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Located on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay in Lake Huron, Parry Sound is a picturesque port town with charming cottages and spectacular views. Parry Sound is located inside the UNESCO designated Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve. One of only 16 Biosphere Reserves in Canada, it is home to a variety of rare species of plants and animals. While ashore, explore Killbear Provincial Park, enjoy a scenic boat ride around the 30,000 islands, or take an aerial sightseeing tour. Enjoy a guided exploration of The Cleveland Museum of Art, one of the world’s premier museums. View its vast collection of famous works of art and works of antiquity, from medieval masterpieces to modern works, from Europe, America, and Asia.
Not All Great Lakes Cruises Enter Lake Superior
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. Two more lines that occasionally operate sailings in the region are German line Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and France-based Ponant. Tour organizer Smithsonian Journeys also occasionally offers Great Lakes sailings using chartered Ponant vessels. All this can be seen via an overland trip, of course, and many people explore the Great Lakes region by car or on motorcoach tours. But the region is so sprawling — the Great Lakes touch eight U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario — that logistically it's almost impossible to experience the area in a broad way on a single trip without going by ship.
Hotel Reward Programs
Of the three main lines operating in the Great Lakes, as noted above, Pearl Seas Cruises focuses the most on the region's small towns, with fewer stops at bigger cities. Plus, there are the lakes themselves, which together are roughly the size of the U.K. Think about spending time before or after your cruise in Chicago, Toronto or Montreal.
Hotels
You won't have time to visit these great cities if you don't book some hotel time. 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. Hapag-Lloyd’s Hanseatic Inspiration offers 10- to 18-day cruises departing from Milwaukee and traveling to Halifax, Toronto or Detroit. Great Lakes cruises might all seem similar, but with an offer that ranges from Niagara Falls to historic, cultural and big-city ports, there’s plenty to choose from.
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. While cruising the Great Lakes & Georgian Bay, travel to picturesque port towns, view historic ships and lighthouses, and admire some of the most breathtaking natural scenery in the world.
And Great Lakes itineraries include homeports such as Chicago, Toronto and Montreal that are high on tourists' must-visit lists in their own right. Even better, AQV will be docking its overnight ships at Navy Pier in Chicago -- an advantage no one else has. End your amazing journey in Toronto, established as a Native American settlement and French fur trading post. Within its impressive skyline, there are several cultural hotspots including art galleries, museums, and performance centers. Shoppers will delight in Queen Street West, where chic boutiques replaced this old warehouse area and Kensington Street, where retro style abounds. A guided tram tour will take you around the 158 acre campus where you can view stunning horticultural displays showcasing a beautiful array of plants appropriate for the Midwest and specialized plants from around the world.
Discover the wonders of the Great Lakes region in ultimate comfort and style, and create memories to last a lifetime. Experience unique ports of call in the surrounding states and provinces as you cruise through the magnificent Great Lakes. Discover hard-to-reach destinations, thriving cities, and breathtaking landscapes. Note that Great Lakes cruise vessels don't travel directly on the 36-mile-long strait that connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, which is known as the Niagara River (lest they go plunging over the falls).
Highlights of Great Lakes Cruises
Enjoy a ride through the Painted Ladies neighborhood as you discover of Muskegon's historic downtown. Stop at the Muskegon Heritage Museum where you will learn about the economic, industrial, and social history of the region. View products made in Muskegon including the original Raggedy Ann dolls, a functioning Brunswick Bowling Lane pin setter, and more!
Post: Chicago
Great Lakes cruise ship visits generate $700,000 profit for West Michigan - WWMT-TV
Great Lakes cruise ship visits generate $700,000 profit for West Michigan.
Posted: Fri, 22 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Our Pacific Northwest tour features the smallest groups in the Americas, combining the bounty of Portland, Oregon’s vineyards and its Pacific Coast with a luxury Columbia River cruise aboard the American Empress. Every A+R Journey is carefully crafted with more than 7 decades of expertise helping our guests to experience the world in a more authentic and caring way. Choose from more than 105 Original Journeys With Never More than 16 Guests or book your tour as a Completely Private Experience – whether it’s just the two of you, a small group of friends, or your entire family. Detroit is commonly known as The Motor City, as Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler have been producing cars there for more than a century.
The new focus on Great Lakes cruises opens up a variety of ports that have rarely seen ships, with a season that runs early May through late September. 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. Cell phone service generally works well, but be aware of your location -- U.S. vs. Canada -- and roaming fees.
Pearl Seas Cruises is also returning to the Great Lakes with its single vessel, the 210-pasenger Pearl Mist, in late May. The ship will only stay in the Great Lakes for a few months, however, before concentrating on coastal New England sailings. We will update this article to reflect developments that can impact cruisers when it becomes available. Located along the north shore of Manitoulin Island, Little Current is considered the gateway to the World’s Largest Freshwater Island. Home to the native Ojibwe, this charming town is known for its swing bridge, a one-lane bridge and the only vehicular access to Manitoulin Island except for a daily passenger-vehicle ferry that runs from late spring to October. Built of lumber in 1887, the Grand Hotel boasts the world's longest hotel porch.
The best time to book a Great Lakes cruise is right when a cruise line first opens bookings on that sailing, often more than a year in advance. All of the above lines operate ships in the Great Lakes that carry fewer than 400 passengers. In general, the vessels are intimate and relatively high-end, with pricing to match. 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).
Instead, they use the Welland Canal — another marvel of engineering and an attraction in its own right. 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. For example, seven-night Viking sailings in the region start at $5,995 per person. 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.
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