Mystic Blue is one of the seven cruise companies (mostly dining cruise companies) owned by Entertainment Cruises. Unlike the other companies owned by this conglomerate, though, it only operates in one city, Chicago. Mystic Blue is both the name of the Chicago-based company, as well as the name of the company’s ship, which sails around Lake Michigan. Consistent with the majority of Entertainment Cruises’ companies, Mystic Blue focuses on dining cruises, which take the form of brunch, lunch, and dinner cruises that are offered throughout the year. The company also offers specialized dining cruises for holidays, and the Mystic Blue can be chartered for corporate and private events as well. Below we explain Mystic Blue offerings, as well as situate the company in the broader universe of Entertainment Cruises.
Mystic Blue’s cruises are basically exactly like the offerings of Spirit Cruises and Odyssey Cruises. However, whereas these two companies operate in multiple cities, Mystic Blue is, once again, only in Chicago. Incidentally, both Spirit and Odyssey operate in Chicago as well, so there are three companies that operate extremely similar dining cruises in Chicago, and they are all owned by the same company. It is in fact hardly even worth thinking about them as separate companies because all of their offerings blend together. If you go to the Mystic Blue website and search for, say, a dinner cruise, your list of results will be populated by Spirit and Odyssey cruises, in addition to whatever is available on Mystic Blue specifically. (There will actually be more cruises offered by the other two companies, which evidently maintain a more punishing dining cruise schedule.) Regardless of which company you book with, your cruise will leave from Navy Pier, and it will last about two to three hours.
However, there are differences between the three companies. First, each operates their own ship, and while there are similarities between the vessels, they are nevertheless distinct. The structure of each ship is different, so the dining arrangements vary. For example, on the Odyssey, all seating is private, perhaps because it is the largest of the three ships, but on Spirit’s ship or the Mystic Blue, you may be seated with other guests. The food selection and dining style is also different on each ship. The Odyssey has seated, three-course meals, whereas the other two serve only buffet-style meals. Finally, the specialty cruises vary from ship to ship. Each company offers cruises for larger holidays – e.g., Valentine’s Day – but every ship has a specialty cruise schedule with different events. For example, the Mystic Blue offers the “Blue After Dark Moonlight Cruise,” a late-night party cruise, which isn’t offered by either Odyssey or Spirit.
Overall, Mystic Blues’ offerings are best looked at in connection with the cruises of Spirit and Odyssey, and in fact this is unavoidable because they are all listed together no matter what website you are using, but there is the occasional cruise that is specific to Mystic Blue. Between the three companies, there is almost always something available, and with their combined offerings, there should be something for anyone interested in taking a dining cruise in Chicago.
