Transportation Lesson #1: 8 Steamboat Rides Ranked by Ticket Price

Photo by Krenda

One of the ways Cincinnati inspired me is its history, especially on the waterfront I feel connected to bustling years of commerce and drama.
 
Cincinnati celebrated the steamboating era with a festival named “Tall Stacks Festival”. Over half a million people visited and more than a dozen steamboats visit the Cincinnati port.

The Magnolia Belle, The Natchez, The Mississippi Queen, The PA Denny, Delta Queen, General Jackson, Majestic, Spirit of Peoria, and more have all docked upon the Cincinnati shore.  The Tall Stacks Festival had so many steamboats and ride options, making it difficult to choose.  We enjoyed cruise both during the day and at night.

You don't need to wait for a festival.  If you want to treat your family to a steamboat ride, here's a few options in descending cost order:

1.  The African Queen (Marina del Mar, Florida) - family four approx. $200
Famous because it starred alongside Humphrey Bogart and Katherin Hepburn in The African Queen movie.  The $49 cruise takes you down the Port Largo Canals to Atlantic Ocean.  The two hour dinner cruise cost $89.  If you time it right, you may also attend the Humphrey Bogart Film Festival in May.

2.  General Jackson (Nashville, TN, Opryland) - family of four approx. $150
The largest inland shipbuilder in the US (Jeffboat in Indiana) built one of the largest showboats in the world.  Multiple shows available.  Taste of TN showband or Sunday in the South show $45 cruise and balcony seat, $30 child.  Nashville Nights show $60 adult, $45 child.  Pay more for better seats and/or meal.

3.  Katahdin, Maine (Moosehead Lake, Maine) - family four approx. $140
Leisure boat turned to log hauling vehicle and back to leisure boat docked at the Moosehead Marine Museum.  Katahdin operates June to Columbus Day with multiple cruise options:  Sugar Island cruise 3 Hours $35 each, Mt. Kineo cruise 5 Hours to see cliff side of Kineo Mountain $40 each, Head of the Lake Cruise 8 Hours $75 to Seboomook and includes dinner

4.  Steamboat Natchez (New Orleans, LA) - family four approx. $128
Cruise on New Orlean's only steamboat while enjoying the music.  Jazz cruise $48 adult and $21 children.  Jazz pianist or jazz trio plays.

5.  Sabino Conneticut (Mystic, Conneticut) - family four approx. $76
Sabino is believed to be the oldest wooden coal-fired steamboat still operating in the United States.  The 90 minute downriver cruise costs $18 per person, but does not require museum admission.  Sabino offers shorter, cheaper ride.  The half hour cruise costs only $8, but that offer requires Mystic Seaport Museum admission ($29 adult, $19 child age 4-14).  Although I did not cruise the Sabino, I admired it in the sunset.
 
6.  Belle of Louisville (Louisville, KY, Ohio River) - family of four approx. $66
Take a sightseeing cruise on one of the oldest operating steamboats in the world (built in 1914).  The Belle operates April to October with a capacity of 1914.   

7.  Minne-Ha-Ha (Lake George, NY) - family of four approx. $47
Minne-Ha-Ha was built in Lake George in 1969, not Minnehaha Minnesota.  Lake George Steamboat Company offers rides spring, summer, and fall including a summer pirate cruise giving kids treasure bags.  The one hour cruise costs $16 for adults and $7.50 for kids.  When you disembark, enjoy the sounds of a steam calliope on dock.

8.  Minnehaha, Minnesota (Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota) - deal during special events $20 for four total!
It once ferried residents and then sank in 1926 and raised in 1980.  It has a 90 person max. capacity.  Standard cruise $15 adult and $5 children or 2 hour Grand Minnetonka Voyage $25, but check out specific dates for special events with $5 special pricing:  Excelsior Art on the Lake (June), Wayzata JJ Hill Days (Sept.), and Excelsior Apple Day (Sept.)