We had Jake as our tour guide and my boys have done nothing but repeat all the jokes they heard on board. From the bud light joke to the "look at you, stare at you" public safety announcement. Jake was absolutely entertaining and I credit him as to my boys having fun. The bonus for the adults was not having complaining children so we could appreciate and listen to the amazing culture and history your beautiful city has to offer. Absolutely recommend taking a guided tour with Jake on the mic. read more

Our tour guide on the 75 minute river cruise was Jake the Showman. He was funny, knowledgeable and friendly. He did a great job!

We booked a combo architectural tour and speedboat ride for 3:15 pm on a Sunday. The weather was in the low 80s and sunny, some breeze, hence lots of boats out. We did the speedboat ride first which was fun. The tour itself was fine. Now the bad...which I feel responsible for letting others know. When you book a 3:15 tour advertised 75 mins long, you'd expect to be able to make a 6:15 pm dinner rsvp just a short Uber ride away with plenty of time. The guide warned us only after we got into the boat that we would be late and to basically cancel any dinner plans. I thought he was kidding. He was not. The buzz kill is that you have to wait for the harbor lock gates to open, which we waited about an hour for EACH WAY. Meantime, you are sitting on a stagnant boat, no breeze, just beating sun. There was an attendant who handed us ONE tiny 8 oz bottle of water only after we moved to the back of the boat for the little patch of shade because my 8-year-old was about to pass out. There's nothing for purchase on the boat. I had water in my insulated water bottle luckily but was a bit miserable with the wait, more so bc of my kids. We got off the boat about 5:45pm. I have done the architectural tour with Wendella boat tour (w/o the speedboat ride) but years ago. It's inside the river already and there's no need to wait for the harbor lock gates to go in and out of the lake (which was required for the speedboat ride. Just be prepared for the wait and the tour is much, much longer than 75 minutes and not that comfortable. read more

RUFF RUFF!! The signature call of these fun, entertaining boat rides is the best. We've gone on trips with them probably five or so times and each trip has been wonderful. You can choose to do a quick speed boat adventure to soak in the Chicago skyline or can take one of their architectural tours from the water. The "River and Lake Architecture Tour" is my absolute favorite. I've done it three times, first for myself and then with friends visiting the city. You learn sooo many interesting facts about the city, boat right next to Chicago's biggest buildings, and see almost the entire city in such a creative way. This is the one thing I'd recommend doing if visiting the city for the first time!!! read more

Jake, Captain Coo was absolutely incredible! Such creativity and knowledge of Chicago!

We did the lake and architectural tour. It was an absolutely incredible experience! Our tour guide Yessica is so hilarious and very knowledgeable about the city's architectural history. Worth every penny and minute spend on the boat. You get an incredible view of the city's architecture and the captain drives the boat very smoothly and at a perfect speed. read more

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The guide was great but they should post their phone number as it rained heavily the day I was scheduled to to take the tour and there was no way to get in touch with them. The capital left early the day prior, ahead of the scheduled time so had to rebook. read more

We did a spooky night tour a few nights ago. Captain Swag and No Beard the Ghost Pirate made the trip fun an memorable. Swag kept everyone safe and in the boat, which I suppose was his first priority. He also ripped across the lake at the end of the trip, giving everyone a taste of what the boat can do, making us want to come back for a day trip. No Beard was an excellent storyteller. He had a stellar speaking voice and entertained us with many of the ghost stories from the Chicagoland area. He was professional and fun/entertaining, and put his all into the tour, even if the boat was less than full. I definitely recommend the tour for some absolutely gorgeous views of the city from the water at night, and some great storytelling. Some say that No Beard the Pirate was last seen outside a cemetery enjoying a pint with Resurrection Mary... read more

Seadog Cruises - View from the Spooky Scary Boat Tour!! - Boat Charters Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great and fun ride and as a bonus you get an amazing view of the city. Not to mention the amazing tour guide, Mateo, who made it all the more fun and informative. And of course, to Captain Swag and the rest of the crew, thank you! read more

Seadog Cruises - Mateo, the tour guide paying for the picture - Boat Charters Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Jake nice :) and it was fast I would go again and Jake told us about Chicago As a newbie it really helped.

Jake was very funny and made the trip good. It's a 30 minute fast ride but really nice. Loved the music they played read more

Seadog Cruises - Water boat - Boat Charters Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Enjoyed the trip...Especially our tour guide Jake...he made it worth wild. Highly recommend.

The crew was great and seeing the city from the water was beautiful. I was just expecting more speed from the "speedboat". Didn't seem much faster than a personal center console. read more

Seadog Cruises - Boat Charters Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Beware shady pricing practices. Despite being told by the tour operator that online prices are the same as ticket booth prices, I was charged $59 per ticket for the same cruise on Saturday that were $44 each online an hour earlier. For 4 tickets and associated fees that were for some reason also higher, buying at the boat cost me $70 more than if I had bought the same tickets online an hour before. This is the company's explanation to me by email: "This can occur due to dynamic pricing as the demand for a cruise increase or the cruise time draws closer the price can increase. This can, on occasion, cause in person prices to be increased from what may have been advertised earlier online." Fun experience but will not return or recommend given these deceptive and price gouging practices. read more

The Seadog us a great way to learn about Chicago's buildings and it's history. While also catching a great breeze! Our guide was knowledgeable and gave funny commentary the whole tour! Make sure you pack on that sunscreen. The sun was beaming on this chocolate skin! Hahahaa. Customer service during booking was a 5/5. Highly recommend a quick ride on this dog! read more

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Loved this experience! Was a great time and an informative ride. We took the extreme boat. With lots of turns, huge waves and thrills. You must buckle up, hold on tight and enjoy the ride. Was great. Only reason I'm not giving 5 starts for, is because we were not informed. The front of the boat was 0 fun. The back had all the whipping around, the water etc. we pretty much just watched everyone else have fun. But it's ok, we still enjoyed it! If you want to be dry and not much action sit in the front. If you want to be soaked and enjoy all the bumps and turns. Sit further back. read more

Seadog Cruises - Boat Charters Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Our tour guide Jake along with captain Peter and deckhand Ophelia made for the perfect architect river cruise for my fiancé and I's end of date day downtown. The dad jokes from Jake were 10/10 . Highly recommend for a nice afternoon or evening activity read more

ABSOLUTELY a must when visiting Chicago!! I've tried the other tour boats, and Seadog exceeds my expectations every time! Fantastic crew! All very fun and friendly! Thank you Jamie, for the fantastic service and Garret for the awesome tour!! read more

Used to be good in the past but was dissatisfied today. we took a group of 14 people today and there was no speed to the speed boat . They stopped halfway and wasted time by asking random questions . It seemed like we were riding only 15 min of the 30 minute tour for $39. Not Worth it. read more

Up-front disclaimer: I never actually made it to my Seadog Cruise. This review is based on my horrible customer service with this company. Yesterday was a beautiful, picture-perfect weather day in Chicago. I'd booked a Seadog Cruise off Navy Pier several days before. Roughly 90 minutes before the cruise was scheduled to depart, I received a text message and an email stating that the cruise had been cancelled. No reason was given. I was instructed to either use the manage booking portal on the company's website or contact them via chat to resolve the situation. Additionally, language from the email I received is pasted verbatim below: "We are sorry to inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances your Seadog tour for today has been cancelled. We know getting this news isn't fun, so we'd like to offer you the option to join us for one of our next available cruises at no additional cost." Okay, so, I logged onto the manage booking portal, which didn't have any option for a refund, for rescheduling, or much anything else. I then entered the chat queue and was told I was #10 in line. I waited more than 20 minutes and someone finally logged on, but then I sat waiting another for five minutes without a response. I finally gave up, commented in the chat box that I was super upset and wanted a full refund, and logged off. Never heard back from anyone. As I had no other plans in mind for the early afternoon, and I also had two kids in tow who were sad about the cancelled boat ride, I decided to head down to Navy Pier anyway. I went right to the Seadog Cruise stand and asked what was up with my cancelled cruise. No one would tell me why the cruise was cancelled, yet I saw two Seadog boats sitting there and there was a sign that said there were cruises that day at 11, at 1, at 2, at 3....so basically just the noon cruise, which was my cruise, had been cancelled. I suspect, though I admit I have absolutely no facts to back this up, that this company cancelled the cruise due to low ticket sales, which I think is just shady and such bad business. I was told they could put me and the kids on any other cruise that day, but we had tickets to another activity, so I said no, and I asked for a refund. The guy behind the counter looked up my confirmation number and was kind of rude when he informed me I had already been refunded. Really? Well, that was good, but I never received an email confirmation from the horrible chat person or saw refund info when I logged into their useless portal. Whatever. At this point, I left. Flash forward to the next day. I wanted to follow up about the email I had received, quoted above, that said I could join one of the next available cruises at no additional cost. I tried using their chat function early in the morning and was #1 in the queue...for about 30 minutes before I gave up. I logged on again later and was #17 in the queue. No way was I waiting around for that. So I sent them an email asking about the complimentary tickets to a future cruise. They replied several hours later and the email said: "The joining the next cruise is in reference to a reschedule. Since your cruise has been refunded, we would not be able to reschedule." Mmmmmkay, well that is not how I read their email and it is very poorly worded, in my opinion. Remember, no mention of any refund option in my original email, and I wouldn't even have known I was refunded had I not physically gone down to the pier and spoken with someone in person. I actually thought the company was going above and beyond for having to cancel the cruise at the last minute and offering me complimentary tickets for a future date. Nope, not so much. Actually, had I done nothing, they would not have automatically refunded me for the cruise they cancelled on such short notice and instead "offered me the option to join us for one of our next available cruises at no additional cost." The ADDITIONAL cost is key as they already charged me and didn't automatically refund me for the cruise they cancelled for no reason. I HATE THEM!!! Thumbs-down to Seadog Cruises. read more

Did you know that Navy Pier was built In 1892? Or that $100,000 in 1922 would be worth $60 million in 2022? Or that apparently the only style of architecture in Chicago is post-modern? If you didn't know any of these things (because they are all untrue), congratulations, you know more than the "tour guide" from Seadog who led our painful 75 minute tour of the Chicago River. We signed up for and paid for a 30 minute speedboat lake tour, but were told only about one minute before embarking that we were actually on a 75 minute architectural tour. Fine, we thought, those are usually pretty fun. We could not have been more wrong. I would estimate the "tour" was 90% random rambling, 8% incorrect information and 2% fact. The fine City of Chicago and it's visitors deserve better. read more

Had a BLAST on my 30 minute lakefront cruise.Wanted to do the EXTREME cruise but was told the boat was down for repairs so I decided to go ahead with the regular cruise.I still had a great time.Im a native Chicagoan btw who spends ALOT of time out on the lakefront every year on shore as well as kayak and boat.Of all the boats I've been on I can say for certain that The Seadog is HANDS DOWN the fastest.So glad I sat in the back cause I love getting wet.lol.Definitely want to go back and do the extreme tour.Totally recommend this tour boat to visitors and Chicagoans alike. read more

Great cruise - worth the funds. Family safe and fun! The crew was really friendly Abby, Eddie and Capt Jaime. They were also very welcoming and made our cruise worth while ! Boat was clean and in nice conditions. read more

Seadog Cruises - Cruise - Boat Charters Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Quick Tips: Try & book through Groupon to reduce the cost. You MUST book 24hrs before the tour, so don't think you'll just buy them in line. You will get better photos if you sit along the rail closest to the water. If you want to record the water rushing back into the locks on your way back to the harbor, sit up front. The Good: Boat was in good shape, staff was friendly, seats were comfortable, passenger safety was a top priority. The boat even has seatbelts. The views were spectacular & the history of the river was very interesting. The Bad: If you don't book through Groupon, the price is significantly higher by at least $20 per ticket. If it rains, these boats don't offer any protection, so bring a rain jacket or go on a sunny day with a hat & sunglasses. The Experience: We were walking around Navy Pier towards the end of the afternoon & decided to book the 7:15 architectural boat tour with Seadog. We won the tour guide lottery with Maui, he was really energentic & enthusiastic! After boarding, you'll go into the locks. For any of you unfamiliar with a lock system, it basically acts as a middle man between two bodies of water at different depths. I believe the current difference was 4ft lower in the river. Once we were out of the lock (takes about 10 minutes) we proceeded to the bridges. We learned all about Chicago's water pollution & how they had to reverse the flow of the river to try & correct some of the damage they had caused over the years. I won't tell any more of the story as that is part of the experience. If you're like me, & want amazing pictures from an unobstructed vantage point, take this tour. The lighting is perfect at this time of day as the sun is close to setting right as the tour wraps up. After we came back through the locks, we got a brief full throttle cruise in the open water before we headed back to Navy Pier to dock the boat. read more

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I do recommend the Sea Dog because I got on it once before. However, I did not appreciate the rude blond kid who was working the dock on Saturday May 17th. It was my birthday and I specifically planned to hang out there, so I can get on the Sea Dog. I told the guy that I wanted to go on the fast boat and he said it wasn't going to go fast and I scrounged my face and said oh I wanted to get on a fast one, then he said "it's only May and it's cold and you can get wet ..unless if you want to get wet you can always just go ahead and jump in the lake". Ignorant and unnecessary almost as if he was showing off because there were people listening who had gathered closer as if interested to get on. I gave him a look and as he proceeded to talk, I put my hand up to stop him from talking and I said "thank you" and I walked away...people stared and agreed that he was rude. He ruined that bday experience for me because I was not going to go back on a boat with him. read more

A big shout out to tony our cruise guide - he made it and kept it interesting through out!!! We were on a family weekend fun and planned to take this most awaited ride - the chicago architecture tour. Listing the good things: Clean boat Water was served Good commentry Liked the lake tour more than the city tour Something that can be better: More lake tour time( i mean when boat was speeding up) something to eat may be like some snack. Would i recommend this to friends: oh yeah!!! read more

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Daniel and Cool J led a great afternoon ride with lots of great information and the perfect amount of tour guide dad jokes ;)

Review from Local - Photographer treats you like dirt and yells at you if you decline for the photographer to take your photo. I've been on seadog about 3 times, and they have an amateur photographer who wants to take your photos when in line before you get into the boat. Because I am a local here, I don't need souvenir photos (no they are not free, you have to purchase), and I declined the photo shoot each time. EVERY TIME I declined, the photographer became upset, gave me a dirty look, and one time, he yelled at me "move! Get out of the line!" when I told him I'm not interested. WHY are they upset? What is Seadog doing with those photos? Customers have option not to purchase so taking photos alone doesn't make any money for seadog. Who knows how they are using those photos without permission for advertising purposes? So why is the photographer upset every time I decline the photo shoot? Either way, they are only nice to you if you spend more money. if you've been to their boat more than once, you will know they are fake. read more

They let me hop on at the last minute and I'm so glad I did! The boat ride was exhilarating! I couldn't get the smile off my face! Definitely recommend! read more

We took the skyline cruise on the seadog, fast boat but smooth captain and amazing tour guide. Thomas was extremely informative and entertaining, got the passengers involved, and made sure everyone was safe to ride and buckled in. Wonderful job Thomas and crew! Would highly recommend this tour for everyone that is visiting chicago. Got some great shots from the boat! read more

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Just went on the Seadog cruise down the Chicago river. Daniel, Ebert and Cool J were great! Daniel is very knowledgeable and my family learned a lot. Would 100% recommend! read more

This truly is a spectacular way to view a beautiful city. The water and boat ride was amazing. Lucious knows his city and was a top notch tour guide. He literally knows everything about the city! read more

We went to downtown Chicago with my friends in a group of 15, beautiful day for SeaDog,had done it many times preCovid but today the rides were simply boring with out the thrill! went in the water had a 15min talk about the various buildings & skyline & then just cruised back to navy pier. We were waiting to get wet & enjoy the speed & splashes, but sadly none today. Pretty disappointed SeaDog plz live up to your name. Could have done someother sightseeing cruise instead! read more

I have lived in the city for about 5 years and often have family members ask me if we can do an architecture tour while they're in town. My go to is always Seadog. Today we had Tila as our tour guide, she was amazing. Extremely passionate and well educated - she kept the tour interesting and the 75 minutes went in a blink of an eye. She was happy to answer any questions we might have had. The tour goes through the river as well a does a quick speedboat tour on the river with a great view of the city ! Would definitely recommend Seadog for any guests visit Chicago. read more

Jake was awesome best time highly suggested can't wait to come back whooooooooooooooooooo read more

Seadog Cruises - Boat Charters Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Did the Chicago Seadog Extreme Thrill Ride with my husband and adult children and it was a blast! We got wet (ponchos were helpful) and the staff was great! Captain Matt gave us a thrilling ride and the music he played made it even more enjoyable! It's an exciting boat ride, but there are also moments where you can just take in the beautiful Chicago skyline. I plan on going again! read more

I brought my out of town visitor to Navy Pier specifically for the 75 minutes architecture tour that costs around $34 each with tax. We parked at the Navy Pier lot, which cost $24. Coming straight out of door 4 of the first parking garage, Seadog was located right outside the glass doors. The tour starts off with a fun 10 minute speed portion and you can get a good look at the skyline and Navy Pier. They had fun pop music playing when the guide isn't talking. 15 minutes of the tour is spent waiting to get in and out through Chicago River Locks. The tour guide was full of interesting information about the buildings. Although I feel it's overpriced for a tour, it's definitely worth doing once (especially for tourist). I'm local and I enjoyed my first tour tremendously. Be sure to bring your rain coat and wear something warm if rain is in the forecast. It can get pretty cold on the tour soaking wet with wind in your face. read more

Seadog Cruises - At the dock - Boat Charters Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Great boat ride! We absolutely loved our experience on the speedboat with Jake! This was a bit pricey but honestly the experience was worth it. We're visiting chicago for the first time and the architecture tour really made you appreciate Chicago's beautiful buildings and skyline. read more

WOOF... no, that was not me calling out to the boys in the house. That was me trying to give a shoutout to Seadog for an awesome cruise tour. For my 600th review, I wanted to share the experience that I've had on Seadog with my family. With the power of Groupon, we were able to snag an excellent deal for the Lake & Architecture Tour ($29 a head). Advertised at 75 minutes, you actually end up waiting around a lot for the river port to open and close than actually being on the river. However, that didn't stop us from having a good time. I took my parents here to see the outstanding architecture that makes up downtown Chicago. Since they don't really understand English, I wanted a tour that would be affordable while still informative for myself. The tour consisted of a quick speedboat ride around Lake Michigan (from Navy Pier to Museum Campus), and then into the actual river. Note- you WILL get wet if you are sitting around the back edges of the boat. We were on the 15:15 boat ride, and returned to dock around 17:00 due to delays. Our tour guide Bill was hilarious and gave us a lot of fun facts about the different aspects of downtown Chicago. He really kept the crowd going despite us delaying our return due to there being so many private jets out on the water. I would definitely recommend Seadog for anyone wishing to do the architecture tour, especially if you are looking for one on the cheaper side (assuming you can find a deal.) read more

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I did the Seadog Architectural Tour with a friend this summer. We got a great deal on Groupon for $19 for the two hour tour. The crew was amazing, a lot of fun and super accommodating! The tour itself was a pretty general architecture tour so if you know some about Chicago history you may not get a whole lot from it but I was able to pick up a bit more of interesting information. I wish it was a bit more in depth. It was a fun tour though and a super relaxing way to spend a couple hours on the lake. I would do it again in a second and I'm sure it would be great to bring out of towners to this ride. Plus the speed boat portion at the end is awesome! I could have done with it going a bit faster! read more