Nice 1 1/2 hour cruse up and down the Mississippi River. This was a lunch cruse that started at 11:00. You could either do the cruse with food, or without. We shared the boat with about 25 people and all of us had the meal. It was early spring, so I'm sure the boat fills up as the weather improves and travelers are out and about. Our lunch was sliced turkey, Swedish meatballs with potatoes and carrots. The turkey was hand carved and the rest was buffet style. Food was decent and there was plenty available. Coffee and tea were included, but other beverages, including a full bar, was available for a charge. The trip itself was nice. The highlight was going through a railroad bridge. (Twice - going up and down) A large section of the bridge has to turn to open a space for the boat to go through. Otherwise the views were a bit pedestrian, some nice homes along the river and a few uninhabited islands. There were some bird watchers on our trip who got really excited when they spotted a couple of Eagles nesting in a tree along the river. The captain does a nice job as a narrator/guide to bring the area to life with interesting stories and historical facts. Overall this is a nice relaxing trip. Sit back and learnt some history of the area and Mississippi River, and enjoy the ride. It's always fun to be on the water! Glad I did the trip, probably wouldn't need to do it again. read more

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Well maintained paddle boat which deserves high marks. From launch to meal service, staff was friendly and welcoming. About a 2 hour ride in total. Highly recommend! read more

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we enjoyed our dinner cruise. We had no reservations just drove into town seen it by the water seen people had my friend get out to go see if we can get on. I parked literally boarding in five minutes. This was meant to be. The food was good not great but good servers were nice. Beautiful sunny day. We had a blast. They serve drinks on board as well. read more

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A fun experience for spending time on the water! I definitely recommend getting here EARLY as it's first come first serve on seating (you'll want a seat upstairs, in the shade, and nearest the side of the boat). read more

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What a huge disappointment and waste of money. We booked an evening dinner cruise for two people. It cost us over $112.00. Since the cruise was at night, we could not see anything out of the windows so that part of the cruise was a disappointment. It would have been OK though if the rest of the cruise was not so awful. We were crowded in like sardines and it was very uncomfortable as well as very noisy. We were there with a group that we only see every couple of years so it would have been nice if we would have been able to have a conversation. It was much too noisy to talk. There was a man playing music and singing, which only added to the overall noise and only the people sitting closest to him could hear him anyway. The food was cold and not very good. It's clear it had been sitting out for hours in the steamers. We had shrimp skewers, chicken, mashed potatoes and carrots. All of the food was cold an unappetizing. Dessert was very small squares of carrot cake which was very processed. read more

Relaxing, well organized, informative, and comfortable ninety minute excursion on the Mississippi River read more

La Crosse Queen Cruises - Lacrosse Queen paddlewheel boat at the dock at Riverside Park. - Boating Near Me - La Crosse, Wisconsin

If you're visiting La Crosse during "boating season" I highly recommend taking a ride on an authentic paddle-wheel riverboat, the La Crosse Queen. They offer narrated tours on the Mississippi River, as well as non-narrated pizza cruises, brunch cruises, and weekend dinner cruises. You can sit below or up top, covered or uncovered. Our narrator provided educational and fun insight, as well as informative stories around the river and surrounding lands, including wildlife that may be seen. I saw three bald eagles during our tour. The tour lasted around an hour and a half, and this particular tour was only $16.95, which I think is a great value! At the end of the tour, the narrator provided recommendations for other activities in town, including a visit to Grandad Bluff, which I visited at her suggestion and loved! There is a gift shop and a photo op for a nominal charge ($5 on my visit), if guests are interested. Add this boat to your to-do list. read more

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It was a nice sightseeing cruise on the Mississippi River. Hour & 1/2 with drinks for purchase on board. $18.75 per tix for adults. Only 150 seats, buy tix the day b4 or very early the day of, they sell out. read more

Nice concept! Had a group of 85 take an evening dinner cruise. Small on board bar, very young inexperienced bartenders, weren't sure how to make a brandy old fashioned, in Wisconsin?? Then dinner came, nice dinner rolls, ran out of butter, in Wisconsin? Main course was ham and roast chicken, ran out of chicken! Hope you understand why I wasn't impressed! read more

The sightseeing cruise made our Lacrosse stay so enjoyable. We took the 11 am morning cruise and the tour host was so knowledgeable providing historic information about the river and area. Our entire family loved staying on the upper level through most of the cruise for the scenery, but you can freely go to the lower level for snacks, restrooms or to get out of the sun for A/C comfort. The paddle wheel was fun to watch. We were pleased to find out they are very safety conscious regarding COVID. They clean and sanitize the entire boat well. We were on a boat that holds many more people but they keep the capacity to 65-people. read more

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The Radisson La Crosse recommended the La Crosse Queen as a venue for my group's Thursday night event. Everything went smoothly, from our initial tour last August, through menu and bar decisions to signing the final contract. The food was amazing (prime rib and chicken!), the wait staff took great care of our group of 50+, and I think Kathy had a hand in arranging lovely, cool weather for our evening cruise. If you're looking for a venue for a large group outing that's not the usual head to a restaurant - take a cruise with the La Crosse Queen! read more

such a relaxing Sunday evening! We did the pizza cruise. For $20 you get an hour and a half boat ride with unlimited beer/pop and pizza! Staff is super friendly. They also offer gluten free pizza for $5 extra, you just have to call ahead and let them know!! We will definitely be back. read more

" Nice Site Seeing Tour On A Small Paddle wheeler " My wife and I decided to go on a 1 1/2 hour River site seeing tour in La Crosse WI. Even though we had docked earlier in the day on a large Paddle wheel ship The American Duchess we wanted to see and hear the local history and things to see on the small La Crosse Queen Cruise. The Tour Started on the dock at the Riverside Park and went up the Mississippi River past the railroad bridge, and up to a Lock & Dam, and then returned to the Riverside Park again. The Tour guide was very easy to hear and understand, and had a lot of historical local information to hear, that we would not get on our Big Ship. read more

La Crosse Queen Cruises - La Crosse Queen Boat - Boating Near Me - La Crosse, Wisconsin

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Very nice cruise. We took the 1.5 hour afternoon trip. Good commentary on the river, La Crosse and the local sites. Upper deck has tables which is nice seating arrangement versus standard bench or row seating on other sightseeing boats. I would definitely recommend. read more

loved thecuise. was a super sunny day. great day. super knowledgeable staff that could answer all questions

We spent the evening on the La Crosse Queens River Cruise. It was great! We were able to celebrate a co-workers going away on the top deck. The drinks were inexpensive and the food (catered by "Blue Moon" [see Blue Moon review]) was great as well. I only had a couple of issues, our waiter kept forgetting orders and the live music only catered to the bottom floor. The music played by an artist with the guitar. The time could also be longer for the cruise, maybe going out and sitting on the water. read more

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Landmark Review: Another scenic option if you are traveling through La Crosse. One of the few boats that operates on weekdays which meant this was our only choice of traveling up and down river. The staff member gave a great recap of the history of the river during the tour. The only downside is during weekdays there was a lot of kids from schools which they warned us about so they placed all tourist in the back of the boat. Scenic and peaceful otherwise Hidden deals: None read more

Fun to get out on the river and paddle wheel boats are very cool! You enter and leave through the gift shop...of course. :) We were on a catered evening party and the beer was awful and they served dominoes pizza. But I don't know who brought the food? The boat ride was fun....up the river to the next lock and dam then we turned around and went back to the dock. It was evening so the sun was setting and the moon coming up. Very nice to be out on the top deck of the boat! read more

We took the pizza cruise on a beautiful August day. First of all, La Crosse is a beautiful little town with far more to offer than one would expect based strictly on the population. The cruise itself was not exciting but pleasant and interesting. The scenery is great and you get to see a working swing bridge just before the dam. As I think previous reviews have said, the beer is not fantastic but there is plenty of it and since this hour and a half altogether only cost just over $20 per person one cannot be too demanding. The Domino's pizza was delivered to the dock just before we boarded so was warm. Altogether, a reasonably cheap day out with the family to see some interesting things on a beautiful day. read more

My husband, his daughter and I went on the 1:30 PM sightseeing cruise for the first time today. Weather was good, cruise was even better. Nice relaxing way to spend 1 1/2 hours. read more

We went on the Sunday brunch ride. It was nice that the seating was already assigned so there wasn't a mad rush to line up. A woman was waiting to take everyone's tickets and take a picture of each party as they boarded. So we waited in line, handed over our tickets to board the boat, and indicated that we didn't want a picture. The ticket taker responded with a sneer and a curt "alright then". Prior to our boarding, another couple also said that they didn't want a picture. They received a rather loud response of "it doesn't hurt to take a picture, folks". Our seats were in the middle of the inside lower deck right on the aisle. Due to our table consisting of larger adults, we ended up hanging over into the aisle. Since there was no announcement to try to keep your conversations at a minimum during the tour, we couldn't hear any of the narration due to the co-passengers' spirited conversations, At least we could go outside to get a good look at the scenery. Make reservations early, as the meal/weekend rides fill up quickly in the summer. I can't say enough about the waitstaff on the boat. They were friendly, efficient and enthusiast. They turned our experience around after the rude boarding. read more

Really enjoyed our cruise; staff was very nice but could of had a bit better meal. Served roast and turkey which were tender but could of used a gravy. Roasted potatoes were dry and burnt and the carrots were good but need another vegetable for those that don't care for carrots. Salad or bread would of been nice but can't go wrong with the carrot cake we had. read more

We did the pizza cruise which was fun. The staff always kept our beer full. I would recommend going when there is a breeze. It gets to be a long cruise when it is hot and humid. The views were fantastic and the staff was friendly. read more

The cruise is very nice. We had the Sunday brunch, a buffet that was good enough. Main complaint is that the dining room / lower deck was like a sauna and the upper / open air deck doesn't have enough space for everyone to get out and cool off. Add a turbo to the A/C and they would earn 4 stars. Staff was attentive and pleasant. read more

The boat ride its self is fun. Beautiful views and comfortable boat to ride. The tour guide was not very good. I expected folklore and more interesting facts. The guide gave facts that weren't very interesting and in a very boring way. read more

Frequent this boat several times every summer! Always have a good time! They give a lot of good information about the city, the water and the city of the history. There is a full bar on every cruise! If you sit upstairs its outside and canopy covered, if you sit instide its all windows so you can still hear everything! They have bathrooms and also serve really fabulous meals. There is even a live band on all their dinner cruises! Food its great service and experience is even better!! Love this place!! read more

The only boat operation running on weekdays which made it easy for us to choose the La Crosse Queen for the Tuesday after Labor Day. It is a brand new (one year old) boat and has actual functional paddlewheels in the back. Pretty cool really but since it is at the back and out of sight it is not something that you notice. Diesel powered hydraulic and a split set of paddlewheels allow the captain to maneuver. The college kids who man the microphone and the bar are both very nice. The seats on the top are open air and mostly under the canapy and the lower level seating is inside and air conditioned. We took the 1.5 hour sight-seeing cruise at 1.30pm and went north to the lock and turned around and came back. You can walk around the boat during the cruise. There is a one dollar off coupon if you go in the adjacent visitor center and look for a brochure. read more

The La Crosse Queen is a wonderful riverboat. I was on the sightseeing cruise which starts in Riverside Park and goes up the Mississippi past the railroad bridge, up to Lock & Dam No. 7, and back. The concessions are okay, and water was free in a plastic cup, but water bottles were available for purchase. I don't know if the cups of water were free because they ran out of bottled water or if it is always that way. The tour guide was nice and so smiley, which was a plus. He liked to make jokes, he did a spectacular job, and he had great information to give about the area surrounding this part of the Mississippi. The boat has genuine paddle wheels unlike many of the other riverboats built today, like the American Queen. I wish that the dining room and boat deck were much more genuine and period correct, but hopefully the La Crosse Queen VIII will include that. The tickets were not terribly priced, so it is definitely something I would do every once and a while. While visiting La Crosse or just in need of a nice experience, the La Crosse Queen is the way to go. read more

One star is being generous given how rude they were when they abandoned 2 women with disabilities, one of which is deaf and blind and the other in a wheelchair, at the handicap ramp when they just 'forgot' them altogether. When i went in to find out why the woman said "oh he must have misunderstood". Not sure how hard that is to misunderstand when HE was the one to instruct us to wait there. Then when i went back calmly to purchase tickets for the later time the guy couldnt even come up and help me, sending yet again some other lady to tell me sorry, its all booked. Needless to say, these people told me it was ok to get them loaded and on the boat. Then they left us watching them leave, and then told us we couldnt even go later. So rude. Inconsiderate. Get your stuff together because people with disabilities deserve better treatment than that. Extremely upsetting. Hope you can do better next time. But we are not coming back or recommending you to anyone else. We will remember how we felt watching the boat leave when we were waiting for you to open the gate to let us on. read more