City Cruises welcomes new wave of menu memories for guests
More than a decade ago, I recall being seated at a Bunny Brunch on board the Odyssey yacht for an Easter Sunday surprise for my parents and my older sister Pam. It was the first time my parents had been on the open waters since 2003, when our entire family sailed together on a cruise to the Caribbean for Mom and Dad’s 50th wedding anniversary celebration.
In the years since, I’ve hosted birthday parties and celebrated New Year’s Eve on the same inviting Odyssey II vessel departing from Navy Pier to enjoy fine dining cuisine and service paired with a view of the Chicago cityscape that is unmatched from dry land.
In April, as the COVID19 pandemic began to find balance with availability of vaccines to do battle against the virus, Odyssey and the other fleet of cruise vessels (managed by the same parent company) began a new chapter.
Global company Hornblower, the umbrella corporation for the Navy Pier Odyssey and other cruising opportunities, announced their relaunch as “City Cruises under City Experiences”. In Chicago, City Cruises’ luxury dining and sightseeing yachts include not only Odyssey Lake Michigan, Spirit of Chicago and Chicago Elite, but also their newest vessel to join the fleet, Odyssey Chicago River, for guests to enjoy cocktails and cuisine while seeing the skyline from the Chicago River. For the adventurous, there are also the five “Seadogs” for a fast-paced lake tour.
“This is such an exciting time to get our vessels back and running on our Chicago waters,” said Dan Russell, regional vice president, Hornblower Group.
With its climate-controlled dining rooms, complete with DJ and dance floor as well as a full kitchen, Odyssey II ranks as the largest dining entertainment vessel on Lake Michigan and all the Great Lakes.
Prior to the pandemic, more than 2,500 guests spent Mother’s Day on the boats and, on New Year’s Eve, it wasn’t uncommon for more than 1,200 sea-going revelers to toast, dine and dance-in the new year. Cruises start at $50 with a wide range of themes and opportunities as described at www.cityexperiences.com/chicago.
With a more than a 40-year history along the waters of the Windy City, the Navy Pier boat
ing operations began as Spirit Cruises, LLC, parent company of Entertainment Cruises at Navy Pier, which has the distinction as the largest harbor cruise company in America, with ships in other American port cities, including Baltimore, Boston, New York, Norfolk, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
I love the history of the original company, which began in 1978 when a company called C.I. Travel in Norfolk, Virginia, purchased an old World War II landing craft with the ambitious idea of converting it into a dinner cruise vessel on the historic Elizabeth River. After a series of major renovations, the ship was christened Spirit of Norfolk and Spirit Cruises was born and later partnered with Premier Yachts, which began in Chicago in 1990.
Grace Fuller, general manager for the Chicago fleet, has been with the dinner cruising operation in Chicago for 15 years, and she emphasizes the cruises are family friendly with children, especially during the Wednesday and Saturday fireworks cruises along with a special option of their only kid-friendly menu. My own personal menu favorites are the tender beef rib roast and the ship’s starter salad course of fresh mixed spring greens with watermelon cubes and a feta cheese garnish, all drizzled with a balsamic vinegar accent.
Years ago in the early 1990s, I joined my parents in Branson, Missouri, and one afternoon, we caught a matinee concert of singer Tony Orlando’s show at (what was then) his own marquee theater. We were surprised to be seated in the audience next to actor Gavin MacLeod and his wife Patti. MacLeod is forever famous for his roles as news writer Murray on “The Mary Tyler Moore” and as Captain Stubing on ABC’s “The Love Boat.”
Kind, gracious and smiling, the couple honored a request, and later mailed me with a wonderful favorite seafaring recipe to share with readers. Just six weeks ago, we lost Gavin at age 90 when he died May 29.
Like my own career-hazard “battle with the bulge,” Gavin also struggled with back and forth ballooning weight, including reaching 260 pounds near the end of the 1977 run of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” just as he was about start his new role on “The Love Boat.”
He said he blamed too much late night dining, especially pasta at Italian restaurants, when touring on stage in summer stock roles such as playing beau Herbie, who courts Kaye Ballard as Mama Rose in “Gypsy”, and opposite “The Waltons” mom Michael Learning in a tour of “Love Letters.” He told me he followed wife Patti’s menu lead to lose weight quickly, and he “maintained his numbers” by adopting a balanced diet planned around fish, salads and heavy on fruits and vegetables.