Spirit of Ethan Allen — Restaurant in Burlington

We booked a cruise on the Spirit of Ethan Allen for our anniversary. A small parking lot is close by and costs $3 per hour. You must use a credit card. The parking lot was full when we arrived but were able to park after a group left. There were at least 3 cars behind us looking for spots and a constant stream of people not lucky enough to get a spot exiting the lot. The next closest parking option is not that close so plan accordingly.

We sat on the top deck (the only deck open for this mid-day cruise). The deck was fully enclosed and warm. The deck is set up as a restaurant with a full menu and we were approached by a server to take our order. We had a few beverages but declined to order lunch. We found this a bit odd. Normally, there is a snack bar but in this case we felt like we were expected to order. Note that a 20% service fee is added to your bill so the tip has already been added. This fact is listed on the bill but easy to miss.

With the other decks closed, we weren't able to explore the boat, which is normally part of a site-seeing tour and something we look forward to. This should have been disclosed on the website prior to ticket purchase.

The tour was narrated by a prerecorded track. It was informative and necessary because overall the tour was kind of boring. Most of the time, the boat stayed far from shore so viewing locations of note was done from a substantial distance. The temporary windows surrounding the seating area were made of plexiglass and were clouded or cracked in many places making viewing difficult at times. There was a small area near the pilot house and one at the stern giving an opportunity to be outside.

When we disembarked there was a crew member at the end of the passerelle with a tip bucket. I'm not sure how a tip was appropriate for the occasion and definately had a "let's squeeze every buck out of these guests."

In summary, we were disappointed. As an alternative to this cruise, we would recommend Northern Star Cruises in Newport RI; about 90 minutes Northeast from the Burlington Area. It is a much more intimate cruise on an historic boat that passes over the U.S./Canadian border. The trip there is also very scenic.

If you are not limited on time, thh Spirit of Ethan Allen cruise might be worth if for nothing more than to check off a Vermont attraction. That is...

We took the sunset cruise. It is a 2.5 hour cruise. You are told no outside food or drink is allowed on board and you are welcome to leave your water bottles in a cooler for your return. That seemed kind of odd with everyone having similar waters.

Now when you got on the boat you have no idea where to go. Apparently it was a dinner cruise too. So they had a special area that you aren't allowed in. That area had a DJ and dancing. The other places you go all seemed like restaurant seating.

We planned to eat so went to the bow of the boat and got the picnic for two and asked for sparkling water which was an option. The waitress asked if I was ok with mango sparkling water. I was. But then she brought me out a caffeinated tea mango seltzer. Caffeine is a big no no for me with migraines so I told her I couldn't have it and she gladly brought me seltzer ain instead. The food was really good in the basket. We had warm french bagettes, cheese, crackers, fruits and vegetables. It was all yummy.

After dinner we had no idea what to do. Every area seemed to have seating with menus. We were perplexed. We did eventually find some bench seating.

The sunset over the lake was gorgeous. The ride was pretty calm.

Besides that it was pretty dull. It said we would have music and there was none. We just wandered aimlessly around the boat looking for somewhere to sit. It would have been nice if they opened the dance floor to everyone or at least played some music as they were supposed to. It also would be nice to have areas where people who weren't eating could sit and not feel obligated to...

Went to the cruise to enjoy the sights of Lake Champlain with guests from Europe. After buying tickets and boarding we were herded to the bow of the boat meant to accommodate at most 20 people . Noticed a few guests trying to go upstairs but were being turned away due to a large booking. They mentioned that it was closed due to the large group. Three large areas all closed to regular guests not with the large group. We went upstairs and the nice young waitress indicated it was closed but we could sit off to the side, like unwelcome guests. We paid $100 to feel like unwelcome guests. We decided to exit the boat due to feeling this way. The ticket booth attendants said we could wait 2 hours for the next boat but refused to refund and rudely pointed at the printed sign on the wall. After calling the office to complain, who initially stated that a refund was not possible, and after demanding a refund repeatedly the office finally issued a refund. The ticket counter attendant one of whom indicated was the marketing manager decided after I went to the counter to make sure they were aware we never boarded the boat, felt the need to slam the ticket window shut after I had left. Poor customer service. It is 2017. I cannot understand a company in this day and age who takes a customer's money, doesn't deliver of the service that is due, and then makes you jump through hoops to get your money back when the service was not accepted and never used due to the company not keeping their promise. We got our refund, but it ruined our day and a special trip for our visitors. Poor...