INSIDE Viking’s MISSISSIPPI RIVER Cruise (Worth It?)

INSIDE Viking’s MISSISSIPPI RIVER Cruise (Worth It?)

Welcome on board this Viking River cruise on the Mississippi. Join us over the next seven days and seven nights. We’ll make this allnew Viking River ship our home base for exploring America’s most iconic river in style. Hello jet setters. I’m Jeb Brooks from greenergrass.com. We’re cruising the Mississippi and you’re coming along. Here’s the plan. We’ll leave New Orleans bound for Memphis. We’ll spend 7 days on board making a few stops on our northward journey. We’ll cover 640 mi of this 2,340 m long river. But if your vision of a Mississippi River cruise is an old steam powered paddleheer, you’re in for a rude awakening. These days, there are luxury river ships flying these waters, offering everything a modern-day cruiser could want. And here it is, our first sighting of the Viking Mississippi, our home for the next week. This is the first Viking ship in the United States. It was built by an American company in a shipyard in Louisiana specifically for the Mississippi River, and we’ll have plenty of time to show you around. We’ve discovered our room and cannot wait to share it with you along with the rest of this fantastic ship and a good portion of the Mississippi over the next week. But for now, let’s get comfortable. You know, I’ve always thought of river cruising as being in Europe. So, we’re a little closer to home for our first river cruise. But, I mean, is there a more iconic river than the Mississippi? At least here in the United States. It’s baked into our American experience. So, I think it’s a really cool first river cruise. And doing it with Viking, I mean, they’re like the king of river cruising. As first timers, we’re firmly in the minority on this sailing. 85% of the guests on this cruise had traveled with Viking before. But where should we go next? If you’ve been on a river cruise, let us know where you’d recommend. We’re always looking for new ideas. And as always, keep watching because we’ll tell you exactly how much we paid for this week-long adventure. Now, of course, a highlight of spending any time in this part of the country has to be the music. And the ship’s band, called the Viking Trio, was joined by a rotating cast of musical guests from different parts of the river. Tonight, we welcomed Wendel Brunius for a very special sendoff celebration. He’s led the New Orleans Preservation Hall Jazz Band since 1978. We made time for dinner and then we were on our way. We are underway now. Uh, next stop is Darrow, Louisiana. If we took the road, it’d be about 45 minutes, but we’ll sail pretty much through the night to get there. Our first night may only cover a short distance, but this is a massive river system. You’re looking at water from 31 states and two Canadian provinces. This is the fourth largest river system in the world, and you’re about to see a good portion of it. But, uh, for now, I think it’s time for some sleep. Good morning. It appears we have reached Darrow, Louisiana. And uh that was a great night of sleep. Not a lot of movement or rocking at all, which makes sense on a river, I suppose. Yeah. So ready to start the day here in Darrow. I think for now I’m going to go try to find a cup of coffee and some breakfast. What was sleeping like on board? Kind of as Jeb said, it was a very smooth. You could barely tell we were moving. I was sort of wondering that before we came on this cruise, whether it be the possibility of seasickness. So far, I really don’t think so. You can barely even tell we’re moving. Viking made its debut on the Mississippi with this ship in summer of 2022. So, let’s take a look around. It’s time for a ship tour. The Viking Mississippi is an amazing ship. Like a lot of river ships, it’s pretty easy to navigate. There five decks. Decks two through five have stateooms, but the rest of the public spaces are so comfortable. We’re going to explore this entire ship from stem to stern from bottom to top. Starting here at the bow, which is a wonderful place to watch sunset, sunrise, see the world go by as you sail the Mississippi. Let’s go check out the rest of the ship. We’re at the back of the ship. I’m not sure this place has a name or not. It’s the only place that smoking is allowed on board. We’ll stay on deck one, but head inside to one of my favorite spots. This is the living room. It’s the ship’s main gathering space, but it’s also a wonderful place to read a book or listen to a podcast. Just relax. The living room is the main venue to hear music from the Viking Trio and their musical guests, as well as where you’ll attend briefings about each day’s activities. This really is the ship’s primary hub. Oh, and there’s always complimentary coffee and cookies, too. We’ll share more about what was included with our fair as we progress. You’ll also find tons of games in here, and there’s even a turntable, but don’t worry, you don’t have to pack your own records. Here we are in the library. There are plenty of books to borrow for your time on board, but if you want a more permanent reminder of your time, there’s also an onboard shop. There are two dining venues on board, and here on deck one, you’ll find the restaurant. It’s the formal option and has menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We particularly like the locally inspired dishes on the destination menus each dinner. And not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but the food on board, well, that was really one of the highlights of our experience. This is the Prominade. Six laps around is one mile. And this is Pap’s Bar. We go out of our way not to film other passengers when we do these ship tours, so we’re here a little early, but don’t worry, we’ll be back later. Now, there’s also a drinks package available for $27 per day per person, but we didn’t choose to do that and never spend anywhere close to $27. House beer and wine are included during meal times, and there were also soft drinks and water available pretty much anytime. Let’s leave deck one behind and head upstairs to deck two. This staircase is magnificent. It links the bar downstairs to the explorer’s lounge where uh their lectures and even uh trivia or quiz games at night. Deck 2 is also where you’ll find the ship’s medical center. Decks three and four don’t have public spaces, just stateooms. Laundry facilities are also available to use on board at no additional cost. So, that means we’re climbing all the way up to the top of the ship to deck five. River Cafe is the ship’s casual dining venue. There’s even a buffet here. The best part of the River Cafe may just be how easy it is to step outside. River Cafe is also the spot for a cheeky afternoon pizza snack. Very good. Aquave Terrace is basically an extension of the River Cafe. You can eat out here and have alresco dining, which is very nice. There’s also a grill which makes to order meats and also has a raw bar. When the weather’s good, the Sun Terrace is a great place to lay out and enjoy the rays. And there’s also the infinity plunge pool right here. With 386 passengers and 148 crew members, we never felt crowded. There was always plenty of space on board. My favorite part of this experience has got to be just watching the river pass by as we sailed north. I want to take a moment though to say thank you to the sponsor for today’s video, and that’s Incogn. Yeah, I hate spam. Spam calls, spam emails, spam texts. So, that raises the question, where do they get our information? Well, the answer is data brokers. You see, these are companies that assemble information. They may take your name, your phone number, your address, your browsing history, even your social security number, all kinds of information like that. They assemble it together and then sell it off. And these data brokers then enable those spammers to take advantage of us. Now, this is where Incogn comes in. It’s a fantastic tool because it reaches out to these data brokers on your behalf and takes that information down. They can do it because we have the right to have our information removed from these lists. But it’s a super cumbersome thing and there hundreds of these lists with more all the time. But if you sign up for incogn plan, that’s what I have. It will repeatedly send automated removal requests to data brokers and people’s search sites. You see, Incogn reaches out to these data brokers on your behalf, requests your personal data to be removed, and then handles any objections from their side. And the whole process, let’s automate it. Incogn also makes sure your data stays off the market by conducting repeated removals and taking your data down if it pops up again. Check out incogn.com/jbrooks for more information about this. If you want 60% off, head to incogn.com/jbrooks and use code Jeb Brooks at checkout. When you book a trip with Viking, there’s a lot that’s included. Of course, that means as much or as little food as you want. Wi-Fi is fast and free, too. There also fascinating lectures and classes, but our favorite has to be the included excursions at each port. And today, that means we’re going to check out the historic Homus House. Let’s head inside and look around. This house traces its history back to 1803. It was opened for tours in 2003 and has objects from its nearly 250ear history. The Viking includes excursions in each of the ports we visited. Our guided tour of the house and grounds came at no additional cost. We’ll share more about excursions as we continue, but let’s get back on board. Always got to exit through a gift shop. And the items in this gift shop were as eclectic as what we saw in the house. After a leisurely afternoon, it’s time to head back out. We’re headed to the captain’s toast to welcome us on board. Then time for a lecture before dinner. Like every night on board the Viking Mississippi, there was live music and time to enjoy the passing river. We’re traveling about 7 or 8 mph and uh we’ve got to yield to southbound traffic cuz they’ve got the the current behind it a little harder to navigate than it is for us. This ship uses the unique Voy Schneider propulsion system. It’s highly maneuverable and offers precise control, particularly at the slow speeds our ship operates. Good morning from St. Francisville. Today we’ll explore Baton Rouge. But for now, it’s time for a cup of coffee, a good book, and then some breakfast. We traveled in late March, and we’re very lucky with the weather. It was cool in the mornings, and we never saw an afternoon hotter than 80°. The route we’re taking between New Orleans and Memphis is the most popular one, but later in the summer, you can travel as far north as St. Paul, Minnesota. Viking are also beginning to introduce new routes along other rivers, including the Cumberland. But for now, let’s show you around our 400 square ft junior penthouse suite. This is our room tour. The balcony has to be a real highlight of the experience on this uh on this trip. And it’s worth noting every single room on the Viking Mississippi has a balcony. Now, our suite has this extra living room space, which we’ve really enjoyed. We’re traveling in March, which means it’s March Madness, and Suzanne has been cheering fervently for her Maryland turpps right here. Let’s go, Turpps. The television gets live TV. Uh there’s also a lot of information about the trip and the experience, which has been nice to enjoy here. There’s a second TV here, which is above this desk, which is a great place to get work done. But not only that, when it’s time to get ready, I can do my makeup at this vanity. One of the reasons we selected Viking was because they’re one of the few river ships that offers king-sized beds. I think maybe it’s time for new mattresses. The space is nice, but I’ve been having some back pain uh due to the mattress. So, um Viking, if you’re listening, maybe some new mattresses. There is one great feature to this bed, though, and that is ample space to store your luggage for the whole week. While we’re here, might as well talk about a couple things you should definitely pack for your Mississippi River trip. Bring a hat, of course, that sun is strong, and some sunscreen. I’d also throw in some bug spray. We’ve started to see some mosquitoes flying around. Definitely bring a rain jacket. You never know what the weather might bring. And all kinds of layers, shorts, pants. We’ve worn them all. Speaking of, there is an evening dress code. Elegant, casual. For ladies, that means slacks, a dress, a skirt, and a sweater or blouse. And for guys, it’s a collared shirt and pants. We always have it easier, don’t we? But let’s get back to that room tour. There’s a mini bar in here that gets refreshed every single day. So, no matter what we drink, it’s replaced the next day. I think probably we can all agree one of the best things about a cruise is the fact that you can unpack once and see the world with ease. There’s plenty of closet space in here. There’s also a coffee maker uh as well. Now, the bathrooms on board are really quite nice. There are two things I want to highlight in here. Come on in. One is the fact that there’s two sinks, sidebyside sinks. So, Suzanne and I both have our own space. That’s been very nice. And also the shower is way nicer than anything I expected on a ship. There’s great water pressure. Overall, this is a fantastic room. As always, we’ll share with you exactly what all this cost a little later in the video. But for now, let’s get back to the cruise. And that means getting off the ship, hopping onto a coach, and riding for about an hour for today’s excursion is here to the capital of Louisiana. This is Baton Rouge. That’s Huie Long, who built the tallest state capital building in the United States. We even got to visit the state’s museum which had a number of interactive exhibits. [Music] But it was time to return to the ship. And one thing you will not find on board is a gym. So I used the extra time before we departed to stretch my legs a bit. So I came out for a quick run uh just to get some some movement in for the day. And the closest structure to our dock is this prison. I’m really hoping they don’t think I’m an escape convict. I don’t think I’d last in there. Thankfully, but unsurprisingly, I was just fine. There are no docks at the ports we’re visiting on this itinerary. Instead, the crew intentionally grounds the ship onto the leveies. These are giant sloping hills designed to keep the river constrained. It’s where I was running earlier. There are around 3,500 m of these levies, making the system longer than the Great Wall of China. Now, our ship usually pulled away each evening around 6:00, and that meant we could often enjoy a beautiful sunset from the river. Tonight was no [Music] different. Good morning. Time to start another day uh here on the Mississippi. Today, we’ll be in Natchez, which sounds like a really amazing place. Uh, I can’t wait to learn more about what I think might be a really beautiful uh, town here in Louisiana. And after yet another leisurely morning, we decided it was time to get off the ship. It’s only about a 5 or 10 minute walk from the ship up to the town of Naches. So, let’s take a walk around and see what it’s all about. Naturally, the ship offers a a coach tour of the town, but we decided to dip out of that and explore it on our own. you know, between Suzanne’s map skills and uh our four feet between the two of us, we figured this would be a good way to see the see the town of Nachas. During the Civil War, when the Union forces came through here, the town of Natches just surrendered. And that’s why today there’s so many of these beautiful old buildings that are still surviving. With more than 1,000 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, Natchez is extremely walkable with lots of public art and clearly marked trails highlighting the area’s past. Unfortunately, some of it’s difficult. We paid a visit to the Proud to Take a Stand Monument honoring citizens who were wrongfully incarcerated in October 1965 for standing up for basic civil and voting rights. I think perhaps the most impactful part of this trip has been the opportunity to unpack the complicated, layered, painful parts of our past. I think that’s one of the reasons I would recommend this trip to you to explore this part of the American experience. We chose to eat lunch off the ship in this bank turned restaurant. The weather was perfect to eat on the sidewalk and it was a nice change of pace. Just like on Rocky Mountaineer, uh these coaches follow us the whole way along the river. It’s such a quick drive, makes sense to have the coaches readily accessible to us rather than getting new coaches at each uh at each stop. Again, Viking includes tours at each port, and we could have taken advantage of the coach tour of town, but preferred to walk around on our own, which of course we were free to do. There are a number of optional excursions available for an additional fee. Each day we get a copy of the Viking Daily, which is a rundown of what’s coming up today, which is the perfect time for 24 hours on the Mississippi. 6:15, time to start the [Music] day. 7:00 a.m. Sunrise on the bow. 7:30, time for breakfast. And with this robust menu, I couldn’t pass up an omelette. 8:30 my breakfast. Suzanne decided to head up to the river cafe. I joined for a cup of coffee. 9:45. Let’s head into town. Now, these ports are all pretty close to town. Easy walks. And if you need some extra help, they’re also golf carts to make it even easier. Can’t really stroll without coffee, can you? You may think, gosh, Jeb, you sure were smart to bring this umbrella out and put on your raincoat, aren’t you? Well, no, I wasn’t. As you would predict, Suzanne suggested that we get the umbrella and put on our rain coats. Jeb um gets a little impatient when he’s excited about going to explore a new place and didn’t want to like take the time to go get our rain gear after we saw these medicine clouds. Thank goodness for Suzanne’s planfulness. It’s worth it. 11:00 back in our room. A little time for reading and relaxing. 12:00 time for lunch. For the first and only time on board, we were joined by another couple for lunch. It was nice to meet our fellow passengers. Suzanne and I both opted for Reuben’s. 1:30 p.m. Headed off the ship for an excursion. Today’s excursion has us exploring the battlefield here at Vixsburg. Uh right now we’re checking out the USS CRO, which was a uh a Civil War gunboat. Uh these excursions that are included on these Viking uh Mississippi River cruise have been super interesting. We’ve gotten to see so many parts of this country that we otherwise wouldn’t. 4:30 back on board for drinks and appetizers. 6:00 attend a lecture. There was a dedicated destination specialist who gave regular lectures that we loved. Also, they brought in guest lectures offering specialized topics. These were definitely a major highlight of our time on board. 7:00 p.m. dinner. [Music] After a couple of salads to start, Suzanne decided to have the lamb shank and I went for the Chilean sea bass. 8:15 trivia. We lost, but that’s okay because it’s 8:45. Let’s catch some tunes. [Music] 10:00. Time for bed. We saw lots of barges during our trip, but the activity seemed to pick up even more as we sailed toward Greenville, Mississippi. This really gives you a sense that this is a working river. It’s not for pleasure boating. It’s not for fishing. It’s for It’s a work river. She’s right. Apart from this American Cruise Line ship we frequently saw during our trip, the only other ships we encountered were toes like these. They transport, for the most part, corn, soybeans, petroleum, and coal. Toes on the Mississippi can be more than 1,200 ft long and carry as much cargo as 2,8er trucks. This is the Greenville Bridge carrying what looks like Highway 82 across the Mississippi River. One of the main highlights of this experience so far has to be the food. It’s been high-end but approachable. Fine dining without being fussy. Just the kind of food we like. The menus in the restaurant and buffet are usually pretty similar, so you can eat in the way you want without being forced to choose based on what’s served where. One thing to note, however, is that the breakfast hours are a little confining. The restaurant is only open for breakfast from 7 until 8:30. The River Cafe has continental options available in the buffet from 6:00 to 9:30, but only offers hot items from 6:30 to 9:00. All that to say, if you like to sleep in, you may find these hours limiting. But again, the food has always been delicious. We really like the destination menus available each night with things like gumbo or crab beignetes. But if you’re looking for something fancier, you can find that, too. We had chat bon rack of lamb even this unforgettable duck laurange. You know our first night I said you could barely feel like the ship was moving and that has stayed true all week long. I would say like it would be pretty impossible to feel seasick on this ship. However, one factor I will say at night while the boat is sailing, there might be some noises and vibrations you would notice as the vessel navigates during the night. I still have two questions for Suzanne. First, what have you enjoyed most about your time on board the Viking Mississippi? I’m going to say two things. One is dining on board. The food has been very delicious. Buffet, restaurant, all of it. Very delicious. And the second thing I’ll say is catching the sunset on the river every night. So calm and so peaceful. That was one of my favorite times of day. I have loved the scenery. It’s been really interesting to see this part of the country. I’ve always wondered about it. I’ve always dreamed of sailing the Mississippi and this has been a fantastic experience. What have you not liked? River cruising always has this reputation of being older folks and I think for this ship especially, I would say maybe the average age is around the ‘7s. Um, and they’ve been nothing but friendly and lovely and welcoming to us. I would say um like lovely traveling companions. However, that means like on some of the excursions they’ve been kind of maybe more slower paced and less active than I would prefer. Yeah, I think it’d be really amazing to get a chance to, I don’t know, um, take a kayak out on the river a little bit or maybe a mountain bike along the the the the levies. I hope that when I’m in my 70s or 80s, I’m still traveling. I love it that much. I don’t think this is exclusive to that sort of age demographic. This is a ton of fun. Uh, the ship itself is fantastic, so well designed, so well laid out. I I hope I hope more folks of all generations will consider coming. That said, here on Viking, you have to be 18 years old to come on board a Viking ship. Let’s get to it. What do we pay for this week-long adventure on the Mississippi? The cost of a US river cruise is higher than a European river cruise. And the the reason for that is because this is a has to be a US-built ship that’s sailing in US waters with a US crew. And so both the cost to operate and the labor costs associated with are higher. So, if you’re thinking about a river cruise in Europe, well, it might actually be cheaper than this experience. The base room on an itinerary like this between Memphis and New Orleans is going to cost you around $5,000 per person. Yes, that is steep. And that’s for the base room. For our room, we paid about $6,500 per person for the week on board to our first river cruise. Skull. Skull. Between now and the next time. See you on the river. Our housekeeper just came in and uh Suzanne opened the door and she said, “Oh, you’re so young.” And then I walked around the corner like, “Oh, but wouldn’t you know, Jeb’s only like a year and a half older than me.” 29, 26 and 1/2. Old man River. M I S I S. I can’t spell it. Is this like second grade, third grade? That right there, that’s a large barge. What’s she drinking? It’s empty. It’s empty, guys. It’s a YouTube to YouTube. Sunset on Old Man River. Always a treat. This really gives you a sense that this is a working river, including us. We’re working right now. Hello, Jet Setters. I’m Jeff Brooks from greenergrass.com. Can’t escape Marty Gro. That said, you have to be 18 years old to come on board a Viking ship. So, none of you uh Gen Alpha, what are they now? Gen whatever. These new jet, these new kids can’t come here. From the Maldes to Natchez, greener grass takes you everywhere.

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Watch this video to see what it’s like to see what it’s like inside Viking’s Mississippi River Cruise! We’ll find out if a Viking River Cruise on the Mississippi River is really Worth It! This all-inclusive, First Class River Cruise along America’s most iconic river will impress you, for sure!

We’ll take you along as we travel for seven days and seven nights on an ultra luxury cruise from New Orleans, Louisiana to Memphis, Tennessee onboard one of the newest all inclusive River Ships in the world!

The Viking Mississippi has room for 386 passengers and 148 crew, which means we never felt crowded. That virtually guarantees a first class experience onboard and we’ll show you exactly what you can expect if you book this river cruise.

You’ll get a complete tour of the Viking Mississippi. We’ll give you our river cruise tips (including what to pack) for this experience on this the Viking Mississippi! This Viking River Cruise Review is our first time river cruising and we chose to do it right by traveling in a Junior Penthouse Suite, but not then again, every room has a balcony so this is a pretty amazing experience all around!

We’ll also show you the two restaurants onboard.

We’ll even tell you exactly what we paid for week onboard this adventure.

So, join Suzanne and me inside the Viking Mississippi as we travel with Viking along the magnificent, mighty Mississippi!!

0:00 Introduction
3:18 Viking Mississippi Ship Tour
6:35 Incogni
8:05 What’s Included?
10:02 Viking Mississippi Room Tour
15:54 24 Hours on the Mississippi River
19:20 Food on the Viking Mississippi
20:16 Final Thoughts
22:07 What did we pay?
22:51 Bloopers

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Music:
Vagabond Heart (Instrumental Version) – Arch Tremors
I’ll Be Alright (Instrumental Version) – Roy Williams
As You Make the Bed (Instrumental Version) – Amos Noah
New Plan (Instrumental Version) – Out To The World
Way Down South (Instrumental Version) – River Run Dry
Ole-Time Fiddlin’ – River Run Dry
Heart of Creation (Instrumental Version) – Peter Crosby
Dress Up (Instrumental Version) – Walking Hearts
Trick of the Memory (Instrumental Version) – Victor Lundberg
Don’t Let This Go (Instrumental Version) – Peter Crosby
A Tether (Instrumental Version) – Kylie Dailey
Riverboat Rambler (Instrumental Version) – Bo the Drifter
Friends Forever (Instrumental Version) – Kylie Dailey