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Whether your taste is French-inspired luxury, Nordic-inspired sophistication, or a classic maritime journey, choose from an array of world-class accommodations and thrilling shore excursions to create memories for a lifetime on these superb, state-of-the-art ships. These ships offer intimate experiences combined with crewmembers who anticipate your every want and need. It’s everything you desire on a larger cruise ship, minus everything you wish you could cast away.
Great Lakes Cruises Length and Ports of Call
Unlikely bond between luxury cruise line, Great Lakes climate scientists - Bridge Michigan
Unlikely bond between luxury cruise line, Great Lakes climate scientists.
Posted: Fri, 14 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
A stop is made at the Lake Ontario port of Rochester, NY, before entering the Erie Canal, passing through New York Harbor and ending in Warren, RI. In the end, the most important decisions are which ports you want to visit and for how long you wish to cruise the Great Lakes on a ship. Experience the great beauty of Lake Michigan cruises, where pristine shores and stunning vistas await. Delve into the rich history and vibrant culture of the region with our Lake Erie cruises, offering captivating insights into this storied waterway. Journey through beautiful landscapes on our Lake Superior cruises, renowned for its rugged beauty and preserved wilderness. The Jewel of the Great Lakes has been a summer getaway for Midwesterners since the Victorian era and it retains much of its Victorian-era charm.
Viking Inclusive Value
As noted above, the Great Lakes offer a wide mix of attractions and experiences. During a Great Lakes cruise, you might find yourself climbing aboard the bus where Rosa Parks took a stand at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit on one day and kayaking through the wild marshlands of Point Pelee, Ontario, the next. For example, seven-night Viking sailings in the region start at $5,995 per person. You'll start in, say, Toronto, and work your way west to Chicago — or vice versa. The cruise season in the Great Lakes is also limited in its length by the opening and closing of the St. Lawrence Seaway — the system of locks, canals and channels that connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. Cruise vessels that operate in the Great Lakes can't access the region until the locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway open for the summer, something that typically happens the last week of March.
Best Great Lakes itineraries
Viking's itineraries have the most outdoorsy options, while Pearl Seas Cruises offers trips with a lot of small-town stops. The Great Lakes cruise season is a short one, due mostly to the weather. With winters being cold and snowy in the region, cruise lines stick to the warmer months of May to September for Great Lakes sailings. Mackinac Island, with its car-less horse-drawn carriages, historic fort and the Grand Hotel is a destination like no other and should be experienced aboard a Great Lakes small ship cruise. Reap the benefits of traveling closer to home and rediscover exciting ports like Niagara Falls, Chicago and Mackinac Island. Mackinac Island, MI, a completely car-free throwback to simpler times, is easy to navigate on foot, in a horse-drawn carriage, or on a rented bicycle, which can be used to ride the 8.2 miles perimeter around the island in about 1.5 hours.
From urban skylines to uninhabited islands, discover North America’s wilderness alongside renowned cultural attractions while cruising the striking waterways of the Great Lakes. Immerse yourself in the lakes’ compelling shipping history, experience the power of the thundering Niagara Falls and keep watch for scores of migratory birds at Point Pelee. Led by a team of experts, explore sheltered bays and woodlands to uncover complex ecosystems and hidden treasures.
Cruise ship visits in Milwaukee remain high in 2023 after record year - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Cruise ship visits in Milwaukee remain high in 2023 after record year.
Posted: Wed, 03 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Regardless of the route taken, chances are high that stops on these itineraries are places you've never thought of as being cruise ports -- and you'll be quite impressed with your findings. Indulge in the charm and elegance of our Lake Ontario cruises, where historic ports and vibrant cities offer many activities to enjoy. Traverse the tranquil waters on a Lake Huron cruise, immersing yourself in the peacefulness of this natural paradise. Pulling a cruise ship into the locks and waiting for 22 million gallons of water to raise the water level by 21 feet to match the level on the other side takes a lot of time. But the journey, and history of the locks and the surrounding area, were well-narrated by the expedition team from a perch up on the bridge. According to the marketing association Cruise the Great Lakes, nine ships are on the lakes this year, which marks a return after no cruises at all in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
(American Queen Voyages is the only Great Lakes cruise provider who currently sails from Navy Pier in Chicago). The 665-foot-long, Polar Class 6 ship carries 378 guests and 256 crewmembers and sailed its inaugural in Antarctica before heading north. It is summering in the Great Lakes region before heading back to the Antarctic and other destinations. The ships have a subtle contemporary decor and both casual and more formal dining options, 188-seat theaters, spa and fitness areas, and a fleet of nine Zodiacs (for use in Canadian waters). In addition to the main Coastal Dining Room, the ships have a casual buffet venue.
Soo Locks Are a Highlight on a Viking Great Lakes Cruise
The number of passengers in 2022 has increased by more than 25 percent compared to 2019, the association reports. Viking Great Lake cruise itineraries include two eight-day trips from Milwaukee to either Toronto or Thunder Bay, and a 15-day route from Toronto to Duluth. The longer route is always aboard Viking Octantis, while Thunder Bay is always visited aboard the Polaris. Both ships, however, are the same in terms of size, layout and design. We provide guests an extraordinary cruising experience while exploring the most magnificent regions of the world.
In Killarney, still in Georgian Bay, we hiked to a lighthouse and stopped at the Killarney Lodge for selfies with what is said to be the world’s largest canoe paddle, which is 107 feet long and weighs in at 22,000 pounds. Expedition Central is also where we spent time studying the dozen full-size felt birds, including a bald eagle, a red headed woodpecker, and a common loon, that we were likely to see for real in the wild, during our trip. Viking commissioned felt artist Susan Beal from Vermont to make 96 super-realistic birds so that different sets can be displayed in each region Octantis (and Polaris) will visit. And we got up early (with more than 50 other passengers) to witness the weekly -- for now -- launching of a weather balloon off the top deck. Thanks to its partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Viking Octantis (and Viking Polaris) have joined the sanctioned list of 102 other weather balloon launch stations sanctioned by the U.S. The balloons have transmitters that collect data on wind, temperature, and pressure.
And don't forget to pack a rain jacket, if not a complete rain gear outfit, including a wide-brimmed waterproof hat, rain pants and waterproof shoes or boots. Located at the northeastern edge of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Sault Saint Marie is the site of the Soo Locks, a marvel of engineering that connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron. The locks themselves are the big attractions in Sault Saint Marie — head to the observation deck at Soo Locks Park to watch freighters passing by and learn more at the Soo Locks Visitor Center. The two main players in Great Lakes cruising are Viking (a newcomer in 2022) and Pearl Seas Cruises. Each has one vessel devoted to the region (Viking Octantis and Pearl Mist, respectively).
Lake Superior is not on the basic lake-to-lake route of most Great Lakes cruises. Crossing it would mean backtracking to resume cruising on the other four lakes. If adding all five lakes to your bucket list is your goal, be sure your Great Lakes cruise ship actually enters Lake Superior, if only briefly. However, don’t expect your standard all-inclusive, big-ship vacation with tons of restaurants, activities and kid-friendly amenities. Rather, you’ll be cruising the Great Lakes in a smaller vessel with just a couple hundred other travelers.
And once the balloon was out of sight, passengers rushed to Expedition Central to watch the real-time data arriving on the computers. Many much-appreciated stateroom amenities, such as heated bathroom floors and 24-hour room service, are carried over here too. If you’re intrigued, here are the cruise ships to watch that are sailing the aptly named Great Lakes. Long distances between ports also mean cruising the Great Lakes at night. The long distances covered by cruises on the Great Lakes mean lots of time spent on board. If you bring your laptop or iPad, be prepared for long periods without connections.
The iconic attraction on the island is the 135-year-old Grand Hotel, with its seemingly endless, rocker-lined front porch (the longest in the world). Afternoon tea in the hotel's parlor, or a game of croquet at its Tea Garden, are among Mackinac Island's allures. Tours in a horse-drawn carriage are another popular pastime; cars are banned on the island, leaving horse-drawn carriages as one of the main ways of getting around, along with bicycles. Known as "Canada's Gateway to the West" because it's the final navigational point on the Canadian side of Lake Superior, Thunder Bay is one of Ontario's most vibrant cities and a center for art and culture. It's also a hub for outdoorsy pursuits including mountain biking, rock climbing, kayaking and angling, as it's nestled within boreal forests.
The city-oriented stops that Viking and the other lines make, such as visits to Milwaukee or Chicago on Lake Michigan, give you time to explore the urban sensibility of the region. Brew-town Milwaukee offers the chance to explore the city's craft beer and brewing scene or to take a walking tour to the city's many outdoor sculptures. Chicago is famous for its world-leading architecture (which you can see on walking and boat tours), its Magnificent Mile lined with more stores than you've probably ever seen in one place and its world-class cultural institutions. This new, state-of-the-art, long and narrow expedition ship was built for Southern Hemisphere summers in Antarctica and is spending Northern Hemisphere summers in the Great Lakes. Its style and onboard amenities are in a league of their own for cruises in the region.
Because the Great Lakes has such a short season with a limited number of ships, sailings in the region are often in high demand and people plan early. Newcomer Viking, notably, has told TPG it has seen brisker sales this year for its Great Lakes trips than sailings to Antarctica — one of the world's ultimate bucket list destinations. One thing that all three of the main lines operating in the Great Lakes have in common is that they include tours during at least some stops and sometimes every stop in their base fares. Pearl Seas Cruises and Viking are particularly known for including lots of shore excursions in their base fares. Most of the world's biggest cruise lines — including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Line — can't operate in the Great Lakes because their ships are too big to enter the region through the St. Lawrence Seaway.
The best Great Lakes cruise ports include the handful of relatively big cities in the region, such as Chicago, that are loaded with cultural sites, nightspots and restaurants, as well as charming small towns such as Holland, Michigan. Great Lakes cruises also bring days that are all about getting up close to wonders both natural and human-made — from towering Niagara Falls to the engineering marvel that is the Welland Canal. These Great Lakes cruise lines offer unparalleled sophistication and intimacy of small-ship cruising on the Great Lakes.
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