboats under the name Natchez that raced the Mississippi. The river cruises allow their guests to sit on deck and enjoy the lovely view of the banks of New Orleans, listen to an historic audio tour, and partake (for a reasonable price) in an optional lunch buffet of local cuisine…as well as a photo!
My father and I spent half the journey in the control room on the back lower deck where guests are allowed to view at a safe distance the Controller operating the wheels and pulleys that make the giant boat chug forward. Captain Steve Nicouli has proudly been with the Natchez since its maiden voyage, as have many of the crew. During the storm, they had to part with their families and evacuate the boat upriver. For Steve, the opportunity to steer the boat all the way up to the Ohio River in Kentucky and then back down was a dream come true, though living on the boat and in fear of what awaited them back home was not. Within the first six months after the flood, Natchez was able to resume business and has been gaining back what was lost ever since. For people like my father, the chance to experience a part of America’s rich cultural history is something memorable…and deserving of priority placement amongst the photo collection on his desk.
