Anita Dee Yacht Charters — Attraction in Chicago

My wife and I were gifted these tickets and had I knew the night that was to come, I would have refused. There's not many Chicago experiences that I wholly regret as I'm usually able to focus on the positives of even the crappiest experiences, but even that optimism would be hard to solicit here.

Our tickets were for the 7:30PM Wednesday night sunset cruise on the Anita Dee II and we were gifted them on Tuesday night. I should have known something was off when I saw the original buyer only paid $4.89 per ticket. Nevertheless, we saw the cruise as an opportunity to have a relaxing date night and took the opportunity to dress somewhat nice.

However, there was NO information about this cruise online. The only results that came up were the Wendella Sunset cruises. This is where my culpability comes in: I should have done more research into who was actually hosting the cruise, but unfortunately, my wife had possession of the tickets and we both work full-time, so it was difficult to keep that level of verification top-of-mind throughout the day. Because we were both so busy leading up to the cruise, we just decided to roll with it and in the back of our minds, assumed that this was a Wendella cruise.

Long story short; we went to the wrong dock and had to pay for a pedicab to the harbor where the Anita Dee II was docked. Again, this was my fault and I can't knock the yacht charter company for that. We made it with 15 minutes to spare, and I already felt something was off when I realized the yacht was packed to the BRIM with people.

The staff was friendly enough and just doing their jobs. I'm also not going to knock them at all for this, because they were just fine. They let us onto the boat and there we were: trapped for 2.5 hours.

There was a bar on every floor which was nice, but the drinks were as expensive as I would have expected from a boat so I held off. Ice water was kept in dispensers on every floor which was also nice.

The rooftop was packed like a nightclub prior to departure. I was starting to wonder where the "sunset" part of this cruise came from, because the sun had already set. Our departure time was 7:30 and we didn't end up moving from the harbor until 7:46. We then had to wait for the Chicago Harbor Lock to open, and we didn't make it into open waters until around 8:15PM. 45 minutes, the cruise was stuck in the locked harbor. Absolutely insane. It was already properly nighttime by the time we got out so the sunset was but a distant memory.

The quietest parts of the boat were the port and starboard corridors, but people were constantly moving back and forth and one guy was vaping in my face despite it being prohibited. We had about 5 min of visibility into the beautiful Chicago skyline before setting out into harbor proper which was nice, but mosquitos started to infest the outside decks so we had to move inside.

The inside was basically just a club which was not the vibe I wanted nor expected on hump day. There's a time and a place that I'll indulge in when prepared, but the dissonance between expecting a relaxing night on the lake vs. what we got was insane. Again, I could have done more research but AGAIN, there was NO info about this cruise online.

We found a quiet(ish) lounge behind the first floor bar in the stern of the boat where my wife and I just sat and did our best to relax for the 2 remaining hours we were stuck there. There was a woman who I suspect was seasick that had her head down on a table for the entirety of the cruise and I felt so bad for her, and the vibes probably didn't help either. There was also a girl that I think injured her leg or foot when traversing through the boat as well as a very elderly old man and there were absolutely no accessibility options for them. Overall, it was just a very bad vibe all around.

We closed out the night with an extremely crowded and disorganized deboarding process as well as two middle-aged women getting into a fight over God knows what. On a Wednesday night. I wish I stayed home, and I can't say I will ever be using this...

July 14, 2023 - I am editing my review to five stars to reflect the excellent service provided by John and Marc Barrile in getting Groupon to refund my son's purchase. They worked with the promoter of the Cruise, Mr Segura, to get Groupon to finally refund the money. I would still not recommend ever using Groupon, but I would not hold Anita Dee Charters responsible for Groupon's actions in this matter. They obviously care about their business and went the all out to make things right. I really appreciate their efforts.

Review from July 10, 2023 NEVER USE GROUPON! This purchase was for two tickets for July 8, Light Up The Sky Waves Firework Cruise. When we arrived to board as directed at 6:30pm and had waited for 30 minutes in one large line, the eight staff members and security sorted us all into three lines - one was full priced tickets, 2nd was first class tickets, and 3rd was the Groupon tickets. After waiting another hour, only the first two lines were allowed to board. ALL Groupon holders, approximately 100-200+ customers, were refused boarding (there were so many it was difficult to count, but see the photo taken by Donipathi mouli prasad a few reviews further down to see the chaos - people were becoming so aggressive and angry I thought there might be a riot). Now my son is trying to get a refund which is making this bad experience that much worse. Saturday night, after being refused boarding, Groupon says to him via text in their app "all sales are final, sorry you are out of luck. " Sunday morning I suggested he try sending an email and so went to the Groupon website. When trying to get the details of the voucher off the phone to put into the email, it somehow got "Redeemed". How can a voucher which expired on July 8 get redeemed on July 9? My son is currently trying to work with Groupon and Anita Dee staff to get this made right by getting a refund to his credit card. I will be sure to update this review with the final resolution. I realize mistakes happen, but you can't just not provide a service and then say "we're keeping your money because all...

I the opportunity to charter the Anita Dee for the Labor Day cruise event on Saturday August 31. I can say this was one of the worst experiences I have ever had from beginning to end. Starting with the loading process which was an unorganized, we were asked to step from our personal items to the side to be wanded down while security were checking purses and wallets. Myself as well as many others in line expressed how that made us uncomfortable that security was allowed to search items without us being able to be in eye view. We didn’t not leave from the dock until a little after 9pm . Shortly after leaving the dock the music completely stopped for at least 30-45 mins. We had to ask staff what was the issue with the music. After the music was started back there was not a wide variety of genres which saddened me. There was absolutely no mingling or partying amongst the guest on the second floor .The security guard who worked the 2nd floor leading to the top deck( african-American guy, medium, built, and height with glasses) had a horrible attitude and disposition the ENTIRE ride . He was VERY problematic and aggressive to many party goers throughout the night. He made it very difficult for participants to go up to the top deck, making it very clear that if you came back down, you would not be allowed to go back up for a vast period of time I watched some people sit at the door for 15 plus mins because he refused to let them up . Even when others were coming down from the top deck. Finally at the end of this snooze fest of a party the boat arrived back to the dock where we had to wait another 25-30 mins to get off the boat . Again the same rude security began to scream at party goers that the exit closest to us was closed and we had to go another way after waiting in line for 30mins . I really hate to leave such a bad review, but it was not The experience I expected to have. I hope that you all are able to work out the kinks in the future for other...