Gray Line New Orleans

A New Orleans tour company built around the river

Gray Line New Orleans sells sightseeing tours in and around New Orleans, Louisiana, and presents them as its own: the homepage invites visitors onto "our riverboat jazz cruises on the Steamboat NATCHEZ or Riverboat CITY OF NEW ORLEANS" and describes "our New Orleans city bus tour, Louisiana plantation tours, haunted ghost tours, or cocktail and culinary experiences." The contact address is 400 Toulouse St, New Orleans, LA 70130, which is also the meeting point for the Steamboat NATCHEZ, and the brunch cruise terms name The New Orleans Steamboat Co. as the party that can substitute a vessel. The site does not spell out how Gray Line New Orleans and the steamboat company are related. Everything on the menu starts in New Orleans: the French Quarter riverfront, the city's neighborhoods and cemeteries, the swamps and bayous nearby, and plantations along the Mississippi. Prices are in US dollars.

The homepage headline claims "OVER 3,500 5-STAR REVIEWS!" and shows a selection of Tripadvisor reviews that name individual guides and drivers.

Cruises, swamps, plantations and city tours

Each tour card shows a "From" price in dollars, an age band and a duration. The river cruises are the largest group. Steamboat NATCHEZ runs a Daytime Jazz Cruise with Lunch ($65, 2 hours and 30 minutes), a Daytime Sightseeing Jazz Cruise ($43.50, 2 hours), an Evening Jazz Cruise with Dinner ($107.50, 3 hours), an Evening Sightseeing Jazz Cruise ($58) and Sunday brunch and sightseeing cruises. The Riverboat CITY of NEW ORLEANS runs a 75-minute narrated cruise at $25.75, a 75-minute cruise and aquarium package at $68 with admission to the Audubon Aquarium & Insectarium, a Saturday jazz brunch cruise at $80, and evening dinner ($107.50) and sightseeing ($59.50) jazz cruises.

Swamp tours come in two kinds. Pontoon swamp boat cruises include the Self Drive Flat Boat Swamp Cruise with no transportation ($35, 1 hour and 30 minutes), the Swamp and Bayou Alligator Tour ($65, 3 hours and 45 minutes) and a version of that tour with a seasonal party package at $90. Airboat tours, listed for ages 5+, run from the Self Drive Large Airboat Tour at $59 to the Small Airboat Tour with Seasonal Party Package at $144, which adds a cocktail and Mardi Gras-themed extras. Combination tours pair "the private Manchac Swamp" with Oak Alley or Whitney Plantation for $131 and 7 hours and 45 minutes. Oak Alley and Whitney are also sold on their own at $89 for 5 hours and 25 minutes; the Whitney card notes that the site opened to the public in 2014 as "the only plantation museum in Louisiana completely dedicated to the history of slavery."

On land, the New Orleans Interactive Ghosts & Spirits Walking Tour is $27 for 2 hours, and the City & Cemetery Sightseeing Tour + Garden District Stroll is $55 for 3 hours, ages 6+, and "covers 25 square miles of iconic New Orleans neighborhoods." New Orleans in a Day, including a 75-minute riverboat cruise, is $99 for 6 hours and 30 minutes. The New Orleans Craft Cocktail Walking Tour is $28 for ages 21+, with an upgraded version at $68, and a Cooking Class and Cocktail Walking Tour is $105.50 for 4 hours. A seasonal section lists holiday tours, including a Cajun Holiday Bonfire Celebration with Dinner at Felicity Plantation ($150, 5 hours) that the site labels "Gray Line Exclusive" and a Christmas Eve Bonfire Adventure with Destrehan Plantation ($189).

The brunch cruise in detail

The Sunday Jazz Cruise with Brunch on the Steamboat NATCHEZ has the fullest page. Prices are $80 for adults 13+, $40 for children 6 to 12, $25 for infants 2 to 5 and $72 for seniors 65+, though the same page also says "Children under 6 cruise free with paid adult. Food & Beverage costs apply," so it is worth checking which applies at booking. The morning cruise has a calliope concert at 10:30am, boarding at 11:00am and cruising from 11:30am to 1:30pm; the afternoon cruise has its calliope concert at 1:45pm, boards at 2:00pm and cruises from 2:30pm to 4:30pm. Included are a Creole brunch buffet prepared on board (gumbo, shrimp and grits, Belgian waffles, bread pudding and more), live jazz by the Steamboat Stompers and captain's narration. Coffee and iced tea are included; cocktails, beer and wine are sold at the bars on board.

The rules are stated plainly. "Dress code is dressy casual," the vessel is non-smoking "both indoors and on the outside decks," and "Reservations required for all meal functions." The kitchen can point vegan and vegetarian guests to suitable items but is "unable to prepare separate individual meals," and the menu "is not recommended for those with gluten-sensitive disorders." On access, the page says "The riverboat is handicap accessible. However, access to the top deck is by stairs only," and asks guests with questions about access or equipment to call before booking. Parking is not included, though the page says it is available onsite through Premium Parking.

Booking and terms

Tours are booked online through the site's calendar. Groups of 10 or more get group rates, and on the NATCHEZ they "require physical tickets for boarding" collected at the Lighthouse Ticket Office. The menu also includes charter buses, a Good Times Pass, Groupon redemption, gift cards and an FAQs page. The cancellation terms shown on the brunch cruise page are strict: "We cruise rain or shine. Should the vessel be unable to leave the dock for any reason beyond our control, entertainment and meal service go on as scheduled, full rates shall remain in full force and effect." Contact is (504) 569-1401 or tours@glnosc.com.

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

The brunch cruise page does not say whether a booking can be canceled or refunded by the guest, only what happens if the boat cannot sail. The tour cards give price, age band and duration but not pick-up points for the swamp and plantation tours, group sizes or guide languages, and the Good Times Pass is listed without an explanation on the homepage.

The strengths are breadth and clarity. The site prices nearly every product in plain dollars with a duration next to it, offers self-drive versions of the swamp tours for people with a car, and gives the river cruises detailed menus, timetables and house rules. It suits first-time visitors who want to book a jazz cruise, a swamp tour and a city tour in one place, families (most cards are marked all ages), and groups of 10 or more. Travelers who need flexible cancellation should read the terms for their tour before paying.