Chicago Architectural River Cruise
Description
Take in the views on this award-winning 90-minute Architectural Tour, a jaw-dropping excursion through a city that defies all expectations!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Throughout our signature cruise one of our award-winning Docents will present more than 50 skyscrapers, bascule bridges, and historic sites.
On your Architectural Tour, you will learn how the Great Chicago Fire jumped a river and allowed for visionaries of structural steel and plate glass, such as John Wellborn Root, William Le Baron Jenney, Louis Sullivan (Wright’s mentor) and Daniel Burnham, in less than ten years, lift Chicago from the ashes of the fire to new heights. Chicago’s ascent continued into the 20th century with titanic figures such as Bertrand Goldberg, Fazlur Khan and Mies van der Rohe – (higher/taller) buildings, sleeker – and it has soared in the 21st century with audacious new steeples such as The Trump Tower and Aqua designed by Jeanne Gang, an internationally known artist of architectural design.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Minimum drinking age is 21 years
- Refunds will not be issued if tour/activity is missed due to late or non-arrival of cruise ship
Reviews(848)
A great tour in a well kept boat. Our docent did a great job, and was very knowledgeable. I can’t recall his name, but he was a lifelong resident of Chicago.
Great “thing to do”! One of the best bookings we have done
It’s very educational and lots to learn about the history and architecture of Chicago. We had a great time.
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the history, architecture, landscape and more. It was a fun 90 minutes of touring Chicago.
We were forced to sit downstairs on the boat and so many of the points made by the guide were unintelligible. Hard to see the buildings. Also, did not appreciate the cheap-shot taken at St. Louis, a city with a history that is longer and more interesting than Chicago's. Also, the Cardinals history has always made the Cubbies the laughingstock of baseball and all sports.
Hi William, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. I’m sorry to hear that your experience onboard did not meet expectations. While we utilize both decks for seating on one of our vessels, all guests should be able to clearly hear and follow the architectural narration. I apologize that portions were difficult to understand from your seating area, and I’ll be sure to share that feedback with our team. I also appreciate you mentioning the St. Louis comment. Our docents sometimes incorporate lighthearted humor and city rivalries into their narration, but it’s never our intention to take away from a guest’s experience. Thank you again for sailing with us and for sharing your feedback. Best, Chicago Line Cruises Team
This boat tour was super informative and fun! We liked it that is was a smaller ship. The bar staff were efficient and friendly. Lynn, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable and made several suggestions on attractions beyond the river.
Melissa, thank you so much for the kind review! We’re so glad you enjoyed the smaller, more intimate experience onboard and had a great time with our crew. We’ll be sure to pass your kind words along to Lynn and our bar team. We hope to welcome you back onboard again soon Best, Chicago Line Cruises Team
We got there early and they said we could go on the hour earlier cruise which was nice. Our guide was very informative. Enjoyed the cruise very much.
Dohle, thank you for the great review! We’re so glad we were able to get you onboard an earlier cruise and that you enjoyed the tour and our guide. We hope to welcome you back onboard again soon!
The boat ride is a relaxing way to see and learn about Chicago. My only complaint is that the picture of the boat you see when booking may not be the boat you end up getting on. We were reserved a two storied vessel when I wanted a smaller group experience.
Haley, Thank you for sailing with us and for sharing your feedback! We’re glad you enjoyed seeing and learning about Chicago from the river. While the vessel pictured during booking may vary based on our daily schedule and operations, we understand how that could be disappointing when you were hoping for a smaller group experience. If you give us a call we can help make sure you are on the smaller vessel which normally sails on the odd hours.
The boat was fine and the route and info were good. The docent, Ed Mazur, was REALLY AWFUL. He admonished a couple of folks for talking while he was talking. I couldn't hear them at all and the docent had a microphone so we could all hear him just fine. He shouted into the microphone at the talking guests that they were the rudest people he had ever met and said his name in case they wanted to complain. A real power move - intimating that their complaint wouldn't matter even if they called him out by name. I don't know if racism was involved or not; the people happened to be brown. In my view, they were well-behaved and talking quietly to one another. Who knows, maybe they were discussing the architecture in the context of the history of the city; they certainly weren't bothering anyone except apparently the docent. It was highly uncomfortable and I would NOT recommend until he is no longer working for the cruise line.
The guide was interesting, very informative and appropriately enthusiastic. Boat seats were pretty uncomfortable, about as expected, but the tour was more exhaustive and detailed than we'd expected, so that was a very pleasant surprise. Overall this was a very worthwhile experience.
