Boston Duck Tour

[karolm]

I am getting tickets ahead of time for the Boston Duck Tour.

They have 2 different places that they start.

The Prudential Center and the Museum of Science.

 

Does anyone know where would be the best place to start?

I tried calling the tour company but of course you cannot speak

with a real person only a recording.

 

Thanks for any info.

 

Carol:)

[mii]

I just went back to where all the threads are located for New England and went to the top of the page where it says Search this Forum and put in Boston Duck Tours and all sorts of info comes up. Hope this helps.

 

Marilyn

[PhilsGirl]

The tour is the same no matter where you begin. If you get on at the Museum of Science location, you could visit the museum afterwards at a discount. The Prudential Center location is more in a shopping area.

 

It would depend on where you're going to be beforehand and what you'd like to do afterwards. Both locations are accessible by the "T" and there's parking, for a fee, as well.

[karolm]

Thank you for the info. I really never knew how you could search the

specific thread. I`m a bit computer illiterate.

 

Carol

[fifty]

The Pru Center is more "downtown" in quite a nice area and probably closer to the pier, if you are docking in Boston.

 

The Science Museum is farther away. If you google dock tours, there is an interactive map. The tour is the same no matter which location you start from. If you start at the museum, you get a discount for exhibitions at the Science Museum which is really great.

 

I am online now, looking to make reservations for family who are coming to Boston (I am north of Boston). Also note, it says you have to show up 30 minutes early and/or call to confirm your online tickets! I did not see that at first glance.

 

Have fun!

[fifty]

:eek: my mistake..

[02143]

The best question is what else you would want to do in Boston after your duck tour. The Prudential duck tours let you off near some great shopping, either in the Pru and Copley malls or a few blocks north on the more atmospheric and boutique-and-gallery-oriented Newbury Street. On Copley Square, there's the Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library which has some small exhibitions.

 

The Museum of Science is an attraction in itself. It's like any other big city science museum, which means kids will love it. Not much else in the neighborhood although it's pleasant enough... just some parks, office buildings and condos, and a smaller mall.

[njmetfan]

Which is closer to Faneuil Hall?

[02143]

Which is closer to Faneuil Hall?

 

The Museum of Science is closer than the Pru, although not particularly close.

[hubofhockey]

I hope everyone doing the duck tours knows that there is a new company called Super Duck Tours and it's not the original. Here's a recent story on that in the Boston Globe this summer.

 

Tour company not quite so ducky

 

Judgment orders newcomer to change name, logo in Boston

 

By Sacha Pfeiffer, Globe Staff | July 14, 2007

Super Duck Tours, which began offering amphibious sight-seeing trips of Boston and Boston Harbor eight weeks ago, is not feeling so super.

The Maine-based business, which operates locally out of Charlestown, has received a federal court order to stop using the words "duck tours" and its cartoon duck logo in the Greater Boston area because they are confusingly similar to the name and logo of a 13-year-old rival firm.

Yesterday's ruling by US District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton came in response to a lawsuit filed by Boston Duck Tours, which is based in Copley Square and has been giving local sight-seeing trips in brightly painted World War II amphibious vehicles driven by "ConDUCKtors" since 1994. The company also uses a cartoon duck mascot in its marketing and advertising.

According to the suit, Super Duck Tours, which has two bright-yellow tour vehicles, "intentionally designed its business model" to be a copycat version of the 24-vehicle Boston Duck Tours. As a result, the complaint alleges, the newcomer has caused significant consumer confusion and poached sales.

Since Super Duck Tours began operating May 21, Boston Duck Tours has documented at least 30 cases of customers who believed the two companies were one and the same, according to the trademark-infringement complaint filed July 2. It asked that the upstart firm be prevented from using the name "super duck tours" or a cartoon duck in association with its sightseeing business.

The confusion among tourists and other consumers "was so abundant that we couldn't ignore it," said Cindy Brown, a general manager and part-owner of Boston Duck Tours, which explores Boston and the Charles River. "Our whole company is just relieved."

The lawsuit also alleges that employees at Super Duck Tours have intentionally made false statements about Boston Duck Tours, such as erroneously claiming that its tickets cost nearly twice their actual amount. Super Duck Tours denies the allegation.

A Boston lawyer for Super Duck Tours, Ralph C. Martin Jr., said the company -- which contends that "duck tours" is a generic term for amphibious sightseeing tours -- will appeal the ruling. In the meantime, it will operate under the name "Super Ducks."

"We're still in business," Martin said, "and we'll continue to conduct tours and go about the business of competing properly while we appeal the restriction."

In his ruling, Gorton expressed skepticism that Super Duck Tours came to town as merely a friendly competitor.

"The Super Duck Tours' intent is, at least, suspect," Gorton wrote. "It knowingly and intentionally entered the Boston market offering a service, [trade]mark, and logo nearly identical to that of Boston Duck Tours, an established and successful enterprise."

Boston Duck Tours had known for several years that Super Duck Tours was operating in Maine, but did not take legal action until confusion arose when the younger company arrived in Boston, according to Julia Huston, a lawyer for Boston Duck Tours.

Gorton also ordered Boston Duck Tours to post a $100,000 bond that will compensate Super Duck Tours for any costs and damages if the newcomer ultimately prevails in court.

Sacha Pfeiffer can be reached at pfeiffer@globe.com.