Super Duck Tours

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Super Duck Tours - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024) - Tripadvisor

Super Duck Tours

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SUPER DUCK TOURS (Boston) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Super Duck Tours

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Super Duck Tours - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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Everything To Know About the Boston Duck Boats and Tours

Boston Duck Tours takes visitors on an 80-minute tour of Boston

From Boston’s historic homes to the bustling waterfront, it can be a little overwhelming to make sure you hit all of the city’s most noteworthy sites . But there isn’t much of a better way to fit everything in than the Boston Duck Tours.

Since 1994, the “duck” boats have been a staple in the Massachusetts capital, carrying thousands of passengers in peak season across the city. Today, the fleet consists of 28 replica World War II amphibious landing vehicles that take you through Boston and into the Charles River. Here’s everything you need to know about one of Boston’s most popular tours.

Hit numerous sites in 80 minutes

With tours taking place every day from the end of March through the end of November, the Boston Duck Tours run every 20-30 minutes (depending on departure area) from 9am to about an hour before sunset. Passengers have the ability to get tickets and board at three locations, including the Prudential Center, Museum of Science and the New England Aquarium.

Once onboard, local drivers take guests on an 80-minute tour of the city, hitting numerous historical and significant sites along the way. You’ll slow down to see the Boston Public Gardens, Beacon Hill, JFK Residence, the Old State House and more than 20 other sites.

During the ride, the quirky ConDUCKtors spew out historical facts and interesting tidbits. Each guide takes on a different persona, bringing a unique – and often humorous – twist to the tour. There’s Bobby Oar, Vincent Van Duck, Robin the Riveter, Lenient Louis the Plunderless Privateer, Captain Super Swift and a crew of many other characters.

While the New England Aquarium boats take a slightly different route than the Prudential Center and Museum of Science rides, they see most of the same places. The Prudential Center and Museum of Science boats are also equipped to give tours in nine different languages and are wheelchair accessible.

Taking a duck boat tour is a great way to see Boston’s top attractions

Get on the Charles River

One of the more popular locations along the ride puts visitors right into the Charles. At different points on the trip (depending on your boarding spot), the “Duck” turns from truck to boat, and the drivers take passengers on a 20-minute glide over the river.

Entering the river around the Museum of Science, participants see Boston’s West End and Beacon Hill neighborhoods from the water before cruising under the famous Longfellow Bridge. The excursion gives wide, sweeping views of the Boston and Cambridge skylines and intimately displays the Back Bay, including the beautiful Esplanade, before turning back.

If you’re lucky, you’ll be one of the several passengers picked to drive the boat along the river portion of the tour.

You’ll float on the river for 20 minutes

Ride in a little piece of history

While the present-day boats are all replicas, the Boston Duck Tours started with an original fleet of World War II amphibious landing vehicles that were converted for passengers. Code-named “DUKW” (which is where the current name comes from), the last original WWII vehicle was taken out of the fleet in 2014, but the company still owns one for special occasions.

The replicas are known as “truck ducks.” First built in Kansas, these models were purposely made for tourism and have a stronger hull with an enclosed top. The oldest boat dates back to 2006 with the newest being from 2014.

To localize the fleet, the company named each of the 28 duck boats after a Boston landmark or neighborhood, with the name painted along the side of the vehicle. Boats include Back Bay Bertha, Beacon Hilda, Espla Nadia, Olga Ironsides, Symphony Hal, Fenway Fanny and many others.

Boston Duck Tours no longer uses original American military DUKWs

Ride in the same boats as Boston’s champions

Starting in 2002 with the New England Patriots’ first Super Bowl win, Boston Duck Tours and its boats became the “Official ChampionSHIP” of Boston’s four major sports teams. Whenever one of Boston’s teams wins a championship, the company sends out its “Rolling Rally,” a parade that consists of almost the whole fleet and welcomes the players onboard to travel around the city among crowds of cheering fans.

The duck boats have hosted the championship parade a total of 12 times between all four sports teams since 2002, including six times for the Patriots, four times for the Red Sox and one each for the Bruins and Celtics.

On the day of the championship parade, the summer tours are shut down, and all the boats go towards hosting the rally. In the case of the Patriots, whose Super Bowl parade is in the winter, the fleet is brought back into service for one day in February to celebrate. After you’ve experienced Boston Duck Tours, why not check out our list of the must-visit attractions in Boston .

Duck boats carry the Red Sox 2018 World Series Champions during a parade in Boston

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Comparing Boston Duck Tours to Super Duck Tours

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A recent fatal crash in Boston has raised concerns over the safety of duck boats.

Here's a partial list of the things I learned Wednesday on a 90-minute duck boat tour of Boston: a North End molasses flood in 1919 killed 21 people, the back of the downtown FBI building has a children's playground, and most importantly, not all duck tours are created equal.

On Wednesday, five Brazilian tourists and I took a late-morning trip with Super Duck Tours, led by a pleasant guide named Linda and her witty captain, Ed. On its website, the company touts their paired tour guide system as a way to "provide more information and more attention to [the] customer."

Yet in light of last weekend's fatal crash involving a duck boat run by Boston Duck Tours, the approach seems as much about safety as anything else. Drivers for Boston Duck Tours conduct the tour as they navigate the streets.

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But Ed, the Super Duck Tours captain, drove the duck boat. That's it.

Linda handled the sight-seeing, doling out fun facts and wisecracks as she faced the passengers. Ed, using a driver's microphone, would periodically chime in (we randomly saw Bill Russell!), but kept his eyes firmly on the road.

After Saturday's crash, which killed 28-year-old Allison Warmuth, critics have decried duck boat tours whose drivers double as tour guides, dangerously dividing their attention.

There were no such distractions here.

During the tour, I asked Ed about the shape of the duck boat, and whether it made it harder to drive and see other vehicles. Ed, not knowing I was a Globe reporter, said the company does not model its vehicles after former World War II tanks, like Boston Duck Tours.

Critics, including a personal injury lawyer who commissioned a 3-D laser scan of the tour vehicles, say the large bills in front of Boston Duck Tours vehicles creates dangerous blind spots that could make it impossible to see mopeds, scooters, or motorcycles.

But Super Duck Tours uses vehicles with a shorter front, and even from my second-row seat, the difference was obvious. I could see all vehicles in front of the driver, and there were multiple mirrors on each side of the driver, similar to double-decker trolleys or other sight-seeing vehicles.

As a bonus, Linda was completely engaged with the audience, which made for livelier conversation.

Astead W. Herndon can be reached at [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter @AsteadWH.

Super Duck Tours

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Kasey265

Super Duck Tours - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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Boston duck tours v. super duck tours: first circuit lifts trademark injunction to make way for super duck, by miriam weiler - edited by evie breithaupt.

Boston Duck Tours v. Super Duck Tours

First Circuit, June 18th, 2008, Nos. 07-2078, 07-2246 Slip Opinion

On June 18, the First Circuit lifted a preliminary injunction granted by the District Court of Massachusetts, which had enjoined Super Duck Tours, LLC (“Super Duck”) from using the phrase “duck tours” in its trade name and the cartoon of a duck in its logo. On July 2, 2007, Boston Duck Tours, LP (“Boston Duck”) filed a complaint in the district court alleging federal trademark infringement and unfair competition and seeking a preliminary injunction against Super Duck. The district court granted the injunction and Super Duck appealed.

The First Circuit held that the lower court clearly erred in concluding that Boston Duck was likely to succeed on the merits of its trademark infringement, by over-estimating the likelihood that use of the phrase and image would cause consumer confusion.

The court of appeals did not address the district court's ruling regarding Super Duck's purchase of the key word phrase “Boston duck tours” on Google. “Sponsored linking” or “keyword advertising” allows the purchaser of a keyword to link his or her website to the search engine's results page with a highlighted link at the top of the page.

The district court found that Super Duck’s sponsored linking did not violate the injunction. It found that sponsored linking, however, does constitute “use” under the Lanham Act, which states that “a mark shall be deemed to be in use in commerce. . . (2) on services when it is used or displayed in the sale or advertising of services.” 15 U. S. C. §1127 . The district court reasoned that the plain language of the statute and the majority of courts have considered sponsored linking “use.”

Unlike traditional advertising, sponsored linking makes use of allegedly infringing terms without actually displaying the marks to consumers, making it unclear whether such activity fulfills the “use in advertising” requirement. A split has developed in the circuit courts over interpretation of the act and the First Circuit has yet to rule on the matter. The Second Circuit has distinguished sponsored linking from more overt use of trademarks in advertising online, holding that sponsored linking does not constitute “use.” By contrast the Ninth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals have held that similar internal uses do constitute “use” under the Lanham Act.

In this case, the First Circuit lifted the injunction on the basis of traditional trademark infringement analysis. The court held that the lower court clearly erred in concluding that Boston Duck was likely to succeed on the merits of its trademark infringement. To win its trademark infringement case, Boston Duck had to prove that its mark was entitled to trademark protection and that Super Duck’s use of the mark was likely to confuse consumers. The First Circuit determined that the phrase “duck tours” was generic, and that consumers were unlikely to be confused by the similarity between the names “Boston Duck Tours” and “Super Duck Tours.” The two companies’ similar cartoon duck logos, the court further held, were dissimilar enough to prevent confusion.

Law.com discusses the sponsored linking issue here .

FileWrapper analyzes the case here (with photos).

Press Coverage is also available from Business Week and Boston Magazine .

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Boston Duck Tours v. Super Duck Tours, No. 07-2078 (1st Cir. 2008)

The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on June 27, 2008.

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

Get free summaries of new First Circuit US Court of Appeals opinions delivered to your inbox!

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COMMENTS

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  2. Super Duck Tours

    About. Boston's premiere Duck tour company offers the only amphibious tour of Boston to include Boston Harbor, providing amazing views of the city and a rich history of Boston't waterfront. Super Duck Tours offers a 90 minute narrated tour through the historic streets of Boston and then into Boston Harbor. We also offer a FREE Super Duck Harbor ...

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  8. Everything To Know About the Boston Duck Boats and Tours

    Hit numerous sites in 80 minutes. With tours taking place every day from the end of March through the end of November, the Boston Duck Tours run every 20-30 minutes (depending on departure area) from 9am to about an hour before sunset. Passengers have the ability to get tickets and board at three locations, including the Prudential Center ...

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    But Super Duck Tours uses vehicles with a shorter front, and even from my second-row seat, the difference was obvious. I could see all vehicles in front of the driver, and there were multiple ...

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  15. Boston Duck Tours v. Super Duck Tours: First Circuit Lifts Trademark

    Boston Duck Tours v. Super Duck Tours. First Circuit, June 18th, 2008, Nos. 07-2078, 07-2246 Slip Opinion. On June 18, the First Circuit lifted a preliminary injunction granted by the District Court of Massachusetts, which had enjoined Super Duck Tours, LLC ("Super Duck") from using the phrase "duck tours" in its trade name and the cartoon of a duck in its logo.

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