General Jackson Showboat Lunch or Dinner Cruise in Nashville
Description
Take a Musical Lunch/Dinner Riverboat Cruise in Nashville! Cruise down the scenic Cumberland River on the General Jackson Showboat, on one of the largest paddlewheel riverboats in the country. Enjoy lunch or dinner and a musical performance in the riverboat’s beautiful Victorian dinner theatre. Lunch Cruise A mid-day cruise. This thrilling show includes a delicious lunch and a cruise down the Cumberland River on the beautiful General Jackson Showboat. Dinner Cruise What a thrill to cruise the Cumberland River on the beautiful General Jackson Showboat. Your night will include a Las Vegas style show with a dynamic cast of entertainers, elaborate costumes, dancers and a live orchestra. The evening includes a delicious dinner, the show and a three-hour cruise.
Tour Options
Itinerary
After being picked up from your Nashville hotel, you'll board the General Jackson Showboat, one of the largest paddle-wheel boats in the country, and journey down the Cumberland River. This magnificent vessel is designed to evoke the showboats that navigated American rivers in the 19th century. Take in the beautiful views of the Nashville skyline while you relax on either the indoor or outdoor decks. Inside the lovely Victorian theater, you’ll enjoy a traditional Southern meal. For sample lunch and dinner menus, please refer to the Itinerary section below. Next, you'll be entertained with live performances! On the lunch cruise, you can look forward to a comedy show filled with classic Southern humor. On the dinner cruise, enjoy a live orchestra along with a vibrant cast of dancers in stunning costumes. After your cruise, you'll be returned to your hotel
View the Cumberland River Pedestrian Bridge.
Ride aboard the General Jackson Showboat.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Please note: Hotel pick-up is offered at select downtown Nashville hotels only. • Lunch Cruise: Please be ready in the Hotel Lobby for pick up by 10:30am for the Lunch Cruise at 12pm. • Dinner Cruise: Please be ready in the Hotel Lobby for pick up by 5:30pm for the Dinner cruise at 7:00pm.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Vegetarian and gluten-free meals are available upon advance notice
- Accessibility: ADA-compliant vehicles are available for most tours if you provide us with a 48-hour notice. After scheduling your tour.
Reviews(1,541)
The river boat itself is very genuine, attractive, and impressive. However, with a lack of environmental control of the air-conditioning, the evening experience with regards to dinner and the musical performance was compromised, making it less than expected.
Thank you for sharing your thoughtful feedback. We’re glad you appreciated the General Jackson’s impressive riverboat and unique atmosphere, though we’re sorry the temperature affected your enjoyment of the dinner and entertainment. Gray Line Tennessee provides transportation to and from the General Jackson as a partner experience and does not operate the cruise itself. We’ll make sure your comments are passed along to the appropriate team. Thank you!
No air conditioning so portable units were brought in. Still very uncomfortable hot and sweaty, especially while dining. We should have been given the option to get a refund but was not told no air conditioning prior to boarding.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re sorry the temperature affected your experience, particularly while dining and enjoying the entertainment. Gray Line Tennessee only provides transportation to and from the General Jackson as a partner experience and does not operate the riverboat itself, but we will certainly pass your comments along to their team. We really appreciate you bringing this to our attention!
The performance was exceptional. All of the singers and the musicians were so very talented and we enjoyed their performances so much. The food was good. Unfortunately we were there when the AC was out of service and it was incredibly hot. If we weren’t from out of town we would have rebooked but …. The company did warn us ahead of time and did do the best they could.
Thank you for sharing your experience. We’re so glad the exceptional singers and musicians made such a positive impression and that you enjoyed the meal and entertainment. We’re sorry the temperature affected your experience, although we appreciate your understanding and recognition of the efforts made by the General Jackson team. Gray Line Tennessee only provides transportation to and from this partner experience, and we’ll be sure to pass along your feedback. Thank you for spending part of your Nashville visit with us!
We had a wonderful time on the General Jackson Riverboat cruise. The meal was outstanding and views of the city from the boat were stunning. This was the perfect way to relax on our last evening in Nashville.
Thank you for such a lovely review! We’re delighted the General Jackson provided the perfect way to relax and enjoy your final evening in Nashville, especially with the delicious meal and beautiful views of Music City from the river. Gray Line Tennessee is proud to provide transportation to and from this popular partner experience. Thank you for choosing us, and we hope you left Nashville with wonderful memories!
The best river cruise out of 4 I have been on but the photo shop charge me and did not deliver the digital photos . I didn’t appreciate that.
Thank you for sharing your feedback, and we’re glad to hear the General Jackson was the best river cruise you’ve experienced! Gray Line Tennessee provides transportation to and from the General Jackson as a partner experience and does not operate the cruise or photography services, but we’ll be sure to pass your feedback along to their team. We appreciate you choosing Gray Line Tennessee and hope you’ll consider us for a Nashville sightseeing experience on a future visit.
It was 98 degrees, there was no air conditioning on the shuttle bus. There was no air conditioner on the ship. They said the air conditioner broke. The carrots were hard. The chicken was very dry and hard to cut. The strawberry daqcuri was $24 for 24 Oz. It was soupy. The boat could have a least offered a partial refund or at least given everyone a free drink
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about your General Jackson experience. We’re sorry to hear that the evening did not provide the comfortable experience you had anticipated, particularly during such warm Nashville weather. While Gray Line TN provides transportation to and from the General Jackson as a partner experience and does not operate the cruise itself, we will absolutely make sure your feedback is passed along to the appropriate team. We’re appreciate you bringing your concerns to our attention.
Fun experience. Food and atmosphere was good. Nice to walk around for different views. Would definitely do again with a group.
Thank you for sharing your experience! We’re happy to hear you enjoyed the atmosphere, food, and different views from the boat. Gray Line Tennessee is proud to provide transportation to and from the General Jackson as part of this partner experience. We appreciate your recommendation and hope to welcome your group back to Nashville again!
My son and I went to the show. The performers were outstanding and the staff was amazing. We had a great time!
My wife and I took the noon tour from Opryland and back on the General Jackson on a Sunday in August 2026. It was a very nice tour. We parked right across from the landing in the Opryland parking lot and walked right on to the showboat. We enjoyed talking with one of the deckhands as we cast off. A nice buffet lunch was served. We ate kind of light for unrelated reasons, but thought the chicken and salad was good. So was dessert. The ride from Opryland down the river to Nashville was nice, and when we turned around to go back to Opryland, we picked up a pack of jet-ski'ers who played in the wake of the riverboat most of the way. The kids loved this. After lunch a really good show was performed. The kids enjoyed it too. We sort of sat back and enjoyed watching the performers just play for their own pleasure (it really seemed like they were just having fun). The musical performance lasted until about 10 minutes before the boat docked for us to disembark.
The majority of the cruse there was little to no scenery until you went under Highway 24 bridge then you were able to see downtown for about 15-20 minutes but that was in the middle of having dinner. So you had to pick do you want to eat or do you wanna see the little bit of scenery there was. The food was subpar. You could barely cut the brisket with a knife. The remainder of the cruise was the return trip? This is when they had their stage show. Unfortunately, this was subpar also we felt there were several people lip syncing you could barley hear them. The best part of the cruse was the band the guitar and fiddle were great.
Thank you for taking the time to share your detailed feedback. We’re sorry to hear that the overall experience did not meet your expectations. While Gray Line Tennessee only provides transportation to and from the General Jackson as a partner experience and does not operate the cruise itself, we will certainly pass your comments along to their team for review. We’re glad to hear the live musicians were a highlight of your evening. We appreciate you sharing your experience.
