Algoma welcomed the passenger cruise ship Viking Polaris June 16 with volunteer ambassadors and extended business hours and activities.
Algoma is the only city in Wisconsin to host the Viking Polaris on its Great Lakes Collection 15-day cruise touring all five of the Great Lakes. Leaders from the city and the chamber welcomed the captain at the Algoma City Marina upon arrival with various items representative of the area.
“Algoma is excited to welcome passengers and crew from the Viking Cruise ship as well as visitors from near and far who will come here to see the ship along our shores in Lake Michigan. We are thrilled and honored to be hosting the Viking cruise ships eight times in 2023,” said Rosemary Paladini, Executive Director of the Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Algoma Area Chamber of Commerce has solicited volunteers to staff a pop-up welcome stand near the Algoma marina where they will help answer questions and share information about Algoma businesses and attractions. What will make the volunteers recognizable at the welcome stand, the visitor center and throughout the city will be the Algoma Ambassador T-shirts. The shirts are a high visibility yellow with “Algoma Ambassador” on the front. On the back, they invite visitors to use the SCAN ME! QR code which will direct them to an Experience Algoma page where they can locate dining, shopping, arts, entertainment, and special cruise day sales and events.
“If you spot an Algoma Ambassador feel free to chat them up and they will share information about Algoma and all we have to offer to make your stay enjoyable,” Paladini said.
Viking’s 15-day “Great Lakes Collection” itinerary, which starts at $11,995, includes stops in Toronto, Niagara Falls, Detroit, Alpena on Michigan’s lower peninsula, Algoma, Mackinac Island, Ontario’s Georgian Bay and Thunder Bay, the Soo Locks and Duluth.
On June 14, The Ocean Navigator arrived in the Port of Green Bay with 71 passengers on a two-week tour of the Great Lakes. This is the second year a cruise ship has made stops in Green Bay.
Great Lakes cruises have grown in popularity and there are currently11 vessels operated by eight cruise lines: Pearl Seas Cruises, American Queen Voyages, Viking Cruises, St. Lawrence Cruise Lines, Ponant, Vantage, Hapag-Lloyd and Plantours Cruises. As many as 170,000 passengers are expected for the 2023 season after a record of 150,000 passengers in 2022.
