Our team had an AWESOME outing on the Urban Architecture tour and our guide Sara was AMAZING! The views were incredible. It really show cased Chicagos beauty. And Sara kept us entertained with bad puns and Chicago trivia. I highly recommend this tour. It was well worth it!
My family took the 10:15am Urban Adventure ride today and it was a great way to see and learn about the city, even our 6 and 9 year old enjoyed it. Our tour guide, Keeling was knowledgeable and entertaining. The boat was full, but not overcrowded so you could move around easily.
I just returned from taking our 7th grade CPS students on a Mercury lakefront cruise field trip. For many of the students, it was their very first time on a boat. They were so impressed by everything, from the lake, to the skyline, to the decor in the lower deck and bathrooms (!).I also want to thank our tour guide, Keeling. He did a fantastic job of providing information to the kids and interacting with them to keep them engaged. We teachers were very impressed! We couldnt have asked for a better guide. Lastly, the company was flexible and easy to work with as we planned this field trip. Thanks for a great day that the students wont soon forget!
We had a terrific time on our Urban Adventure! Bianca was fabulous! Going through the lock was interesting and the view from the lake was unimaginable! I would definitely recommend this tour! Thanks Mercury River cruises!
Loved the Chicago by night cruise! Got a drink at the bar. The view of the city is breathtaking! Bree, our tour guide, was phenomenal! Told us of another Chicagos sandwich creation: the Jibarito...Which we had to try...took the pink line and boy was it delicious! I recommend taking the cruise by night...the shadows...the lights...mesmerizing!
I had the best tour guide I’ve ever had and I’ve been all I’ve the place. Their name was Sarah, and they did a magnificent job. I went on my lovely adventure on 8/2719 @ approx 8:15 and they absolute made my night. They were super enthusiastic, super funny and knows soooo much information about chicago, it was mind blowing. 10/10 recommend this line, no actually 20000/10 they were so good! I only caught the first name and they were Sarah.
My friends and I really enjoyed this cruise. Staff was knowledgeable and courteous. Keeling deserves special recognition for his entertaining and informative narration of the trip. Thank you!
Blanca was great tour guide. Gave lots of history, stories and answered all questions. We could hear and understand at all times. Super trip.
We took the 90 minute Mercury Urban Adventure cruise and it was fantastic. Its different than a typical architectural boat tour because you go on lake and river. You get to experience the locks and hear a fascinating explanation. Great views from the lake! You do the west branch of the river - other tours go south and north, but I think its worth it to miss a little architecture on those branches and see the lake. Our guide was Blanca and she was fantastic. Informative, fun and just the right amount of funny. Also liked that she didnt jabber continuously like some of the other guides, youll find it very relaxing as well as educational. same architectural lecture on the lake.
Very good tour. One of the only ones that I could find which offers a combination of river and lake tour.Tour guide was knowledgeable and funny. Was nice to walk around and offer to take pictures of passengers when he was not doing the tour.Only thing I would change is implement more breaks. Sometimes it would be good to walk around the boat and enjoy the skyline view, I didn’t need to hear every little bit of detail about every building for 80min straight.Highly recommend it.Also, there is a full bar on the boat!!!
Excellent tour, great views of Chicago skyline& Lake Michigan. Sarah our guide was awesome with fun movie & historical facts about the city!
Went with my family on the twighlight cruise tonight, and it was the highlight of our trip to Chicago. We had the best tour guide in Bree, she educated us on the history of Chicago and lots of other interesting tid bits. Would highly reccomend Mercury Cruises in Chicago! Affordable and excellent.
I liked it alot. Only downside in my opinion, is the drinks. Dont have alot of items listed if you only have 2 in stock and dont restock frequently.
Thoroughly enjoyed our fireworks cruise on the 4th of July. The guide was awesome. Drinks were plentiful and strong.
A beautiful day to enjoy city views from the river and the lake. Thanks to Keeling for plenty of info, pitched for first-timers and architecture geeks alike.
Enjoyed the cruise and fireworks .... a hostes shared information about downtown Chicago and the architect, drinks where also available for purchase.
Took a work group on this cruise today and was a bit disappointed. Im an avid fan of the architecture river tour, I do it every summer and highly recommend it to anyone visiting the city. We thought the Mercury tour would be better since it combined the river and lakefront. It was nice to show the group the harbor lock, but the tour fell flat. First we left a little later than our scheduled 4:15pm departure and the tour was supposed to be 90min, but the tour was over and we docked by 5:35pm. Second, the tour only goes about 3-4 blocks down the river and makes a u-turn to double back to the lake. While on the lake, there was a long break of just playing music, all while we were passing some of our most famous buildings. Subsequently, those of us on the tour from Chicago started pointing out the buildings for our guests, as the tour guide didnt resume the tour until much later. All in all it was fine, but having experienced this tour with several of the other boat companies, some of the others are much better - they cover more buildings and provide much more information.
Visited Chicago in 2015. We took the Urban Adventure Cruise that went out onto Lake Michigan but also song the Chicago River. It was great! Our tour guide, Chris, was great! Very knowledgable about the architecture and the history of Chicago; with a nice mix of humor and contemporary culture. We considered the Architecture Tour specifically but we really think this was a much better choice for those of us who dont really care to learn the intricate details. Cocktails and soft drinks were available as well as a few light snacks like pretzels. The ornate bathrooms were just icing on the cake.
Sean was an excellent tour guide as we traveled on the main branch of the Chicago River and out into Lake Michigan. Plenty of seating on the upper deck, as well as a lower deck if it rains (which it did while we were boarding the ship). Would highly recommend.
I had a great experience with my family; the cruise has a beautiful views of Michigan Lake and Chicago River. I recomend this for a good experience.
Super guide, Bianca. Nice mix of facts, jokes and personal opinions.
So the tour was nice boat crew awesome. When I got off they told me to go to the booth to get my parking ticket validated. The booths where closed and I paid full price for the parking. Witch really upset me cause the whole all together was not all that.
We did the architectural tour. It was a great 1.5 to 2 hour tour on the main river. The tour guide had studied art history and architecture which was incredible. They have an option for an open bar, which can make it a fun activity if you find normal tour activities rather boring. Definitely sit on the top deck if it isnt too windy, rainy, cold, etc. outside. The view from the bottom deck is somewhat limited.
We took the night tour on a Wednesday to see the fireworks show. It was absolutely beautiful. It was not only great to see all of the beautiful architecture Chicago has to offer, it was informative and engaging thanks to our tour guide Cameron. He was funny, patient and professional throughout the entire boat ride. I cant imagine having a better guide.I would recommend this tour to any that visits Chicago.
Absolutely loved the fireworks cruise. Our tour guide, Cameron, was hilarious, interesting, and informative. It was a great experience and I will definitely be cruising with this company again. There are a lot of bugs out on the lake so long sleeves will help keep them off
Great time guide was funny and knowledgable
Originally thought $35 per for a boat tour was a bit rich, but its 90 minutes and goes up the Chicago River and out on Lake Michigan, so not a terrible deal. Tour guide Cameron was awesome. We did the 8:15 tour and Lake Michigan at night was great. Overall, a nice experience for my wife and me. And if Cameron uses a Pao Gasol joke, that was my original! And to board, you have to go down the stairs to the Chicago River. GPS will take you to the middle of the street but obviously youll have to load at the river, so go down Michigan Avenue and down the stairs at Wacker.
We went on the fireworks cruise. It was great! The views of the city and Navy Pier were beautiful and the fireworks were awesome. The only things that were annoying were the people standing and taking pics, take the pic and sit so youre not taking away from the views. And the bugs, bring off towlettes or something.
Its a very pleasant, fun and educational tour. Great performance by Russ, the tour guide.
Took the tour around the river and lake, had a great experience, Cameron was an excellent guide, funny and knowledgeable
Part of our stay on the Gold Coast was to take see the Fireworks and we were not disappointed. The weather, narrative of the city buildings history and fireworks were a perfect ending to a great stay-cation We will do it again before the summer is over.
It is attractive Cruiseline. I enjoyed lot to be part of the trip. I liked to join this party in future and I would recommend others to take their service when ever they need any tourist service.
I really enjoyed the boat tour. But I couldnt stand the 10 people that decided to pile on one seat.I dont think this should be allowed. It blocked the view from the right side of the boat and made me a unsatisfied customer.
Amazing views of Chicagos skylane, and our guide (Jonas I think he was called) was amazing and quite funny. Out of four days my family and I spent in the city, he was the best guide we had without doubt. I highly recomend it.
Fun tour.
We had family in from Denver including my little cousin and had a great time on the Mercury cruise!
Staff were very knowledgeable about the history of Chicago, were professional, humorous, and humble
Entertaining and relaxing
Fireworks cruise was great!
Informational cruise about Chicago
Amazing service
Love it and
Nice fireworks cruise!