We go on at least one harbor tour a year. We've done the BBQ and Bluegrass ( now called Lake Superior Live ) cruise a few times, the live music adds a great vibe to the cruise. If the weather is nice you want to either be there early to be head of the line ( or pay extra for early boarding ) so you can sit on the top level, which is open to the air. read more

My husband and I just did the Grand Sightseeing Tour on the Vista Star. We absolutely loved it! It was so very informative. Bill did a fantastic job narrating and dropping in some humor as well as offering up so many facts about permanent points of interest as well as ships currently in the harbor. The entire staff was phenomenal! The seasonal cocktail offerings were delicious. This boat tour was the highlight of our visit to Duluth and we'll definitely do this or another tour option next time we visit. I very highly recommend going on one of the many tours that Vista Fleet has to offer. read more

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We had a great time on our cruise! We learned info about the area. The all female crew was excellent! It was wonderful just being out on the water. There were some people who were distracting/loud & clearly not there to listen/learn about the area but their lack of manners had zero to do with crew. I would use this company again. read more

On our 3rd trip to the North Shores we decided to do a boat tour. It was well worth it - we learned more about Duluth's history and the Superior harbor industries. It was a beautiful spring morning and the ride was smooth, informative, and enjoyable. read more

Vista Fleet - Tours Near Me - Duluth, Minnesota

We are annual seasonal tourists to the Duluth area and have traveled here for over 20 years. Our Vista Fleet tour on Friday, June 6th, 2025 was our second Vista harbor tour. "Kayla" served as our tour guide and narrator and was not properly matched to the requirements of the position. Her voice sounded more like a "screech" and she was difficult to listen to as well as hear. Her tour remarks were delivered off of a hand held device (perhaps an iPad) and the text of her remarks are therefore known to Vista Fleet management. Her narration commentary factually misrepresented the history of the Duluth Lift Bridge and the Duluth canal. There was no mention of the congressional legislation requesting permission to build the canal or the defiant local actions to open the canal following defeat of the federal legislation. The text of the narration also misrepresented the geography of Interstate 35 and US Highway 61. US Highway 61 (also known as the "Great River Road" tracks along side of the Mississippi River and does not "start" at the "end" of I-35 in Duluth. There are active segments of US Highway 61 at the west end of Duluth as well as in numerous municipalities throughout Minnesota such as Hastings, Red Wing and Winona. The narration also excluded any mention of the economy or history of the iron and steel industries in the United States (let alone Duluth/Superior) nor was there any mention of the development of Taconite by the University of Minnesota as iron ore deposits waned. The tour exhibits the tremendous investments in rail and marine facilities in the harbor area but there is inadequate focus or discussion on the topic in my opinion. I would recommend that management of the Vista Fleet develop more historically accurate text for the tour. Guests on these tour boats could enjoy a valuable historically accurate learning experience and get more for their tourist budget than the poor attempts at "humorous" descriptions of the engineer that lost two rail cars into the harbor suggesting the need for "re-training". We have taken our last Vista harbor tour and will use other available local resources to continue to learn about the history of the area and its industries. read more

Bill was amazing and very knowledgeable about everything Duluth and Lake Superior!! went on the coffee and colors cruise. they had coffee, and hot water for apple cider and hot chocolate along with pastries and coffee creamer. would definitely recommend. read more

I tried to book this venue for my wedding in June 2026. I talked to Chelsea at the end of July, explained we were moving out of state and would love to come see it once we were settled in MN. She was great at first, and promised the date was ours! Fast forward to August after our move when we tried to schedule a visit and sign our contract and we were ghosted. My fiancé and I called numerous times, emailed, and submitted two more inquiry forms with no response. Chelsea responded almost three weeks later saying she was no longer employed but to contact her manager, Colleen Smith, and that the date was still ours. When we finally got in touch, Colleen immediately said both boats were booked on the date we had talked to Chelsea about. Didn't offer any solutions, and was clearly annoyed at our frustration. My mother-in-law sent in a random inquiry for the same date for a "party", because this seemed too weird. Sure enough, they called her back to say they would be happy to book her event on the date they told us was filled. Unbelievable. I would not recommend this company to anyone. Colleen Smith is an inconsiderate manager and I am amazed by her lack of professionalism. read more

Vista Fleet - Tours Near Me - Duluth, Minnesota

Would give negative if I could! Visiting from California, staying in Elko New Market. Booked for husband, granddaughter and myself. Drove up day before. Checked to see where to go and noticed there was a small note that adventure had been cancelled! No call, no direct email, no reason! Tried calling several no answer. Finally we drove over to make sure it was cancelled. Two men ignored my husband and finally found a person that confirmed it was cancelled. No reason given. Not good business!!! read more

Better communication, safety, empathy and accountability come to mind. I would rate this experience as a zero if I could. Before you consider boarding, you should have all your affairs in order. read more

Vista Fleet - Tours Near Me - Duluth, Minnesota

Vista Fleet is a staple activity whenever visiting Duluth. Just getting out on the lake is a treat. The narrative is good. Outdoor seating is available. Love to bring my camera and capture some Great Lake shots of the city. They have a good bar and basic food available. Getting on and off is quite efficient. We will continue to buy various tickets on Vista. Their brunch cruises are also really nice. Anytime you can combine food, drinks and boating, it will be a good day! read more

Our family did a sunset dinner tour and a sunset kayak tour and both were pretty great. The dinner cruise was a bit crowded, staff were friendly, and food was okay. The kayak tour was just over an hour and was beautiful. Cool temps made it chilly but staff encouraged us to grab some warmer layers at the shop before we left. The local information the staff shared on the tour was wonderful! read more

Honestly, I had low expectations, and this trip exceeded expectations! Big fan! We got in line early and ensured we had a seat on the top deck. Wonderful views and a (mostly) informative narration! Just the right amount of time to loop around and get back. A worth whole way to spend an hour and a half or two for tourists of the area! read more

Vista Fleet - Tours Near Me - Duluth, Minnesota

We had a group of 44 that took the evening cruise. The food was so limited as far as quanity. I felt that they should have not charged for coffee, but then to find the cost was $3.50 for coffee was not a good option. The cruise was good and I would recommend it,but not the dinner cruise. read more

My wife and I celebrated our 10 yr anniversary with the dinner cruise and it was wonderful. It was a nice mellow slow ride that lasted about 2 hours, the tour announcer only announced like four things, which to me for a dinner, was just the right amount. It wasn't obnoxious, it was more or less "and over here you'll see this and that..." and that was it. It was a nice mellow quiet night and exactly what we were looking for. This was awesome. We ordered the steak dinner which was amazing and because of my wife allergies to broccoli, our server used different tongs to dish out all her food so we didn't have to worry about cross contamination of anything. Because of that, it was a worry free experience! This was truly an awesome night and I couldn't thank the crew or dinner server enough. Thank you for all of this, it really made our night special and not something we'll soon forget, thank you so much for this! read more

Vista Fleet - Sunset on a quiet night on our cruise. - Tours Near Me - Duluth, Minnesota

The tour guide was informative. The carpets were filthy and smelled like vomit! The chairs were filthy and uncomfortable. The bathrooms were not clean, and there was no paper towels, only one stall was open. We were instructed not to sit on life jacket benches on upper deck, but there was no other seating for guests. Vista fails in hygiene! Deep clean the carpets, chairs and bathrooms. Provide hand sanitizer stations. Fix the bathrooms and make sure they are supplied with toilet paper and towels. This ship is filthy! It gets an F from me. Vista is a terrible example of what a cruise should be. It's an embarrassment for Duluth! Clean it up and keep it clean! read more

I loved it the driver let my kids drive the boat great tourist just love it read more

Vista Fleet - Tours Near Me - Duluth, Minnesota

We made our reservations months in advance and were very excited for the excursion. The boat is very run down for the price that is paid. The food we had picked at time of purchase was picked over by the time we got to our food. Overall not the best experience. read more

Sam is amazing tour guide! We started at 9:55 am and went around the watery shores of Duluth and back in the harbor. He's knowledgeable and funny! The tour was really great, and the view is picturesque! Totally worth the $25/person. It was 1hr 45mins. read more

Vista Fleet - Tours Near Me - Duluth, Minnesota

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This is a must in duluth, it's cheaper on Tuesday and you can do hour and 45 minutes tour.. I live in duluthmn and do this once a year. The ticket girl was very helpful when ordering on the phone. read more

Dinner cruise was fun and informative and it was really cool to go under the Lift Bridge. The food was pretty good but the highlight was the sights and scenery. The chicken and ravioli dishes were quite good but the steak was disappointing. Sam was a great tour guide. Fun for all ages and families. read more

This was just...ok. We were promised breakfast and coffee and in reality it was just a doughnut and cup of not so great coffee. The doughnut was fantastic though (Johnson's Bakery!) Also, if you aren't sitting on the starboard side of the boat you won't see much. It seems like everything is focused on that side. So of course everyone was trying to move to that side of the boat and eventually the captain requested some people move because we were literally tipped slightly to one side. Not one person moved. So my husband and I did and of course that made zero difference. And this was supposed to be a fall colors tour - we saw no fall colors. It was also confusing. The crew seemed very "meh" about being there (not that I blame them) and it was disorganized. Half the people took doughnuts because they weren't told they couldn't - the rest of us were told to wait. So there were a lot of weird looks. And no passengers were kept under control. Many moved around, moved the chairs, and sat in front of others blocking their view and as I said - the boat was leaning to one side due to the uneven weight. Of course someone brought a baby who fussed most of the time. On the flip side, it was very chill. So there's that. Overall I wouldn't pay for this again. It was a lot of money for us and felt like a bit of a waste. It didn't help that it was freezing, super windy, and totally overcast outside. But we did get to see parts of the harbor you don't easily see from the shore which I guess was the point. On a nicer day, with a more enthusiastic crew willing to manage the passengers, and more variety of food and drink this would be better. read more

Vista Fleet - View from the back of the boat. - Tours Near Me - Duluth, Minnesota

This was a pretty great deal I got from Crowd Cut, buy one get one for adult fares. When I called from the cities to make our reservations, the staff were friendly and answered all of my questions. We arrived 30 minutes before launch time, and quite the learning experience. I've never actually traveled by boat underneath the Aerial Lift Bridge, so that was pretty great! And we got to learn much more about the history of Duluth, the lake, the harbor, and the St. Louis River than I imagined. read more

"Dinner is provided with a build your own macaroni & cheese bar, brats, and hot dogs" is what their website says. How do you call it build your own when it's just a server plopping a cold spoonful of al dente pasta with cheese. What do you build from that? Hot dogs were very cold and half served on hamburger buns. Yes, HAMBURGER buns. Of course they are made from the same bread but have you ever tried to tell a 4 year old they are the same and sorry but you can't eat it now that it rolled out and landed on the floor. The Children's Museum was ok but not at all engaging. Egg shakers was the craft. 4 seconds to load a plastic egg with rocks and tape it together. The lead crew deckhand Hannah was a treat, keeping the parents listening to the views of the harbor, A+ for that. Rest of the crewmembers were awesome and the bar was open. We will be back for a regular sightseeing cruise, but not the family fun dinner. read more

It was what we expected. We did the brunch cruise with food provided by Duluth Grill. We were fortunately seated on the second deck, not as crowded as it seemed to be on the first. Top deck was pretty empty so it was nice up there to look at the views. Tour guide was punny, servers were great and attentive. Because of the timing of getting buffet, we missed parts of the beginning of tour, the more picturesque part (but we were glad to get food). Food was really filling and pretty good. Would recommend to others, just know what you're getting into, because you also tour the industrial side of the aerial lift bridge. read more

We had a wonderful time on our grand tour. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. Our guide Sam was excellent! read more

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A trip to Duluth isn't complete without a Vista cruise! Staff is always friendly, yes the food is not gourmet, but it never claimed to be! The pizza cruise is a great cruise for the kids. They take a nice cruise around the harbor and then go to the lake for a few minutes. Overall it's a fantastic tourist site. read more

Vista Fleet - Inside the vista queen - Tours Near Me - Duluth, Minnesota

Vista fleet cruises is a must if your in Duluth. Aside from the wonderful views and relaxing time on the cruise the tour guide Sam was great. He gave a lot of good info on the tour and the jokes he threw in there were funny. Would definitely recommend even through covid it seemed safe and they were enforcing rules. read more

Waste of time & money. Spent $50 & 1.75 hrs on this crap outing. I've taken 12+ local boat tours / cruises around the country in cities large & small. Always a highlight. Always a fun time to kick back, snack & sight see. The host / narrator treated this cruise as his personal jokefest. One lame, sarcastic comment after another. Nothing informative or educational. 30 min into the cruise, my party was texting each other 'this is lame, we should have gone to the chocolate shop'. read more

Smooth ride, beautiful views, friendly staff. Perfect moonlit cruise!!! Only complaint is bathroom needs more freq maintenance. read more

Whenever the possibility of exploring the local scene by boat presents itself, my friend and I are going to make it a priority. Who could pass up a tour of Lake Superior from Duluth? On a lovely spring day, we enjoyed a wonderful Vista Fleet boat tour. Our guide was an energetic young lady (a theater major she was happy to point out), sadly I forget her name. She kept us laughing and entertained the entire time. Sure, it may have been a bit cold out on the water but the tour was fun and informative. The tour offers great views of the harbor and it goes under the awesome lift bridge as well. Tickets were reasonably priced. If you are in Duluth, I'd definitely recommend boarding a tour with Vista Fleet. In reading other reviews it sounds like the guide can make the difference but it's just as easy to tune them out and listen to the soft hum of the boat engines as you drift along the water taking in the sights. read more

If you consider floating by industrial shipping containers a scenic experience- this is your tour! Bring cash for adult beverages to help pass the time. read more

Canal Park is a great place to visit, and the Vista fleet provides a cruise that was entertaining (if not a bit goofy at times) with two tour guides explaining the area with light banter. I could have done without it at times, but better then the piped in commentary which everyone tends to tune out. The history of the area was good, and the cruise itself was a good length and was worth the price. We didn't do any of the food cruises, only the daily 2 hour cruise. read more

We went on the family fun cruise, which included pizza, salad, and ice cream in addition to music after the food is done. We were happy with everything but the food. The staff were SUPER friendly and attentive and did a great job trying to get people involved in the dancing by having contests and getting out there themselves doing it. They seemed to genuinely have fun doing their job. The boat was really nice but it was only about 1/2 full on the night we went, which was just about right. I think it would have been way too crowded to enjoy if it was completely full. The tour was nice. Great views and they also said a lot of interesting things about the areas you were seeing. The pizza was terrible. It was barely luke warm and stale with really chewy crust. The salad was limp and icky, too. I would do this cruise again with kids for the experience and the music and dancing but don't expect a great meal. read more

BEWARE! Terrible Customer Service We have had a dispute with Vista Cruises since June 2019. Whenever we call we are either sent to a phone line that nobody answers or leave messages that are never returned. Sometimes we are told that the owners are on vacation and nobody knows how to reach them? Email and social media inquires are also never answered. read more

We had a SPECTACULAR time on our Vista Fleet cruise! We booked our reservation online for the 5pm Happy Hour cruise - - $10.00 for an hour cruise, seems like a great value! But warning: make sure you arrive 30 minutes prior! I received email confirmation immediately of our reservation, but no advance warning/reminder to arrive early. We planned on getting there 15min prior, but unfortunately got caught up in some road construction traffic. The staff, especially Katie, was extremely friendly on the phone and was willing to refund my money. (Wow! Unheard of...) After talking it over, we decided to go on the later 7:30pm "Family Fun Cruise". Our concern was that it was 2 1/2 hours...... would that be too long? Would that eat too much into our one-night in Duluth? No and no! We LOVED the 7:30pm "Family Fun Cruise"! It was $19.95/adult - - and included: salad, pizza, and a build-your-own-sundae, or and some cheesy music - - (think Macarena and "I'm a Barbie girl"). I was disappointed that there wasn't more narration or more of a "tour" with this ride, but it probably would get annoying for the residents of Park Point to hear tours going on all the time. And fortunately for us, my brother was with who lives in Duluth. He was able to explain everything to us about what was going on in the port. So glad we went on the longer cruise - -it was gorgeous! We went all the way through the harbor, past the boats, grain elevators, and slips...out through the Superior, WI entry.... out into Lake Superior, and under the lift bridge to finish our ride. Great time!! (Oh, and beer on-board was only $5. Even for Blue Moon!) read more

Store has great unique merchandise and superb staff. Pet friendly and the pricing was extremely affordable. We bought 3 items and would have went back for more had time permitted. read more

This was a Fun cruise. The reason I did not give it a five star rating is the young lady giving the tour narrative spoke too fast and the PA system was very poor. It was hard to hear what she was saying and when we did hear her she was not speaking loud enough not enunciating. It could have been much better in that respect. read more

We went on a celebrity cruise as supporters of Berserkon, a gaming convention that was held memorial day weekend 2013. The company was great and it was fun to schmooze with our celebrity guests. As far as the boat ride goes, entertaining but make sure that you go during the day (not much to see at night). They ran out of the beer that my group was drinking which kept us from buying more. The workers were kind but stand offish. They didn't talk to us or give us much of a tour. All in all, the company made the experience memorable. Not "THe Company" if you catch my drift. Overall, not great, not shabby. read more

I did the sightseeing tour, it was ok, nothing too exciting, nothing too bad either. You bring your own fun as in most cases. Pros- you can bring your own booze and whatever else you wish to bring aboard. Clean Nice staff Cons- small boat Nothing too major on the sightseeing tour 2 hours could have seemed a bit long but it was fine Cant smoke on the vessel at all even outside read more

They get one star for the conversation I had right before I bought tickets. Me: Can I bring food and eat on the boat? Ticket guy: Yeah, and they have full service, with nachos for example. Me: ok, I'll buy some tickets. Ticket guy: ok they are non refundable. Guy at boat: you can't eat that food on here. read more