Mary M. Miller and Belle of Louisville Cruises

I am getting started on my summer bucket list! I get a reminder of these delightful pending items when I drove past and got to hear the Belle's calliope tooting away. In a short span of six days, I was able to cruise on Mary M. Miller and the Belle of Louisville. Both were fantastic experiences that I highly recommend!

I wanted to experience the Mary M. Miller first, since I had already cruised on the Belle. If you don't recognize her name, Mary M. Miller was the first female to earn her riverboat captain's license. Mary M. Miller (the boat) just came to Louisville in 2017, so I was excited to give her a spin. The date I scheduled the trip turned out to be a rain-saturated, foggy day, but she still launched! The Ohio River was churning with some good atmospheric mist.

I planned ahead and got the brunch buffet, which included a wide variety of comfort foods.

Afterward, I went up on the deck to get some fresh - rainsoaked - air, which did not lessen the experience. A DJ played music and shared tidbits of information as we cruised on, like the high mark of the 1937 flood, the Louisville Water Tower, and the former home of Jeffboat.

The next weekend, I scheduled the Belle of Louisville. As you can see, I got a beautiful, blue-sky day! For my non-Louisville readers, the Belle is more than 100 years old, and she is the oldest river steamboat in operation. She is on the National Register of Historic Places, and a National Historic Landmark, to boot.

This is that historic steamboat wheel at work!

The view coming back was stunning, and a super cool way to see the variety of the Ohio River bridges!

There are all kinds of cruises, like up to Madison or down through the Locks. I encourage you to schedule a trip, even if you think you've already experienced the Belle or Mary M. Miller. See you out there!

Click here for Belle of Louisville's website.