Vista Fleet
Vista Fleet
4.5
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Full view
About
The best way to see Duluth is from the water aboard the Vista Fleet, the Northland's premier attraction! Create superior memories during our daily sightseeing and dining cruises. The cruise options are endless; choose from our sensational dining cruises, to exciting narrated sightseeing tours, to stunning fall colors cruises. Experience the wonders of Lake Superior as we cruise next to 1,000-foot lake freighters and oceangoing vessels to take in the activities of the Twin Ports harbor. See lighthouses, ships, beautiful waters and more during your narrated tour aboard the Vista Fleet.
Duluth, Minnesota
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2024
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
730 reviews
Excellent
429
Very good
160
Average
70
Poor
39
Terrible
32
Eisme77
Janesville, WI2,195 contributions
Jul 2019
We have been on two of these tours. One was the twilight cruise that went out past the lift bridge into the lake a bit, so you could see the shoreline of the city. The most recent one was the harbor tour. We took it spontaneously after the ship we drove up to see was late arriving. Seeing Duluth from inside the harbor is a really interesting experience, and it was narrated really well. There is so much to learn and see! I have been coming to Duluth for years, and I would highly recommend this particular tour if you are interested in the history of the city.
Written February 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Travel With A Plan
Minneapolis, MN35 contributions
Jun 2020
We went on the 1 hour and 15 minute Duluth Waterfront Tour aboard the Vista Star. The first half of the tour is spent on Lake Superior along the Duluth waterfront, and the second half is spent in the waters of the shipping ports learning about Duluth's shipping industry; with the highlight getting to go under the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge twice while waving to the onlookers in Canal Park! We all (kids ages 9, 11, and 13) really enjoyed learning about Lake Superior and actually getting to 'experience' the Lake versus just look at it. Our 11 and 13 year-olds were fascinated by learning about the old ships, shipwrecks, and cargo materials. I especially enjoyed the views of Canal Park and the Lighthouse from out in the water. We loved our seats on the top, open-air, deck 3 where the narrator spent most of his time and also answered questions. It was nice knowing that if it started to rain, we could have always gone inside. Overall, this is a great experience when coming to Duluth because it is something that you don't get to do just anywhere, and it really helps you appreciate the area. The boat was clean and the narrators are informative and funny. This was a great experience of which I recommend to older adults, adults, and families with teens, tweens, and school-aged kids. (Kindly, Jen from family travel blog, Travel With A Plan)
Written June 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kimberly K
Kansas City, MO38 contributions
Sep 2020
We took the 75 minutes cruise which goes under the aerial lift bridge, quickly tours the city views before going back into the harbor to finish the tour. The narration throughout the cruise is both informative and entertaining and really makes the cruise. Highly recommend for everyone wanting to relax for a bit or wanting an overview of the city. Right now, they are running with a reduced capacity leaving plenty of room to spread out.
Written September 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kaley N
Minnesota1 contribution
Jun 2020 • Family
I called Vista Fleet to inquire about a miltary discount. The booking agent said they do, 15% off. I went ahead and booked, only to find out tickets online were much cheaper. I immediately called back and was told a refund could not be processed to my credit card, but that a gift card would be issued for me to repurchase the cheaper tickets online. I asked about the remaining balance of the discount and was told "we have a gift shop." We planned on utilizing the remaining balance and we were told the gift card could only be used for boat ticket purchases. I explained the situation and what I was told. They did not honor the gift card. We now have a gift card we will never be able to use for future tickets because we are vacationers.
Extremely disappointed with their customer service. By me calling to save on tickets, ended up costing me the exact same.
Absolutely ridiculous!
Extremely disappointed with their customer service. By me calling to save on tickets, ended up costing me the exact same.
Absolutely ridiculous!
Written June 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Amanda M
1 contribution
Sep 2020 • Couples
I was extremely disappointed in their enforcement of their mask policy. Multiple people were walking around the ship with no masks at all and not socially distanced. We were told at the beginning of the tour that someone would walk around periodically and help enforce said policies. This never happened and he hung out at the bar with no mask the entire trip. Multiple children were running amuck around the ship and made my party extremely uncomfortable as there were no masks or any attempt to get them to slow down. Sam the announcer was nice to listen too when we could hear him over the yelling kids. I would never recommend this cruise even outside the pandemic as it is clear they do not care for the safety of the passengers.
Written September 7, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are very disappointed to hear that you were uncomfortable during your cruise. As a Coast Guard regulated vessel the safety of our passengers is our number one priority. We take your feedback seriously as we continue to work with our staff and navigate this extremely uncertain and difficult time
Written September 23, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Hannah B
1 contribution
Aug 2020 • Couples
We were boarded and tickets paid when it was announced Vice President Pence was doing a visit in the shipyard so we weren't able to do that part of our ride. We ended up just doing a ride out onto lake superior and was done 15 minutes early so we just sat and waited for the lift bridge to go up so we could return to doc. Felt we should have been informed of this prior to purchasing tickets. We definatly did not get what we paid for. It was rather boring and the guides attempted humor was rather lame.
Written September 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for choosing to cruise with us. We are so disappointed to hear you did not enjoy your time out on Lake Superior. Unfortunately, we also had a very short notification of the Vice President's arrival as well and tried our best to still offer our service. Our company's proven process states that guests will experience Duluth's Industrial Harbor. As we were unable to provide this portion of our guarantee due to the restrictions set by the Secret Service and Coast Guard, we would be happy to offer you a full refund and welcome you back on a future cruise. Please reach out to marketing@vistafleet.com to arrange this.
Written September 4, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Sue S
Phoenix, AZ263 contributions
Aug 2019
We had a great tour of the inner bay and the lake. Information about the lift bridge, shipping on Lake Superior and the different types of cargo imported and exported.
Our guide made jokes and told funny stories to illustrate the sites and historical events. One such story was about the border between the US and Canada. He said look over the side of the boat for the border. We laughed, but some foreign visitors thought he was serious.
Our guide made jokes and told funny stories to illustrate the sites and historical events. One such story was about the border between the US and Canada. He said look over the side of the boat for the border. We laughed, but some foreign visitors thought he was serious.
Written January 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jeans7491
Eau Claire, WI117 contributions
Jun 2021
The weather was foggy/cold/wet, so we saw little to nothing. BUT, that was a small part of the disappointment. We still were out on the water and with good company. The tour guide was a trainee and read from a script in a monotone voice and most certainly too fast. We've all had outstanding tour guides and they are trained, know their material and present it with enthusiasm. In addition, they encourage questions. Suggestion: Considering nothing could be seen, a thought for the future would be to at least have a slide show going (for bookings with poor weather) to assist guests in relating to the information provided.
There were a number of staff behind the bar and on lower level. They certainly did not take the opportunity to embrace the guest. They were not doing much business and the credit card machine did not work.
This tour has the ablility to be great but on our visit it was not.
There were a number of staff behind the bar and on lower level. They certainly did not take the opportunity to embrace the guest. They were not doing much business and the credit card machine did not work.
This tour has the ablility to be great but on our visit it was not.
Written June 13, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to detail your experience. We are so sorry to hear it was disappointing. We will be taking all of your feedback into consideration as we continue to move through the season and improve our services and offerings. Unfortunately, the weather is out of our control but we love the idea of a slide show to go along with the tour! Again, we appreciate you joining us.
Written July 13, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Shannon Sharp
Saint Paul, MN1 contribution
Jun 2020
We booked this cruise on a short little getaway to "decompress" I would seriously recommend this to anyone looking to do the same! I learned a lot of history, and the crew goes above and beyond! I didn't know about the parking lot having entrances closed down and had to make a couple of trips around to find out how to get in the lot, and they had pulled in the ramp as they were at the point they had to leave to make the lifting of the bridge, but when they saw me rushing to get to them, they pulled the ramp back out to let me and my husband on. So very cool and so friendly. I am looking forward to doing it again.
Written June 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tom D
1 contribution
Aug 2021
Cruise experience and route were very nice. Narration was terrible, as you could only understand about 10% of what our female narrator said. She seemed very knowledgeable, however you could not understand her voice, which added frustration and ruined the cruise in our opinion. The narrator's voice did not project well and she tended to mumble. Please provide a narrator, who's voice is articulate and projects well with your equipment. Or, provide equipment that will compliment her voice. Unfortunately, many of the guests shared our experience and ignored the narrator. They talked over her, making the situation worse.
9:55 AM cruise on 8-11-21
9:55 AM cruise on 8-11-21
Written August 12, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Are you open and what are restrictions? If we purchase tickets and it rains can we exchange for another day?
Written March 21, 2021
Follow signs to DECC (Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center) Harbor side. Parking was $5 for day there. ATTENDANT directed us to closest parking with a short walk to Vista Fleet. Very convenient.
Written July 4, 2018
Can you move from the top deck to other levels to sit? Or do you have to stay where you take your seat?
Written April 21, 2018
Yes. they do have accommodations for wheelchairs.
Written August 16, 2017
Which side of the boat would be best for getting photos? We are taking the longer tour.
Thanks
Written August 6, 2017
I would say either side since the boat turns around to come back and you will see it all again. I was towards the front when we went under the bridge. excellent photo opp.
Written August 7, 2017
.9 miles or a 5 min drive south. It's right south of the William Irvin Cargo ship museum. East of the Amsoil Arena, 323 Harbor Drive, Duluth, MN 55802
Written June 24, 2016
Are restrooms available on the Vista Queen 45min. Tour?
Written March 26, 2015
VistaFleetCruises
Duluth, Minnesota
Yes, we do have small restrooms on board the vessels.
Written March 30, 2015
VistaFleetCruises
Duluth, Minnesota
Hello and thank you for your inquiry!
We offer several different types of cruises, everything from our 45 minute Express Tour to our 2 hour Sunset Dinner Cruises. Sightseeing starts at $15 per person and dinners start at $39.95 per person.
Please visit us online to check out our calendar and all offerings.
We look forward to you cruising with us!
Written March 14, 2015
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