Vista Fleet — Attraction in Duluth

This was a lot of fun! We went on the dinner cruise. They are willing to work with you on nut allergies so you can still go, as the ravioli has walnut sauce. But the tenderloin is gluten and nut free. And Vista fleet was willing to seat us at a no nut eating table. We also were served first and the ravioli was covered so there's no cross contamination. We were also seated far from the nut stuff. But I did talk to the company that does the food before the day we went and again on the day. Belicios is who does the food. Everything is washed down good so it's as safe as they could make it. I do suggest you bring an epi pen though just in case. If a freak thing happens and there's a reaction your out on a lake. Quite awaze from help. The food was yummy! The salad is not gluten free though. It has croutons already in it. If you let them know ahead of time I'm sure it's something that can be arranged ahead of time. There is a bun too. But the food is served buffet style so you can just tell them no thank you on the bun. I suggest you start your phone calls like a month ahead of your trip. As vista fleet is hard to get ahold of. And half the time when they do call back the number comes up as other things rather than vista fleet. That was really frustrating. And belicios, you have to talk to the catering department. So they are always busy, so the call back can take days to get back to you. You may have to call them a few times. But the trip was worth the extra work! We saw a lot of fun stuff! And there's a person who tells you about them over a loud speaker, that's not horribly loud. It's just right. And you can hear it from all over the ship. After you eat, you can wander the ship. There is 3 floors. And two bathrooms. If it's to cold or windy outside, on the second floor there were a bunch of chairs by the windows so you could see while being warm. Bring a jacket, out on the lake it's windy. If you want to be outside you will need it. We actually went out on lake Superior and saw seagulls diving for food. Had to have been at least 100 of them. That was fun! There were a couple happy birthday shout outs for people on our trip too. Thought that was nice. We came back into the harbor area under the lift bridge at nighttime. Which was beautiful! Loved the shore line at night with all the lights!! That was amazing! Ok, so I gave you a taste of the food and fun. If you want the rest of the secrets, you'll just have to go experience it yourself! :) one last thing! The Popeye doll was an awesome touch! You all will have to...

We have done several different cruises now and have enjoyed all of them but one. Each tour gives you lots of information and also each one is a different length of time. The best thing to do is go online and make your reservation. They do book up fast and getting tickets same day is impossible. The only thing I would like to see different but doesn't affect my rating is Season Pass holders should be able to have top deck or be able to board first.

GRAND SIGHTSEEING TOUR is the one we have been on the most now. The reason we keep going on this one is we enjoy the ride around the harbor. It honestly never get old looking at everything. Also Sam is by far the best first mate/tour guide he funny and informative. Cruise Length: 1 Hour, 45 Minutes Vessel: Vista Star Ticket Prices: $27.00 (Book online save $5.00)

PIZZA SIGHTSEEING CRUISE was ok but the reason we didn't like was the tour lady/first mate talked way to much. Also she sounds like she was just reading all the information off a sheet. It also felt like a class and we had a teacher. It was nice to take a ride still and have some pizza so we could over look that part. If you don't want to do a long tour like the Grand Sightseeing one then you can get the information from this one plus pizza. Cruise Length: 1 Hour, 15 Minutes Vessel: Vista Star second deck Ticket Prices: $29.95

SUNSET DINNER CRUISE BY BELLISIO'S by far has been our favorite. We around the whole bay instead of just the harbor. The meal was good and just to be able to relax at the top deck after our meal was wonderful. The sunset was gorgeous! It was beautiful out the day we went on so didn't have to worry about a dark gloomy ride. You have the option of Wild Rice Stuffed Chicken Mornay, 10-ounce Char-Grilled Sirloin Steak, or Four Cheese Ravioli with Marinara Sauce as your entree. That comes with fresh Chopped Caesar Salad, French Bread Rolls, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Fresh Seasonal Vegetables. They also offer a kids meal if you choose to bring them which includes Chicken Tenders, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and Seasonal Vegetables. Cruise Length: 2 Hours Vessel: Vista Star Ticket Prices: From...

Whatever great experience you imagine when scheduling this, throw it out the window. Windows leaked, were dirty and not been clean in awhile dirty. Seats were stained, dirty and probably older than the crew. Ship smelled of mold/mildew. bathrooms are rarely cleaned as I saw a huge nest of spiders, if it was cleaned before—it’s been a couple of weeks.

Crew never went over any safety information. On similar cruises, They at least explain where to go and what to do in an emergency. Only items mentioned. “If you feel sea sick, get a crewman for a bag and don’t sit on the white boxes on deck, that’s for life jackets, not seating”

The gal doing the speaking on the microphone was monotone. Pointed out 2-3 things to look at of interest. Then rambled about stuff on or near shore we could care less about and things that were not relevant to the tour . “this cruise used to be number 2 in Duluth, sadly not anymore” type of talk. They were nice people and you are trying—but you are better off with a script with some bullet points and some practice working with people. I put in my headphones half way into the trip to escape her, but she still came in loud and clear. They would have been better off with elevator music. Not only was the guide monotone and seemed to be speaking extra loud into the microphone, she also put inflection on words in weird places, it was like she was reading from a script (but she definitely wasn’t). At one point we decided to weather the rain and went on deck to try to escape it, but no, there was speakers out there too!

Crew needs training, ship needs basic TLC, every chair should be cleaned throughly. Bathrooms should be checked and cleaned after every cruise. Windows should be cleaned every morning to insure every patron going on your cruise can see out those windows. Windows that are leaking need to get fixed so you can stem the growth of mold. If these issues are not addressed, you will see Vista go out of business and/or claim the life of...