MUSKEGON, Mi. — West Michigan welcomes tens of thousands of visitors from around the world every summer and many of them travel by cruise ship. Cruise the Great Lakes expects about 150,000 visitors into ports around the Midwest and Canada in 2022. There are 4 cruise lines serving Great Lakes ports, generating more than $120 million this season. One of those ports is Muskegon.
The Pearl Mist docked in Muskegon on a beautiful summer morning, bringing nearly 200 passengers into town for the day, including Darryl Steinert from Caseville. He says, "We decided to take this cruise for two reasons. One we had never seen Georgian Bay and two, even though we've lived on the Great Lakes virtually all of our lives, we had never seen the land from the water side.” This 11-day journey starts in Toronto and ends in Milwaukee - with stops in ports like Mackinac Island, Sault Ste Marie and of course, Muskegon.
Pearl seas is one of four cruise lines docking here this season, making a big impact every time they come to port. Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce President, Cindy Larsen says "There's a couple hundred passengers on every ship and so they really do a variety of things. Sometimes they just want to walk the downtown and go in the little shops. The economic impact is very interesting because sometimes it's more the museums that get the attention in the summer which they really enjoy because a lot of people go to the beach in the summer so to have 200 people walk into our museums in July and August that's a big treat, really a good economic benefit for arts and cultural community.” But even more than the obvious benefits of tourism, Larsen says the indirect impact can be significant. "There are a lot of supplies they need while they're here, not just excursions and going to museums, they're also purchasing things for the ships sometimes they run out, they have to run to the store, and they don't buy anything one at a time. It's by the case. So, the economic impact is quite varied."
Pearl Seas Cruises started running a Great Lakes itinerary in 2014, and it's only grown in popularity.
They will stop here ten times in one season. Kristin Lambert is manager of guest programs for Pearl Seas. She says, "What really makes it unique is sailing on smaller ships you really get to know your fellow guests as well as your crew members and we get to know you as well, so it really is special just a small group that gets to travel to these beautiful places together." The passengers come from all over. While Steinert is from Michigan, he says he’s excited to explore the city by trolley. The passengers have the option to take guided excursions, but Larsen says over time they've learned that less is more. "Sometimes we have to step back and notice that they like what we take for granted. So, we started trying to be super creative, and then we realized wow, they're just here to see us. They're here to meet Muskegon, meet people from the Midwest. They love to hear the history of our community the lumber barons and how the community transformed from lumber to industry and now really tourism. So, they love hearing our story because they're from communities that are not very much like Muskegon. So it's they feel like they're in a foreign land. And something we take for granted they think is very exotic."
If you would like to learn more about Great Lakes cruising in general, head to https://www.cruisethegreatlakes.com/. For more information about Pearl Seas Cruises, https://www.pearlseascruises.com/.
