Our Great Lakes cruises are aboard one of the finest vessels navigating the region - the luxurious and innovative Le Bellot. This exquisite ship features comfortable and spacious cabins, excellent onboard amenities, exciting itineraries, and gourmet cuisine.
Most of the best Great Lakes cruises range from 8-16 days and cost between $6,799 - $12,900 per person. There are many different destinations and sites you will visit during any one of these cruises on the Great Lakes - both natural and manmade. The endless activities you’ll experience make these lakes and river cruises definitely worth it!
The season to cruise the Great Lakes runs from late May through mid-September, from the end of the North American spring season through summer and into early autumn. The most popular time to cruise the Great Lakes is during the generally sunny summer months of July and August when temperatures can reach into the 90s F during the day.
An easy way to remember the names of the five Great Lakes is to think of the acronym HOMES: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior. You might be interested to know that together, the Great Lakes is the largest freshwater system on earth and accounts for more than 20% of the surface freshwater in the world. So how much water is in the Great Lakes? About 6 quadrillion gallons!
Niagara Falls is right between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario on the Niagara River and makes for an exciting day on almost all of our best Great Lakes cruises.
The best Great Lakes cruises are ideally suited for adults. But inquisitive youngsters and teens might enjoy these cruises on the Great Lakes too, if they like to stroll through museums, enjoy nature tours (like Niagara Falls) and like urban exploration like walking tours of cities.
There are five lakes that collectively comprise the largest freshwater system on the planet, known as the Great Lakes. By volume from largest to smallest, the lakes are:
Together, the Great Lakes store more than 20% of the world's freshwater, covering a surface area of 94,600 square miles; half of the water is in Lake Superior alone (or 3 quadrillion gallons!).
The Great Lakes split the border between Canada and the United States, but Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake that is entirely within the United States. Because of this, that means that the state of Michigan actually has the most coastline of freshwater of any state in the United States.
Cruises on the Great Lakes visit popular Midwest towns and cities like Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Niagara Falls, in addition to some Canadian destinations like Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City, via the St. Lawrence River.A marvel of modern engineering, the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan connects Lake Superior to the Lower Great Lakes through a set of parallel locks.
The Locks are maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers, who have nicknamed them the "Linchpin of the Great Lakes."
Experience the Soo Locks through any of our Great Lake cruises visiting Sault Ste. Marie.