Freshwater Adventures In this episode we focus on cruising the large inland lakes of the US - the Great Lakes. The ports are fascinating and the ships are smaller and ideal for those whose bodies have been disrupted. You may be surprised by what there is to discover while Cruising the Great Lakes! Living The Could Life contains affiliate links. They don’t cost you anything, but we may earn a small commission if you use them. We may have been hosted on a trip, excursion or other travel-related event. We may have received or experienced a product for review. Any opinion is our own. Transcript Click Here for Transcript Theresa: Welcome back to Living the Good Life, where we explore real world travel for real bodies. Adventures that are meaningful, doable, and full of wonder. Today, we're heading somewhere unexpected, the Great Lakes. Not the ocean, not the Caribbean, but a freshwater cruising region that's older than the pyramids and bigger than many countries. Robert: And if you're thinking, wait, cruises? On the Great Lakes? Oh yes, not only do they exist, they've been around for over a century and now they're having a major renaissance. Theresa: And I have always lived in a state with the Great Lakes, so we're fairly familiar with them and have visited all five. So today, we're diving into the history, the ships, the cruise lines, the ports, and the surprising magic of these inland seas. Robert: Let's start with the basics. The Great Lakes, Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. They hold 20% of the world's fresh surface water. That's wild. Theresa: And when I was in school, to remember the names of them, we remembered the word homes. Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior. So we could get them all. And some people are really surprised when they see the Great Lakes, but we'll go into that a bit later. And they are enormous. Lake Superior is the size of Austria. Lake Michigan is bigger than Croatia. These are not ponds. You can look at them and think you're on the ocean. The lakes, these are inland seas with their own weather systems. And we can tell you up in our part of Michigan all about lake effect weather. They have their own weather systems, their own tides, even their own maritime culture. Robert: And their own shipwrecks, thousands of them. The lakes have been major shipping routes since the 1800s, and storms here can be brutal. The most famous wreck is the Edmund Fitzgerald, lost in 1975 on Lake Superior. Theresa: Which is why lighthouses in this area are such a big part of the Great Lakes identity. In fact, Michigan, and this may be surprising to some people, it has more lighthouses than any other state. Robert: And that sense of maritime history is part of what makes Great Lakes cruising so different. You're not just island hopping, you're time traveling. Theresa: Right, and there are so many interesting maritime museums along the coast of the lakes. Most of them have a different focus. Some focus on shipwrecks, others focus on trade, some on sports, and some on cargo, ferries, car ferries, moving railroads, etc. Cruising the Great Lakes actually goes back to the late 1800s when steamships carried wealthy travelers between Chicago, Mackinac Island, and Canadian ports. Robert: By the early 1900s, the lakes had full-on floating hotels. Think chandeliers, ballrooms, and multi-day itineraries. Theresa: Then came the decline because highways, air travel, and even railways ended the big steamship era. For decades, Great Lakes cruising was mostly ferries and day boats. Robert: But around 2015, everything changed. Expedition cruise lines realized the lakes were perfect for small ship, high-touch travel, and suddenly the region exploded. Theresa: I will say that it was the Germans, Popeye Bloyd, who have been cruising the Great Lakes for 30 years. The Germans are still intrigued by these lakes. Today, the Great Lakes are one of the fastest-growing cruise regions in North America. Robert: Let's talk cruise lines because this surprises people. Theresa: And right now, there are several players here. Viking has expedition-style ships, the Octantis and the Viking Polaris. Pearl Sea's cruises, they've been coming here a long time. We often see the Pearl Miss dock in Mackinac Island. Victory Cruise Lines, they are a small ship classic cruising company. Of course, Popeye Bloyd, the German cruise ship, still comes, and we have seen that in port several times. Also new to the Great Lakes is American Cruise Line, which we have sailed with them before and totally enjoyed it. We did a Cape Cod cruise and that was fascinating, lots of history, water, sand, so some similarities, really, to the Great Lakes. And we are looking forward to sailing with them in the future, as well as with Victory, so we can do a comparison because each cruise line is different, and the itineraries are also different. And there are some that don't cruise here regularly, but do make appearances. Robert: These are not megaships. ...
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