Cruising in the Great Lakes
Groups booking a cruise of the Great Lakes region, in North America, will have further options made available to them as more of the region’s ports move closer to becoming leisure destinations and the number of small ships (less than 100 passengers) cruising the region increases.
In recent years, the area – comprising lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior – has remained largely unexplored by tourists, despite its diversity, from the cosmopolitan city of Toronto, on Lake Ontario, to Lake Michigan’s Mackinac Island, a settlement reminiscent of the Victorian era.
Detroit, in Michigan, has invested more than seven million pounds into building a 21,000-square foot passenger ship terminal and dock, southwest of the Renaissance Center, set to be completed in 2010.
A similar project is also under construction at Thunder Bay, on Lake Superior. Improvements to the waterfront area include the creation of a small cruise ship terminal, as well as enhanced leisure facilities such as new hotels, shops and restaurants, again to be open by 2010.
The number of ships sailing through the Great Lakes will also increase from 2009 as two new operators, Travel Dynamics International, based in New York, and Pearl Seas Cruises, in Connecticut, begin offering itineraries in the region.
Groups can also book cruise packages through North American Highways, a sister company of Airedale Tours.