Mercury, Chicago’s Skyline Cruiseline

I went to fireworks tour yesterday and it was fantastic. This is my first time to ride a cruise at night and the Chicago skyline was beautiful together with fireworks making the trip perfect!!!
Love it.

This was a fun experience while visiting Chicago. Breathtaking views of the skyline and awesome time on the water! We got stuck in the fireworks cruise as it was the only night cruise offered that day and not part of our tour package like others. We were a little disappointed the tour didn’t go into the river/​canal like we were told it did. It basically went from the dock to the lake, around the lake a little and then we sat a lot. The fireworks show was really good and a great experience to see while out on the water. The tour guide was really fun and funny, kept us entertained but took a lot of breaks where he wasn’t there. Be sure to get there early as they suggest to get a good seat! Especially if you want to sit on the deck, the last people had to go downstairs and I’m sure the view wasn’t nearly as good. Boat also has a bar downstairs.

I went on the Mercury Canine Cruise this summer. It is a great way to see the city, and so fun that you can bring your dog! We didn’t actually learn a whole lot about the city, but I think it just depends on your tour guide. There was only one other family on the tour with us at the time.

Decided to spend some time being a tourist in the city when I was in Chicago and figured this would be a great way to do it. Cameron, our guide, was very witty and knowledgeable about all of the various buildings up and down the river and sites we saw when we went out onto the Lake. I definitely recommend doing this type of excursion, especially with this company, if you are looking to learn something about the City and experience a lot of the sites in a short period of time. Overall our trip lasted about 2 hours and we had a great time throughout our cruise.

Just went on the 11 a.m. architecture tour today. What an amazing boat and tour. The crew was friendly and very accommodating. I have lived in Chicago for 12 years and was shocked to find how much I didn’t know about it’s history. This is a great tour for fans of architecture, history, Chicago, or stunning boats. Thank you Mercury Cruise Lines for a wonderful tour of Chicago.

Definitely recommend. As a recent transplant back to Chicago I’m enjoying the opportunity to play tourist and this was a highlight! Beautiful day, interesting tidbits about the buildings along the river, and nice views of the city from the lake. Not too intense but very enjoyable.
Also, glad to hear the tour guides share my (and, seemingly, the general public’s) feelings about the garish trump sign!

My wife and I did the architecture and lake cruise. If you are a hardcore architecture enthusiast this is probably not for you. My wife and I are from LA and just visiting for the weekend. It was perfect for us. You get some history and a few jokes. The views form the lake are incredible especially during sunset. I highly recommend it for any tourists.

We decided on the Urban Adventure tour after we found out some of the other tours charged for children under three. We were not paying $ 40 dollars for a nine month old baby! This tour was a combination of viewing architecture on the Chicago river and then cruising around Lake Michigan. The tour guide was super informative but sadly, the weather did not completely cooperate with overcast so no good skyline photos. It was still an enjoyable tour.

Don’t go. I am currently trapped on a Skyline Cruise where we can’t see a thing because of dense fog. This cruise should be cancelled. The boat has radar and I hope the crew has some idea of where we are. for all we can tell we are circling to use up the time. This worse than a bad time because we could be in some danger. Once again don’t go.

This is based on the experience I had a couple years back with my dog Cookie on their Canine Cruise. It was the most amazing experience. I’ve been on cruise throughout the river and lake before but this was such a unique experience since I had my doggie with me. Not only was the crew funny and nice but the other passengers were a blast. Since we’re all obviously dog lovers many of us quickly jumped into conversations and played with each others dog. I don’t experience that too often in the city. Most people keep to them selves and don’t interact with others. We sadly had to put Cookie down a few weeks ago, she was 17 and had CHF, and this is still one of my favorite memories I have of her.*****Thank you Mercury for giving pet owners this kind of opportunity.*****
Tips:
1. There is a parking garage right across the street from the river where they load, and don’t forget to have them validate your parking pass when you buy a ticket.

My gf and I wanted to do the tourist thing in Chicago but with a twist. Since they have river/​architectural tours we knew it was on our list to-​do. There are a lot of choices to choose from and why we picked this one was simply due to the right place/​right time. We hoped on the boat with about 1 minute to spare. The top was full as expected since it was a picture perfect day. So we sat in the front in makeshift chairs. It did the job. The tour lasted about an hour. It slowly chugged along the Chicago River looped around and then headed to Lake Michigan. It was a great way to see the beauty of Chicago’s architecture. A big plus was the ability to take a perfect shot of the skyline from a specific spot. You learn a lot about the history of the buildings during the tour. The tour was well run but the only piece I would add would be to explain a little more about what buildings they were describing as at times it got a bit confusing. Price was a bit hefty but if you really want to see the skyline it’s a good option.

It was a beautiful, super hot day on the river and this tour was perfect!

We had a great experience on our river and lake tour. I thought that 90 minutes was going to end up being a bit long but it flew by. A gorgeous Chicago day coupled with a great tour guide made for a super trip! A big shout out to Brandon, our friendly and helpful tour guide, who kept us entertained with history and tidbits from start to finish.
I can certainly see giving some of their other tours a try on other visits to Chicago.

Starting our Sunday with the intention of going to the Shedd, an incredibly long line altered those plans quickly. Around 12:30 in the afternoon, we finally found these tours (after looking for a busy to Navy Pier).
This is the first thing they have going for them, being in the middle city and easy access from the L and the buses. Big signs as you go to cross the river beckon you to follow the steps down to a ticket booths. The first window was sold out for the day (the architecture cruise), but the guy in the window told us to go down to the third window for other cruises.
This was the second thing they have going for them, it was a 30 min architecture cruise on the Chicago River and an hour lake front cruise on Lake Michigan, for $ 25, $ 10 CHEAPER than the first-​window-​architecture-​only cruise. We got tickets for the 1pm boat; woman in the window recommended we show up 15 min before departure time.
With 30 minutes to kill (technically 15 but…) we found the third asset these guys have: the wine café just down the river front from our assigned Dock 3. Two Stella Artois later and we were hopping on the boat around 12:50. Of elevated seats in the front portion of the boat, there were two left, so if you have a large party, and want to sit in the bow you should get there ASAP.
The bow is uncovered and was a bit chilly on an unconditionally cold June day. A great place for pictures, everyone moved and stood around the bow for lakefront and river pictures. The back, with most of the seats is covered but looks like its got clear ceilings. There are bathrooms, which came in handy after throwing back those Stellas (curse you small bladder!).
There was a great narrator/​announcer that knew a lot about Chicago, the architecture, the history, and was very personable. At one point on Lake Michigan, he put the mike down and walked around and answered personal questions while people took pictures of the lakefront. He even offered to take pictures of groups so you could get everybody in. Great customer service! During the 30 min on the Chicago River, he knew quite a bit about all the buildings and did a good job of timing his speech to structures we were passing on the left and right.
I’m a land lover, but this cruise was a decent use of $ 50. If you don’t get sea sick, stop for a drink or two before you sail. Sit in the bow if it’s not raining. Enjoy!

I am so torn about this review… so I will do it in two parts:
The route was great! You get a feel for the history and architecture of the Chicago while on the river, and you get a excellent view of the Chicago skyline from Lake Michigan. The guide was sarcastic, honest, and knowledgable.
Now for the bad… About 75% of the guests on-​board will end up sitting under the covered section of the boat. This gravely defeats the purpose of site seeing, especially when on the river. If you look up, you will see the nasty blue plastic canopy.
I was one of the lucky ones who got there early enough to sit in the front of the boat where it’s open air. There are only about 12 – 15 seats in this area and the walkways are quickly crowded with the rest of the boats moving forward to get a glimpse.
Word to the wise: Get there very early if you want a good seat.

Yay! Finally after wanting to do this for the past four years, I had time off of work to go on the Canine Cruise. I purposely waited for one of the September dates, as this past Summer was just too hot for my liking.
Yesterday’s weather was absolutey fantastic. The tour itself is very touristy. It is actually the architectural tour that many of the boats offer, cruising down the Chicago River and then heading out into Lake Michigan. My favorite part was when we were on the Lake portion and the tour guide was taking a break. The sun was out, it was breezy and I had my boy Romeo with me to take it all in. It was one of the most relaxing things I have done in a long time.
I just love having things to do with all or one of my dogs. I think that I will make this an annual event. Both me and my Romeo had such a great time.

Ahoy, matey! This here story is not for landlubbers – it’s for those souls brave enough to board the man-​o-​war ship with the Jolly Rogers flag. The Wacky Pirate Cruise from Mercury is perfect for the young lads and lassies in your life, especially if they have big imaginations.
Sir Captain Pirate Drake, a fine bucko – age seven – loves pirates. He’s also my nephew and an all-​around great kid. Have you ever read Calvin and Hobbes? He’s basically Calvin. Me, I’m just part of the support crew. For this day only, I got promoted to the role of first mate.
When my boyfriend drove us all to the corner of Wacker and Michigan Avenue that morning, Sir Captain Pirate Drake was naturally the first one to spot the man on the corner: dressed up with a bandana and a vest over a classic pirate shirt, this was clearly a real captain.
«It’s a real pirate, can I talk to him, please, please, please?!!» my nephew begged as we parked around the corner.
I got out of the car and asked the question that I already knew the answer to: «Hello, excuse me sir, are you Buccaneer Bob? I have a seven year-​old nephew who would love to join your cruise today.»
«Yes ma’am! Ahoy! We’re setting sail in 20 minutes! Can’t wait to meet him!»
And with that, I went into the trunk and took out the kit I’d bought at the Dollar Tree just for this moment: a pirate hat, eye patch, and hook. I went into the backseat and transformed my nephew, who goes by Drake when on land, into Sir Captain Pirate Drake.
«Ahoy!» He said to Buccaneer Bob, «You’re the first REAL pirate I’ve ever met!»
Buccaneer Bob grinned and gave him a temporary tattoo and they had a conversation in pirate speak. From then on, it was clear that my nephew was enraptured – he had a new idol.
«Arrr! Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t be a pirate when you grow up, lad! I’m proof that it can be done,» Buccaneer Bob said.
It only got better from there. When Sir Captain Pirate Drake found out that he was going to get to board a real boat for the first time – a pirate ship no less – he was even more ecstatic.
Buccaneer Bob did an impressive job of holding court onboard – from telling jokes to giving lads and lassies formal pirate names, he made all of the kids feel like real pirates. We recited real Pirate Oaths and got certificates of survival (that doubled as telescopes for the imaginative kids), and ran a shot across the bow to a nearby cruise, making the other passengers laugh at the boisterous young pirates.
The next day, Sir Captain Pirate Drake still insisted on wearing at least his eyepatch at all times. He remembered a lot from the cruise, saying things like «And you know what? When I grow up, I’m going to be just like Buccaneer Bob. I just need to grow a beard. And you know what pirates eat for lunch? Parrots! And you know what? Buccaneer Bob is my best buddy. Can we see Buccaneer Bob again tomorrow please?»
I don’t think it’s possible to have a kid in your life as sweet and cheerful as Sir Captain Pirate Drake. But if you have a child in your life who you love as much as I love my nephew, who loves pirates as much as he does, you must take that kid on the Wacky Pirate Cruise.
Otherwise, you’re both missing out on so much fun that you might as well walk the plank.

I attended the tour as a back up to the Architecture Tour. We had waited too long to book tickets for that tour and wanted to get a tour in before we left Chicago. Also, the lower fare at $ 23 we more appealing than $ 32. AND it was longer in duration at 90 minutes. This tour also took us out to Lake Michigan.
Seating & View — I was disappointed with the seating arrangements. If you didn’t show up nearly an hour before board time, you’re stuck sitting in the back of the boat with a blue-​colored translucent cover. The covering obstructs the view of all the beautiful architecture.
Tour guide — Our guide was CHEESY! If you are into really bad jokes, this is the tour for you. At the beginning part of the tour, it seemed like we were on the Batman movie tour because there were a lot filming sites for the Batman movies. Who knew that Chicago was Gotham City?! Anyhow, the information was not too detailed and focused on points of interest for tourist — i.e. mafia hot spots, NBC, Oprah. The guide was nice enough to take photos of the respective groups while we were on the Lake.
Views — A great view of the Chicago skyline! I recommend taking the tour in the evening at dusk so you can capture the sun setting behind the Chicago skyline. It’s a beautiful view from Lake Michigan.
Warning — a good 30 minutes of the tour are spent waiting from the river side to get out to the lake and vice versa. You have to wait for the water levels to equialize before entering and returning from the lake.

This review is solely for the canine cruise which takes place every Sunday morning during the summer.
My precious pooch, who passed away 6 weeks ago, loved going on the canine cruise. We had gone every year for the past 5, and he had the best time sticking his head over the side of the boat, sniffing the air, enjoying the breeze, not to mention the seemingly endless supply of dog biscuits from the tour guide.
If you enjoy architecture, or just a wonderful boat ride with amazing views of our world-​class skyline, then I highly recommend this excursion. It’s a relaxing way to start off a Sunday morning.
Sadly, I knew somehow that last year would probably be my dog’s last cruise so I made sure to burn every detail into my memory. Five stars alone for the wonderful memories I will cherish of the canine cruise with my best pal.

I saw an ad in the Tribune for a Canine Cruise on the Mercury Skyline and given how spoiled my mini poodle is, I couldn’t pass this up. The tour lasted 90 minutes and cruised around and Lake Michigan. The cost was $ 22; $ 10 for kids 4 – 12; $ 7 for dogs. The narrator provides dog biscuits throughout the tour, which all the dogs seemed to enjoy. The Canine Cruise is only on Sundays at 10am during the summer months (July — September).
The tour was both informative and fun for humans and doggies. It was so cute to see all sorts of dogs on board, big ones and small ones. My dog loved the summer breeze and she had so much to look at. My pup loved the boat tour! I’ve also been on the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s First Lady and I believe the two cruiselines are connected. The First Lady is definitely more informative when it comes to learning about Chicago’s architecture. But this cruiseline was definitely entertaining. There are tons of great photo opportunities, especially when on Lake Michigan. I would highly recommend the Canine Cruise to all dog lovers.