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Savannah Riverboat Cruises

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Savannah Riverboat Cruises - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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Testimonials

"We stopped to take a ride while passing through Savannah. And it was a great idea, the staff was phenomenal and so was the food! This is a must do if you're in the area!" Karson M.

Narrated Harbor Sightseeing Cruise

• Narrated Harbor Sightseeing

During our new 1 ½ hour cruise you can experience the river that is the lifeblood of Savannah! Hear our Captain’s intriguing tales and historic facts about our modern port and the ships that visit from all over the world. Then make your way down river to Old Fort Jackson, home of one of the largest and oldest original artillery pieces in the country! Take advantage of the great photo opportunities of Savannah’s historic riverfront and skyline.

FULL BAR AND GRILL AVAILABLE! ORDER DELICIOUS DRINKS, APPETIZERS, SALADS, SANDWICHES, ENTREES & MORE!

  Adults $36.95 each | Children( 5-12)  $23.95 each Children 4 & under are complimentary

Boarding at 12:30 p.m., Sailing at 1:00 p.m., Returning at 2:30 p.m. Every Saturday & Sunday in December & January Every Wednesday through Sunday in February Daily from March through November PLUS December 26-31

Boarding at 3:00 p.m., Sailing at 3:30 p.m., Returning at 5:00 p.m. Saturday only in February, March & November Daily from April through October

*Prices do not include state tax, local tax, or port fees.   Our boats are centrally docked in historic downtown Savannah. We are located directly behind city hall and within walking distance to most accommodations in Savannah’s historic district.

**MENUS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT THE DISCRETION OF SAVANNAH RIVERBOAT CRUISES**

Celebrating a birthday? Anniversary? Add one of our many s pecial events packages to customize your cruise!

*Dates, times and prices of cruises are correct at the time of publication but are subject to change without notice.

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90-Minute Savannah Riverboat Sightseeing Cruise

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You will receive an incredible experience to see Georgia's historic "First City" and her thriving port from the water's unique perspective. Decked out in traditional red, white and blue these towering riverboats are a staple along Savannah's historic riverfront.  

Hear our Captain’s intriguing tales and historic facts about our modern port and the ships that visit from all over the world. Then make your way down river to Old Fort Jackson, home of one of the largest and oldest original artillery pieces in the country! Take advantage of the great photo opportunities of Savannah’s historic riverfront and skyline. Bar & Grille available on top deck.

Description

Stop At: Savannah Riverboat Cruises, 9 E River St, Savannah, Georgia 31401

Decorated in traditional riverboat red, white, and blue, floating palaces continue to transport visitors back to a time when elegance and relaxation were expected from river travel. The sightseeing cruises have a live guide.

Both riverboats offer a glass-enclosed climate-controlled dining and observation deck with panoramic views, open-air patio, and has numerous bench seats that line the upper decks for incredible city views and plenty of sunshine.. Anytime is a good time for a cruise down the river. 

Come and enjoy Savannah’s only riverboat tour experience!

Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Pass By: Old Fort Jackson, 1 Fort Jackson Rd, Savannah, Georgia 31404

Make your way down river to Old Fort Jackson, home of one of the largest and oldest original artillery pieces in the country! Take advantage of the great photo opportunities of Savannah’s historic riverfront and skyline.

Pass By: Historic River Street, River St., Savannah, Georgia 31401

A broad waterfront promenade lined with shopping, dining, and entertainment venues, River Street is one of the main arteries of the historic city.

• Reservations are REQUIRED for all bookings
• Book Your Package On-Line and Receive Your Confirmation
• Departure point: Detailed check-in instructions - including the address and parking information if applicable - will be included in your final confirmation email.
• Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes (Approx.)
• Return Details: Returns to original departure point

What's Included

• Bar & Grille on top deck
• Hear the Captain’s tales and historic facts about our modern port and the visiting ships
• Take advantage of the great photo opportunities of Savannah’s historic riverfront and skyline
• Fully Narrated Cruise
• 90-Minute Savannah Riverboat Cruise
• Gratuities (Optional)
• Hotel pickup and drop-off
• *THIS CRUISE DOES NOT INCLUDE LUNCH BUFFET* please see luncheon cruise

What To Bring

• Confirmation Voucher (printed or mobile)
• Any required or suggested items listed on your confirmation email.

Additional Info

• Wheelchair accessible
• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Riverboats do not have a dress code
• Boarding ramps and main decks of each vessel are accessible by wheelchairs
• The main deck of the Savannah River Queen is handicapped accessible, but restrooms are not
• Yes, smoking is allowed, but only on the outside decks. No smoking is allowed anywhere on the interior cabin of the boat
• A cash bar is available on all cruises for the purchase of alcoholic beverages; minimum drinking age is 21 years
• No walking is required for our tour
• The boarding ramps and main decks of each vessel are accessible by wheelchairs. The Georgia Queen is handicapped accessible and is outfitted with a passenger elevator and handicapped accessible restrooms. The main deck of the Savannah River Queen is handicapped accessible, but restrooms are not. Please contact our ticket office with questions.
• YOU MUST ALLOW AN EXTRA 30-60 MINUTES TO FIND PARKING IN DOWNTOWN SAVANNAH. YOU WILL NOT BE OFFERED A REFUND IF YOU MISS THE BOAT.

Cancellation Policy

This tour is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

• This tour requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
• This tour requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Average 4.02 out of 5 stars based on 2,701 traveler reviews collected by Cool Savannah and partner sites such as Cool Destinations and TripAdvisor

Still have questions?

We’re here to help. Call Us , " data-help-center="text-us"> Text Us , or Live Chat to speak with a Destination Specialist Product code: C-49191P1

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Riverboat Cruises in Savannah, GA

Join our savannah boat tours.

Come aboard the River Explorer, conveniently located on River Street in downtown Savannah. Join us on sightseeing eco-tours of the Lowcountry and cruise the river, pass containerships, and take in the sights and wildlife as you head to the Port of Savannah. Ready for a fun Savannah adventure? Book your cruises from Savannah, Georgia online below!

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Dolphin Eco Tour Cruise

Come aboard the River Explorer and learn the history of Savannah and its surrounding waterways as you head out in search of our local Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins. Book your dolphin tour in Savannah online today!

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Port Tour of Savannah

Learn about the history of the Port of Savannah and what it has done for the state of Georgia, and all of America. No Savannah port tour is alike since the Port of Savannah is changing everyday! Book your tour online.

Sunset Dolphin Eco Tour Cruise

The only thing that could make a day spent in Savannah better is to finish it off on the water with a breathtaking sunset surrounded by the natural beauty of the Lowcountry waterways! Book your sunset cruise in Savannah, GA online today.

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Private Charters

Savannah Harbor Cruises offers private charters. Our vessel is perfect for groups of up to 49 passengers. Fill out an inquiry for pricing and availability today!

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July 4th Fireworks Cruise

Come celebrate America’s Birthday with the crew aboard the River Explorer! Savannah, being the first planned city in America, really knows how to throw a good party. Book your Savannah riverboat cruise with us online!

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The Georgia Queen and Savannah Riverboat Cruises

Savannah riverboat cruises’: the georgia queen..

It is a 1,000-passenger riverboat that traveled 2,800 miles down the Mississippi River, down and around the shorelines of Florida to call Savannah her home.

The Georgia Queen is a great way to see the city and is one of the most unique social gathering destinations in Savannah, but its impact on local tourism and economic development will be substantial with the added ability to attract large conferences and conventions.”

Built in 1995 as a luxury floating casino for 14 million dollars, the majestic 1800s paddlewheel-style riverboat spent several years traveling the Mississippi River. When gambling legislation changed, allowing land-based casinos to open, the riverboat underwent a four-million-dollar makeover. Today, this spectacular paddlewheel-style riverboat acts as Savannah Riverboat Cruises’ Savannah River Queen’s grand sister ship.

The Georgia Queen measures an impressive 230 feet long, 64 feet wide and towering at 68 feet tall.

She is among the top elite in the country with a capacity of 1,000 passengers, plus a 200-person crew, making her the size of a small cruise ship at 38,000 square feet. The ship’s entertainment spaces include three grand ballrooms with over 15,000 square feet of dining space. It offers more than 5,000 square feet of open-air top deck space with patio seating. This affords more than enough room to accommodate a romantic riverboat wedding on the Savannah River.

The Georgia Queen also boasts a multi-deck, fully equipped gourmet kitchen. It is also equipped with a large service elevator, making traveling between galleys discrete and easy. This onboard kitchen will change the entire dining experience for guests. This will allow for more plated dinner opportunities and flexibility in menu items.

“Experiencing Savannah from our beautiful riverfront is such a unique experience,” Visit Savannah President Joseph Marinelli said.

“Savannah Riverboat’s guests are treated to refreshing breezes, fun entertainment, and some of the best southern cuisine Savannah offers. They can view Georgia’s oldest city as her founders did many years ago when they arrived by river in 1733. Jonathan and his team have been providing unforgettable narrated tours of Savannah’s harbor for 25 years. The Georgia Queen is a game-changer for their business. It will be another valuable asset to the thriving tourism and hospitality offerings of Savannah.”

For more information about Savannah Riverboat Cruises, or to make a reservation on one of their cruises, go to savannahriverboat.com or call (912) 232-6404.

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St. Patrick's Day in Savannah: Everything you need to know for the 2024 parade, celebration

Grab anything and everything green! St. Patrick's Day is nearing.

The 2024 St. Patrick's Day parade in Savannah marks the 200th anniversary of the celebration.

“We’re so excited for our 200th, what this means for our city,” Mayor Van Johnson said. “And, in classic Savannah fashion, we’re gonna celebrate like no one has ever celebrated before. As a matter of fact, we told New York they better watch themselves because Savannah might have the biggest celebration in this country this year.”

For Savannahians preparing for the big day or visitors coming to town for the party, here's everything you need to know about this year's festivities.

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When is the 2024 St. Patrick's Day parade in Savannah?

The St. Patrick's Day parade falls on March 16 this year, with the actual holiday falling on a Sunday. The route, which can be found HERE , will start at East Gwinnett and Abercorn streets before heading north on Abercorn all the way to Broughton Street. The route then turns east to East Broad where it will head north to Bay Street. Once on Bay Street, the parade will head west it hits Savannah City Hall, where it will then turn south and take Bull Street to Madison Square, the parade's end.

The parade starts at 10:15 a.m.

Here are answers to parade FAQs:

• Where are public restrooms during the St. Patrick's Day parade?
• Where can I park for the parade?
• Where are the best places to watch the parade?
• Are shuttles and buses running on parade day? What about CAT buses?

The History of the Savannah St. Patrick's Day parade

The 2024 parade marks the 200th anniversary of this Savannah event.

The celebration of Irish culture has grown from its 1824 gathering to a major annual tourist attraction, with thousands flocking to the city in March.

A historical marker honoring the parade was unveiled and blessed on Feb. 24 , just prior to a ceremonial walking of the original parade route.

Photos from previous St. Patrick's Day parades

To see Savannah Morning News photos from various years, check out the galleries below.

Savannah plans a supersized 200th anniversary celebration of its beloved St. Patrick's Day parade

Savannah, Georgia's oldest city, is planning a supersized celebration as it marks the 200th anniversary of its beloved St. Patrick's Day parade

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- There was no green beer, no pickup trucks towing parade floats or throngs of tourists in gaudy green outfits. Instead, just a few dozen of Savannah's early Irish immigrants marched a half-mile from a hotel near the riverfront to attend a special service at what then was the city's only Roman Catholic church.

That modest procession on March 17, 1824, launched one of the most beloved — and profitable — traditions in Savannah. On Saturday, Georgia's oldest city will celebrate the 200th anniversary of its St. Patrick's Day parade, which has grown over time into one of America's largest. Thousands of revelers are expected to cram sidewalks and squares along the parade route through Savannah's downtown historic district.

More than 18,000 hotel rooms in Savannah and surrounding Chatham County are nearly sold out for the weekend. The parade lineup is bursting with at least 230 pipe-and-drum bands, chauffeur-driven dignitaries, marching military units and shamrock-decorated floats. Downtown bars have stocked up on extra kegs of beer, and the city has rented more than 320 portable toilets for those imbibing.

“We’re expecting historic crowds from visitors and residents alike,” said Savannah City Manager Jay Melder.

Over the past two centuries, St. Patrick's Day in Savannah has morphed into perhaps the South's biggest street party between Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Florida's raucous spring break.

It's a far cry from how Savannah's celebration began.

Founded as a nondenominational charity to assist poor Irish immigrants, the Hibernian Society of Savannah had an important day planned on March 17, 1824. The group invited Bishop John England, an Irish native appointed to lead the newly formed Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina, to come to Savannah and speak at the city's Roman Catholic church.

The Hibernians hosted England on St. Patrick's Day during their morning meeting at the City Hotel near the bluff overlooking the Savannah River. Then they marched in procession, accompanied by a band and a flag-bearer whose banner was decorated with a symbolic Irish harp and shamrocks, to hear the bishop speak at noon at St. John the Baptist Church.

“May the example of Savannah be widely influential,” the bishop told an audience of both Catholics and Protestants inside the packed church while a crowd of onlookers stood outside in the rain, the Savannah Republican newspaper reported. “Here men who differ in religion may meet as friends and brethren.”

Afterward, the Irish society marched back to the hotel, where the bishop joined about 80 members for an evening banquet marked by a steady stream of toasts, said Howard Keeley, director of the Center for Irish Research and Teaching at Georgia Southern University.

“They partied the night away, apparently,” said Keeley, who studies the history of Irish immigrants in Georgia. “It was a big celebration. The Hibernians had always had these celebrations since their founding in 1812. This one was just kind of amped up by the presence of the bishop.”

Like even older St. Patrick's Day parades in New York and Boston, Savannah's parade is likely rooted in military units celebrating the holiday during the American Revolution, Keeley said. He noted there are accounts of Irish-born soldiers marching on St. Patrick's Day while serving under George Washington.

Savannah's celebration grew along with its Irish population. Laborers from Ireland settled in the Southern port city in the 1830s to help build railroads and canals. In the 1840s, the potato famine in Ireland drove as many as 2 million immigrants to U.S. shores, causing Savannah's Irish-born population to double, Keeley said.

In the decades following the Civil War, Savannah's holiday started showing glimmers of the more commercially driven celebrations to come.

Local clothing stores stocked green neckties and gloves by 1875, according to “The Days We've Celebrated,” a history of St. Patrick's Day festivities in Savannah by the late William L. Fogarty, who served as the parade's 1986 grand marshal.

And following the 1888 celebration, a newspaper reported that Savannah officials had ordered businesses to close for a day because "the city is agitated by Sunday cocktails.”

Even by the 1960s, Savannah's parade had yet to become a full-blown tourism dynamo.

Tim Mahoney, chairman of the parade's organizing committee, recalled that when his father held the same post in 1969, the parade got planned “on somebody's dining room table” and was pulled together from high school bands, locally based military units and Savannah's Irish families.

“They had no money; they had no resources,” Mahoney said. "But in true Irish leadership fashion they just rolled up their sleeves and said, `Heck, we’re going to make this parade happen.'”

Though some may refer to this year's celebration as Savannah's 200th parade, that's incorrect. The coronavirus pandemic caused City Hall to cancel St. Patrick's Day parades in 2020 and 2021, and there were several prior years in which Savannah went without a parade — including during the Civil War, World War I and the Irish Revolution in 1921.

The 200th anniversary parade is being held a day early, on Saturday, in keeping with another longstanding Savannah tradition. Whenever the March 17 holiday falls on a Sunday, organizers move the parade to Saturday to avoid disrupting church services.

Officials expect visitors to arrive even sooner and start celebrating in earnest Thursday. They'll find park fountains gushing with green-dyed water. Several downtown buildings including City Hall and the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist are temporarily glowing green at night thanks to special lighting.

What would the forefathers of Savannah's celebration think?

“They would be blown away," Mahoney said.

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Manatee found dead in waters off of River Street

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — It was a sad sight Sunday when a dead manatee was spotted off of the river walk on River Street.

This photo shows a manatee that was washed up on the rock across the street from River Street Sweets.

This is an unusual sight for Georgia Department of Natural Resources Senior Marine Mammal Biolife Manager Jessica Thompson.

She says that manatees don’t migrate up the river this time of year due to the cold water temperatures, as they can’t tolerate prolonged exposure to it.

This mammal is protected in the state by Georgia’s Endangered Wildlife Act of 1973 and federally under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.

“This is a pivotal act protecting marine mammals and we are working with companies to limit their warm water output,” said Thompson.

Thompson shares that manatees are also attracted to warm water and can be found in colder waters attracted to the warm outfalls from manufacturers near water.

While manatees do not have any natural predators, they are still a threatened species listed as vulnerable to extinction.

“Manatees are attracted to fresh water. If you see a manatee, make sure not to give it water from a hose or lettuce to eat because then that influences their behavior to get closer to humans,” said Thompson.

Due to loss of habitat and boat collisions , their numbers have plummeted, according to Ocean Today.

“They are slow, gentle mammals, and it is important to keep an eye out for them on a vessel and slow down or stop your boat, and just enjoy nature until they pass,” said Thompson.

Although these laws are in place, their numbers are still on the decline.

If you encounter any sighting of a manatee, dead or alive, contact (800) 2-SAVE-ME (1-800-272-8363 ).

Take a picture and pin your location to help officials locate the animals to help further their research and protect these gentle giants.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV.

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Savannah city council unanimously approves 200th annual st. patrick's day parade.

Savannah City Council officially gave the green light to hold the 200th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade Thursday afternoon, promising to "keep the city green."

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Mayor Van Johnson handed the permit to hold the parade to 2024 Grand Marshal John Forbes after both parties thanked each other for their hard work and preparation leading up to the big weekend.

"We offer this parade permit to the Grand Marshal with our most humble and sincere congratulations and best wishes on a 200th celebration of Savannah's St. Patrick's Day parade," said Mayor Van Johnson.

In his remarks, Johnson shared a story about how he visited Ireland last year and spoke with mayors around the country.

"You understand that there were people there who were leaving during the potato famine, and in America, they found opportunity," Johnson said. "They found their lives, and those connections are still there. So, we are celebrating the connectivity."

"I wanted to commend you, gentlemen, for all of your extraordinary work throughout the year to make this parade possible," Forbes said. "It is the greatest celebration of your heritage and one of the largest of our faith."

However, city leaders and parade officials threw some jokes at each other.

"Oh, there's something you needed," Johnson said, with a laugh. "I remember, maybe you can help me. I want to finish the parade the same day that it started. I don't want to be near the horses at the end or by the street cleaners."

Forbes laughed and accepted his proposal before accepting the award. However, his committee recognized the 200th annual parade is not actually parade number 200, and the city will need four parades a year for the next 31.5 years to make up.

Jay Melder, Savannah city manager, swiftly shot that down.

The 200th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade will begin at 10:15 a.m. this Saturday, with the starting line at the corner of Gwinnett and Abercorn streets. For more information, follow this link .

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