“Great Lakes destinations provides a variety of opportunities for cruise lines to develop unique itineraries. Starting with transiting the locks along the St. Lawrence Seaway and St. Mary’s River and visiting up to 35 destinations in the five Great Lakes,” said Rebecca Yackley, director, Office of Trade and Economic Development, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Corporation, U.S. Department of Transportation.
“Transportation is just one of many opportunities for passengers to explore, from trains, planes, automotive, motorcycles, commercial ships, and submarines; the Great Lakes destinations provides the opportunity for passengers to immerse themselves in the history of transportation,” Yackley added.
Other attractions range from nature and wildlife sightings to history, culture and indigenous people experiences.
Navin Sawhney, CEO Americas for Ponant, pointed out the company’s relationship with the Ojibwe tribe whereby guests learn about the tribe’s traditions and visit local communities.
New this year, Ponant is offering a 10-night itinerary sailing three of the five Great Lakes: Lake Michigan, Huron and Superior with stops in Sturgeon Bay, Mackinac Island and Bayfield.
The largest operator, Viking, will sail two ships, the Viking Octantis and Polaris, from late April to late September 2024, turning in Toronto, Milwaukee, Duluth and Thunder Bay, plus a 12-night sailing from Toronto to New York, then 12 days back to Toronto, followed by seven days to Milwaukee.
“Altogether,” said Yackley, “there are presently some (cruise) 17 ports on the U.S. side and 18 on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes.”
2024 is expected to produce passenger numbers in line with 2023, despite the departure American Queen Voyages, as sources said their ships had sailed with low occupancies.
Detroit reported a record year in 2023 with 61 calls and 12,100 passengers. New this year is a music excursion, providing themed tours of Motown and other Detroit musical history sites.
Milwaukee had 30 calls in 2023, including 28 turnarounds by nine ships from six different brands, and roughly 12,000 guests. The port’s forecast is for a similar cruise season this year.
Milwaukee also benefits from a unique initiative in the region: the Milwaukee Cruise Collaborative, which includes the seaport, the airport, various attractions, local hotels and restaurants, and other culinary and cultural businesses focused on enhancing the passenger experience in the city.
The group meets each spring to discuss the lessons learned from the previous season and potential new opportunities for the upcoming seasons.
Introducing two ships on the Great Lakes last year, Viking not only boosted the traffic, but also found new destinations and did new turnarounds in Duluth and Thunder Bay.
One of Yackley’s functions is to provide cruise lines with an understanding of how they can design itineraries that are in compliance with what CBP is going to allow them to do in terms of ports of entry, for example.
On the U.S. side, the ports of entry are Cleveland, Detroit, Sault Ste. Marie between Lake Huron and Lake Superior, and Duluth. The cruise lines have to call at one of these four ports when entering U.S. waters.
Once cleared, cruise ships can basically go anywhere they want as long as there is local infrastructure for a port or safe anchorage.
Excerpt from the Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine Winter 2023-2024
