s.s. william a. irvin ore boat museum

Try it. It's worth it. Not exactly handicap accessible, but very fun. It is an old ore boat from many years ago.

We went in August and this was an interesting tour. We had a terrific guide who was in the Navy so he made it very interesting. Nice that he had the experience of "ship life". You will see the ship from top to bottom, one end to the other. They go through the engine rooms, and the kitchen, the living quarters and the bridge. It really gives you a perspective on how HUGE these ships are. Like was said before if you are out of shape, can't walk well or afraid of heights, this might not be for you. You have to climb VERY steep staircases, almost ladder type of steps up and down, and there are quite a lot of them.

I'm glad I saw it, but there were a few flaws. We went on Sept. 21 and the ore holds were closed in preparation from the haunted ship. Disappointing. I would have liked to see at least part of it, especially since we paid full price for the tour. Our young tour guide was spirited. A little too spirited for our liking. It was like she was saying, "You WILL think my jokes are funny and you WILL answer all my pointless questions that in the end will make you feel stupid." However, I'm sure she was just following the script and even the pushy-ness was better than boring and dull. And she did know the answers to all of the group's actual questions, so four stars for that.

If you travel to Duluth in October make a stop at the Haunted boat. It is cheap, family fun or grown adult entertainment. You can buy hot chocolate for $1 and the line was fast.

If you've ever seen one ore boat, you've seen them all. If you haven't been on this type of ship, you should absolutely tour it. Kids, especially, love the idea of being on a ship. Otherwise, the tour itself is quite watered down and uneventful. I hear the haunted ship at Halloween is well worth a visit though.

While in Duluth we went through the 'Haunted' S.S. William Irvin ship! It was scary....but fun!! Didn't have to wait in line too long. Reasonably priced.

We thought the line was long when we arrived but it went very fast. Was a fun thing to do with everyone. We really enjoyed it was not terribly scary. Id say ages above 8 would be fine.

the normal tour of this boat is very long and boring. but in oct. when it becomes a haunted house, it's very fun

Nice display of old trains. They had many that you could walk into and get a good idea of what it was like to travel in the old days.

I enjoyed the tour. The tour guide was very good and knew his history regarding the ship. He made it light and engaging with a few jokes as well as "useless facts" which were fun.

It was neat to walk around this boat. The guide was very knowledgeable & the tour was a good pace. There is a very nice gift shop as well.

What an insight to what these ships do and what part they play in history. Loved that you could take pictures. We just wish our guide had spoken a little louder and not so fast we only got half of what he said and got tired of hearing him say "sorry my 1st day back from vacation"

The Wm. Irvin one-hour tour was just right--not to long, not too short. And it isn't boring. Guides do a good job of walking you all over the ship, showing you the crew's quarters, officers' quarters, mess halls, guest suites, engine room, etc. This tour is not for anyone who's out shape or elderly. There are 18 sets of very steep stairs to clime.

It was a nice 1 hour tour. Tour guide was funny and informative. Only $8 for students which was a bonus. Be prepared for some steep stairs though. We had a 3 year old in our group who managed to do the stairs so its not that crazy

This is a great tour to include in your itinerary. A real ore boat & huge! You can get an idea of what it was like to live & work on a boat like this. Really impressive!