Any interst in a Great Lakes cruise?

[3rdGenCunarder]

One other option is Blount Small Ship Adventures. They regularly do a Lake Michigan Circuit from Chicago and a combined Great Lakes/Erie Canal cruise Chicago to New York, along with some other itineraries including Toronto into Georgian bay for 2011 on VERY small ships. They are American Flag so PVSA does not apply.

 

I just googled Blount. That's ACCL with a new name. Must be a very recent name change, because I got a postcard from ACCL just the other day.

 

The lake cruises are tempting, but they cost a lot of money for what you get in terms of cabin and amenities compared to the ships sailed by HAL and similar lines. I'm not complaining, I understand why it's like that. Part of it is the economy of scale for the big ships, which is not possible for the small ships. And part of it is US registry and US crew on the lake ships, which means higher wages. In my research I found no middle ground. Ships were very low-end (some BYOB and it looked like paper plates and plastic table cloths in the picture) and others were all-suite and VERY expensive. We were very tempted by one of the upscale ones because of a trip offered by the museum on natural history in NYC. Then HAL had a sale on Alaska, and we could do the Alaska for half what the Lakes would have cost. So the lakes cruise got put back on the "someday" list.

[LindaM]

Just read this in the Detroit News!! An inside cabin for the 2 week itineray is $4,020. Initially, I thought this cruise would be boring, but the ports for this one are pretty good. If I were rich, I would try it, but alas, I am not!!

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

We did a Great Lakes cruise in 2004 - Toronto to Chicago on Le Levant which was used by Tauck Tours that year. It was wonderful but sadly Tauck no longer offers this option. I think Le Levant which has about 100 passengers now sails the Panama Canal routing with a land portion in Costa Rica and Panama, I think.

[bepsf]

also anything wider than 80 ft beam doesnt get in the locks

 

Yes - Only smaller ships can fit thru the Welland Canal Locks into Lake Erie:

 

Maximum vessel length: 225.5 m / 739.8 feet

Maximum vessel width 24.4 m / 80.0524 feet

Maximum draft: 8.2 m / 26.9 feet

Maximum above-water clearance: 35.5 m / 116.469

 

No HAL ship meets these dimensions - Not even the Oceania R-Class (too wide) or the new Seabourn Odyssey (Too long and too wide) will fit.

 

Smaller yacht-type ships such as Seabourn Pride and the smaller SilverSea ships will fit.

[bob brown]

Here's a thought....could the dormant American built riverboats American Queen and/or Mississippi Queen be adapted for use on the Great Lakes?

 

What a sight they would be at Navy Pier!

[BruceMuzz]

Here's a thought....could the dormant American built riverboats American Queen and/or Mississippi Queen be adapted for use on the Great Lakes?

 

What a sight they would be at Navy Pier!

 

Flat bottom shallow draft river boats trying to manage the often very heavy seas on the Great Lakes?????

Sounds like a good recipe for a disaster movie.

 

But it's not going to happen.

Those largely wooden river boats cannot even come close to meeting current SOLAS requirements. They will never again be able to get a license to carry passengers.

[bob brown]

Oops, scratch that thought...

There must be some ships that could be used...

Whatever happenned to those two coastal cruise ships that never succeeded, I believe they were the Cape Cod Light and Cape May Light?

Or some other. Perhaps a converted surplus Alaskan ferry or something similar?

If successful, then a newbuild could be designed that would be built to maximum size to navigate the Seaway canals.

 

Wouldn't it be nice to start a voyage way inland at say Duluth, or Chicago, stop at major Lakes ports and end in Montreal or Quebec City, where one could connect with cruise ships going transatlantic?

[iancal]

The per diems will always be much higher. The employees are paid on a North American wage rate vs. the ocean going cruise lines that are registered off shore and pay next to nothing. Ditto for all of the relevent safety and work related legislation that they have to follow, as well as in country taxation that most of the cruise lines that we are familiar with avoid. Not to mention the economies of scale with larger ships. We priced a 5 day cruise through the locks on the Trent Canal in Ontario. For one person it was just slightly under what we are currently paying for two people on an 11 day verandah trip this coming December. We saw the boat going through the locks,,,,it was a bit of a tub. No showers in the rooms...at end of hall. Having said that we would definately consider a Great Lakes cruise.

[bob brown]

So compared with that, the Hapag-Lloyd Columbus would be a lot nicer and maybe cheaper?

[kalliekae]

If you google "great lakes cruise" you'll see some lovely smaller ships that already ply the waters there. However, be aware that the Great Lakes can have some of the worst weather on them for cruising! It's not all lovely, calm sailing. However, it is wonderful country! We lived in our motorhome for 7 years and one of our favorite places are the Great Lakes area...imagine an RV spot on Lake Superior, nobody else around, the lake only 15 feet from you, a table/chairs, fire ring, etc...we had that in Porcupine Mt. State Park...wonderful. Thousand Islands is also a lovely place to cruise in small boats.

 

We spent Labor Day weekend in Charlevoix, MI and you are very correct about the weather. The large ferry that runs between Charlevoix and Beaver Island could not return one night due to the waves. Although the ferry would have made it with no problem, the pax would have been very sick. It's always a treat for us to drive along the coast of Lake Michigan and visit the lovely towns and lighthouses along the way.

[gooselace]

Wow, do these posts bring back memories ! In the 50's during my college years I worked as a busboy on the S S South American.... Sorry to be so long winded but your post opended the memory banks and once they open, at my age, they do not close easily. Thank You

 

Brought back some memories here too. I grew up in Nebraska and when my widowed mother drove east on vacations she often took the Milwaukee-Muskegan ferry one way as a shortcut. We loved it but it was the first and only time I was ever seasick (lake-sick?). My brother and I had been allowed some special treats (chocolate shakes and cherry pie) before we boarded and when it got rather windy and cold, we headed down to the movie (Sonya Henjii skating with lots of twirling). By the time we realized we were going to be sick, the crew was handing out barf boxes to nearly all the passengers. It got so bad that band members wo were trying to play on the deck and even some of the crew were sick.

 

Not our mother - she was up on deck enjoying the spray and all that rocking motion. Many years later she took me on my first ocean cruise (on the old HAL Rotterdam) - but to this day my brother has avoided the motion of the ocean.

[Himself]

Would the Pricendam be small enough to go through the Locks. A round trip from Chicago to Toronto would be a nice cruise. Even a one way Chicago Toronto and then Toronto Chicago would be a nice cruise. It could sail from Navy Pier in Chicago.

[RuthC]

Maximum vessel length: 225.5 m / 739.8 feet

Maximum vessel width 24.4 m / 80.0524 feet

Maximum draft: 8.2 m / 26.9 feet

Maximum above-water clearance: 35.5 m / 116.469

 

No HAL ship meets these dimensions -

 

Would the Pricendam be small enough to go through the Locks.

Note the statistics Brian quoted, and his conclusion.

[bepsf]

Would the Pricendam be small enough to go through the Locks.

 

M/S Prinsendam:

Length:674.2 ft (205.5 m)Beam:91.8 ft (28.0 m)Draught:23.6 ft (7.2 m)

 

 

 

 

While her lenght and draft are fine - her width is the issue...

...possibly her height as well.

[AirGorilla]

I just recently returned from the Upper Pennisula in Michigan. What a beautiful area. Marquett was so nice, as are the small towns surrounding.

 

Any how, as I looked out onto lake Superior, I could not help but think how nice a cruise would be to places such as this.

 

The ships could travel to Deluth, Detroit, Chicago, Buffalo, places in Canada or any number of cities or towns that may be of intrest. Cruises go to New England and visit small towns and city every fall. Why not the great lakes.

 

I would be apt to book a cruise on a ship of 70,000 GRT that should be able to get through the Soo locks. What is the largest ship that could be accomodated.

 

Am I the only one who thinks it would be nice to cruise the Great Lakes?

 

Jon

 

The cruise of my dreams!! Glamorous port calls in BUFFALO and DETROIT!!

 

NOT!!

 

AG

[bob brown]

The cruise of my dreams!! Glamorous port calls in BUFFALO and DETROIT!!

 

NOT!!

 

AG

While I appreciate your humor in poking fun at Buffalo and Detroit, when seeing them as ports of call on a cruise, they do have interesting attractions nearby....Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? People come from around the world to see it.

And Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum at Dearborn are also world class.

 

I think seeing the formerly great cities of the Great Lakes is a valuable lesson in history for all of us, when the US was the industrial powerhouse of the world.

[sailinglisa]

Calm weather on the Great Lakes? NOT!!!!!! There are so many shipwrecks on the Great Lakes......the weather is so unpredictable any time of year. Remember the Edmund Fitzgerald? And there are so many wrecks from the mid to late 1800'sto the 1940's.

 

While I would love a great lakes cruise, the ships would be so small and the price prohibitive. And that is sad, as a fall foilage cruise would be outstanding!

[Northshorecruisers]

My husband's dream cruise is out of Duluth, MN and arriving in Toronto, Ontario. There was a line doing these cruises (out of reach money wise for us now) but last time my husband looked they had temporarily discontinued them. I'm sure, due to the economy. Since we live only 2 hours south of Duluth (we get up there and points north as much as we can) and I'm originally from Toronto and have family there - it would be a wonderful cruise.

Hopefully, when they start running it again we'll be able to afford it :D

[GeriatricNurse]

I would LOVE a Great Lakes cruise. I have wanted to do this for some time now. Right now they are a little out of my price range. Wish HAL somehow could get a DAM ship in the Great Lakes.

 

www.greatlakescruising.com:)

[lka1012]

GeriatricNurse,

 

I am on Great Lakes Crusing's mailing list. One day I will be able to take one of their cruises -- I hope!

[bob brown]

Some great itineraries! Interesting that they market H-L's Columbus.

[cmthomas]

We are interested in the Great Lakes cruise on the Columbus for next year but have been unable to find any reports from people who have actually sailed on the ship anywhere. If anyone has seen such a cruise report it would be greatly appreciated if you would provide a link or reference.

 

Clarence:)