The 2023 Great Lakes Season
by Ted Scull
For the 2023 Great Lakes season, it’s a happy fact that all the 2022 cruise lines are returning, an indication that this once on-again off-again Canadian American cruising region has established both awareness and a following.
There will be a total of eight ships on the Great Lakes in 2023.
To reach the five Great Lakes, ships enter the region via the Gulf of St. Lawrence, then a narrowing river of the same name flowing past Quebec City and Montreal. They then use the St. Lawrence Seaway and sail on past Kingston, Canada’s original capital.
Most vessels cross Lake Ontario to tie up at Toronto, the eastern terminus for many Great Lakes itineraries.
The growing list of companies includes two veteran lines, with the longest-serving ship, the 210-passenger Pearl Mist, an operation connected to American Cruise Lines. The ship is registered in the Republic of the Marshall Islands located in the Pacific Ocean that was once a U.S. possession. The crew will be international, unlike the sister company American Cruise Lines.
The 210-pax Pearl Mist. * Photo: Pearl Mist Cruises
One 8-day itinerary starts in Toronto with a road transfer north to Midland, Ontario on Lake Huron for calls amongst the hundreds of islands. The ship pauses at carless and historic Mackinac Island then enters Lake Michigan and sails south to Milwaukee, the disembarkation port, and an interesting city that many tourists miss because of its proximity to Chicago.
The ship reverses its run and returns to Midland and a road transfer to Toronto.
A longer 11-day itinerary embarks at Toronto, passes through the Welland Canal, calling at ports in four of the five lakes en route to Milwaukee. This itinerary then operates in reverse.
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American Queen’s Coastal Pair Rules the Great Lakes
American Queen Voyages offers the most cruises with a pair of 202-passenger ships, the Ocean Voyager and the Ocean Navigator.
A series of 11-day cruises begin in May embarking in Toronto and traversing four lakes en route to Chicago, where the ship then returns along the same route.
RELATED: Karl Zimmermann Cruises the Great Lakes for the First Time Aboard the Ocean Voyager.
Other city pairs are Montreal — Chicago, also 11 days, and shorter itineraries between Montreal and Detroit.
The longest is 16 days, a round trip from Chicago that includes sailing through the Soo Locks into Lake Superior.
A few of the massive Great Lakes cargo vessels should be in transit.
The 202-pax Ocean Voyager. * Photo: Karl Zimmermann
Several Oceangoing Ships Join the Great Lakes Party
Deepsea ships include three lines, two relatively new to the area.
Germany’s Hapag Lloyd Cruises’ 230-passenger Hanseatic Inspiration undertakes numerous cruises for both English and German speakers on varied length itineraries throughout the summer.
The pool deck of the new 230-passenger Hanseatic Inspiration. * Photo: Hapag-Lloyd
Embarkations take place in Toronto, Windsor (opposite Detroit), Milwaukee, and Detroit.
The final cruise of the season, Milwaukee to Halifax lasts 18 days and is one of the longest inland waterway transits found anywhere. A single cruise includes all five lakes with the most comprehensive itinerary of any line exploring Lake Superior.
Germans like northern climates and many 19th-century Germans settled in the Great Lakes region, hence German visitors dominate the passenger lists. However, the cruises operate fully bi-lingual and many German passengers will speak English.
Viking Expedition Cruises sends both of its new 2022-built 378-passenger expedition ships to the Great Lakes for 2023. Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris will cruise from Toronto via Lakes Erie, Ontario, Huron, Michigan, and Superior on the most far-reaching 15-day trip to Thunder Bay, located on the far western shores of Lake Superior.
The new Viking Polaris as it will look in Toronto next season for its Great Lakes cruises. * Photo: Viking
Cruises operate from early June to September 2023.
An exception to our upper-end 300-passenger limit permits sharing this most ambitious undertaking.
RELATED: Anne Kalosh tells us about Viking’s flurry of new arrivals.
Ponant Cruises operates two 7-day cruises in conjunction with Smithsonian Journeys aboard the 184-passenger Le Bellot and Le Dumont-d’Urville, departing in late August and early October 2023.
Both, embarking in Toronto, transit the Welland Canal, visit Niagara Falls, call at Lake Huron’s island district and Victorian Mackinac Island, and terminate in Milwaukee.
Approaching the Welland Canal. * Photo: Karl Zimmermann
Regular departures follow this route both westbound and eastbound.
The late summer and early fall dates are more peaceful than the height of summer and provide an unusual opportunity for visiting the Great Lakes.
RELATED: Enjoy Ted’s Overview of Cruising the Canadian American Great Lakes.
RELATED: 6 Small Ship Lines that Cruise the Great Lakes.
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