An agreement with American Cruise Lines will soon bring tourists via the Mississippi River to Vacherie. Cruises that run from New Orleans to Memphis and the Crescent City to Baton Rouge will make a stop along the way and visit the river parishes. Executive Director of the River Parishes Tourist Commission Jay Robichaux said it’s welcome news for the area.
“This is huge for the river parishes because it’s going to bring approximately 150 people a day to the river parishes,” said Robichaux.
Robichaux said they already have tours lined up for passengers to visit Oak Alley plantation and passengers will have even more excursion options in the future in St Charles, St John, and St. James parishes.
“We have ziplining, we have swamp tours, we have seven plantations in the area that we can show the culture and the history of the river parishes,” said Robichaux.
The newer cruise ships don’t need a dock to unload passengers. The vessels can edge their nose to even land and passengers can disembark. But Robichaux a dock is in the works. He said after COVID, and Hurricane Ida tourists will bring a well-needed boost to the economy, and they are ready to welcome them ashore.
“Now we’re back, now we’re welcoming people into the river parishes, we’re ready to show off the culture, we’re ready to show off everything that we offer in the river parishes,” said Robichaux.
They expect ships will be cleared by the Corps of Engineers to stop in Vacherie in the next few weeks.
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